Please educate me on AR15-22 magazines

[Paperchasin]

I am looking to build a complete AR15-22 in the near future and have been reading alot about varying successes with different magazines. I'm leaning towards Black Dog Machine mags right now, but how are S&W MP15-22 magazines? Is mag reliability going to depend on the upper setup I end up going with? I plan on shooting exclusively CCI 22LR ammo through this. Thanks in advance!

[damon1272]

S&W magazines will need an adapter to function.

[SoCal Gunner]

That's the thing - you either go S&W mags or "everything else".

I run the Black Dog mags in my Sig 522 and have never had an issue.

[Paperchasin]

Do the BDM mags hold the bolt.open?

[NATEWA]

I have a tactical solutions upper and run black dog mags. I'm very happy with this set up. To release the bolt, you have to drop the mag.

[RTE]

I have a tactical solutions upper and run black dog mags. I'm very happy with this set up. To release the bolt, you have to drop the mag.

Same here Tac Sol and BDM
Tac Sol's website recommends BDM

http://www.tacticalsol.com/conversion-mags/10-round-ar-22-magazine

[Jet Setter]

Do the BDM mags hold the bolt.open?

They say it depends on the upper and mag type you buy. Just check the description before you purchase. My BDM mags hold the bolt open. It is the follower that catches the bolt and holds it.

[NATEWA]

My buddy has a dpms upper that uses black dog mags. No issues.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1080195

[AR22]

Hands down the SW 15-22 mags are the best.

Very well made, reliable and so easy to load.. They will work without the Better Mag adapter, but with that addition you will have true last shot hold open just like a real AR15.

They will fit a little loose without the adapter but will work. If you decide not to buy the adapter, which I recommend you buy it, you can epoxy a small tab on the mag to tighten it up.

Get the SWs and the adapter. You will be very happy you did.

If you want true AR full function, get the SWs and the better mag. No other mags will give this option.

Blackdogs are very good mags. SWs are just the best in my opinion. I love BDMs 50 round drums though.

Whos Bolt are you going with? I would suggest CMMG stainless or Taccom coated second.

[Paperchasin]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to pick up a complete Taccom Ultra light upper and Tim recommends BDM mags as well. I didn't get to ask him about SW mags.

[Paul053]

Hands down the SW 15-22 mags are the best.

Very well made, reliable and so easy to load.. They will work without the Better Mag adapter, but with that addition you will have true last shot hold open just like a real AR15.

They will fit a little loose without the adapter but will work. If you decide not to buy the adapter, which I recommend you buy it, you can epoxy a small tab on the mag to tighten it up.

Get the SWs and the adapter. You will be very happy you did.

If you want true AR full function, get the SWs and the better mag. No other mags will give this option.

Blackdogs are very good mags. SWs are just the best in my opinion. I love BDMs 50 round drums though.

Whos Bolt are you going with? I would suggest CMMG stainless or Taccom coated second.

What he said. Started out my 22lr love affair with a sig 522. I had black dog mags both with the plastic lips and steel. They worked great. Bought a cmmg dedicated 22lr upper and got the bettermag adapter with sw mags. Like the poster said, the sw mags are easier to load by hand and the mag spring are much stronger than the black dog mags. Plus with the better mag you get full functionality with the bolt catch and release.

If you do decide to buy black dog mags get the steel lips, my plastic lip versions seem to have problems with my cmmg upper.

Lastly look into getting the lightning grip mag loader. Thing is relatively cheap and makes loading a full mag effortlessly. It has adaptors for both black dog and sw mags.

[Paperchasin]

The thing you guys gotta keep in mind is that I am building an AR22, which means I'll be using an AR lower. From what I've gathered, the BDM mags can be used as-is while the S&W mags would require the redi-mag adapter in order to function correctly. The BDM mags will hold the bolt open after final round, but as soon as you drop the magazine, the bolt will close. The redi-mag adapter is the only thing that will allow you to keep the bolt open after releasing the magazine.

[baranski]

Will the redo mag work with the CmMG bcg?

I've been using the CMMG Mags without issue.

Even better not to need a BB.

[AR22]

Yes the BDM mag follower will keep the bolt back till the mag is released. True.


But to have full function just like the big brother and have great mags. It is well worth the extra 30.00 for the adapter and use 15-22 mags..

Just a matter if you want to spend the little extra or not. To me it is well worth it to have full function and the really great SW mags.Maybe not to you however.

The SW mags will function without the adapter. They do in both our CMMG bolt equipped uppers. But no, without the adapter the bolt will close upon a empty SW mag,but they will work though.

Yes the Adapter works 100% flawless in both our CMMG Bolts. I used CMMG mags. The older gray ones before we went to BDMs, then to the SWs. All other CMMG mags stink except for the gray ones. Love their other stuff though.

Just a tip if you have the gray CMMG ones. I never liked the color when we had em, so I dyed em with black RIT Dye. Works great and is permanent.


As said, up to you if having full function as intended is not important, and ease of loading not important to you, it is for me. Then the BDMs will work fine. They are good mags. I used to use em till I discovered the SW mags and adapter and never looked back.

Post a pic of your project when you get it finished..

[Bullets&Whitewalls]

I have the redi mag adapter with 15-22 mags using the cmmg upper. It was worth every penny. I tried the catch 22 extended bolt catch with the glue on spacers and didn't like the fact that the mags could only be used in that rifle. My son has a 15-22 so I wanted to be able to use them in both. My set up runs flawlessly.