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Letter Re: .22 Rimfire Kits for Battle Rifle Training
Hello, Mr. Rawles.
On your advice I read Boston’s Gun Bible and became
convinced that I should get a .308 rifle. I bought the HK91,
mostly on faith since I have never shot, let alone owned, a FAL,
M1A,
or
AR-10.
No one I know has any of these. And with ammo prices going up as much as they
have,
I decided to get the .22 [Long Rifle rimfire] conversion kit for the HK91.
I paid a little under $500 (they were $400 a couple months ago, and there were
a lot
more available.) But since .22 ammo is so much cheaper than .308 ammo, I figured
that the conversion kit would pay for itself after shooting about 1200 rounds
of .22 instead of
.308. I realize that practicing using the .22 conversion kit only comes so
close to shooting .308, but I can still practice weapons familiarity, using
the sights, trigger pull, etc.
When I first shot .22 [rimfire] through the HK91 I wasn’t sure the round
left the chamber. The weapon barely moved, since shooting a measly .22 round
is
nothing for the rifle. This actually was something I really liked, because
I could get used to firing the weapon and avoiding bad habits like, flinching,
or jerking. I only had four malfunctions when I shot about 700 rounds of
.22: one was from a dud, and three were mag feed problems (all with the second
to the top round in the magazine, something with the spring I suppose). Shooting
.22 through the HK91 was very accurate! I had thought that the conversion
kit might be okay for beginners and I was expecting it to malfunction once
in awhile, since the weapon was not really designed for it. So I was very happy
that it was all so reliable. Obtaining the .22 conversion kit was not a factor
in my decision to get an HK91, but it would be now if I were to do it again.
I haven’t seen too many conversion kits for other .308 battle rifles,
so I take it as a big plus that I can get an original HK conversion kit that
is super reliable. I think it’s a great way not only to save money with
weapons practice, it might also help others move into using my HK91 by starting
them off using the lower caliber conversion kit.
I have decided to get all original HK parts and accessories. The quality I’ve
experienced is worth it. I realize that other rifles, like the M1A, may be
more accurate, but at my skill level, I don’t think it really matters.
I’m
still practicing using iron sights at 100 yards. Plus, I want mine to go boom
(and hit the target) when I pull the trigger. I prefer revolvers for the same
reason. If I were a better shooter, accuracy would probably be a bigger factor.
If I were better at combat reloading, then I might like the FAL more. I also
don’t have the money, and maybe time, to make many modifications to my
weapons, so I really like how everything about the HK91 just plain works out-of-the
box. I haven’t heard of anyone suggesting making modifications
to it at all. I was thinking about getting different scopes (like one for night
vision, another for daylight) and getting a separate STANAG claw
mount for each one. I figured that way I could change scopes on my HK91 and
have them
all retain zero, but I’d like your opinion on that.
I appreciate your blog and I have taken the challenge to donate 10
cents a day because I
have learned so much. However I don’t think I’ll
ever be nearly as skilled, knowledgeable, or equipped as some of your other
readers. I won’t be able to get that secluded property, I won’t
be able to get a battery of weapons or make nice modifications to them, I won’t
be able to get a converted 4-wheeler that runs on vegetable oil, at least not
anytime soon, but I am staying out of debt, and I am keeping my ear to the
ground and staying nimble for whatever comes down the road. I have recognized
that a skill that I have lacked is that of a rifleman, and I am trying to become
one, both for my family and my fellow countrymen. Thanks, - A Rifleman in Training
JWR Replies: You are to be commended from you efforts! Get
some training from experts. Even if you can't a afford a trip to Front
Sight,
keep in mind that both the RWVA/Appleseed
Project. and the Western
Rifle Shooters Association (WRSA) offer inexpensive but very effective
training for riflemen.
In
addition to the HK sub-caliber kit that you mentioned, there are .22 rimfire
kits available
for
a variety
of .223
rifles
including the AR-15/M4
family
and the Ruger Mini-14. Similar kits were also made for FALs and L1A1s, but
sadly they are very expensive. With the current high cost of most centerfire
ammunition, buying a .22 kit makes a lot
of
sense. I
have
also
found
that
being able
to shoot
.22 rimfire through a battle rifle is useful for transitioning youths to
high power
shooting.
The original HK claw
mounts have
fairly
consistent
return to zero, so I do indeed recommend them.
