Introduction
What’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys? Well, plinking, of course! And what are the tools required for plinking? Typically, but not always, the firearms of choice — whether pistol or rifle — tend to be chambered in a rimfire cartridge.
That’s a special cartridge and a great one for children, especially youngsters new to shooting. More on that in a moment. But, if you haven’t already, make sure you’re up to speed on this “Kids And Guns” series.
The Ruger Bearcat is perfect for teaching small hands how to use a revolver and shoot single action guns wtihout a lot of weight and recoil.
The Series
- The Basics
- Storage
- Teaching
- Rimfire
- Hunting
- Competitive Shooting
- Shotguns
- Pistols
- Revolvers
- Older kids
- Tactical Kids
What is Rimfire?
Rimfire is one name for a .22. Twenty-twos used to be the only thing that was rimfire, but today there are a few other options in rimfire.
For clarification, what separates a rimfire round from a centerfire round is that for a rimfire, the primer material is in the rim, and it is ignited by the firing pin striking the base or rim of the cartridge, whereas a centerfire cartridge is ignited when the firing pin hits the primer in the center of the cartridge.
By BBODO – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
The most popular rimfire round is .22 Long Rifle. That is the round we’re going to consider as the focal point of this article and what’s generally thought of when you use the term “rimfire.”
Twenty-twos come in a plethora of forms. There are single-shot Crickett Rifles made by Keystone Sporting Arms, .22 conversions for an AR platform, Ruger 10/22s, Ruger Mark I, II, III, IV, Bearcat .22 revolvers, and .22s pistols in semi auto.
You can shop for an array of firearms chambered in .22 LR on GunsAmerica:
https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=22%20long%20rifle
What does rimfire have to do with kids?
Rimfire guns are sure to put a small on any child’s face.
Rimfire guns are small, relatively quiet, and they don’t pack a lot of punch, meaning the average recoil felt is much softer than a large caliber round, which makes them ideal for small frames and small hands.
Rimfire is a great way to introduce a child to shooting in a very controlled environment; free from things that can startle or scare them. You want them to have the physical ability and confidence to hold up the gun, fire it, and not be pushed off balance or intimidated by the recoil impulse.
If you look at the measurements of kinetic energy in a .22 LR versus other popular rifles, you find that a .22LR (168 j) cartridge only packs a fraction of the power found in a .223 cartridge (1,854 j), and much less than a hunting round, like .308 Win (3,217 j). For your reference, these measurements are from a table found here and kinetic energy is measured in Joules.
To put the power in a .22LR into perspective for your kids, you can share that Tiger Woods’ drive carries about 180 joules, and a hockey player’s slap shot about 240 joules. This might help convince the timid shooter that a golf ball is more menacing (at least from a physics standpoint) than your tiny .22, and it definitely explains why rimfire .22s are so great for teaching new shooters, as little to no recoil can really help one focus on the fundamentals of shooting: breathing, stance, grip, target acquisition, trigger control, etc. When a new shooter can focus on the fundamentals instead of controlling recoil, they can really begin to learn how to shoot.
Targets for your Rimfire come in all shapes and sizes. You can print some simple ones at THORGDG.com
Using a light, small gun and what historically has been cheap ammo is also a great way to teach the fundamentals of marksmanship. Kids can shoot a .22 in preparation for hunting and learn how to aim, align the sights, squeeze the trigger, and follow through without having to use more expensive rounds. To build the muscle memory and familiarity with handling firearms safely, .22s make a great training tool.
But what’s fun about tiny guns? You can’t blow stuff into pieces like you can with a shotgun or larger caliber rifle. And kids love the idea of blowing stuff into pieces. It’s in their nature, right? Well, let’s take a look at a few ideas of fun things to shoot with your .22.
Things to shoot with your rimfire:
Step 1: tape quarter well, preferably over a backer like a stick so that it won’t go flying when you shoot it. Step 2: shoot it (the fun part). Step 3: flatten it in a vice or with a hammer. Step 4: Make something fun with it. We made a keychain for a friend who lost his quarter that he shot.
