ny32182
Member
This South Carolinian just ordered the CMMG stainless kit with two mags for 70 bucks off at CDNN right now... if you want one, this sale looks like the time to do it.
CMMG .22 Conversion
- Thread starter grahng
- Start date
- Status
mljdeckard
Member
As was stated above, AR-15s are not the correct twist or caliber for .22 lr. They will shoot, but you're not going to get premium accuracy out of them.
Myself, I'm saving my loose change to get a Spike's tactical upper. Correct barrel, the bolt does hold open, and their conversion bolts are made for better lubricity and reliability.
Myself, I'm saving my loose change to get a Spike's tactical upper. Correct barrel, the bolt does hold open, and their conversion bolts are made for better lubricity and reliability.
ny32182
Member
http://www.cdnninvestments.com/ar22stcokitw.html
70 bucks off, not 70 bucks. $150 with two mags.
I do intend to run it only in my 1:9 upper.
70 bucks off, not 70 bucks. $150 with two mags.
I do intend to run it only in my 1:9 upper.
Brownells has it with 3 mags for $200. I thought it was on sale just a few weeks ago?
Anyway the Conversion works great and will use any cheap, bulk ammo. As mentioned the twist rate on most AR's is not correct for 36-40 gr bullets but the accuracy is really not that bad for a plinker.
Anyway the Conversion works great and will use any cheap, bulk ammo. As mentioned the twist rate on most AR's is not correct for 36-40 gr bullets but the accuracy is really not that bad for a plinker.
ny32182
Member
So as far as cleaning, what is the best practice with these? Is it advisable to finish a range session with a few rounds of .223 to "blow out the gas system", then just do normal barrel/chamber cleaning after that?
My receiver and conversion end up looking a lot like the internals of a Ruger 10/22. A good amount of crud gets blown back into the action, but is easily cleaned out later. Clean the gun as normal otherwise though.
CMMG recommends shooting a few centerfire rounds every 500 rimfire rounds to clean the gas tube, but I've heard of people shooting 1k+ and having no problems switching back to .223. 20k psi of hot gas is a pretty good cleaning agent.
The conversion itself gets pretty dirty around the chamber insert area (the part that looks like a .223 casing). The "barrel" of the conversion actually stays pretty clean as it's smoothbore. The instructions say it can be cleaned with an old .22 wire brush chucked in a low speed drill but I just run a brush through it on a pistol rod. Q-tips are easiest for cleaning the bolt and breech faces; a lot of small areas that can be hard to get to.
The magazines can be disassembled for cleaning, but I haven't seen the need for it yet. I've heard that some cleaning solvents can melt them but I haven't had any problems using a light wipedown of #9 immediately followed by a dry wipe.
1460 rounds through mine so far. 1 or 2 failure to feed on the first round (think I rode the CH). I fired 275 rounds of cheap lead ammo through it in one sitting and it ran flawlessly through all of it and with a quick swipe of a boresnake and a bolt swap it ate 20 rounds of M855.
Remember to clean the inside of your bolt carrier group! Most of the gunk in the gas tube ends up blown in there. Pipe cleaners are cheap at walmart in the craft section. The red ones are S-N-A-Z-Z-Y!
CMMG recommends shooting a few centerfire rounds every 500 rimfire rounds to clean the gas tube, but I've heard of people shooting 1k+ and having no problems switching back to .223. 20k psi of hot gas is a pretty good cleaning agent.
The conversion itself gets pretty dirty around the chamber insert area (the part that looks like a .223 casing). The "barrel" of the conversion actually stays pretty clean as it's smoothbore. The instructions say it can be cleaned with an old .22 wire brush chucked in a low speed drill but I just run a brush through it on a pistol rod. Q-tips are easiest for cleaning the bolt and breech faces; a lot of small areas that can be hard to get to.
The magazines can be disassembled for cleaning, but I haven't seen the need for it yet. I've heard that some cleaning solvents can melt them but I haven't had any problems using a light wipedown of #9 immediately followed by a dry wipe.
