AR-15 Upper in 22LR
- Thread starter Gun4Fun90
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Any complete 22 upper is going to be hard to find and has been for the last 12-18 months. Your best bet is to watch different websites for when dedicated barrels and dedicated bolts come in stock and build your own. I have bought dedicated barrels and bolts from Primary Arms and Right To Bear. Sign up for email notification with both.
Yeah this is the issue. I assume for the same reason I want one. Ammo prices. I was just hopping to get a few suggestions so I could have multiple options to watch to see if any come in stock.
yeah I don't really want to spend $800-900 on a 22lr upper. but other than that looks great.......... other than that....
berettaprofessor
Member
Bear Creek had them on sale last week. https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/calibers/ar-22/ar-22-complete-uppers.html
thanks for the tip man! Do you know if they are any good?
edit: not that it matters since I already ordered since they were in stock and that was my main criteria
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berettaprofessor
Member
I have several Bear Creek uppers (5 to be exact) and have been happy with all of them. I don't have a 22LR. The only reason I didn't bite already on these are that I already have a pair of dedicated uppers and the weight (4#) seemed high for a 22 upper.
lol the only reason I did bite was because it’s in stock and plinking has gotten increasingly expensive these past couple years
bassjam
Member
Seems like you've already bought one and I'm not familiar with Bear Creek, but this is a good option for a complete upper:
https://www.righttobear.com/rtb-22-upper-16-inch-barrel-12-inch-inch-rail-a2/
I just got my rtb .22 16" pencil barrel a few weeks ago, been waiting for ANYONE to have them in stock for over a year now to complete my .22 upper build but my preference was a CMMG or RTB.
https://www.righttobear.com/rtb-22-upper-16-inch-barrel-12-inch-inch-rail-a2/
I just got my rtb .22 16" pencil barrel a few weeks ago, been waiting for ANYONE to have them in stock for over a year now to complete my .22 upper build but my preference was a CMMG or RTB.
mljdeckard
Member
I bought a CMMG several years ago and I love it. I can go to the range and keep shooting all day after I run out of 5.56. I paid $400 and change for it, no idea about availability or price now. It runs Black Dog magazines, I had a couple of the original ones with steel lips, eventually I got several more of the new ones with plastic lips, which gave me the willies, but I haven't had any problems at all with any of them.
What I fine with all .22 conversions (I have had a few running on various handguns as well,) is that they prefer the hotter ammo. Stingers, velocitors, or the CCI 300 rd pack stuff that says it's made for running conversions, I think it's called 'tactical'? I find if you run the cheaper stuff it will get dirtier faster and start to cause stoppages.
What I fine with all .22 conversions (I have had a few running on various handguns as well,) is that they prefer the hotter ammo. Stingers, velocitors, or the CCI 300 rd pack stuff that says it's made for running conversions, I think it's called 'tactical'? I find if you run the cheaper stuff it will get dirtier faster and start to cause stoppages.
Demi-human
maybe likes firearms a little bit…
Me too! I love it. Light weight, smooooth rifling, Steel accurate with a red dot. I’m picking up an inexpensive Sonora scope to see how good it is.
I am still waiting on a barrel from Beyer. It has already been the eight weeks I was promised, but I am patient. I wanted, and still do, a pistol length barrel. Then everything will fit under the handguard.
Then I’ll have to get another upper for the rifle barrel! I get to go shopping!
highlander 5
Member
I've a Tac Sol upper works with Black Dog and Ciener mags.
highlander 5
Member
Actually for the money you can get a S&W AR in 22lr and Tippman makes a complete rifle for not much more than your $400 limit
Buzznrose
Member
I bought one of these:
https://palmettostatearmory.com/ble...t-m-lok-upper-with-bcg-ch-mbus-sight-set.html
and one of these:
https://www.primaryarms.com/cmmg-22lr-ar15-conversion-kit-bravo-3-25-round-magazines
back preCovid for $450 total. More today but this is how I’d go. It shoots excellent and I have a spare BCG.
YMMV
https://palmettostatearmory.com/ble...t-m-lok-upper-with-bcg-ch-mbus-sight-set.html
and one of these:
https://www.primaryarms.com/cmmg-22lr-ar15-conversion-kit-bravo-3-25-round-magazines
back preCovid for $450 total. More today but this is how I’d go. It shoots excellent and I have a spare BCG.
YMMV
Deus Machina
Member
Peeked in since I've been considering the same.
Do the conversions really work that well? Better than way back when, I mean. I'm not a .223 guy overall, but been looking at .22LR versions as practice, and now that my x39 isn't what it was, a .223 rifle and conversion would kill two birds with one stone...
Do the conversions really work that well? Better than way back when, I mean. I'm not a .223 guy overall, but been looking at .22LR versions as practice, and now that my x39 isn't what it was, a .223 rifle and conversion would kill two birds with one stone...
Lo-Profile
Member
For the price of most dedicated uppers
You could buy a M&P AR15-22
Or a HK 416 in 22lr.
I have a CMMG conversion kit for mine.