Quarters: Forget about party favors at your next birthday bash, let the kids each shoot a quarter with a .22 and make a bracelet or keychain out of it. This fun task requires good sight alignment and trigger control. Quick tip, paint the quarter orange so if it falls off the target once it’s been shot, you can find it rather easily. This will prevent tears, I speak from experience.
The best way to shoot quarters is to tape them to a paper target, and take aim from a safe distance while using a rest. Take the time to do this because there’s no use hitting just the edge and wasting the quarter. Once the shooter has shot his quarter, all that’s left is to flatten them, and every kid loves hitting things with a hammer. If a hammer isn’t available, a vice will work nicely to flatten the artwork. But be careful and on the lookout for any sharp edges.
This Hogue stock came from the prize table at a 3 gun match, and author’s sons put it on as soon as they were home because they like that the cheek rest is higher and works well with optics. The grippy texture is another plus for hot days on the range.
Soda Cans: Every kid on earth should have the enjoyment of shooting soda cans. It’s cheap and provides instant feedback and gratification. You can make a tower, stack them in a row, or use them in a shoot-off to see which shooter can hit five or ten cans first. Then, when you’re finished, you can recycle the cans and add in a lesson about being good stewards of the environment.
Plastic Toy Animals: You know the Cowboys and Indians you played with as a kid that were the size of toy army guys? The farm animals in that shape make a challenging target too. As a kid, my six siblings and I spent days shooting these with a BB gun from across the basement and running to reset them and shoot again. A .22 is going to damage them, but for a cheap, fun target you can’t beat these tiny chickens and pigs — it’s almost like mini silhouette targets.
Tannerite: Yes, they make a .22 version. This is actually a good way to teach kids that guns hold power, and that using them is not a game. Always wear eye protection and strictly adhere to the directions for any explosive target. Take this very seriously and your kids will learn valuable lessons: safety is paramount when shooting, especially when it comes to shooting binary targets.
Small targets teach trigger control and patience, both skills kids will put to use when hunting or participating in target sports.
Self-Resetting Targets: The rubber type that you shoot and roll come in various shapes. Gunfighter Targets makes self-resetting steel that will move when hit, and then spring right back to where it stood. And you can buy tiny steel plates that you reset by shooting the top target – endless fun!
Balloons and Playing Cards: Balloons provide obvious instant feedback when you hit one. Plus, they are inexpensive compared to reactive targets like Tannerite. Playing cards are another cheap option with a huge upside in that you’re only limited by your imagination when it comes to dreaming up fun games.
For additional Ideas: Trick shooters have a huge following on social media. Check out trick shooter .22 plinkster and some of the fun videos he has made. Be inspired and take your kids out this weekend and make some noise and have some fun.
Where can you take your rimfire gun?
Once your kids are done plinking, you can take them to shoot Steel Challenge, you can take them small game hunting (of course, they’ll also need their Hunter Safety Certification), you can search out a local smallbore league, or just keep plinking on your own. Here’s a great link to youth programs through USA shooting.
However you decide to start teaching your children about firearms, whether it’s with a .22 or another popular caliber, remember that the best approach is to be present and engaged throughout the learning process. Don’t just go through the motions of teaching gun safety. Do more! Make shooting entertaining! Take a creative approach to teaching them about firearms because the more fun it is the more likely the lessons will stick and what was a budding interest in firearms will, before you know it, turn into a lifelong passion that they will carry on into future generations.
I read the entire article with interest – but never saw the headline. The author never discussed the economics of firing 22. Too expensive? Compared to what? Now,t he comments section did a good job of discussing the economic issue – too bad the author couldn’t.
I used to practice with my 1911 .45 by using a Marvel .22 conversion unit. Now I practice at home with an airsoft which is very close in feel, size, and weight, to the carry gun. It is not as much fun as going to the range and practicing with .22, and the one single magazine of .45 like I used to do, but it is a lot more convenient, and far, far cheaper.
