HOW .22LR BECAME MY BEST TRAINING TOOL

In 2020, I was stationed at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center. Due to COVID-19, the base was effectively shut down—no units were coming up to train, and we weren't going into work. Instead, we filled our time with online meetings, physical training, and professional military education.

Fortunately, base housing was located near BLM land—public land where shooting, dirt biking, and other activities are allowed. With time on my hands and nowhere to be, I decided to shoot every day. But I quickly ran into a problem: I burned through my centerfire ammunition, and finding more became nearly impossible as the rest of the country had the same idea. That's when I pulled my old Savage .22LR out of the safe. I dropped it into an MDT LSS chassis, threw a spare optic on it, and headed out to do some accuracy testing. To my surprise, it grouped well with CCI Standard Velocity. That sparked an idea.

At the time, NRL22 offered a full target package on their website for $300. Each month, they published a new course of fire using that same steel kit. I ordered the targets, downloaded a few months' worth of match books, and started running stages solo. I was hooked.

Every day, I'd head out with my Walmart ammo—CCI, Thunderbolt, Velocitor, whatever was available—and shoot a single stage from the monthly match book. Once I could clean it, I'd challenge myself further: run it again using only holds instead of dialing, or swap the props for something more unstable. The format was simple, the cost was minimal, and the training value was huge.

Eventually, restrictions began to lift, and I made it out to a PRS one-day match in Avenal, California. After months of shooting nothing but .22LR, I placed 5th. That was all the proof I needed. I upgraded my .22LR to a more capable platform and went all in on NRL22 and PRS22.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM TRAINING WITH .22LR

• Time Management: Every stage was shot under match time constraints. That constant pressure improved my decision-making and stage planning.

• Position Building: I built hundreds of positions exactly like I would with my centerfire rifle. This helped refine my setup speed and stability.

• Economy of Movement: Repetitive transitions—barricade to prone, prone to standing—became smooth and deliberate.

• Wind Calling: Even with a rimfire, wind matters. Having a real projectile in flight kept me honest.

• Reticle Familiarity: I had just switched to a Tremor 3 reticle and logged thousands of rounds with it. That immersion made me comfortable with the stadia and how to apply them.

WHERE .22LR FALLS SHORT

The one area where .22LR training can degrade your performance is recoil management. I got a little lazy—muscling the rifle into place rather than locking in with bone support—because a rimfire doesn't punish poor form the way a centerfire does. I quickly corrected this by mixing in centerfire sessions once or twice weekly to maintain good habits.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I'm glad I stuck with the .22. My current trainer is a Vudoo V-22 in an MDT ACC chassis, set up almost identically to my centerfire competition rifles. While .22LR will never replace centerfire for training, it absolutely complements it—and at a fraction of the cost. I still use it regularly and strongly recommend it to others. If you're serious about improving your precision rifle game, don't underestimate what a well-set-up rimfire can do for you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicholas Bazzone is a seasoned precision rifle competitor and 20-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran, with a decade as a Scout Sniper and instructor. He completed numerous sniper courses—including Scout Sniper Basic, Urban Sniper (twice), Aerial Sniper, and the Mountain Sniper Course, where he also instructed—and has trained extensively across advanced shooting disciplines. A former member of the Marine Corps Shooting Team at WTBN Quantico, he led advanced marksmanship programs and helped shape the next generation of military precision shooters. Nicholas has competed in PRS, Quantified Performance, international team matches, and represented the 2024 Team USA MIL/LEO division at the IPRF World Championship in Grand Junction, CO. An avid handloader and ballistics enthusiast, he combines deep technical knowledge with a passion for precision shooting.