Thoughts on the .22

I love plinking. It's fun. I have a Browning Medalist, the pistol that didn't quite make it in competition, but for about a thousand dollars provides as much or more accuracy than 99% of shooters will ever need. It's important that the gun be more accurate than the shooter. Otherwise, shooting becomes frustrating. The Medalist is still a favorite of competition shooters for plinking. Yes, they enjoy plinking just as much as anyone.

The pistol has a feature that allows dry firing without battering the firing pin. The grips fit like a glove. It's almost as if I put it on rather than pick it up.

I was showing it to one of the ''tacticool'' boys once. He picked it up and immediately brought his left hand up for a two-hand grip. I just rolled my eyes. Can't he shoot a gun with one hand? Once upon a time, men and women stood on their hind legs and shot with one hand at a little paper target twenty-five yards away. They didn't use silhouettes or ''fun'' targets that leave plenty of room for error. The bulleseye target tells the tale. Your shooting abilities are right there for you to see.

It makes a person a shooter. Some years ago gun designer Walter Roper conceived an interesting experiment. He took a standard 25 yard pistol target which is printed on a square sheet of paper; the reverse is blank. He reversed the target; then he and a friend began to shoot for center. They find that their scores were the same. The human eye is a wonderful thing.

When the shooter learns bullseye shooting the transition to defensive shooting or plinking is automatic. However, the reverse doesn't work. Anyone who can effectively hit a target at 25 yards can do it at 7 yards (the proclaimed ''combat'' maximum''); the reverse doesn't work.

Now, a Medalist doesn't even come close to fitting into a pocket; it would need a holster desigmed just for it. People carry their Medalists in a case.

Julian Hatcher, top target shooter, experimenter, engineer, collector, outstanding gun writer, and Chief of Ordnance of the US Army during World War II often carried a Colt Bankers Special .22, a relatively small revolver. Hatcher carried it on his rambles and loaded it with the .22 short. (take note; a revolver allows the use of a .22 short in a gun chambered for .22 long rifle; the auto pistol does not) This was his casual plinker. I sure wouldn't have wished to face Hatcher in any sort of armed confrontation were he armed with a .22 short and I with a .357 magnum or .45 auto.

Stopping power is only important to the shooter who can hit the target. American police hit their targets 10% of the time in gunfights (I mean anyplace on their bodies). What difference does it make what they carry; they'd be better off with garden hoses.

The .22 opens a world of fun and adventure.