Hi every one , well I was damn lucky ,12 years ago I went to Walmart , to buy 5000 rds they would not sell them to that many 22cal , so I went online and bought 20000 rds so I am all set for the rest of my life , hopefully this will change with Trumpester , good luck every one , James, USMC
The wholesale price of 22 for Federal 510, or lightning if you prefer is about $18 a brick. I have an FFL and i cannot buy from my wholesalers The reason is i don’t spend 10 to 20 thousand dollars a month with them. They tell me the ammo is allocated,Allocated to who? Well its allocated to the big boys.There is plenty, you just cant get it. .
How come this article doesn’t have anything to do with the title? Did I miss something. Your comment here is the only thing on target here!
Pellets are fun and inexpensive. Before the technology was there, I agreed with teaching with rimfire. Today I have shoot a lot more, but pellets. A Benjamin Discovery in .22 with a pump is about the same cost as a rimfire rifle, but much cheaper to feed. The break-barrels and under-levers can be tough for kids to use, but anybody can pump up a Discovery. The Maximus is even cheaper, but I like the wood stock of the Discovery.
Manufacturers claim they aren’t to blame putting that on retailers. Retailers claim they are jacking up prices but responding to market conditions. The end result is the shooting public gets punched and abused. I have refused to buy all rimfire except that which I needed for league competition and will continue to do so until prices become reasonable.
I can reload 9MM for about what it costs to buy rimfire ammunition. Fortunately I bought 15 boxes of Federal 550 years ago when it was on sale for $9.99 less my discount and have about 7 left.
I have a couple bricks of 40 grain federal branded to Montgomery Ward decades ago for $7.00 a brick of 500 and even some individual boxes still marked at $.50 each; all of those I have tried not to use just to remind me of what it was and almost could be again.
I understand raw materials costs have gone up, driven in large part by the wars in the middle east but not enough to justify $50 -$85 per 500 prices for normal lead stuff seen recently. $13 dollars for a box of 50 ordinary rimfire is outrageous, regardless of market pressures and I call it gouging. Professional competitive shooters with major ammunition manufacturer sponsors bristle at criticism by shooters that their sponsors are overcharging and imply the retailers are at fault. Retailers the same in reverse.
The end result is I think shooters should boycott rimfire sales and look for cost effective replacements safe and suitable for whatever purpose they need.
I echo the disgust in it all, but don’t think every sponsored shooter has a magic fountain of ammo…we split between 5 people in our family less than what some shooters get for a single competitor for the year. And not many I know of have .22 access – it’s just a crap sandwich for everyone.
In my family, the high cost of and scarcity of .22 ammo is making it prohibitive to shoot at all. If the gun industry wants to expand national interest in shooting sports and gun ownership, it needs to figure out a way to make this financially feasible for average folks to engage in. The bulk 550 round box of .22 ammo was a key element that made shooting fun and affordable for my family. We’ve virtually stopped going to the range since .22 ammo is so expensive and hard to find. It’s my theory that a continued shortage and high expense of this ammo will have a long term negative effect on the interest in gun ownership. Make ammo affordable and more people will want to shoot and the whole industry benefits.
I think this holds true for many people Bill. There are many questions about the shortage and prices of .22 ammo. A person can’t help but speculate as to the industry motives, as well as the political motives we see in attempts to interfere with shooting and hunting by means of regulation of the raw materials used in ammunition.
Guys, the wholesalers and your local stores are taking advantage of the shortage. All through the past several years, while getting .22s has been difficult, I have been able to score about one brick a month, generally enough to satisfy my needs ( I must admit I am retired and able to get to the store sooner than most of you can). The going price at my local discount store where most of us buy our sporting goods in town, has been between 4.5 and 6.0 cents a round, depending on whether you buy a box of 325 or a brick of 500. This is not a special, and I have paid this for Federal, Remington, and Winchester brands. This is not a big powerhouse store, they are BiMart, a northwest regional discount store that has been in business for about 70 years. They just don’t try to hold their customers up because of a shortage
But there is still a shortage! All the while the manufacturers are claiming (and I quote CCI) “we’re running our factories 24/7”. All the retailer are saying: “We are getting a 10th of what we order”. Someone is lying or conspiring or both!