1460 rounds through mine so far. 1 or 2 failure to feed on the first round (think I rode the CH). I fired 275 rounds of cheap lead ammo through it in one sitting and it ran flawlessly through all of it and with a quick swipe of a boresnake and a bolt swap it ate 20 rounds of M855.
Remember to clean the inside of your bolt carrier group! Most of the gunk in the gas tube ends up blown in there. Pipe cleaners are cheap at walmart in the craft section. The red ones are S-N-A-Z-Z-Y!
Last edited:
ny32182
Member
I've heard two stories:
1) Shooting some rounds of .223 after a few hundred rounds of .22 is good at is it will blow some crap out prior to a normal cleaning.
2) Must always clean the barrel first after .22 before shooting .223 again because there can be so much crap buildup in the chamber and barrel from .22 that there can be overpressure issues if immediately swapping back to .223.
Basically, I am wondering if there is any truth to #2? #1 sounds more plausible to me but I would like to get opinions from those who have run these a lot.
1) Shooting some rounds of .223 after a few hundred rounds of .22 is good at is it will blow some crap out prior to a normal cleaning.
2) Must always clean the barrel first after .22 before shooting .223 again because there can be so much crap buildup in the chamber and barrel from .22 that there can be overpressure issues if immediately swapping back to .223.
Basically, I am wondering if there is any truth to #2? #1 sounds more plausible to me but I would like to get opinions from those who have run these a lot.
#1 is true, but not always necessary. Again CMMG recommends every 500 rounds of .22lr to shoot 5 or 10 rounds of .223 to clean the gas tube.
#2: I have shot .223 after shooting .22lr without cleaning with no ill effect but I try to run a boresnake through the barrel before switching. The higher pressure copper jacketed .223 can press the lead from the .22lr into the rifling of the barrel, making it harder to clean.
If I were to shoot a few hundred rounds of the dirty stuff I'd feel a lot better running a boresnake down the barrel before shooting the real stuff, but that's just my opinion.
Just go buy one and shoot it! You'll kick yourself all the way home for waiting so long!
#2: I have shot .223 after shooting .22lr without cleaning with no ill effect but I try to run a boresnake through the barrel before switching. The higher pressure copper jacketed .223 can press the lead from the .22lr into the rifling of the barrel, making it harder to clean.
If I were to shoot a few hundred rounds of the dirty stuff I'd feel a lot better running a boresnake down the barrel before shooting the real stuff, but that's just my opinion.
Just go buy one and shoot it! You'll kick yourself all the way home for waiting so long!
ny32182
Member
Thanks halfded... mine arrived recently and is sitting in the cabinet awaiting its first range trip.
Could I keep the barrel leading down to a non-factor/minimum by sticking to plated .22 rounds?
Could I keep the barrel leading down to a non-factor/minimum by sticking to plated .22 rounds?
Probably, but to be honest my barrel gets dirtier shooting M855 than shooting lead 40grain Federal Champion. Easy to clean too, just a swipe with the brush and a little #9 and she's good to go. Shot 275 at a sitting and it cleaned up no problem, just a lot of black stuff in the receiver. Go with whatever's cheapest and shoots best for you.
Did you get the stainless version? I did and it ran like a top out of the box. For added fun, buy a box of Remington subsonics. Adds to the cool factor in my opinion.
Did you get the stainless version? I did and it ran like a top out of the box. For added fun, buy a box of Remington subsonics. Adds to the cool factor in my opinion.
Ruger 10/22 bolt:
http://picturearchive.auctionarms.com/1654205246/9336177/8613e11c6ca6b266a175cfcd11441454.jpg
CMMG conversion:
Best pics I could find offhand, but they are really almost identical configurations.
Take the ruger bolt, round it off, add a tail to brace it at the back of the receiver and hold the recoil spring along with some rails for bolt travel. Put a .223 blank on the front to make up the chamber dimension difference and to make a breech face and Voila! Oh and the CMMG kit doesn't have an extractor, but whatever.
http://picturearchive.auctionarms.com/1654205246/9336177/8613e11c6ca6b266a175cfcd11441454.jpg
CMMG conversion:
Best pics I could find offhand, but they are really almost identical configurations.
