Is this PSA 22LR Upper Good?

[newStar]

Happy New Year Calguns folks!

I am looking to add a 22LR upper to my current Aero Precision AR15, so that my wife can shoot as well (556 is too loud/"forcible" for her). Just searched and found PSA has one complete .22 upper on sale as below ($399.99):

https://palmettostatearmory.com/pa-15/psa-16-22-lr-1-16-nitride-13-5-m-lok-upper-with-bcg-ch1.html

Would like to check if anybody has used this upper (with regular AR-15 lower) and can share some experience with it.

BTW, I have tried the CMMG Conversion Kits and it works reliably but the accuracy is not so good. Also would like to hear if anybody can share CMMG experience.

Thanks in advance.

[k1dude]

You should be fine. I haven't used this particular PSA .22 upper, but I have used other versions they've produced and experienced no problems.

[Spyder]

I've got a PSA 22lr upper that has many many thousands of rounds through it and I love it. Not sure if it's that exact one, but I'd buy the same one I have again in a heartbeat.

Magazines are the weak spot. Chiappa mags suck. Several others work fine.

[Brandon04GT]

I installed that upper on my lower after getting sick and tired of all the changes in the laws. I also installed a magazine adaptor so I can use M&P15-22 magazines.

It performed new flawlessly during the first range trip. After that, I switched out my trigger from a Geissele SSA to an SSA-E, and while I doubt that caused anything, during the second range trip I began to break the firing pin spring every thousand rounds or so.

I also started to get failures to extract as shells were getting stuck in the chamber.

I have a feeling this was due to me not cleaning all the lead build up from the upper due to being lazy. As far as the firing pin spring breaking, I was sent 3 replacements and they haven't broken again since. Though, I haven't really been shooting much lately.

Overall, I've been very happy with the upper. I am able to hit the 100 yard plate near 100% of the time. It has been plenty accurate.

[samrob77]

They’re good and plenty accurate. Buy some extra trigger pins btw, mine snapped twice so far with a 22 upper.

Conversion kits are not accurate due to the twist rate.

[DesertDave100]

as mentioned, the conversions may not provide satisfactory accuracy due to the differences in twist rate (1:16 in .22LR vs. whatever is in your .223/5.56), as well as the standard .22LR bore dimensions are
22 LR - SAAMI
Bore: 0.217 in (5.51 mm)
Groove: 0.222 in (5.64 mm), which are different from the dimensions of a .223/5.56 barrel.

I have a previous version of that PSA upper, with a CMMG-identical chromed bolt, so my experience may not relate to that product, which claims a phosphate bolt.

I also have a DPMS 'Panther' .22 upper, which is an entirely different style, nitrided bolt.

Both work fine with Black Dog magazines, and neither has presented me with any significant function issues.

[ojisan]

I'm very pleased with my Nordic upper.
The bolt uses a 10/22 type extractor, it had some extraction failures.
I reworked the original extractor to the same shape as the Volquartsen / Kidd etc shape and it works perfect.
It is $100 more than the PSA though.

I did try a Chiappa first, it was not worth the money and was sent back.

[miyenta]

I have one, been shooting it a lot lately. It works great but gets dirty after a couple hundred round and have rtf and get, after cleaning works like a charm. Running Black dog machine mags.

[sigstroker]

Can't you just get a whole S&W .22 for $450?

[Garand Hunter]

You get the upper so you still have a .223 upper to stash away for whenever you want to go back to .223 and stay clear of current AR laws crap. It worked for me until I moved to Tennessee and and then I removed the CMMG kit.

Psalm 1

[ARFrog]

I have that same PSA upper from a couple of years ago. I run it with a Boonie Packer mag adapter so I can use S&W M&P 15-22 mags. I also use a BoreBuddy pressure plug for better reliability and less wear on my buffer head.

I am very pleased with the upper's quality and function. After 3,000 plus rounds my only issue was that I had to replace a broken firing pin that occurred during an Appleseed (ARGH!!!) but otherwise it works well. With it you can mimic standard AR manual of arms while also keeping evil features.

OP, these uppers seem to sell out and take 2-3 months to come back available. So, skip the conversion route and buy your wife the upper while it is available. You will be happy you did.

[Capybara]

Can't you just get a whole S&W .22 for $450?

I've been thinking the same.

1. Bear Creek Arsenal has one for only $289.00 if you can catch them in stock. Officer Greg was sent one and ran it and liked it, but others have bad mouthed the quality. That price makes it worth a look though.

https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/calibers/ar-22/ar-22-complete-uppers/22-long-16-parkerized-barrel-1-16-twist-15-mlok-scg2-nrail-branded.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnagxu8SHco

2. PSA stuff generally is pretty good. It's $400.00 for the upper. A friend of mine has it and likes it but he says to only run the Black Dog mags as PSA suggests on their web page.

3. It is becoming difficult for me to justify $400.00 for the PSA upper though when your can get an entire Smith & Wesson .22 AR-15 for a few bucks more though.

If the Bear Creek was in stock, I'd probably try that as it's significantly less money, I am sure the PSA is decent and I know the Smith AR is a nice rifle.

[newStar]

Thank you for the sharing. Any idea why the 22 LR upper would easily snapped? Has the problem ever happened with 556/223 upper too?

Thanks

[newStar]

Can't you just get a whole S&W .22 for $450?

Yes, I have looked that option for a while and could not find one, although I only looked at Sportsman and Bass Pro. I am living in SF bey area.

Thanks

[newStar]

I have one, been shooting it a lot lately. It works great but gets dirty after a couple hundred round and have rtf and get, after cleaning works like a charm. Running Black dog machine mags.

Thanks for sharing. Could you let me know a bit more of "have rtf and get"? Sorry if this is something straight forward.

Thanks