Great for training, not as accurate as a dedicated 22lr barreled upper
You could buy a M&P AR15-22
Or a HK 416 in 22lr.
I have a CMMG conversion kit for mine.
Great for training, not as accurate as a dedicated 22lr barreled upper
LiveLife
Member
My CMMG 22LR conversion bolt has run well in my ARs with essentially all the commercial bulk boxed and loose ammunition (I shoot copper/brass plated/washed ammo) as long as I keep the bolt clean.
As to accuracy, with slightly larger bore and 1:7/1:8/1:9 barrel twist rate, CMMG conversion doesn't produce quarter size groups at 50 yards but is accurate enough for soda can plinking at 30 yards and 2 liter bottle at 50 yards. I use the CMMG conversion mostly for AR shooting drills as I am using the same trigger and manual of arms at substantially lower cost of .223/5.56 (Even compared to 9mm).
For more accurate testing/target shooting at 50 yards, I use 10/22 and T/CR22/bull barrel with 1:16 barrel twist rate and lead/copper ammo for near quarter size 10 shot groups with select ammunition (Aguila, CCI SV, etc.)
Buzznrose
Member
I have same results as above. Mine eats all ammo well. Accuracy is okay but I’m not looking for a tack driver. But how accurate is a dedicated upper, relatively speaking?
Guess my point is…what are you using this for? I use the CMMG conversion on a 5.56 upper for teaching folks to handle an AR, and for inexpensive AR shooting. It shoots probably 1.5-2.5” groups at 25 yards…with cheap “whatever” bulk ammo.
My basic 10-22 shoots 1” at 25 yards with good CCI ammo.
And a good .22 bolt with its “favorite ammo” will shoot a dime or less at the same distance.
Most folks don’t shoot AR’s for bullseye accuracy and are happy with 3” at 100 yards with basic range ammo.
And in the end, I have a complete AR upper, capable of shooting 5.56 in less than 30 seconds with a simple bolt and magazine swap.
Just my take. YMMV
Guess my point is…what are you using this for? I use the CMMG conversion on a 5.56 upper for teaching folks to handle an AR, and for inexpensive AR shooting. It shoots probably 1.5-2.5” groups at 25 yards…with cheap “whatever” bulk ammo.
My basic 10-22 shoots 1” at 25 yards with good CCI ammo.
And a good .22 bolt with its “favorite ammo” will shoot a dime or less at the same distance.
Most folks don’t shoot AR’s for bullseye accuracy and are happy with 3” at 100 yards with basic range ammo.
And in the end, I have a complete AR upper, capable of shooting 5.56 in less than 30 seconds with a simple bolt and magazine swap.
Just my take. YMMV
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Here is my personal experiences with conversion kits and the M16A1/2. The Army issued conversion kits worked just fine as long as we are issued good ammo.
The M16A1 was a bit more accurate since it has a 1-12 twist rate. Most could still qualify the same as if shooting 5.56. The M16A2 was not very accurate with its 1-7 twist. I seen guys that would normally qualify expert sometimes struggle to qualify when using the 22lr conversion kits. Yes some of that was caused by the quality of ammo we had but some was still due to the too fast 1-7 twist.
The M16A1 was a bit more accurate since it has a 1-12 twist rate. Most could still qualify the same as if shooting 5.56. The M16A2 was not very accurate with its 1-7 twist. I seen guys that would normally qualify expert sometimes struggle to qualify when using the 22lr conversion kits. Yes some of that was caused by the quality of ammo we had but some was still due to the too fast 1-7 twist.
bassjam
Member
The drop in bolts are very reliable but accuracy isn't great. A dedicated upper with a .22lr barrel will be reliable and as accurate as you want it to be. I've noticed no reliability differences on my two .22 uppers compared to the 15-22 my daughter has, the SIG 522 I have, or my Marlin 60 or 10/22.
bassjam
Member
It's all what you want out of it. One of my dedicated .22 uppers has a Walther-lothar barrel. I'm still figuring out what it likes, but it's certainly capable of sub 1/2" groups at 50 yards. I can't say it'll do them "all day long" but maybe one day I'll get it there.
Buzznrose
Member
Wow…that’s way more accurate then anything I’d expect or need. That is sub MOA performance….from .22lr
If I want that kind of accuracy, I’d expect to buy a quality bolt gun and match ammo. I’m not gonna go that route at this time.
All I want from a .22LR AR is reliability and 5 MOA. I’m using a red dot sight and shooting it under 50 yards.
As always, YMMV.
bassjam
Member
I actually have a CZ 457 At-one I purchased around the same time that's just barely giving me better groups. And I mean barely. This is with match ammo out of both guns though, rounds like Mini Mags or Aguila Super Extra are closer to 1" at 50 yards.
Crunchy Frog
Member
The dedicated upper that PSA sells is made by CMMG. I picked on up from a PSA retail store when they were running a sale on AR uppers.
The S&W 15-22 is a nice rifle and nice weight and balance. They have a pistol version too.
The S&W 15-22 is a nice rifle and nice weight and balance. They have a pistol version too.
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