EnufIsTooMuch said:
[quote author=BillK link=1299295833/0#4 date=1299336373]In no way am I trying to diminish practice and training with your carry firearm, but...
My preference would be an Airsoft P3AT with a weight and trigger similar to the real thing. Most of my shooting and practice is done with my Airsoft gas blowback Glock 26 which matches closely in size and weight my real Glock 26. You can do all kinds of safe, inexpensive and effective practice and training with an Airsoft pistol. You can do a lot of your practice and training indoors when the weather is nasty and in your yard ifin it won't upset your neighbors - no need to travel to a range or elsewhere to shoot.
I'd pay up to $150.00 or so for a quality Airsoft P3AT.
Take care...
While I understand the logic, I cannot agree with the result. The AirSoft and Glock products are entirely imported. I'd rather support my own country and avoid buying imported to the greatest possible extent. Were the economy not so weak, if we were just booming with full employment it wouldn't bother me much.
I do like the idea of a .22 of similar size and characteristics to a gun that is more expensive to shoot. Sounds like a reasonable alternative to being forced to shoot less due to ammo cost and tight budgets. Even so the intended use of your centerfire handgun must be considered.
If it is a personal defense firearm, the issue of needing to be well schooled and practiced does not go away by practicing with a smaller and cheaper caliber. The less you use your personal defense gun itself with it's normal ammo the poorer your performance will be when you really need it. [/quote]
While shooting your defensive guns in their designed caliber is certainly necessary, there is definitely value in a sub-caliber conversion kit. You can practice trigger control, and, if it is set up similarly, the same sight picture. Going from a Glock 22 to a Ruger Mk3 has limited value from a standpoint of training, but slap an Advantage Arms .22LR kit on the Glock frame, and you have a valuable training tool.