Posters have assumed that expansion of production is easy. It is not. Several factors have combined to constrain it:
Raw materials have gone up in price over the past 15 years. They have dropped slightly over the past year or two, but have not returned to anything like prior levels.
Production machinery is tremendously expensive and there are few factories that can make it.
Regulatory hurdles grow higher all the time: environmental restrictions on mining and refining metals (the last US lead smelter shut down last year or so), production of chemicals required in production of smokeless powder and priming compound (especially lead) comes under tighter rules; occupational safety and employee health regs are always growing tougher. Mere interstate transport of commodities like smokeless powder and ammunition is subject to federal law, and storage s subject to local law – all of which are growing more restrictive.
Liability insurance for manufacturing and business operations suffers ever-increasing costs.
Every one of these factors tends to discourage production increases by existing ammunition makers, and to bar entry of new entrepreneurs, as other posters noted.
The total situation is only made worse by the active hostility of the current administration, which keeps adding to the regulatory burden and encourages the passage of more laws at all levels, aimed at reducing gun production and discouraging ownership. Banks are nagged to refuse financial services to dealers and manufacturers; chemical plants are told suddenly that wetted nitrocellulose (key component in smokeless powder production) is to be reclassified as a high explosive (which it isn’t) – a minor bit of pointless bureaucratic whimsy which would do nothing to improve safety (the publicly stated excuse for the change), but which would drive production costs so high that many powder producers would go out of out of business, multiplying ammunition prices tenfold overnight (BATFE has backed away from this one but it may return).
Most of all, manufacturers are frightened of getting stuck with excess production capacity and excess inventory: they’d much rather endure that wrath of consumers who cannot find 22LR to buy, than to boost output satisfy that demand for some brief span of time, only to see demand collapse. Consumers are fickle and unpredictable; they care less about filling our demand than they care about staying in business.
One of the best targets for a .22 is ice cubes! I fill the trays with water, then put one or two drops of food coloring in each cube, then put the tray in the freezer to freeze.. Making colored water then pouring it into the trays doesn’t work; the coloring isn’t strong enough and can barely be seen when the cubes freeze. Drops of food coloring in each cube gives a much stronger color. Ice cubes are great outdoor targets because there is no clean-up. They melt into the ground and all sign of them is gone! You may need to set the cubes on top of a cardboard box or block of wood to get them above the level of the grass, depending upon how your local range is built. Kids really like the red cubes because they think it looks like blood flying when they hit them! I make them in all colors. If a standard sized ice cube is hit dead center with a .22 LR it will completely disintegrate. A non-center hit will likely leave good sized pieces than can be hit with a scoped rifle. I make a batch of the cubes, then transfer them to a plastic shopping bag inside a bucket that I keep in my chest freezer. I can then keep making cubes with the limited number of ice trays I have. When I want to go shooting, I transfer the bag to a cooler and take them to the range. If I have leftovers, I put the bag back in the bucket in the freezer at the end of the day. The only problem with leftover cubes is that they will melt slightly when at the range and when you refreeze them, they will stick together. The next time you go to the range with them you need to take an ice pick to break the old ones apart. DO NOT SHOOT AT BIG CHUNKS OF BLOCK ICE; YOU MIGHT GET RICOCHETS!
Times change. I can’t get a slice of pizza and a coke for a quarter like I used to and people don’t make 50 dollars a week either. The new normal is 10 cents a round shipped for range quality. It can only go up from there. Teach kids that the point of target shooting isn’t to see who can make the most noise in the shortest amount of time. When I take my young grand kids to the range I give them a 22 bolt action to use. It slows them down and makes them think about each shot. It doesn’t have to be expensive (whatever your personal definition of expensive is) to take a kid to the range.
