.22LR Conversion

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cas0586

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I was looking to purchase a .22LR AR style rifle and the Sport 15/22 is out of budget pretty much as well as most complete .22LR uppers. I looked briefly at the Mossberg 715T, but it just the plinkster wearing a faux AR suit. No thanks. If that were case I think I'd buy a Ruger 10/22 and dress it up for marginally more.

I am curious if anyone has used and/or purchased one of these AR15 .22LR conversion kits. It consists of a .22LR BCG and magazine. No complete upper.

The kit I am looking at can be seen here:

CMMG Bravo AR-15 .22 LR Conversion Kit, 25 Round Magazine - 22BA6E1 - 852005002356



Thanks for any input!
 
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I have this kit and used it on a standard 5.56 barrel for a while. I quickly realized that the only way to get an accurate rifle was to use a 22lr barrel - it was plinking accurate at best. So I built a dedicated 22lr upper for my AR - and it drives tacks. The CMMG kit has functioned perfectly, though I did take it completely apart and really slicked up the rails before I ever fired a round. The nice part is you can go really lightweight. No gas block, no need for a forward assist.
 
I don't know about not but the conversion kits we had in the military worked but weren't great. Things may have improved since then. It might be better to look at a complete 22LR upper.
 
Right. I feel that the upper or separate rifle is the way to go. What .22LR is the most economical though? Most I see are out of my budget at the moment as mentioned.
 
Take a look at the Chiappa M4-22 (they spell it mfour-22 if you're googling it), cheap and cheerful but still AR-format not a dress-up like the Mossberg and shoots well. I've got one I picked up from Classicfirearms for $249.99 for the complete rifle. You do really need a standard AR buffer tube and collapsible stock to put on it, 2 min job and I had them in my parts bin, the standard molded non-adjustable fake MOE thing is utter garbage. Once that's done it's a perfectly good plinker IMO, don't expect M&P 15-22 quality though obviously. The upper also fits on a standard lower if you want to use it on your current lower.

If you don't want to wait for a sale, you can get them at Bud's gun shop for a shade over $280 right now. Or you can pick up just the upper for just around $200. Btw I have the gen 1, the gen2 is a bit more money but looks a lot fancier in the pictures, never seen one in the flesh.

Decent overview of one here: Chiappa m four 22 Review @ Trigger Happy - YouTube
 
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I have one of the Atchesson kits that the CMMG kit is based on. Mine is set up for full auto for use with my M-16. The kit runs well.

In semi the only problem you may have is a tight chamber. This would be a problem if you shot several hundred rounds with out cleaning. Some people have that problem, some don't.

Also to help the cycling, you might need to smooth the rails the bolt runs on and chamfer the area where the recoil spring runs into the bolt.

Since my kit is an early one I also have to clean out the extractor area more than other folks I know. The new ones fixed that problem for the most part.
 
I will only caution you that you could spend $200-$300 that you'll regret instead of waiting to spend $400 on what you want. Look at the Gunbroker items, there are some good deals out there. I'm into my 15-22 for $365 with shipping and transfer fees.
 
Thanks guys. It looks like that Chiappa M4 -22 upper kit is running about $280 now. The complete rifle is more. Almost at M&P 15/22 prices. Unless I am looking in the wrong places!
 
I use a Ceiner full auto conversion kit with 30 round mag in my M16A1 which is a hoot to shoot and a Colt conversion kit in my semi AR15's. Both work flawlessly. Accuracy is OK but not as good as a dedicated 22lr upper I have shot.
 
I have a Ciener conversion for mine and I have shot literally 1000's of rounds through mine. At one time I liked shooting CB Long Rifle ammo at air gun distances (30 feet) and it was superbly accurate. I mean as stick several on top of each other in the same hole accurate. It is also very accurate with Federal Auto Match.
Back several years ago Colt was sending 22 conversions with their rifles as a bonus. A friend of mine bought one, but loaned the conversion to another friend. When I told him how much fun I was having with mine he got his back. He called me cussing me out the next weekend because he got to having fun and burned through over a carton of ammo.

My rifle is a Stag with a 1:9 or 9.5 twist that I put an S&W lower on. Being a flattop, I have a scope mount set up for the 5.56 and one set up for the 22.
 
I purchased a complete upper from CMMG - MK4T.

IMG_3111_zpssific3o8.jpg
 
cas0586 said:
Thanks guys. It looks like that Chiappa M4 -22 upper kit is running about $280 now. The complete rifle is more. Almost at M&P 15/22 prices. Unless I am looking in the wrong places!
Click to expand...

That's about the lowest you are going to be able to find that I've seen with any .22LR upper. The benefit is that everything in the upper is designed to operate with .22LR instead making an upper that isn't, compatible with the round.

If you look around are patient, you might be able to find a complete rifle on sale for about the same price. It depends on what you want to do, what kind of storage room you have, and what compromises, if any, you want to go with. Often times, it's better to spend a little more and cry once than go cheap and hate the purchase decision.
 
arnoob said:
Chiappa M4 22LR Carbine Black, 500063 $283.00 SHIPS FREE
Click to expand...

