22 lr conversion or upper for AR

[gilfo]

Please excuse my ignorance. I have a Bushmaster XM15 and wanted to know some information on either a 22lr conversion or replacing complete upper. I don't know that much about the AR, mostly into handguns. Could someone explain the difference between the two, advise as to which would be the best. My owners manual states that I have a 1 in 9, 6 lands and groves barrel ( what ever that means). I would like to just plink with the 22lr, but accuracy would be appreciated also. Any advice as to which manufacturers are best and what to watch out for would be greatly apprrciated.
Thanks

 

[RoxboroRedneck]

All I have heard about the conversions is that they jam due to the lack of power the .22lr has. That plus they get the gas tube dirty. Accuracy also isnt good since the bullet is to small for the bore. Hopefully someone else will chime in with more insight into your question

 

[taliv]

use search. plenty of threads on this topic.

at this point, whatever 22lr conversion/upper you can find is the best one. good luck with that

in a normal market, there are pros and cons to each. the rate of malfunctions isn't substantially different than any other 22 semi-auto (e.g. 10/22)

 

[benEzra]

I have read that dedicated uppers are more accurate and reliable than bolt-carrier-replacement conversion kits. I have heard good things about Spike's Tactical's .22LR upper, but have no experience with one. Warning, it's a bit spendy.

http://www.spikestactical.com/z/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=122

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQxjbOqYfEU

 

[gvnwst]

If you want a cheap, but not as good solution, get a drop in conversion kit. as stated above, they do make the gas tube dirty, but accuracy isn't all that bad. The bullet IS .003" too small, but it doesn't make a whole big difference.
I personally prefer a fully different upper, as sthere is no gas tube, i don't have to re-zero any optics, and the accuracy is slightly better. In these, depending how much you are willing to spend, it goes from $450-$1,000+. I ahve a Spikes Tactical .22lr upper, and it is great. No FTFs, only one FTE (i didn't have a mag in, and i can't get it to eject the rounds properly without the mag, so it wasn't the gun, just the way i had it). it is really nice, i havwe a red dot on it, and it is as accurate as i am with that kind of sight.

Warning, it's a bit spendy.

How so? Mine is the same price as a Model 1 Sales upper, and better quality, IMO.

 

[MGshaggy]

That plus they get the gas tube dirty

Not an issue. The .22 kit doesn't need a gas tube and cleaning it only involves firing 1-2rds of 5.56 through it.

I've got a Spikes upper which has had some problems, but it seems the feeding problems I had were more related to the first generation skinny blackdog mags I was using. According to Kevin at Blackdog, they just need a little filling down the back of the mag to allow a wider clearance for the bolt. FWIW, I've got several friends who have them and with the newer mags (or properly modified skinnies) they work great.

 

[bglz42]

I love my Ciener kit! Accurate and reliable and cheap. Mine has NEVER JAMMED, and is as accurate as I can hold. I shot a .22 plate match with it and cleaned up on some tricked out 10-22's. I think I sold ten kits for Ciener that day. Don't let anyone talk you out of one.

 

[zoom6zoom]

Brownells stopped carrying the Ciener kits because the supply was unreliable. They are now carrying a new unit from CMMG which takes the same mags.

 

[railroader]

My ciener kit runs perfect. The best accuracy I have been able to get out of it is about an inch at 25yards. It's great for stuff like cans and golf balls as long as you don't expect 100yard shots. Mark

 

[cland]

I have a Ceiner .22lr conversion kit for my Bushmaster M4 and there are a couple of other conversions, like Spike. My rifle may not be as accurate with the conversion as my Ruger 10/22 but I hit what I aim at and can't tell any difference, Just takes a few secinds to convert from 5.56 to .22 and vice versa.

 

[SaxonPig]

I also have the Ceiner.

Guy is an idiot to deal with, and deliveries are sloooo...ooo...w.

But my unit has fired several hundred rounds with one or two failures to feed. May get better as the parts break in a bit but that's not bad at all for a 22 conversion and it's just a plinker, anyway, so 100% reliability isn't that much of an issue.

 

[cbrgator]

I have the ciener kit as well. Got about 750 rds through it, no failures and accurate enough. Don't buy from ciener though, get it from a retail site who has them in stock. Otherwise it'll be a year.