The Mexican ammo is just as expensive as American stuff…
Maybe we could work on getting Chinese rimfire ammo at least…might get 22LR down to 1-2c/round…and maybe more of it available
That Aguila Ammo manufacturing in Mexico was set up by Remington. That’s why there’s no price reduction.
It was set up by Remington 50 years ago; long since amortized!
Yes, raw materials costs are up: they’re not 2x what they were in the ’90s, only about 1.5x. So a $10 brick of Blazer could be expected to cost $15. Okay, now inflation: our money is worth about .5x what it was back in the ’90s, so double that & you’re at $30/brick. What’s the going price? Well, it’s dropped quite a bit on the last 6 months, now a 500rd brick of promo grade ammo like Blazer is only running $40, if you don’t buy from any of the vendors who’re trying to scam the suckers by asking $60/brick for Thundercrud or the Pyrite bullets [both from the company w/ the big green R on the label, & universally recognized as being a waste of the raw materials they’re so bad…] But even the Blazer at $40 is a 33% markup over what the cost analysis says would be comparable to what we used to pay a little over a decade & a half ago [prices started creeping up after Dubya’s Infinity War began, since the govt. was buying up all the brass & lead for the activities in Iraq & Afghanistan.]
Now that Trump has been elected, I suspect everyone will finally stop holding their breath and relax a little, the scalpers will start finding they’ve got to drop their prices because the panic buying is over with, and if the ammo manufacturers have any sense, the money they’ve been making while running round the clock shifts for the last 8 years will be used to make some long overdue investment in their infrastructure while they can still get a cheap loan.
If ammo was cheaper and greater quantity sell more at lower prices would make more money than limited amount at higher price. RIGHT prices to high even when get them. I WONDER how many are hording them because can’t any to replace.
Here is what I have found on the .22LR shortage. It is impossible to permit a new factory under the current EPA rules, thanks Obama, and there are severe restrictions on the import of .22LR ammo from foreign suppliers, Thanks again Obama. Couple this with the loss of 2 factories in the last 20 years and you have the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT engineered shortage. Total attack on two programs- Civilian Marksmanship Program and the Boy Scouts of America. They are two of the biggest training entities and their youth use .22LR. Take away the ammo, take away the production of gun safe marksmen. Thanks Democrats! Trump might ease the import restrictions but I seriously doubt it….
I have seen MANY new ammo brands in the last few years…but nobody does 22LR.
Saw an article that said there is very little profit in the round…never has been. So …companies have little incentive in ramping up production.
Maybe lobby for Chinese rimfire ammo to be allowed…or even ONLY 22 variants…
Imagine 22LR at 1-2c/rd or less?
If that is the case, how did ammo manufacturers make profit for a century before all of these ban hypes came along and suddenly .22 cost nearly as much as some centerfire ammo? As recent as two weeks before the nut case who gunned down grade school children did his act, I luckily picked up ten bricks at Walmart for $16 each. I was griping at that $16 price tag because five years earlier I bought 30 bricks like that at Academy on sale for $7.
Centerfire ammo price has dropped back to normal but yet .22 RF is still up there. Is the panic buy not over yet?
By the way, Privi ammo in .243 is going for $12 to $14 a box. Why can’t everybody else manufacture for similar cost? Does Privi own a secret copper and lead mine somewhere to be able to put out their products at such price?
I shot some Chinese 22lr in the 1980s it was greasy and dirty but it ran my old 10/22 ok. It was way cheaper than American ammo even then. I should’ve kept the box and a few rounds. The box was all white with black block letters and no logos or pictures.kinda like the first generic packaging
The last box of 325 federal I bought was $18.99. That’s less than 6 cents per round. Not cheap, but if I focus on accuracy instead of how fast I can empty a 25 round mag, it isn’t too bad.
