AR .22 conversion kits

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

spclindquist

Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2012
Messages
2
I want to possibly get a conversion kit for my AR-15, I have the S&W MP15. I just don't want to waste $150-250 on a piece of crap that won't work very well. I was lookin on cheaperthandirt.com and they have a few reasonably priced kits that looks like you just replace the bolt and magazine. Was wondering if anyone had any experience with these. Or could recomend a good one, I would prefer not to have to get a completely different upper. Im looking for a conversion kit so that way I can have a decent .22LR and my AR15 without having to carry around 2 completely separate rifles. Looking to see if anyone has experience with it and can vouch for accuracy I would like to have it for varmint.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ARR590-1.html
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/2CMMG22LRCONVSST-1.html
 
Last edited:
I don't have any experience, but am myself also interested. That being said, the reviews for the first product call it, and I quote, a "Piece of You know what."
 
I have a CMMG and it does the job just fine. If I were to buy another,I'll go with a S/S one. You can find "Black dog" mags cheap @ 44mag.com.
 
IMHO, any device mean to do a multiple of things usually results in not doing any single thing ideally well. If you want a .22 rimfire AR, best bet is to add funds to your conversion budget & buy one.
 
I have one for my left handed Stag Arms model 2L. I'm guessing it is made by CMMG. It works very well as far as the conversion goes. I've put hundreds of rounds through it and have never had a failure.

It is a little tricky if you are using a scope. I can use the BDC to bring the .22lr up and it works out pretty well. It is pretty good to 75 yards. At 100 yards my Daughter's 10/22 puts it to shame.
 
I too have always been leary about an "OPTIONAL" add on for any thing. Back about one month ago I finally gave in and bought the one made by CMMG. The package said it could be changed out in 30 seconds, it takes about a total of 15 seconds after you see that there is nothing that has to be done. First outing with it I ran around 200 rounds or so of everything from CCI's Mini-Mags, Stingers and Laupa's. Never had a single issue, feeds smooth, extracts and ejects perfect. Just today I went out back of the house and fired an estimate of 500 rds without any problem at all. I bought mine from MilSurpStuf just because he ships so darn fast. Price difference between his and same item at Cheaper than Dirt was minimal. I will post this and most likely a dozen others will have totally different experience. As far as I'm concerned it is money well spent.
 
No affiliation, but CDNN's got the stainless CMMG kit for $149 with 2nd mag free.
 
Regarding accuracy, the downside for a conversion kit is you are shooting through a barrel that is probably too fast a twist for the .22 ammo you will be using. My 1 in 9 barrel does ok with 40 grain or heavier, but 36 grain & lighter start to wander. A dedicated upper would take care of that.

I'm content with my cmmg conversion kit though, it shoots plenty well for my needs...

Nick
 
+1 on all the comments above about the CMMG conversion. Mine works fine, did have one out of battery but don't know if it was the bolt or a bad round. Accuracy is OK at 25-50 yards for plinking. My problem with a dedicated upper is then I would need to build another lower (happened with my 450 Bushmaster upper) cause gee, what good is half a rifle!!
 
I have the standard CMMG Kit with 2 25rnd Black Dog Mags and it's worked great.

My guest(s) and I shoot it every outing and it works great with Fed Bulk pack ammo. I've shot sub sonics through it, 60gr SSS and Wolf Match Target. The Wolf MT is very accurate out of the 1-9 twist barrel on my Bull Barrel AR. So far everything feeds, cycles etc no issues save for the occasional rimfire dud to be expected.
 
I bought one when JAC was the only guy making them. It was accurate enough in my 1:9" upper. My problem was that I had a lot of fail to fires. It seemed that the rounds wouldn't fully go into the chamber, maybe sticking a rims thickness out. This caused a lot of rounds to not fire and an out of battery rim failure or two. I couldn't make it through full mag without a dozen failures. I sold it and bought an m&p 15-22 and couldn't be happier. I'm sure some of the new companies to the conversion kit game pay more attention to detail and may put out a more reliable kit but I've been jaded to them with my experience.
 
I have been looking into this for a while and have decided that the only way to go is with a dedicated .22 upper half like CMMG makes or an "AR" made for .22LR like the excelent Smith and Wesson. Both have the proper bore diamiter and more importantly the proper twist for lead bullets in .22LR. I have seen too many problems with conversion kits.
 
I have a Spikes tactical conversion. I chose it because of the plating and o-rings that seal the chamber. I'm very happy with it. I've also shot a cienier conv and it was fine. I use mine in an A1 clone, it is very accurate with the 1:12 twist.
 
My friends and I have 3 of these. An original JAC, a CMMG and a Spikes.

They are all very reliable as long as kept clean and run wet with sufficiently powerful and decent quality ammo. They all run great on Federal bulk pack solids.

Accurate? Well, Accurate enough. With Federal bulk pack solids we get 3-4 inch groups at 25 yd that are about 6" low. this is fine if you are doing CQB type drills on full sized targets. It sucks if you want to shoot scaled silhouettes.

We have experienced the best accuracy in our drop in kits (2 are in BCM 16" carbines with 1/7 twist and one is in a POF piston upper with 1/9.) with the 60 grain Aguila Sniper Sub Sonics. We get 1-2" groups at 25 yds with the best performer being the POF. The groups are still 5-6" lower that 5.56 with a 50 yd. zero.

If I want "accuracy" I have several other .22 LR rifles for that. The only reason I use these kits is to economically increase trigger time on my AR. I chose not to go with a designated upper because I want to use the same optics and don't want to buy a second ACOG or T1 or switch them back and forth.
 
I have an original military converter and an Atchisson and both run great in my Colt SP-1 and S&W Sporter.
 
I hear that they really only work with AR 15s with rounded hammers. My dad has one for his Bushmaster with a notched hammer and it just doesn't work.
 
I have both a Ceiner and a CMMG, and they both work about equally well. The CMMG came with a 25-round magazine, while the Ceiner was limited to 10-round mags. With iron sights on my 20" Colt HBAR, they group around 2"-3" at 50 yards with most ammo, and seem to like Federal or CCI HPs for reliability. With the sights set for a 100 yard zero with .223 ammo, going up 2 clicks on the rear sight puts them right on target with .22 LR at 50 yards.
They're accurate enough for plinking, but I wouldn't use them for formal target practice, e.g. for an Appleseed Match.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

O
  • Locked
Antone have experience with this AR 22LR conversion kit?
Replies
5
Views
269
cbrgator
C
gifbohane
  • Locked
CMMG Conversion Kit
Replies
1
Views
158
czhen
C
trigga
  • Locked
ar15 - .22lr kit
Replies
17
Views
1K
PandaBearBG
P
O
  • Locked
AR15 22LR conversion
Replies
7
Views
516
MGshaggy
M
S
  • Locked
AR Kits?
Replies
16
Views
2K
Matt Sutton
M
Back
Top