With the success of the 15-22 platform I have been wondering if S & W will try to stretch out their revenue stream by coming up with some alternative uppers .17 HMR, .204 etc.

Ideas?

What would be your choices?

Me? .17HMR

-Markomyt1-

I would love to see a 17HMR or 22WMR upper. I would buy both!

I would not want to see an Out Of Battery detonation with either of those rounds... Food for thought

Remington had to completely recall the 597 in 17 HMR and remove the rifle from the market due to OOB. I would hate to see S&W try a 15-22 in 17 hmr, you'd have guns blowing up left and right. No thanks, especially if S&W's crack engineers are designing it.

If they did, I'd for sure wait a few months and see how many people post about their guns blowing up before I bought one haha. If it proves itself after a few months I'd probably bite if the price was right.

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Air Assault!

Forgive my stupidity, but why are those rounds more likely to OOB?

I don't know about more likely, but rimfire magnum rounds are a lot closer to the power and size of centerfire rifle rounds. Having one of those go off OOB would be a lot more likely to cause more damage to the gun that the extractor coming off and more severe injury to the shooter or others close by.

Snyderman - I don't think they are concerned that the OOB will happen more often; but that when it does, the results could be much more serious than a .22 LR going off OOB. OOB is an issue with the 15-22 (I know, our first one had an OOB on the 109th round, but I still love the little gun. BTW 2000 rounds through the 2nd 15-22 and not a single issue).

Well, now I actually tthink a little (happens once in a while), I guess all things being equal, a longer bullet would have more drag going into chamber, so maybe; but I think the extra energy in those rounds would make complete cycling of the action more likely to succeed.

I actually called S&W a few weeks ago and asked them if there would "ever" be a 22 WMR in some form for the 15 22, be it a upper, mod, mag etc. I was quickly given a stearn no, its not "that" popular of a round, when compared to the regular .22 LR and we have absolutely ZERO plans for anything for the 15 22 other than how it is now.

There were quite a few different recalls on HMR .17 rifles within the last year.

I can walk away from an OOB from a .22LR, but I'm not so sure we'd fare as well from the .17 or WinMag.

I say, if you want an AR rifle that shoots a bigger, more powerful round... They already make those, they are called .223 and 5.56

Not to mention 5.45, 6.5, 6.8, 7.62, .308

But I think the appeal is the increased hunting ability the magnum rimfire rounds provide for small game. A .22LR can take a raccoon, but a .22WMR, Hornet or .17HMR is a much more effective round for intermediate critters that a .223 would decimate, and with a much quieter report than a centerfire.

Plus you can get small, lightweight guns in these calibers, where something in the .22-250 or .223 range would need to be a full size bolt carbine.

Thanks for all of the replies.
I love this rifle and would love to be able to use a .17HMR in it for coyote hunting.
You're right about the power of the HMR possibly being a problem, but I would think that the stronger recoil would actually help eliminate the OOB problem.
-Mark-

I'd buy a 17HMR upper for this platform in a heartbeat. Until then, I'll just borrow my little brother's .17.

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Jeeps are my other addiction

I would be happy with one chambered in .17 HM2 (Mach2) Same magazines and probably just a recoil spring change.
Hornady's .17 Mach 2 Great description and charts.

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Buy cheap, pay twice.

Judging from the parts needed to convert a 10/22 over to .17 Mach 1, an MP is going to at least require a heavier bolt and considering the polymer nature of the gun a set of progressively wound springs and possibly a buffer of some sort to soak up some of the hammering the bolt's going to give the buffer tube end of the lower assembly.

Considering the overall design of the rifle I doubt you'll ever see a .22Mag or .17HMR version anytime soon, if ever and there's probably little or no chance for any kind of retrofit upper in these calibers.

Personally I wouldn't mind seeing an upper with a longer fatter target carbon fiber or aluminum type match barrel.

I think it is alexander arms that makes a .17 hmr upper for real ar15s.

Yeah, it's a pipe dream for sure.....but it would be cool if it safely be done.....

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Jeeps are my other addiction

I got to thinking more about this after may last posting because something bugged me about it.
Last night it dawned on me, if they can make a bolt action .50BMG (single shot) upper for regular AR's.
I don't see why they couldn't make a bolt action .22 Mach 1 that uses the mags or a single shot .22Mag. or .17HRM for the 15-22.
Using a bolt action would eliminate a lot of the engineering problems the higher intensity .17cal. rounds generate.
Trouble is that the engineering, tooling, and production costs for the limited market would very likely make it far too expensive to be worth the trouble.

Great article. We'd only need to pressure Smith&Wesson to make a kit.

It says it right here....

"The overall length of the new .17-caliber load is the same as the .22 LR cartridge, although the length of the necked-down .17M2 case is longer than a .22 LR case, to accommodate the smaller .17-caliber bullet. Still, the matching overall length and case-body dimensions of the .17M2 and the .22 LR will allow the .17M2 to function in standard .22 LR magazine configurations of all types, so any existing .22 LR rimfire firearm manufacturer in the world can adapt any of its existing .22 LR gun models to the new load simply by fitting them with .17-caliber barrels with the .17M2 chamber. Yes, that's what I said: any existing .22 LR rimfire firearm--any bolt-action rifle or pistol, any semiautomatic rifle or pistol, any single-shot rifle or pistol, any revolver, any pump-action, any whatever. The only engineering/mechanical tinkering necessary to the conversion for any of these designs is that the recoil-spring timing of some .22 LR semiautomatic mechanisms will need to be adjusted to take account of the .17M2's different time/pressure curve. The transition will be even easier for gunmakers who are already offering product chambered for the .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire (.17 HMR), as the .17M2's bore and rifling specifications are also the same."