With ammo prices going so suddenly and steeply upward, .22 caliber “understudy” practice guns make more sense than ever. Jan Stevenson, my predecessor as handgun editor for this magazine, once wrote a great article on .22 caliber “understudy guns,” or handguns that duplicated their larger caliber versions, but shot low-priced .22 Long Rifle ammo. I’ve touched on the same topic in this space in the distant past. Given the severe recent increases in ammunition prices, and even component prices for handloaders, it seems timely to revisit the subject.

I just canvassed my community for the best prices for practice handgun ammunition and .45 ACP was $29.88 for a 100 rounds of 230-grain full metal jacket “hardball,” while .38 Special was almost the same at $29.46 for a 100 130-grain FMJ cartridges. The 9mm Luger was cheaper at $18.42 per 100 rounds of 115-grain FMJ ball. By contrast, a 550-round “value pack” of loose .22 Long Rifle hollowpoint went for $11.97.

All those prices were before sales tax. That kills 19¢ per 9mm round, 30¢ to fire a single shot of .38 Special or .45 ACP. By contrast, the .22 LR comes out to about 2¢ per round.

Let’s put it another way. I’m mathematically challenged, so if you’ll bear with me, it’s easier to count by 10s. If I stuff a 10-round Wilson Bureaucrat magazine (love the name!) into one of my single stack 1911 .45 autos, the cheapest store-bought ammo will cost me three bucks by the time I’ve run it to slide-lock. Nine-plus-one rounds is the standard complement for a single-stack 1911 in 9mm Parabellum, and running that pistol dry costs me just under two bucks, a slightly better than 1/3 cost saving.

Now, a 1/3 cost saving is nothing to sneeze at. However, 10 rounds is the typical full load of a sporting .22 caliber semiautomatic pistol, and emptying that gun on the range will cost me all of … 20¢.

If you’ll forgive a cliché, “do the math.” The .22 “understudy gun” for practice makes more economic sense today than at any time in recent history