22LR Conversion vs. Dedicated upper vs. SW15-22

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454_Casull

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I am thinking that it is about time to lay off the big stuff (due to money), and go smaller. I would like to shoot 22lr in an AR platform. I was wondering who had experience with any of these options, and/or if anyone had any 22lr AR-15 recommendations.

Thank you in advance for your input,

454
 

jtischauser

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I'm considering the same thing right now. I need to put some serious practice in this off season. The guys one the Enos forum liked the CMMG conversion. Who's used it?

Do the 22 rounds wear your barrel like a 223 does? They say my Lother Walther starts losing accuracy at 7000. I'd like to shoot that many plus some this winter but not if it's gonna wear out my barrel.
 

Glocktogo

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Dedicated .22 uppers can be somewhat finicky and require "tuning". With that said, we had two SW15-22's at HAVA new from the factory today and both of them puked in grand fashion before the day was over. Despite being bore snaked after every 3rd shooter, they both had out of battery fires that ruptured the cases and blew out the extractors.

If you want a 15-22, I'd recommend holding off till they work the bugs out. (

.22 doesn't wear a .223 barrel the same due to lower pressures and softer bullets, but the twist rate is not coorect for good .22 accuracy.
 

tb556

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I don't know which one is best, but the Bushmaster is certainly the ugliest.

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ez bake

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Does anyone believe the Colt version is better than the Smith?

Absolutely not - the Colt .22lr AR is world renown on Gunbroker for being sold as a paddle, shovel, sign-post, or any other non-firing item because everyone knows how crappy it is.

This thread is disappointing - I was hoping for more out of Smith's AR 22.

I've heard good things about Spikes dedicated .22 uppers (also Tactical Solutions or Tactial Innovations - can't remember which).

Martin at MAS gunworks is a wizard at tuning a .22 upper or .22 kit.
 

gsarg

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This thread is disappointing - I was hoping for more out of Smith's AR 22.
Ya, a guy at the range had one and never got more than 5 or so rounds through it without jamming. After about 100 rounds, he gave up. You could tell on his face that he was thinking "I'm getting rid of this POS"
 

okienate

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I'm running a CMMG conversion kit in my standard A3 type CMMG Carbine, 16" M4-gery profiled upper.

I do not have any problems UNLESS I'm silly enough to run hollow-points. Not sure why, not sure how, since the HP's on a .22lr look like a pinhole, but when I run solid RN, they run much better than even the most expensive HP's. For some reason, the thing didn't like to feed anything but solid, round-nosed projectiles.

If all you can afford is a couple hundred bucks, get the conversion and drop it in, but if you can swing it I'd go for a dedicated upper or complete rifle. This way to don't have to fret about having to run some .223 through the upper to feel good about keeping your gas port/system from plugging up with wax/lead/copper plating.

The Colt has run very well for a couple of my friends. Have been looking at them very seriously for a cheapo high volume practice setup.
 

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