.22 LR Uppers, accuracy and ammo questions

[Tim K]

I've got the itch for a dedicated .22LR upper. I've never even been in the same room with one, so I have a couple of questions.

Will any of them cycle with subsonic target ammo?

Some must be better than others in the accuracy department. Which are the good ones, and what can I expect at 50y or 100y?

I guess you just buy these things complete, right? There's no way to build one, is there?

[Hoser]

There is the ones from Compass Lake Engineering and then there is everyone else.

They are not a Anschutz 2013, but accuracy right around .75 MOA at 100 is very doable.

They come complete, and are not cheap.

Mine will sneak under .75 MOA with Eley Black/Red, but I normally use Yellow at the OTC 50 meter range. They function perfect.

If you want to play with my CLE upper let me know. I will bring it Saturday.

For a blaster top end that is accurate, the Nordic is excellent. Plenty accurate at 50, but so-so at 75-100.

[MarkCO]

The Nordic is the cadillac, and yes they will cycle subsonic, problem is finding one. They are at least 5 months backordered right now. Accuracy is about 1-2 MOA. Magazines...Black Dog.

You can build them. There are a few companies that have .22lr AR barrels with no gas port. You need that, an AR receiver, a CMMG conversion and a handguard. When you are all said and done, you are looking at about $500. I have built a few for customers that wanted our Carbon fiber handguard and barrel nut to match their competition ARs.

[Great-Kazoo]

My ruger 77/22 bbl AR conversion is on the money all the time 1moa with good ammo. Subs , plated round nose all cycle fine. The flat tipped HP's not so well. We did a ruger bbl and has a bushing machined so it would work on an AR upper. Not to pricey to do and no waiting months for product inventory.

[MarkCO]

The CMMG dedicated .22rf barrels are in stock at Brownells BTW.

[Tim K]

I'm apparently retarded. I can't find the price or even a full description of the Nordic upper on their site. It also appears you can only buy them direct. True?

Hoser, thanks for the offer. It's too damn cold to shoot up here. I'll hit you up in a couple of months. This is the only time of year I actually get ahead on reloading.

Building one also sounds like fun. Once my credit card gets over the shakes from my panic buying I'll get shopping in earnest.

[MarkCO]

Nordic took it down, they got so far behind. I have one, you are more than welcome to shoot or at least check it out.

[wasntme]

I have a CMMG Quebec dedicated .22 AR with all the fixings. It was expensive but I came to the conclusion that if you want a .22 last looks feels and shoots like a 5.56 and is made of metal and not plastic, its going to be expensive. It is setup just like my sig, even has an Aimpoint 3x mag and Patrol Optic. I love it, can't hardly tell them apart. Very accurate and I have had not had any problems with any types of ammo. I don't know if they sell them any more though, last time I checked their site they weren't listed. Nothing like going to the range and shooting 500 rounds and it only cost $20.

[Tim K]

Hey, another Woodland Parker! That makes two of us. I'd like to see you upper sometime.

[DFBrews]

I picked up a tac sol upper and made it a dedicated gun. Running magpul furniture at the moment will probably clone my 5.56 gun eventually

fairly well built had a junk d ring spring and snap ring easy swap out it is a keyhole marked upper and the bolt is well made

[Wildboarem]

I have a question, is there an issue with running a conversion on your 5.56 upper compared to a dedicated upper? I understand twist rates would probably effect accuracy but anything else?

[dwalker460]

I was all set to build a dedicated 22lr upper and was gathering pieces when a CMMG Conversion came up and so picked that up as an "in the meantime" sort of thing. Honestly I like it better. With CCI "Tactical AR" ammo it will run 1 to 2" groups at 100yds- possibly better but it was windy last time it was on the range. At 50yds .75 groups are just normal. It seems to run and group better than my buddies DPMS dedicated upper. But the biggest benefit is probably that the gun is not changed otherwise.Weight obviously is slightly changed, but the balance etc. is unchanged so it is truly cheap practice.
Now, I used to HATE the 22 conversions because they were very ammo sensitive and basically sucked, with enough FTF episodes to drive you insane. The newer stuff is MUCH better. I have had maybe 3 FTF's in the last 500 or so rounds, so thats pretty good. Converting between 5.56 and 22lr takes literally 30 seconds if Im slow, requires only an elevation change (about 2") on the scope, and slapping the right mag in. Pretty painless really.

I shot the rimfire event last Saturday with it and it worked perfectly and was great practice and fun!

[MarkCO]

I have a question, is there an issue with running a conversion on your 5.56 upper compared to a dedicated upper? I understand twist rates would probably effect accuracy but anything else?

The accuracy is typically not as good: The twist is not optimum and the bullet make two jumps.

The lead fouls the gas system.

[Wildboarem]

Lead fouling the gas system? I've never heard of that, thanks for the heads up. