I see that 22 bullets are much cheaper than 9 mm. I was wondering if anybody carry say a 9 mm but they take a 22 to the range to hone their skills. The reason why I ask is that I am a terrible shot and I would like to go once or twice a week for the next few months in order to become a better shot. The gun range is $20 an hour and if I shoot 150 bullets with 9 mm that’s about $45 and bullets we might only be $15 In .22 ammo . Over the course or two or three months I figured I’d save enough money to justify the cost Of the new pistol
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@sam9 Welcome. Any practice you do is good practice, If the .22 helps make you a better shot and you can shoot more, go for it.
Practice at home with the 9mm, dry fire, sight picture, draw and function can be practiced without firing a shot, as soon as you can practice with your carry gun do so.
Just have fun and don’t overthink it. 
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I agree with @BRUCE26. Practice is practice. Work in your carry gun when you can. I’ll sit in the living room, I draw, aim, and dry fire at the TV while I wait for emails etc.
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I would do a lot of dry practice. Plus, after shooting your .22 at the range, shoot a mag or two of 9mm to practice recoil control and get more used to the 9mm.
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All good suggestions.
“If you can hit with a .22, you can hit with a .45” As someone once said.
Even the Army at various times used .22 pistols for training troops.
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Though the grip and sight will be the same, it is the firm grip of the 9 mm that you will not be able to practice with the recoil. The lift or the lack of is not the same as the when practicing with the .22 then with the 9 mm. Practicing the draw can be done at home doing dry fire. Most ranges do not allow drawing the gun from a holster to shoot any way. I do not see any problem with practicing with a .22 but, I would keep some time on the range with the 9 mm too. I go once a week to the range so, I feel the money part but, I also have to keep my skills up so I can teach others. I dry fire every day and it has really improved my skills.
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Back in the early 80’s in the Navy at least. You had to qualify with a .22 on a 1911 .45 frame before they would let you try for marksmanship medal in .45.
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Hello
In my years of training people here is the suggestion I make to them. If you have access to a range where you get to practice as much as you want then yes a 22 is a great training tool. I encourage people to look at 22 that fits them well. when you are done training or about to be done training for the day I tell clients to shoot their carry gun. I suggest 2 to 3 magazines worth. this reacquaints them with the trigger and the feel of the recoil of the carry gun. If you cannot get to a range as much as you want I suggest a SIRT training pistol and some form of shot recording software or reactive target. The nice thing about the SIRT training pistol is that you can do it in your home any time you want. If you prefer not to go the SIRT pistol route they have nice barrel laser inserts that will give you a single trigger press before you reset the trigger manually you can work from the holster, do slow and meaningful trigger presses to polish your skills.
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A lot of good points above. I would say get the .22. While it is not exactly 1 for 1 practice, if you get an accurate .22 pistol, you can build your fundamentals such as sight picture, trigger control, etc. Focus on those fundamentals, and as you improve, you should be able to transfer those skills to your 9mm.
Dry fire training is a very good idea too. Just make sure you check the gun about 1,000 times to make sure its unloaded first.
Dry firing is a great way to help build the shooting foundation, but it needs to be done right to prevent reinforcing bad habits. There are many good videos and some not so good videos on dry firing. Practice your grip, trigger control, sight alignment, and follow through. And by follow through, watch your sights and take note of where they are pointed once the trigger breaks. Watching this is much easier when dry firing because you dont have to worry about the recoil. Click! Trigger breaks, are your sights still on target?
Whether live firing with your .22, 9mm or dry firing, just remember, start slow, focus on the fundamentals and the speed will come.
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Good call @Brian139 I forgot to add that to my post. 
I always check, check and recheck.
What I did tho was after I was done dry firing I forgot to load the chamber. I found it at the end of the next night when I did a check before I went to bed so it works both ways. 
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If possible I would try to get the 22 version (or as close as possible) to what u carry
M gun makers have started making 22 versions of popular models for this reason
And it’s a good reason (or possibly an excuse) to buy a new firearm
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I actually joined the range as a member and now it free except for rounds so if i go just 13 times i paid for my membership - i plan on going much more so it will reduce the 20$ - well worth joining if possible. I only use my 9mm - after three times at the range doing much better on my shots - only 20 feet though. But room for improvement - holding is a major contributor to my issues.