More on .22 Rimfires

You have a .22 rifle in hand and your wondering what to do with it. Practice, Practice, Practice. That's what makes the rim fire so nice over any other caliber. By practicing, not only are you familiarizing yourself with that rifle, but you are honing your shooting skills for any rifle you may pick up. Light recoil, fairly low noise, and inexpensive ammo means you can shoot all day. The basics are always the same. Sight picture, trigger squeeze, breathing, all the fundamentals apply to nearly every rifle. If you are not familiar with firearms, then I HIGHLY recommend you take a class from a qualified instructor. Many shops in my area offer FREE classes if you buy a firearm from them, but a good basic class should not cost much over $35 a person.
Another excellent way to hone your shooting skills is by attending an Appleseed event. This program is aimed from the beginner to the advanced shooter and will help turn you from a simple gun owner to a true marksman. Events are held all over the country, and you can find the schedule at the link above.
Now the first thing allot of people do when they buy a new rifle is slap a scope on top of it, a fancy sling with shell holders, picattiny rails, compensator, strobe lights, lasers and anything else that looks cool in the catalog. My first question is "Why???". There are legitimate uses for each of these items, but for the average person, your only adding weight and more things to go wrong in a given situation.
A scope can be helpful, but use a mount that still enables you to use the iron sights. Finding a target in a scope can take precious seconds you don't have. Hunting grouse with my .22, I've been unable to find my mark through the scope in heavy brush, even though it looks obvious to my naked eye. Leave the scopes for the rifles you plan to use for 200 meters or more. Before adding any accessory, ask yourself, "When am I going to need it and will I be at a severe disadvantage without it?". Decide what you plan to use that weapon for: Hunting, self defence, etc. and outfit the gun accordingly. All the items I mentioned earlier may be useful if you think you will need to clear a building of "Commie, caniball looters", but not for shooting squirrels to eat tonight.
Dead Reckoning is your best sighting technique. Look at a picture on the wall about 20 feet away. Now close your eyes and point at that picture. When you open your eyes, you finger should be on, or damn close to that picture. That is dead reckoning. This same principle can be applied to a firearm, both pistols and rifles. The instructor that taught me this technique could shoot one asprin tablet after another out of the air with a Colt 1911 pistol. He started me off with an old Daisy cocking B-B gun with a block of wood duct taped to the top making sighting impossible. Repeatability is the key. Shot after shot at 5 gallon bucket lid, then a coffee can lid, then a clay pigeon that he tossed in the air 10 feet in front of me. Eventually moving to a .22 rifle, and then a .223, while the distances kept increasing as well. I still have a long, long way to go to be in the same class as him.
When you shoulder that weapon, it should feel like an extension of your body, just like pointing your finger, and you KNOW where that projectile will hit. Practice, Practice, Practice.