Who makes a good .22 convertion for an AR

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  • Bertfish

    Throw bread on me
    Mar 13, 2013
    17,608
    White Marsh, MD
    You do have a good point. Rifles like the 15-22, and even the 10/22 can be problematic. They can be improved but the factory rarely gets it right. Most of the reliability issues with the two platforms are issues with the feed ramps finish, a rough/sharp throat mouth, rough chamber, and the extractor geometry.

    Conversion kits and dedicated uppers can suffer from the same issues.

    My cmmg went back for badly polished feed ramps. Runs great now but before it dependably failed to go to battery.
     

    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    My cmmg went back for badly polished feed ramps. Runs great now but before it dependably failed to go to battery.

    Glad they took care of you. :)


    Reliability seems to be luck of the draw with many .22's. Sadly much of the online tutorial stuff isn't always good advice for people that want to improve things at home.
     

    Bertfish

    Throw bread on me
    Mar 13, 2013
    17,608
    White Marsh, MD
    Glad they took care of you. :)


    Reliability seems to be luck of the draw with many .22's. Sadly much of the online tutorial stuff isn't always good advice for people that want to improve things at home.

    I've sung their praises ever since. Not only did they pay shipping both ways and fix it for free while it was there they upgraded the bolt free of charge..
     

    Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    I have been waiting for PSA to put these back in stock. I have a pair of 15-22s, and they have been fantastic, but 1 will be going to each kid when they are of age. The thing I like most about the AR15 is its flexibility. 2 pins, some different mags and I can change calibers. When the kids move out, I will probably want to downsize, and having a few different uppers for my Windham will probably be my scenario. I have 6.5G and 7.62x39 uppers so far, but would like to get a .22lr dedicated upper as well, even though I still have my Marlin 60. This style upper also looks just like other uppers, so it has a more uniform, aesthetic look to me.
    https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-16-22-lr-1-16-nitride-upper-with-bcg-and-ch-516446935.html
     

    bigdv

    Ultimate Member
    May 17, 2010
    1,297
    Calvert Co.
    I have a CMMG. It has been Awesome. I only suffer accuracy over 100 yards. For fun plinking it is awesome. If you wanna hit steel from 30 to 100 yards your good to go.
     

    Cuddlefish

    Member
    Aug 9, 2013
    17
    CMMG

    CMMG conversion
     

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    Schipperke

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 19, 2013
    18,540
    My cmmg went back for badly polished feed ramps. Runs great now but before it dependably failed to go to battery.

    I've sung their praises ever since. Not only did they pay shipping both ways and fix it for free while it was there they upgraded the bolt free of charge..

    22LR ?


    The feed ramp is part of the bolt assembly. The ramp gets dirty fairly quick and does need periodic cleaning. I guess they just replaced the bolt, not actually polish anything. There was another thread about FTF epoxy covered ammo, I had the same problem.
     

    Arcamm

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    I'm not finding any dedicated uppers for less than $500 and It seems that the only M&P 15-22 with threaded barrels are over $600. Do any of the lower priced M&P 15-22s have threads under the bird cage. I want to be able to run a suppressor. S&W's site is zero help.
     

    DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    I'm not finding any dedicated uppers for less than $500 and It seems that the only M&P 15-22 with threaded barrels are over $600. Do any of the lower priced M&P 15-22s have threads under the bird cage. I want to be able to run a suppressor. S&W's site is zero help.

    In theory the muzzle should be threaded 1/2x28, IIRC. Call S&W to verify.
     

    parttimer

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 10, 2013
    1,321
    Calvert
    I'm not finding any dedicated uppers for less than $500 and It seems that the only M&P 15-22 with threaded barrels are over $600. Do any of the lower priced M&P 15-22s have threads under the bird cage. I want to be able to run a suppressor. S&W's site is zero help.

    I am pretty sure most gun shops have 15-22's for $400 or less with the threaded barrel. I bought one from gym ratz for around $325 last year on one of his sales. There is no way it should be $600.
    If it has an Birdcage on it the barrel is threaded you just have to take the flash hider off.
     

    Dovk0802

    Active Member
    Sep 20, 2017
    255
    DC
    I have a Spikes which I cut to 6” for my SBR lower. Had it for years for lots of rounds with no problems. Not sure if they’re still made.
     

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    I milled a polymer80 AR lower just to see if I could do it with a drill press and an XY vice. Once I completed it I realized that even as well built as it was, the plastic probably wasn't going to hold up to the recoil of the 5.56 over time so I bought a CMMG dedicated conversion and it is actually a very reliable and accurate rifle.
     

    SigMatt

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 17, 2007
    1,181
    Shores of the Bay, MD
    I use a CMMG dedicated upper. Heavy barrel, free floated with CMMG mags. Shoots great. Not particularly finicky about ammo but I tend to shoot Federal .22LR, both lead and copper jacketed, and it cycles and feeds well. Odd jam here and there but that is life with a .22LR semi.

    I had a DPMS .22LR upper I sold due to lack of magazine availability. It shot fine but care and feeding was my concern. Hence the CMMG upper.

    I have no concerns about going back to a .223 because I just pop the upper off the standard lower. I don't because it is cheap enough just to dedicate a lower to a .22LR AR as it is to buy a dedicated .22LR only AR like an M&P15-22 and the CMMG/AR lower combination is going to be more sturdy and solid.

    As a note, the CMMG uppers fit really tight to AR lowers. There is no slop or play in them and it takes some pressure to get the upper in place and takedown pins fitted fully.

    Matt
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    I have the CMMG conversion I got at Cabelas in DE

    Since I used it only for indoor offhand shooting at 25yards/75ft, Accuracy was not critical. When I went to bags at 50 yards at the outdoor range just to see, accuracy was sub par for a 22 anything. The effect of bore diameter and twist differences were noticable.
    I think with the various 22 I tried the best I got was 4" groups at 50 yards. No worries, it did what I wanted. I never shot more than 50 rounds though it (always minimags) before I shot 5.56 through it again.
     

    Arcamm

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    I have the CMMG conversion I got at Cabelas in DE

    Since I used it only for indoor offhand shooting at 25yards/75ft, Accuracy was not critical. When I went to bags at 50 yards at the outdoor range just to see, accuracy was sub par for a 22 anything. The effect of bore diameter and twist differences were noticable.
    I think with the various 22 I tried the best I got was 4" groups at 50 yards. No worries, it did what I wanted. I never shot more than 50 rounds though it (always minimags) before I shot 5.56 through it again.

    Did you ever shoot it with a suppressor?
     

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