$95 AR15 .22 cal conversion

[vafish]

.22 LR will not wear out an AR15 barrel.

I have a Ciener kit for my AR15's Love it. Not as accurate as my Anschutz rifles, but that it not it's purpose. The purpose of a conversion kit is to give you trigger time with your AR15 for less money. The reason they are not as accurate has to do with several things. First the chamber adapter means the .22LR bullet has to jump about an inch before it hits the rifling in the barrel. Second the 5.56 barrel is just a little over size for a .22LR bullet. Third, most recent AR15's are 1:9 or 1:7 twist rate, the optimal twist rate for a .22LR is about 1:16. The original AR15's with the 1:14 twist rate do quite well. Or you can shoot the Aquila 60 gr SSS, they like the faster twist barrel.

One note of caution. If you shoot a lot of the plain lead .22LR bullets you can clog your gas tube. It's pretty simple to fix, but it's best to prevent clogging by putting the 5.56 bolt back in and firing a couple 5.56 rounds ever 200-300 .22LR.

 

[Erno86]

.22 LR will not wear out an AR15 barrel.

I have a Ciener kit for my AR15's Love it. Not as accurate as my Anschutz rifles, but that it not it's purpose. The purpose of a conversion kit is to give you trigger time with your AR15 for less money. The reason they are not as accurate has to do with several things. First the chamber adapter means the .22LR bullet has to jump about an inch before it hits the rifling in the barrel. Second the 5.56 barrel is just a little over size for a .22LR bullet. Third, most recent AR15's are 1:9 or 1:7 twist rate, the optimal twist rate for a .22LR is about 1:16. The original AR15's with the 1:14 twist rate do quite well. Or you can shoot the Aquila 60 gr SSS, they like the faster twist barrel.

One note of caution. If you shoot a lot of the plain lead .22LR bullets you can clog your gas tube. It's pretty simple to fix, but it's best to prevent clogging by putting the 5.56 bolt back in and firing a couple 5.56 rounds ever 200-300 .22LR.

If you get a barrel hot enough, {185 degrees Fahrenheit --- too hot to touch,} you could possibly wear out a barrel by shooting 22's.

I do not have any conversion AR-15, 22 units --- but I have two dedicated AR-15, 22 uppers. The problem is high capacity 22 magazines, with plastic lips, that you can wear out in no time, if you are a high volume 22 shooter; such as myself.

I would tend to stay away from AR-15, 22 conversions, because of the documented possibility of broken AR-15 bolts, carriers and charging handles rupturing; when a 223/5.56X45 cleaner round is shot thru an AR that is loaded with 22 soot and grime.

I believe....the possibility of a premature detonation {OOB}, is much higher in dedicated/conversion AR's than semi-auto's that are built to fire 22's only.

My suggestion: That if you are a high volume 22 shooter, that has a difficulty in aquiring high capacity 22 magazines --- I would stick with semi-auto's that use steel magazine lips --- such as Ruger has; for long life.

The dedicated 22 upper's, are reasonably accurate, out to 200 yards.

Most of the dedicated ceiner type 22 bolts, are not designed for notched hammers; as the notched hammer --- such as the Rock River Match hammer --- will break...after every 3,000 rounds or so.

 

[ColonelHurtz]

I always thought that the conversion kits were flawed because common AR barrel twist rates were unable to stabalize a .22 bullet. Can some set me straight?

You are correct.

The AR/.223 twist rate is way too fast for .22LR (1:7/1:9 vs. 1:12/1:16),
the bore i.d. is not ideal and the gunk from the .22 ammo will also filth up your gas system very quickly.

That said, they're cheap and they work.
I would recommend a dedicated .22 upper over an adaptor kit.
A .22 "sport" AR-style gun would be your third option.