Initial Impressions: Tactical Solutions AR-22 Upper

[Justin]

First Impression: Tactical Solutions AR-22 Upper

So, the other day I open my inbox to an email telling me that my Tactical Solutions AR-22 upper was in. After doing the happy dance, I hopped in the car and drove down to pick it up. My first impressions are fairly positive...

 

[metalhd9034]

Sweet rifle!

Hey Justin,
I know this post is old, but I wanted to post my experiences after purchasing one of these fine items from T.S. I did have some fit issues with my Bushmaster lower. However after much measuring with the calipers, and much scratching of heads, I discovered it wasn't the receiver that was causing the problem, but rather the stock Bushmaster trigger assembly. I don't know if all Bushmaster triggers are the same, but the hammer had a sharp angle on it that was causing the bolt carrier to bind and not allow the upper and lower to properly close together. As a last resort I changed the trigger to an extra LMT trigger that I had, and VOILA! No more bindage!! I tested it out today with a AIMPOINT knockoff and was very impressed with accuracy, and reliability. I put close to 400 rounds through it, and only had ONE FAILURE TO FEED!!! I attribute this to putting one too many in the magazine. The only complaint I did have, was that the thread protector was constantly coming loose after only a few shots. I think the "best" way to fix that problem is to put a suppressor on it, but any ideas on what works best? I've thought of putting just a smidge of blue loctite on the threads just to prevent it from loosening, but I really want to make sure that's okay before I do anything semi-permanent to it.
~Jeff

 

[aubie515]

Why bring back a dead thread. Why not just start a new thread?

 

[Justin]

Glad you found a solution to the problem with your hammer causing it to bind. In talking to a couple of other people who have them, and in testing mine, it seems like the most trouble results from issues relating to the hammer/springs/trigger assembly area. I've found that the TacSol really doesn't like JP triggers much at all.

Glad to hear it's running well. One thing to keep in mind, clean it often, and be sure to scrub the chamber out. I've had a couple of split cases after very heavy round count sessions that I think are due to fouling in the chamber.

 

[ZBill]

Same issue - JP Speed Hammer installation

I purchased a TS 22 upper for my Colt Lightweight lower. It had a notched hammer which TS recommends be replaced by a smooth one. I called customer service at TS and they said give it a try with the Colt hammer. I did and it did not function properly. So I looked for a non-notched hammer with the large diameter Colt hammer pin. Noy easy to find one.

The only one I could find was a JP Speed Hammer which I have installed but have not tested.

I did notice that the upper and lower mated easily with the new hammer when it took some extra pressure to mate them with the notched Colt hammer.

Of interest is the fact that the JP directions for installing the JP speed hammer says the d-ring spring (which replaces the spring inside the hammer which "binds" it to the hammer pin) must be mounted on the right side of the hammer pin but the hammer trunion was cut on the left side for the d-spring. Has anyone encountered this difference from the factory directions?

Thanks, Bill

 

[Justin]

The only complaint I did have, was that the thread protector was constantly coming loose after only a few shots. I think the "best" way to fix that problem is to put a suppressor on it, but any ideas on what works best? I've thought of putting just a smidge of blue loctite on the threads just to prevent it from loosening, but I really want to make sure that's okay before I do anything semi-permanent to it.

I had the same issue, and resolved it by putting a small amount of Loctite on the threads. Solved the problem, at least as a temporary stop-gap until I can get a can for it.