.22 upper for my AR?

[PennsyPlinker]

Greetings everyone

I've had my AR for a week now and already looking for things to add on to it. I'm getting Mrs. Plinker used to the idea that a dedicated .22LR upper would be a better way to go than a Ciener conversion kit, but I am having trouble finding them! I have been reading through the archives here and at ar15.com, and I cannot find anyone selling these things. Well, I did find a Bushmaster, and a DPMS, but the DPMS is out of my price range for a long time to come. Am I just not looking in the right places, or has the availability of these things dried up?

 

[Highmaster]

You get what you pay for with these things. The cheapos will not feed relialibly and will drive you nuts.

Frank White makes the best out there, but they are not cheap. He will build one on your barrel if you have an extra. http://www.compasslake.com/22uppers.htm

I have no affiliation what so ever with CLE.

 

[swingset]

Unless you're after dead-nuts accuracy (under 1" at 50 yards), just buy a Ceiner. Even with a 1:9 twist, mine shoots very accurately. They're also reliable, cheap, and with one you're not limited to one upper/configuration.

Personally, I see no benefit in a dedicated upper. I've known several guys who bought them and found them as if not more finicky than my Ceiner kits are.

With a C&R discount the Ceiner is $114 from Brownells and Black Dog Machine is now making excellent 30 round polymer mags for $30 (less with a big order).

 

[Koobuh]

Swingset, what kind of accuracy are you getting from that Ciener? Say, at 50 meters or so?
I'm thinking about dropping a Ciener into a varmint rifle, so I can shoot a centerfire varmint match and then a rimfire varmint match directly after that with the same rifle.
Probably about 1-9 twist, using 40 grain match .22 loads.
Just a thought I had, I don't think I'll be winning either of the matches with a varmint AR, but it would be nice to throw some variety in the field- a sea of bolt guns.

 

[swingset]

Depending on the upper & ammo, at 50 yards about the best group I get is hovering around 1", that's with Wolf MT in a 1:12 A1 upper. A 1:9 heavy barrel was doing around 1.25" at that distance.

From what I've read and seen, that seems to be about the best you're going to do with a Ceiner kit. Now, is that match grade? No, but it's certainly good enough for training, plinking, even small game hunting.

I know one of my buddies has a Kuehl dedicated upper and it shoots slightly better than my 1:12, but not so much as to make it $400 nicer. It's a nice rig, but then it's limited IMHO because it's just one upper. I can swap my kit with all of my AR's from a suppressed SBR to a 20" varmint rig.

 

[PennsyPlinker]

Thanks guys!

Highmaster, those look nice, but I could buy a lot of ammo for my current upper for that kind of money!

Swingset, I appreciate the perspective. I am not looking for match grade accuracy, but I want to be able to hit the things at which I am aiming. It sounds like I might have overrated the comments against the Ciener's accuracy. I would be putting it in a 16" 1/9 barrel as well.

One of my goals is to be able to shoot for less, but also to use the EBR to introduce others to the pleasure of shooting. We already have some plans in the works for a group of young men from our church. If they can burn up a bunch of .22 and then cap off the day with the real stuff, that would be great.

Thanks again!