AR-15 or 22???

[chowchilla]

I have an AR-15 and been thinking about converting the bolt to a .22, now the question I have is should I get the the bolt carrier for my AR or should I just get a .22 AR rifle????? I'm a bit new to all of this so please point me in the right direction. If I got bolt carrier what brand and if I got rifle what brand??? Thanks!!!!

[IrishPirate]

buy a complete .22lr upper

[roushstage2]

I went back and forth many times and ended up getting an M&P 15-22. Couldn't be happier! Got the whole rifle for $100-$150 less than a complete .22LR upper. This thread is going to end up with half saying get an upper and the other half saying get a dedicated rifle. Your call.

[dls]

I thought about a .22 bolt myself, but I believe the .22 really needs a 1/16 twist or something like that...?
I think i'll wait and buy an upper,or complete rifle if I find the right deal.

[joker70]

Since you already have an 5.56 AR you can get a 22lr upper for $400.

http://www.cmmginc.com/category_s/1553.htm

[tanakasan]

I thought about a .22 bolt myself, but I believe the .22 really needs a 1/16 twist or something like that...?
I think i'll wait and buy an upper,or complete rifle if I find the right deal.

Yes, 1/16 twist for 22LR vs 1/7, 1/8 etc for .223.

I looked at S&W 15/22 but decided on a CMMG upper since it uses (mostly) standard AR lower and parts.

Robert

[Hughes500Pilot]

I went with the Tactical Solutions 22LR upper. I like the "standard" AR look. Its got a 1/16 barrel and uses a standard upper receiver. I swapped out the A3 receiver for an A2 receiver because I wanted a carry handle (that is usable). -Steve

[shadow65]

It comes down to what accuracy you want.
A conversion will give you 2-3" at 50 yards depending on barrel twist and ammo combo. And the POI will be different from your 5.56.
A dedicated upper will give you 1" at 50 yards with your sights already set for .22. Just pull two pins and install the complete .22 upper on your existing lower. Same trigger you are used to.
I recommend the CMMG with stainless bolt.
Dave N

[AR22]

Go with the complete CMMG upper and as Dave said spend the extra money and get the Stainless Bolt assembly. You will really like it.

[redcliff]

I went back and forth many times and ended up getting an M&P 15-22. Couldn't be happier! Got the whole rifle for $100-$150 less than a complete .22LR upper. This thread is going to end up with half saying get an upper and the other half saying get a dedicated rifle. Your call.

I went with the M&P 15-22 also, the MOE version; having dealt with AR15 conversions since the 80's in .22 and 9mm I appreciate the convenience of having a seperate complete rifle. I"m very impressed with the quality of it and I like it's light weight and adjustable carbine stock for teaching the grand kids to shoot with.

[The War Wagon]

Build a DEDICATED .22LR AR. It's much more fun and functional.




Tactical Solutions dedicated upper, with all the heft, weight, and controls of a REAL AR, modded out as per most of my 5.56 AR's - so the carryover value is of a real benefit.

PLUS... the best set of spare parts, is another rifle. Should it all go to crap, and one of my other lowers breaks down, I pop the 2 upper pins, swap on a 5.56 upper, and I'm GTG!

Got my TacSol upper from Addax, btw!

[CSACANNONEER]

I have 2 dedicated .22 uppers, a CZ and a Bushmaster. Both were bought used for $300 or less with extra mags and crap. Just find a used upper and enjoy.

[40SWGlock]

I have the M&P 15-22 MOE currently in jail. Decided to get a whole new riffle.

[RuskieShooter]

one vote for 15-22

My 2 cents...

Stay away from the conversions. Barrel twist will be wrong, I think aim needs to be adjusted when switching between .22 and .223, and I have heard cycling can be "iffy".

Why would you buy a dedicated upper when for around the same price you can buy a complete rifle? I know uppers are easy switch out, but I would rather have a complete rifle that I can "grab an go". Also, if something goes wrong with the lower (rare, I know) now you have two rifles out of action.

Regarding the M&P 15-22 (I have one), everyone arguing against it complains that it's too light. I'm still not clear why a heavier .22 is a better .22. Heavier rifles may be better for bench shooting larger calibers (greater mass "absorbs" more of the recoil) and its sitting on a bench. I don't think .22lr has a great enough recoil where you would worry about it and if you are going to lug the rifle anywhere at all I would prefer lighter.

BTW, manual of arms for a 15-22 is identical to an AR and standard AR parts (trigger, pistol grip, mil-spec sized buffer tube) will fit it; the only difference is the "buffer tube" is non-removable and the barrel/fore grip is proprietary (although there is an adapter that will allow you to use a standard AR fore grip).

-Ruskie

[onegtalon]

I went with the conversion at first. Found out that it was shooting all over the place at 10 yards! It was horrible and thanks to Brownell's return policy they took it back. (Service rep said that due to tollerance stack up of the round/barrel dia/twist rate it could key-hole at 10 yards, which is what mine was doing).

After that I bought a CMMG dedicated upper for under $400 and couldn't be happier. Since then I built another lower for my AR and used my old lower for the dedicated 22.