Uncle Joe,
Please do autos with an instructor - everyone else is right - you ARE going to come a cropper if you persist. I practice autos to power recovery only on my own, and our club insists we have 100 hours under our belts before we try on our own - its just so risky. Better still, on your next annual check flight book an hour or two with the examiner to practice autos.
Statistics show that prior to 1995 it was mainly fixed wing pilots that had R22 accidents in the USA, because of the natural reaction to push cyclic forward. Are you certain you wouldn't do that in a panic?
It seems many R22 engine failure can be attributed to carb ice so better to make sure you always operate FULL carb heat below 18 inch MP (and prior to climb out too!!).
Take care, fly safely....