Earlier I gave my two cents and preached a single shot bolt action .22 as a great BFB. After all, that’s what I started with and I turned out ok. Christmas, 1964 was the happiest day of my life (I thought at the time), when the very last present I opened was a Sears Roebuck Ted Williams .22 rifle. It shot .22 Short, Long and Long Rifle cartridges, and, boy, did I go through boxes of the stuff.
I had done a complete research project on .22s (at the school library!) to show my folks that I was serious and safe. I still have that rifle today.

You have to hand load a single round in the chamber, close the bolt, and then pull back the cocking knob.

Yes, you get pretty good at fundamentals when it’s a single shot rifle. Of course, the next year I got a little 4 power scope and was off to the races.

And, once I got into rifle accurizing, some fifty years later, I glass- bedded the receiver, free-floated the barrel, added a decent scope and a bipod.

I’ve started several people off shooting with this rifle (including Mrs. Red and Junior). It always starts with The Four Rules, a discussion of the parts of a cartridge and what they do, and then the basics of stance, sight alignment, breathing and trigger pull.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at the .22 revolver as a BFB.