Take the ruger bolt, round it off, add a tail to brace it at the back of the receiver and hold the recoil spring along with some rails for bolt travel. Put a .223 blank on the front to make up the chamber dimension difference and to make a breech face and Voila! Oh and the CMMG kit doesn't have an extractor, but whatever.
ny32182
Member
Yes mine is the stainless version.
Why are subsonics cooler? Quieter?
Believe it or not this is my first .22, hence what I'm sure are the relatively dumb .22 related questions.
Why are subsonics cooler? Quieter?
Believe it or not this is my first .22, hence what I'm sure are the relatively dumb .22 related questions.
ny32182
Member
No extractor on the CMMG kit? I definitely see something on there that looks like an extractor?
That's the ejector; helps kick the empty case out to the side. Once a round is chambered it can't be extracted by retracting the bolt. Shoot it, or pick it out or gravity works too.
Subsonics are cooler, IMO, because it's the closest I'll probably get to having a suppressed anything. Shooting 5.56/.223 is loud, shooting regular .22lr is quieter but still need ear pro, and the subsonics are nice and quiet. Something about shooting my "evil" rifle so quietly just appeals to me.
Since this is your first .22, don't expect great accuracy from it unless you shoot the 60 grain aguila rounds. The barrel isn't the right twist to stabilize the bullet at longer ranges. I get a little keyholing from my 16" 1/9 at 50 yards, but it'll shoot ragged holes at 25. Regardless, accuracy is more than good enough for training, informal target shooting and ringing steel.
You won't regret your purchase; unless you only got 1 mag for it!
Subsonics are cooler, IMO, because it's the closest I'll probably get to having a suppressed anything. Shooting 5.56/.223 is loud, shooting regular .22lr is quieter but still need ear pro, and the subsonics are nice and quiet. Something about shooting my "evil" rifle so quietly just appeals to me.
Since this is your first .22, don't expect great accuracy from it unless you shoot the 60 grain aguila rounds. The barrel isn't the right twist to stabilize the bullet at longer ranges. I get a little keyholing from my 16" 1/9 at 50 yards, but it'll shoot ragged holes at 25. Regardless, accuracy is more than good enough for training, informal target shooting and ringing steel.
You won't regret your purchase; unless you only got 1 mag for it!
ny32182
Member
I got two mags!
I see what looks like a fixed ejector (somewhat similar to an AK, if you will... visible with the bolt retracted), and a spring loaded hook that looks like it is supposed to grab the case rim. It looks like the extractor on many other calibers. I guess I have a ways to go learning about .22's. I haven't tried to chamber a round yet.
(Actually I haven't bought any ammo yet).
But this thing will get used my next time out to a rifle range.
I see what looks like a fixed ejector (somewhat similar to an AK, if you will... visible with the bolt retracted), and a spring loaded hook that looks like it is supposed to grab the case rim. It looks like the extractor on many other calibers. I guess I have a ways to go learning about .22's. I haven't tried to chamber a round yet.
(Actually I haven't bought any ammo yet).
But this thing will get used my next time out to a rifle range.
kedearian
Member
Anyone know if the Aguila Sub-sonic Sniper rounds would work well with the 1:9 twist of a normal .223 barrel? I've heard that you want a faster twist for those since they are fairly heavy bullets (a 22short with a bullet big enough to make it a 22lr).
Kernel
Member
Got my CMMG kit from Brownells. Love it. One problem though. Can't get my 12 year old son to give up my HBAR or CAR now! It's all he wants to shoot.
NMGonzo
Member
i am getting mine soon ... very soon.
I ordered the stainless.
I ordered the stainless.
Used the CMMG not stainless in my AR and all I know is that it hates crap ammo. The remington brick .22 misfired or did not fire every 2-3 rounds.. Went with good cci mini mag or similar and clears 5 mags in no time, Awesome to shoot.
- Status
