Dedicated .22 uppers for AR's

[Droppin Deuces]

OK, first off, I'm new here. First post! I'm not completely new to guns, though, as I have a 9mm 2022. Where I am completely clueless, however, is the AR type. I've been looking at some of the new .22 AR's like the Umarex, and Ruger, and while I'm sure they are just fine, I'm really more interested in dedicated upper kits like Spike's Tactical and Tactical Solutions.
SO, my question for the experts is this: Are those CA legal? I'm sure they are, but then how does one acquire a lower to compliment them?

Thanks in advance!

[5150Marcelo]

Just go out and uy a non-listed lower. That easy.

Welcome to CGNs... love the username. LOL!!!

[Droppin Deuces]

That easy? I simply walk into a shop and ask them to order one up for me? Or are there "friendly" stores?


Couldn't think of anything else name-wise. The term is always stuck in my head and it kinda fits with the whole .22 theme

[Q]

You have to be 21yrs old to buy just the lower by itself.
I want a tac sol upper also. Buy a multi or 22lr cal marked lower for it.

[Droppin Deuces]

^^^ Gotcha, thanks. I actually just noticed the multi cal. lowers and came back to ask about that. This oughtta be fun.

Tell me this, though - would one of those higher end .22 uppers be a direct fit onto the Umarex lower, or are they not compatible?

Thanks again!

[ke6guj]

Tell me this, though - would one of those higher end .22 uppers be a direct fit onto the Umarex lower, or are they not compatible?

Thanks again!

not compatible. The Umarex lowers are completely different in function than a normal AR-pattern lower. They just "look" like an AR lower.

[River Jack]

No complaints with the Spikes .22lr upper. I love the look of the fake can and the YHM heavy rail on the Spikes.

My favorite lowers are Spikes and Mega; you can choose either a .22lr dedicated or Multi-caliber.

The only legalities you need to observe are 16" barrel/26" overall length and 10 round mags. All other "evil" features (i.e., open mag well, pistol grips, forward grips, flash hiders, collapsible stock, etc.) are perfectly legal on rimfire. No mag lock required.

The best part is the cost of ammo!

[zman]

You can buy a complete ST-22 rifle from Lanworld.

http://lanworldinc.com/ar15.html

[CHS]

My favorite lowers are Spikes and Mega; you can choose either a .22lr dedicated or Multi-caliber.

Doesn't matter what the lower says. My dedicated .22lr says 5.56. Caliber markings have absolutely zero legal meaning.

The only legalities you need to observe are 16" barrel/26" overall length and 10 round mags. All other "evil" features (i.e., open mag well, pistol grips, forward grips, flash hiders, collapsible stock, etc.) are perfectly legal on rimfire. No mag lock required.

10rd mags? Really? Then how come I always use my 25rd black-dogs in my AR-22?

[Rukus]

You have to be 21yrs old to buy just the lower by itself. This is correct
Buy a multi or 22lr cal marked lower for it.
You do NOT need to buy a lower specifically marked with either of these things. As long as its an OLL you will be fine

See my responses in bold ^^^

ETA: Looks like I was too slow, BDSMCHS beat me to it!

[River Jack]

Doesn't matter what the lower says. My dedicated .22lr says 5.56. Caliber markings have absolutely zero legal meaning.



10rd mags? Really? Then how come I always use my 25rd black-dogs in my AR-22?

Yes, really! The OP says he's "completely clueless" when it comes to AR platform rifles. This would strongly indicate that he very likely doesn't have preban AR mags. You can use your 25rd black dogs because you're super awesome and everyone wants to be like you.

And regarding the caliber markings: It's true that you can use any lower marked with any caliber for your .22lr build. Of the two that I said I preferred, however, Mega and/or Spike's; to my knowledge, these are only offered with "Multi-caliber" or ".22lr" markings.

[CHS]

The OP says he's "completely clueless" when it comes to AR platform rifles. This would indicate that he very likely doesn't have preban AR mags. You can use your 25rd black dogs because you're super cool and everyone wants to be like you.

Doesn't matter how clueless he is or isn't, when you go around telling people that you can't use mags larger than 10rd's in a rimfire rifle, you're spreading non-law that confuses people.

What if he's at the range and sees me with my AR-22 and 25rd mags and starts telling me that what I'm doing is illegal and he's gonna call the cops, etc..? Now if he does that to me, I'll be able to politely inform him that he's wrong and why. But what if he or someone else does it to another person and it ends up badly?

Yes, if he's a newb and doesn't have pre-bans, he's restricted to purchasing and using only 10rd mags and cannot legally import mags with a larger capacity. But no one should be making blanket statements about "you can't use mags larger than 10rds".

That's only for fixed-magazine semi-auto centerfire rifles.

[Droppin Deuces]

Awesome stuff, guys. All very helpful!

A question about barrel length, though: Doesn't the standard carbine length include a 16" barrel?

Also - Is there a mechanical difference between a lower that is marked .22 as opposed to 5.56, or does one number simply scare liberals less than the other?

[River Jack]

Doesn't matter how clueless he is or isn't, when you go around telling people that you can't use mags larger than 10rd's in a rimfire rifle, you're spreading non-law that confuses people.

What if he's at the range and sees me with my AR-22 and 25rd mags and starts telling me that what I'm doing is illegal and he's gonna call the cops, etc..? Now if he does that to me, I'll be able to politely inform him that he's wrong and why. But what if he or someone else does it to another person and it ends up badly?

Yes, if he's a newb and doesn't have pre-bans, he's restricted to purchasing and using only 10rd mags and cannot legally import mags with a larger capacity. But no one should be making blanket statements about "you can't use mags larger than 10rds".

That's only for fixed-magazine semi-auto centerfire rifles.

It's all good. My reply wasn't intended as a blanket statement, however as a reply to this individual for his individual needs. I'm afraid your reply regarding using your 25-rounders would only serve to confuse the OP, and perhaps get his in serious trouble. He needs to know that he needs to stick to the 10 rounders, as my post indicated, (if he didn't own prebans which was implied by his original post). Just trying to help out my fellow brother in arms and keep him out of trouble. I think we're both on the same page here.

[River Jack]

Awesome stuff, guys. All very helpful!

A question about barrel length, though: Doesn't the standard carbine length include a 16" barrel?

Also - Is there a mechanical difference between a lower that is marked .22 as opposed to 5.56, or does one number simply scare liberals less than the other?

Yes, unless you are building an AR pistol from a properly pistol-DROS'd lower, your barrel length needs to be at least 16" and overall rifle length (with the stock folded/collapsed) needs to be at least 26" (for rimfires), or 30" (for centerfires and shotguns).

No mechanical difference between a stripped 5.56, Multi-caliber, or .22lr lower that I'm aware of.