Thank you. I will do some research online about it and make an informed decision. I take it you like yours pretty well? I won't expect the quality to be as good as the M&P 15/22 but hopefully much better than the Mossberg 715T.

However, I did find the M&P 15/22(Magpul MBUS folding sights & 6-Position stock) for $391+tax locally around thirty minutes away. So by the time I pay $283+$35 transfer fee I am at $318. For another $100 I can have the much better quality rifle. It seems like a no brainer, huh. I am ASSuming the 15/22 upper would fit on Sport II if I had to ever do it for some reason...

Thanks for all the responses guys!
 
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1522 upper and lower are not compatible with AR15.

As far as .22lr conversion kits for an AR, the twist rate is not well suited to. .22lr which is 1/16. AR15 is typically 1/7 to 1/9.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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ChattanoogaPhil said:
1522 upper and lower are not compatible with AR15.

As far as .22lr conversion kits for an AR, the twist rate is not well suited to. .22lr which is 1/16. AR15 is typically 1/7 to 1/9.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yeah I am just going to hold off and get the 15/22 some time in the near future. Thanks for the info on compatibility.
 
The Ceiner/Atchisson unit I purchased about 15 years ago worked fine. It does best with Federal 550 bulk. I was able to shoot a few hundred .22LR at a time (probably a whole bulk box/brick) of the Federal stuff before detailed strip and clean. Sometimes I just squirted some WD-40 into the action to keep it cycling. Rimfire .22 is dirty! Accuracy? I could consistently hit a 6" steel gong at 70 yards, offhand, 7 out of 10 times, with iron sights. Plenty accurate enough for me.

When using it in a 5.56-chambered rifle, the point-of-impact is considerably different than the centerfire ammo. This was the biggest reason I eventually bought a dedicated CMMG upper in .22LR. Yes, accuracy is better, but the big thing is that I don't have to keep tweaking the sights and scrubbing out the 5.56 chamber to use centerfire again. I just take 15 seconds and swap uppers.

Consider this: I respect that you want to save money. (Who doesn't)? Advice to save for a dedicated upper is good, but be aware that the bolt mechanism used in the dedicated CMMG upper is the Atchisson unit without the chamber insert to fit into the 5.56mm chamber. It simply uses a "collar" to attach to the end of the bolt rather than the chamber insert. So when I finally upgraded to a dedicated upper, all I had to do was buy the collar. No tools needed to swap it out. Nothing wasted, just the chamber insert set aside.

My advice is to buy the CMMG conversion unit now, and enjoy shooting rimfire now, and plan/save to upgrade to the dedicated CMMG upper later. It worked for me.
 
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cas0586 said:
Thank you. I will do some research online about it and make an informed decision. I take it you like yours pretty well? I won't expect the quality to be as good as the M&P 15/22 but hopefully much better than the Mossberg 715T.

However, I did find the M&P 15/22(Magpul MBUS folding sights & 6-Position stock) for $391+tax locally around thirty minutes away. So by the time I pay $283+$35 transfer fee I am at $318. For another $100 I can have the much better quality rifle. It seems like a no brainer, huh. I am ASSuming the 15/22 upper would fit on Sport II if I had to ever do it for some reason...

Thanks for all the responses guys!
Click to expand...

I like it plenty, been reliable and is more than accurate enough for a plinker, all the controls and functions are the same as a regular AR so it's a nice platform to practice on. The Chiappa mfour-22 upper does fit on a Sport II lower, but I prefer having a dedicated lower as 22LR has a tendency to make the lower really filthy.

For only $100 extra though....I'd take the 15-22. Especially if you don't have a buffer tube and stock lying around as you really need to replace those on the Chiappa and that's another 50-60 bucks if you don't have spares lying around.
 
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cas0586 said:
Thanks guys. It looks like that Chiappa M4 -22 upper kit is running about $280 now. The complete rifle is more. Almost at M&P 15/22 prices. Unless I am looking in the wrong places!
Click to expand...



I got he Chiappa rifle but haven't had a chance to shoot it (dislocated my shoulder not long after buying it). Fit and finish aren't bad and everything seems to operate as it should doing function checks and dry firing it with aluminum snap caps.

One thing I DID change on it was the butt stock and buffer tube because the length of pull for my girlfriend's 11 year old is too long. Now it has a collapsible stock, though the original stock was good enough for a .22LR.
 
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I feel like I should clarify my original post. If you already have an AR-15 and a set of tools then for sure I would recommend building a dedicated 22lr upper. If you don't have the tools then perhaps buying a M&P might make more sense (I'd recommend a Sig 522 first though). That said, any of the "conversion kits" can easily be adapted down the road to a dedicated upper with a simple collar. I highly recommend Tapcom when it comes to 22lr AR parts/barrels. Barrel - Steel 16"
 
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