View Full Version : Accuracy in 22 cal dedicated uppers
I've been kind of flustered by the accuracy of my 22LR CMMG upper. My garden garden grade Marlin 995 will shoot rings around my CMMG with a variety of ammo. I've shot a good bit of 40gr plated Federal bulk pack, American Eagle 38gr plated HP's , Remingtion 'Vipers' and target loads (unplated), and CCI minimag and I'm just not seeing the accuracy I would expect from a 22. I get 'patterns' more than 'groups' with irons or glass. I've fired it off my New Frontier poly lower and my Colt 6920.
I don't have the BHO unit, just been messing around with this thing for a while now. I've searched the forum for other replies on the topic but nothing is very current.
I have a good deal of Federal bulk pack on hand but I sure would appreciate a recommendation on ammo or something to wrest the accuracy potential out of this barrel.
Thanks.
47841
In all reality, it is not going to happen with the CMMG. The "production" grade dedicated 22 uppers, typically, have been reliable, or accurate, almost never both. The geometry of feeding from the relatively large AR-15 mag well and all the various ammo is a difficult proposition. I tried a bunch of them with all variety of ammo, just trying to best my 10/22s...it was costly and frustrating to say the least. Even with the JP/Nordic versions, tuned, the best we were ever able to get with match grade ammo was 2" at 100 yards, and bulk pak had that opening up to 4+" depending on brand.
I knew there had to be a solution, and while it took a lot of time and money, I got them to perform in a manner that was acceptable to me. We have a good 50 of our uppers out now and the accuracy is impressive. With some bulk pak, they are MOA capable, slightly better with match grade ammo. They will also run up to 5K rounds without malfunction if you run them dry with good ammo, like CCI Mini-Mags. It was a combination of things that we worked on and got the barrels, BCGs and tuning all figuring out. There are no other dedicated 22AR uppers on the market that can hang with ours.
Probably not what you wanted to hear. The vast majority of 22AR upper owners are happy as a clam with 1-2" groups at 25 yards, and that is what the industry has provided. I was not satisfied and found that no-one had really pushed the envelope, so I did.
Great-Kazoo
08-02-2014, 21:44
Very few stock/ out of box 22's can equal or beat Marlin's micro groove accuracy. My 22 uppers do what i want, ring steel / hit COM reliable. Are they MOA, not even. As Mark mentioned they are production grade units, designed to fill a gap in AR platform Calibers. Accept it for what it is, or be prepared to invest.
You won't get match accuracy out a .22lr AR upper. They aren't made for that. However you should be able to get a consistent grouping vs a pattern. Can you get consistent 1" 10 shot groups at 25 yards? If so your upper is performing as it should. If not, check to make sure your barrel is not loose and verify your crown isn't damaged. My dedicated .22lr upper can ring 4 inch plates pretty consistently at 100 yards but it's not going to print match winning groups at that range. These are plinkers and training aids, not precision uppers. You could try and turn it into a tack driver but you're going to invest a lot of time and money probably better spent elsewhere.
DocMedic
08-21-2014, 11:12
You won't get match accuracy out a .22lr AR upper.
Wut? I seem to remember my nordic 20" dedicated upper doing 1 inch at 100 with eley ammo, for Sportsman team challenge. Only reason I got rid of it is it wouldn't always feed 100%
Wut? I seem to remember my nordic 20" dedicated upper doing 1 inch at 100 with eley ammo, for Sportsman team challenge. Only reason I got rid of it is it wouldn't always feed 100%
I'm sure there are .22lr uppers that can achieve match grade accuracy out of the box, just like I am sure there were yugos (the car) back in the day that would make it to 100K miles without needing a single repair. However as a general rule it doesn't happen. If I remember right Nordic made some higher end barrels/uppers and they were probably priced accordingly. Eley ammo isn't exactly bulk ammo either.
I think the OP's expectation that a mass produced CMMG .22lr conversion upper will outperform his Marlin is a bit optimistic unless he's willing to invest more time and money than it's worth. Can you get one from the factory that is very accurate? Sure. One can always win the lottery when it comes to manufacturing variances, just don't count on it.
Like Doc, I have a dedicated 22 upper that will hold MOA accuracy at 100 yards. I have another that will do the same or better. One is a Nordic and the other is a Compass Lake Engineering CMP trainer. At 50 yards they both are just over MOA with Federal Auto Match.
My CMMG full auto top end will hold a 2-3 inch group at 25-30 yards with Federal Bulk Pack and Remington Golden Bullet. I am sure if I ran some better quality ammo through it and cleaned it once in a while I could do better.
Great-Kazoo
08-21-2014, 17:00
Like Doc, I have a dedicated 22 upper that will hold MOA accuracy at 100 yards. I have another that will do the same or better. One is a Nordic and the other is a Compass Lake Engineering CMP trainer. At 50 yards they both are just over MOA with Federal Auto Match.
My CMMG full auto top end will hold a 2-3 inch group at 25-30 yards with Federal Bulk Pack and Remington Golden Bullet. I am sure if I ran some better quality ammo through it and cleaned it once in a while I could do better.
Neither the Nordic or CLE is an off the shelf, over the counter, stocked @ walmart rifle, or upper assy.. If i was going to step up to the competition game, a nordic or CLE would be on the list. As well as investing coin on much better than bulk 22.
Actually, you can not buy a Nordic anymore, but you can get a JP (made by Nordic).
Now Jim, I am hurt, no Carbon Arms AR22 on your list? [Flower]
Neither the Nordic or CLE is an off the shelf, over the counter, stocked @ walmart rifle, or upper assy.. If i was going to step up to the competition game, a nordic or CLE would be on the list. As well as investing coin on much better than bulk 22.
No they are not a WalMart stocked item. However I was replying to the little tidbit below.
You won't get match accuracy out a .22lr AR upper. They aren't made for that.
Great-Kazoo
08-21-2014, 18:18
Actually, you can not buy a Nordic anymore, but you can get a JP (made by Nordic).
Now Jim, I am hurt, no Carbon Arms AR22 on your list? [Flower]
I found this web site, anyone dealt with them? . Fairly easy to navigate, self explanatory. They do gunshows ;)
http://www.carbonarms.us/
No they are not a WalMart stocked item. However I was replying to the little tidbit below.
;) .I know, they tools are out there, just not on most folks tagged list, shame.
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