.22lr AR-15's

[sprice]

What's the most realistic, most accurate .22lr ar-15 upper/rifle?

 

[Walkalong]

I don't know, but I do love my Tactical Solutions AR upper.

 

[Quentin]

The Colt/Walther M4 and M16 .22LRs are the most realistic looking until you tear them down. Quite good though for look, heft and feel. Accuracy and reliability is good too. Price has finally come down as well.

My second choice would be the S&W. Very light and the FCG is the same as an AR.

No doubt the Tactical Solutions uppers are a great way to go too but I voted Colt.

 

[Gordon_Freeman]

Colt

The Colts are almost identical to the real deal on the exterior. They are about the same weight as well. I would highly recommend these.

 

[K-Rod]

I've fondled both the Colts & the S&W. The Colt is the most "Realistic" of the two. Right or close to, weight. Comes up nice & sits right in to your shoulder. The S&W is light because the whole thing is plastic!! It does come with a full length quadrail were the Colt is just your basic hand guards.

The ONLY thing that turns me off to the Colt is the BCG does NOT lock back on the last round or at all for that matter. The S&W does & it's because of this that I will get a S&W.

 

[doubleh]

What's a BCG? I have a Colt. The bolt locks open after the last round.

Just did a trigger job on it to lighten the pull. Much better now.

 

[lcambre]

Other: Nordic Components.

Your poll is also missing Tactical Solutions. I have both the NC and TS uppers. I like the NC better since it works with my match triggers.

 

[Gordon_Freeman]

K-Rod,
On the Colt, the bolt does lock open after the last round. It also locks open on an empty magazine. It won't lock open without a magazine. The Colt M4 ops model has a very nice rail.

 

[K-Rod]

I stand corrected & swayed! The guy at the LGS said it doesn't lock back period?!? I couldn't get it to lock back as well but there was no mag.

Thanks guys!! You saved me from buying a plastic gun!! I like the S&W but the Colt is more realistic IMO. Big 5 (Sports store) has the Colts on sale here for $359.

 

[TonyAngel]

Don't discount the S&W because it's "plastic." When I bought mine, I was considering both the Colt and the Smith. For me, the Smith was the way to go.

Yes, the Colt is made of metal, but it isn't steel in the sense of the type of metal that you would think would be used to make a firearm. It seems more like pot metal to me. The sort of stuff that Hot Wheels toy cars are made of. I know that both manufacturers are trying to cut costs. One used cheap metal and the other used plastic. After the experience that I've had with my Glocks, Springfield XD and Kahr handguns, I'll take the polymer rifle over the pot metal rifle any day.

My particular S&W is one of the originals and doesn't have a flash hider on it. Although I found it to be picky about ammunition, it runs very well as long as I stick to what it likes. Winchester Expert (go figure) and CCI Mini Mags. Mine HATES the bulk Federal stuff.

I also really like the fact that the fire control group is standard AR. I put a Wilson 3# trigger in mine. It's a kick in the butt.

Whatever you get, have fun. Just beware, with a dozen magazines, a brick of ammo doesn't last as long as used to.

 

[twofourthree73]

Spikes. Same upper as an an AR. You could replace the barrel and add a gas tube and have a complete .223/5.56 upper. Just add a bolt carrier group and you're good to go.

CMMG is the same setup. The colt and S&W are just replications of an AR. I've handled both and they feel cheap and toy like compared to the CMMG or spikes dedicated uppers.

 

[K-Rod]

Another thing I "Heard" was a few of these AR style .22's can't use Black Dog mags. Can anyone chime in on this?

 

[lloydkristmas]

Heres my Smith .22 - Its an excellent gun, very reliable. 3500 rounds and no malfunctions that werent a result of crappy ammo. Aside from the weight, its functionally identical to an AR.

 

[Gordon_Freeman]

The Colt uses proprietary Colt magazines. They are not cheap either. They do have a nice solid feel to them with good construction. I'm pretty sure the S&W uses proprietary mags as well.

 

[Loggerlee]

If you wanted the correct weight you could just add weight right?
I think I'm buying a 15-22

 

[Quentin]

...Yes, the Colt is made of metal, but it isn't steel in the sense of the type of metal that you would think would be used to make a firearm. It seems more like pot metal to me. The sort of stuff that Hot Wheels toy cars are made of. I know that both manufacturers are trying to cut costs. One used cheap metal and the other used plastic. After the experience that I've had with my Glocks, Springfield XD and Kahr handguns, I'll take the polymer rifle over the pot metal rifle any day...

Don't know where you came up with pot metal, Walther says the Colt is made of aluminum. No doubt it's not milspec 7075 T6 but then does a dedicated .22LR need to be? You can be quite certain the Colt and the S&W are strong enough for their intended purposes.

 

[Quentin]

Another thing I "Heard" was a few of these AR style .22's can't use Black Dog mags. Can anyone chime in on this?

I agree with Gordon, the Colt and I'm pretty sure the S&W use proprietary mags. Black Dogs don't work. The Colt mags do fit some Walther .22 rifles.

 

[skidooman603]

I Vote none of the above. As a HP competitor I tried many friends .22 AR's and found the only one to deliver "perfect practice feedback" was the compass lake engineering .22 upper. For plinking all the above would be fine. CLE expensive but resale is excellent on them.

 

[wally]

Another vote for the Spike's Tactical, or any of the options that take the Black Dog mags. You get to use a real AR lower and the trigger you prefer.

Also like the SIG522. While not strictly an AR, it does use the Black Dog mags, my wife loves this one, anything that helps get her to the range with me a nice bonus.

 

[hirundo82]

Another thing I "Heard" was a few of these AR style .22's can't use Black Dog mags. Can anyone chime in on this?

As far as I am aware, all the AR-15 styled .22's on the market use proprietary mags. The SIG 522 is the only "tactical" .22 that I am aware of that uses the BDM mags, and of course most (all?) of the .22 uppers and conversion kits use them as well.

 

[OpelBlitz]

Is there something exceedingly alluring about black dog mags besides relative interchangibility that I'm missing? I don't see the big deal (I have the M&P15-22)

 

[Magog]

I own a Colt M16 22 and it is by far the best 22 rifle I ever had. I love this thing.

 

[wally]

Is there something exceedingly alluring about black dog mags besides relative interchangeability that I'm missing?

That and their price, although S&W has recenlty lowered the price of theirs, at least the ones sold through CDNN.

It is very nice to use the same mags in my Spikes dedicated upper and my Wife's SIG522.

The Black Dog 50 round drum is pretty cool too, although they are also making it now for the Ruger 10/22, the one for the AR is generally less expensive.

 

[Mags]

If you really want a 22 AR I would go with the S&W.
But if you want a cool looking 22 that is a proven design and has a million accessories on the market I would go with a Ruger SR22.

 

[OpelBlitz]

That and their price, although S&W has recenlty lowered the price of theirs, at least the ones sold through CDNN.

It is very nice to use the same mags in my Spikes dedicated upper and my Wife's SIG522.

The Black Dog 50 round drum is pretty cool too, although they are also making it now for the Ruger 10/22, the one for the AR is generally less expensive.

That is a nice feature, being able to use mags between two different weapons. But yeah, the price really isn't a big deal - especially since M&P15-22 mags are $20 or less depending on where you shop. Good point though.