Anyone with a Nordic NC22 upper? Report please ..

[bjl333]

I was looking into upgrading my 10/22 when I saw this. The overall package looks very nicely done. Anyone have them? How they shoot? Thanks ... Merry Christmas

[thatsteveguy]

Believe it or not I purchased one of these when they came out as a future project, boy its turned into a future project allright. 4 months later its still unfired! I was actually thinking about selling it because I had decided I wanted a 16" bbl instead of the 18" bbl...oh well. You can find additional posts regarding this upper on AR-15, it's got great reviews and customer service is reported to be excellent.

[dagerk]

I've got the NC-22 upper with the 16" barrel and rifle length handguard.

It's good and solid. It weighs a little more than my 16" mid length Spike's upper with Magpul MOE handguard. Which means it feels right as a trainer. And it feels right as a rifle. It's definitely not plastic airsoft in your hands.

I ran about 600 rounds through it prepping for then attending an Appleseed event. It rained during the 2nd day, so it got rained on and covered with dirty shooting mats. I had a dozen failures in total - some stovepipes and failure to ejects. I ran a patch through it before I shot it, and I cleaned it after the Appleseed. This was all using Federal 510.

I took it to Angeles a couple of weeks after that and tried a variety of different ammunition through it. It likes Winchester HV and Aguila High Velocity 40gr. It's okay with Federal 510 but doesn't like Federal 710 bulk box as well (worse grouping and some FTE). It ran okay with BVAC, and absolutely hated Aguila Golden Eagle Rifle Match - it seems like it wasn't powerful enough to cycle the bolt reliably and had about 50% FTE. I ran another 400 rounds and didn't clean until I got home.

As far as a "22 conversion" for a different platform, it didn't have the one thing I don't like and hear about a lot - it doesn't need to be cleaned every three mags.

It uses standard Black Dog mags, which is nice. It locks the bolt back on an empty mag, but if you remove the mag, the bolt closes. So changing mags is a little different than standard AR procedure if you're a slapper - you pull the mag, insert another, and slapping the release does nothing you must use the charging handle. Similarly, it's an extra step or two to properly show safe when you're on the line at an event like an Appleseed - you don't just shoot until empty then remove the mag, you have to do that then manually lock the bolt back.

Oh, and for grouping, it shot better than I do (don't they all . From a bench and a rest at 25y with iron sights and I need new glasses. Winchester HV grouped a little over an inch, could have been 0.4", but that's on me.

Altogether, I'm very happy with this upper.

Jim

[bjl333]

Thanks for the write up dagerk !! Now I gotta go find the pennies under the sofa again ...

[pennys dad]

Thanks for the write up dagerk !! Now I gotta go find the pennies under the sofa again ...

Amen to that.

Jim, have you tried Federal Auto Match .22 LR Ammunition in 40grn? I am guessing that the upper has a 1 to 16 twist. I switched to this ammo and get the absolute best success

[dagerk]

I am guessing that the upper has a 1 to 16 twist.

Yup.

have you tried Federal Auto Match .22 LR Ammunition in 40grn? I switched to this ammo and get the absolute best success

Hah! I've got about 3000 rounds of 22lr in various flavors that I've been working my way through. And I've only got 3 22s. Nothing new until I make more space on the shelf Maybe next time I see you I'll bum a box off of you.... You aren't going to be at Burro Sunday are you?

[pennys dad]

I am thinking Burro this Thursday and maybe Sunday

[dagerk]

I am thinking Burro this Thursday and maybe Sunday

I'll be at Burro for an AllSafe Rifle Course on Sunday. I'll bring the money and the Nordic Upper (with new scope!). The class is 9:30-2ish. You can find out which range at the office or look for a couple of red Ford trucks (one big, one small) and an old white Suburban.