davnic66
Member
I know I am one of many who wanted a basic standard military issue M4 / CAR style .22 who has pondered the question, the Colt M4 Carbine .22 or the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22? I always liked the clean look of the standard issue military M4 / CAR but was limited in choices in .22 caliber. It was either the Colt which looked the part but the quality was not there, the S&W which had the quality but the look was not correct, or an AR15 conversion which has both the look and quality but at a high price. Although I do like all the awesome add-ons available and will one day build myself a tricked out 15-22 that cost 6 times what I paid for the original weapon, lol, the idea here is a clean, simple look, keeping as true to standard military issue as possible.
When I wanted a M4 / CAR style .22 to use for target shooting, plinking and teaching my children to shoot, I had looked at the Colt, the S&W, and the AR-15 with either a conversion kit or full .22 upper. When I examined the Colt I was NOT impressed at all with the quality, especially the non-functioning parts placed on it only for looks and I was also not interested in converting an AR-15 due to the high total cost. I liked the quality of the S&W M&P 15-22 but was told by several local gun shops that there was no way to convert it to make it look like the M4 or the Colt. After a bit of internet research I was pleased to find the conversion was possible and was determined to prove them wrong.
So I chose what I felt was the best of the three choices. Considering price, quality of construction and materials, weight and functionality, I chose the S&W M&P 15-22 ($459) and set out to convert it to look as close to an M4 / CAR as possible. With limited local resources, (which is a nice way of saying with no help from disinterested local gun shops because it was only a .22), and despite the lack of two obvious details, the forward assist and the dust cover, which in my opinion are a fair trade off to gain the quality of the S&W over the Colt or beat the high price of a converted AR15, I scoured the internet, the gun show and local shops for the necessary parts to make this possible.
I'm sure most of you know how to do the conversion but I will briefly describe the process for those who need somewhere to start. First I removed the barrel nut with the use of a homemade barrel nut wrench ($3.50 and about an hour of time to fabricate) using a 2' piece of black steel 3/4" pipe which I found plans for on the internet. BTW don't waste your time with the PVC option, I tried the PVC option first and kept shearing off the tips, and yes I had them seated completely and they fit perfectly, its just not strong enough. I suggest Shooboy's ShooWrench and Tacticool22's Barrel Nut Wrench if you don't feel like fabricating one at home. The barrel nut was replaced with Tacticool22's Free Float Handguard Converter ($25) which allows a delta ring assembly ($20) to be threaded on. The front sight is an ArmaLite A2 clamp-on front sight ($45) with custom shims to take up the space between the barrel and the front sight. Then a standard M4 handguard ($20), handguard cap ($2.50), sling swivel ($3.50), mil spec carry handle ($45) and a Hogue grip ($20) were added followed by a few hours at the range adjusting the vertical alignment of the front sight.
The one with the M4 handguard went to a friend with larger hands and I built another one with the CAR handguard for me. After comparing the two, I'm still undecided about the look of the M4 handguard although I think I am leaning towards the look of the CAR handguard with it's slimmer profile and I definitely prefer it's feel as it is more comfortable for my smaller hands. The nice thing about this conversion utilizing the clamp-on front sight is that you can use just about any diameter and length handguard you choose. Simple, clean and just what I wanted. I couldn't be happier.
If anyone needs any advice or help on doing this conversion, let me know and I will be glad to assist any way I can. Also any input on better ways to achieve this look or better parts available is certainly appreciated.
S&W M&P 15-22 w/ M4 handguard
S&W M&P 15-22 w/ CAR handguard
Colt M4 .22
When I wanted a M4 / CAR style .22 to use for target shooting, plinking and teaching my children to shoot, I had looked at the Colt, the S&W, and the AR-15 with either a conversion kit or full .22 upper. When I examined the Colt I was NOT impressed at all with the quality, especially the non-functioning parts placed on it only for looks and I was also not interested in converting an AR-15 due to the high total cost. I liked the quality of the S&W M&P 15-22 but was told by several local gun shops that there was no way to convert it to make it look like the M4 or the Colt. After a bit of internet research I was pleased to find the conversion was possible and was determined to prove them wrong.
So I chose what I felt was the best of the three choices. Considering price, quality of construction and materials, weight and functionality, I chose the S&W M&P 15-22 ($459) and set out to convert it to look as close to an M4 / CAR as possible. With limited local resources, (which is a nice way of saying with no help from disinterested local gun shops because it was only a .22), and despite the lack of two obvious details, the forward assist and the dust cover, which in my opinion are a fair trade off to gain the quality of the S&W over the Colt or beat the high price of a converted AR15, I scoured the internet, the gun show and local shops for the necessary parts to make this possible.
I'm sure most of you know how to do the conversion but I will briefly describe the process for those who need somewhere to start. First I removed the barrel nut with the use of a homemade barrel nut wrench ($3.50 and about an hour of time to fabricate) using a 2' piece of black steel 3/4" pipe which I found plans for on the internet. BTW don't waste your time with the PVC option, I tried the PVC option first and kept shearing off the tips, and yes I had them seated completely and they fit perfectly, its just not strong enough. I suggest Shooboy's ShooWrench and Tacticool22's Barrel Nut Wrench if you don't feel like fabricating one at home. The barrel nut was replaced with Tacticool22's Free Float Handguard Converter ($25) which allows a delta ring assembly ($20) to be threaded on. The front sight is an ArmaLite A2 clamp-on front sight ($45) with custom shims to take up the space between the barrel and the front sight. Then a standard M4 handguard ($20), handguard cap ($2.50), sling swivel ($3.50), mil spec carry handle ($45) and a Hogue grip ($20) were added followed by a few hours at the range adjusting the vertical alignment of the front sight.
The one with the M4 handguard went to a friend with larger hands and I built another one with the CAR handguard for me. After comparing the two, I'm still undecided about the look of the M4 handguard although I think I am leaning towards the look of the CAR handguard with it's slimmer profile and I definitely prefer it's feel as it is more comfortable for my smaller hands. The nice thing about this conversion utilizing the clamp-on front sight is that you can use just about any diameter and length handguard you choose. Simple, clean and just what I wanted. I couldn't be happier.
If anyone needs any advice or help on doing this conversion, let me know and I will be glad to assist any way I can. Also any input on better ways to achieve this look or better parts available is certainly appreciated.
S&W M&P 15-22 w/ M4 handguard
S&W M&P 15-22 w/ CAR handguard
Colt M4 .22
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