Shouldn’t encourage people to break the law:
18 U.S.C.
United States Code, 2010 Edition
Title 18 – CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I – CRIMES
CHAPTER 17 – COINS AND CURRENCY
Sec. 331 – Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins
From the U.S. Government Printing Office, http://www.gpo.gov
§331. Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins
Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States; or Whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered, defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified, scaled, or lightened— Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
They key word is “fraudulently.” If you’re not trying to cheat anybody, no one cares if you mangle a coin.
Correct…just like it is legal to smash pennies and quarters at those souvenir booths in theme parks and other attractions.
Love to tear off mattress tags too,lol
Every tourist trap in America has a penny smasher vending machine.
Nobody is “fraudulently” doing anything to the money! Straight up, honest shooting it!
And FYI, as another person pointed out, the penny smashing machines all over your National Parks are smushing money into souvenirs. People make rings from coins, jewelry…all sorts of things are made with money.
Yep those of us who can remember what 22’s cost back in the day think they’re expensive now. But less than a buck-a-box was back when people being paid today’s minimum wage were actually making a living. If you think 22’s have gone up just check your health insurance bill under ObummerCare. It’s a different universe and the price of ammo probably won’t be a real high priority under Trump’s administration either.
On the bright side for plinking on the cheap, air rifles have vastly improved–especially the better ones that are in the price range of a decent rimfire rifle. Pellets are still reasonable and air is still free…so far.
“Pellets are still reasonable”
Uh, not so much: a 500 tin of .22 cal *pellets* [no powder, no primer, no case] costs as much as a brick of .22lr did before all this madness began.
.177 pellets are still reasonably inexpensive, as long as you don’t go for any of the target or specialty grades…
SOME air is still free. Ever have a tire going flat and pull up to fill that flat tire at ANY “service” station? Air is not free. Ya ya I know you have to keep up the “air” machines and so on and so forth but bottom line you can’t get a tire filled up for under $1. It’s the world we live in now.
But back to point, my range time has suffered tremendously due to the ammo prices. It’s a darn shame!!!
You missed one of my favorite fun targets ; Necco candy wafers . They are about the size of a quarter , come in several colors and disintegrate when hit , they dissolve when they get wet . They make great targets for air rifles too .
Love this idea Dale! I bet the dentists of the world would approve!
They still make those?
Try a World Market store. I’ve seen them there, along with giant taffy that looks like bacon!
how many years now has the .22 ammo scare been going on? i cant even remember how long its been but why hasnt it ended and even if it hasnt, why are shelves at so many places still empty and why are prices so high? and with Trump as president wont things get much better now?
if all the ammo companies ramped up .22 production big time why havent the shelves filled back up and why isnt a brick of ammo under ten bucks again? are companies loving all the extra money they are making way to much to want things to go back to normal?
There is more going on concerning the high cost and scarcity of .22 ammunition than we’re being told (and we never will be told). I suspect that the ammunition manufacturers came to some sort of secret agreement with the Obama administration to restrict production in order to avoid some much worse regulation that would have crippled the entire industry. Otherwise, there is no reason that they haven’t invested enough to keep production up with demand after eight years. We are not likely to ever see pallets of .22s on the floor for $10 a brick at Wal-Mart, or the major sporting goods stores again, but $20-25 should still be possible. My guess may not be right, but there is something being done to limit production, and it’s almost certain that this anti-gun administration has a hand in it.
If that is the case, why only rimfire and not all other centerfire ammo, which have dropped back to normal price before the ban hype.
No industry is going to go along with a deal that will entirely ruin it — they would have publicly fought that. Government tends to take away our rights and destroy our businesses a little at a time to avoid public opposition — if people knew what they were doing, they wouldn’t stand for it. And, while centerfire ammunition is again available, it is in lesser quantity and at higher prices than before.
I think it’s been about 8 years (two 4 year terms).
Ammunition makers know if they keep supply low they can control the prices. Why make more ammo when it would allow ammo prices to drop when the makers can use a idealism and force the price of ammo upwards. Good Democrats all, in other words why would they have a care as long as they are making money.