Hello, boys and girls. My name is Ira, and I'm about to buy my first firearm ever at my ripe old age of 56--a simple and cheap single action Heritage Rough Rider 22 with LR and WMR cylinders.

Yeah, I know--but that's not the point.

A friend of mine told me that for the first 100 rounds or so, it's a good idea to use steel-cased ammo, because that will help remove "bad burrs" from the rough machining of the bore.

True at all?

I plan to shoot exclusively with WMR, but I guess that's irrelevant to the question.

Thanks for your help!

--Ira

Never heard of that, but I suppose it couldn't hurt anything. Having said that, I just polish the chambers in my Rugers and firelap the bores. Different strokes for different folks....

Welcome!

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MikeG

Thanks for the welcome, Mike.

He implies that the steel casing of this ammo will smooth down the rough spots in the rifling, because it's the hardest casing material, as opposed to brass, nickel, etc.

Well........

I'm sure it will smooth the bore down faster than brass/copper/lead. But, "faster" does not necessarily mean "fast". Steel jackets are still much much much softer than a decent barrel.

Anyway, if you have a chance to try it, let us know if it makes any difference. I'd be curious.

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MikeG

In my next post, I'll be asking for advice on how to not blow my toe off.

That's the thing:

I'm such a novice, I really wouldn't know if it makes a difference anyway.

Don't point it at your toes and you should be fine

Hey don't feel bad about asking questions. That's how you learn. We've all been there.

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MikeG

Is it appropriate for me to ask some newbie questions within this thread--considering the fact that I have indeed researched and searched these topics to death here and elsewhere?

It took me a long time to decide on the Heritage 22 RR, money not the LEAST of the factors, but I have some ammo questions that I need confirmation on.

My wife works overnights, and I have to drop her off now, so when I get back, I'll post my learning plans and ammo questions in about a half hour.

I'm on eastern time (south Florida), so I'll appreciate your answers and help whenever you can post them, and of course, not necessarily tonight.

I really, really want to learn proper gun handling and safety.

But I also want to play cowboy.

Let us know where to find "steel-cased" .22LR or WMR ammo. Never heard of such -- nor do I know exactly what the phrase means. Steel-cased, as in steel cartridge cases? Steel bullet jackets? The only .22 rimfire ammo I know of has brass or aluminum cases and plain lead or copper-plated bullets.

I'm just impressed that Ira has a wife that he takes to work and then get's to come home and play with guns, must be a real stud muffin. Welcome to the forum Ira

HAH!!!

She's not too thrilled with me getting a gun, but I'm like a big baby and usually get my way--especially with my birthday and Christmas coming up!

I'll forget the steel, and as indicated above, I couldn't even find them online anyway.

Here are my plans for the 22 RR (Rough Rider) with 6 1/2" barrel:

1) I can't justify an extra 50 bucks for the adjustable sight, not to mention losing the classic look of the gun. The RR comes with an intentionally high front fixed sight, intended to be filed down in the event it shoots low. (Some claim theirs are perfect out of the box.) This shooting low situation is much more typical, but if your model shoots HIGH, you have to build up the sight with JB Weld.

If you shoot left or right, it's actually recommended to just BEND the sight with a pair of pliers, which seems ridiculous to me. Some claim you can simply tighten or loosen the barrel a hair to fix; others say you can't because of the screwed and glued grooving of the barrel into the body.

Your thoughts?

2) I am most interested in short-range shooting--15 yards and less. Since the LRs are going to land differently than the WMRs, I'm heavily leaning toward ignoring LRs altogether to start with, and fine-tuning my sight and skills to WMR. Yeah--I know the WMRs are going to cost me more, but there's a lot more punch there, and it's not like I'm going to be blowing off hundreds of rounds.

After the RR is sighted for my brand of WMR, I'll make the shooting adjustments when using the cheap LRs for plinking.

Does this make any sense? I want to keep the gun loaded at home with Hornady's Critical defense in WMR, and also play around with snakeshot in that caliber:

It's my hope that Florida will eventually open up the invasive Burmese Python to hunting. The Glades are LOADED with them, but as of now, they have to be humanely captured and euthanized. They're going to HAVE to allow hunting eventually because they're out of control, but as with everything, it's going to be a matter of MONEY--where the government gets a huge cut:

The skins are worth a fortune, more than alligator, and they'll probably charge comparable tag fees.

3) I look forward to learning a lot from you guys. I know this can be addictive, with one gun becoming two, two becoming three, but for me, I want to concentrate on short range cowboy style action, for the nostalgia of it. Maybe add a small caliber rifle down the road, but first things first.

Welcome Ira, glad you decided to join us.

Other than loosing the classic look of the six-gun, I can't think of a good reason not to buy the adjustable sight model. I'd consider this true especailly when shooting two diverse cartridges as the 22 rimfire and the 22mag. At close range it might not make a huge difference but if you ever decided to stretch it's legs adjustable sights would be a real asset.

There is a real benefit to shooting rimfire long rifle ammo since you can get loads of practice for not much money. Because you are new to the spot I might suggest taking a hunter saftey course or getting personalized training in gun handling and defensive weapons use. Commons sense goes a long way but there are lessons that take years to learn that can be taught in a class room and by instructor guidance.

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Still Learnin' as I go!

NRA Life Member

I agree with MONTYF the adjustable sight mondel is worth every penny. As for the steel-cased ammo, I would not pay to much attention to that advice. The point of this is to have fun!!! I hope you enjoy shooting it!!!

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Carly Shaffer
NRA Life Time Member
Member of NRA Business Alliance
Office Manager at Pistoleer.com
618-288-4588
sales@pistoleer.com

Regarding the adjustable sight, it's a matter of money:

My wife is going through menopause.

Please don't criticize me--just pity me. The difference between $219 and $269 is HUGE in our household these days, especially since she refuses to see a doctor about her condition and get the medication she needs. (Hey--part of this is joking, but 90% of it is real. Married 23 years now, and I'm about to kill myself from all this.)

But just as important, I only want to gain skills now up to 10, 15 yards with this particular firearm.

Ira, you have my sincere sympathy! And I suspect that of any man in a similar situation....

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MikeG

An update:

She didn't yell or curse at me or anything today!!!

Like the gentleman said "dont point the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy."

Maybe a good hunter safety course is in order to learn the other important safety rules.

Last time I was at the range there was a shooter there that could have used a safety course!

PS- as to the WMR ammo you will be shooting--have you priced or obtained a few thousand rounds. 22LR is much cheaper. But you have your wife working. Maybe she can pick up extra hours or OT to help with the WMR cost.

HAH!!!

Yeah, I know the WMR is going to be a lot more expensive, but as is often the case whenever I start a new endeavor, I've changed my mind.

Going to start on day one with, believe it or not, 22LR CCI Quiet--even at the range. I've read that for first time shooters, the anticipation of the bang, even on "just" a 22, drastically affects your steady hold of the firearm. (So I'll do a few dozen rounds with the Quiet, and go to MiniMags for the rest of the session.)

Once I feel comfortable with the LR and my accuracy at short range, maybe after two or three sessions, I'll go to the WMR.

The two rounds are going to go two different places.

To answer your question about break in, 200 or so rounds of the metal jacketed bullets from the 22 WMR will smooth out the barrel. Before firing, give the bore a good cleaning. I recommend you shoot the 200 22 WMR first before firing the 22LR ammo for best results on smoothing the barrel. The two rounds dont have any recoil and you wont have a problem starting out with the magnum ammo. You need ear plugs or muffs of course whenever shooting.

I would try a number of different rounds to find what will shoot the most accurately. Then zero the sights for this loading. When shooting the 22LR just use Kentucky windage. Shouldnt be much off at 15 yards. I would try a number of 22LR loads to see which shoots closest to the 22 Mag zero.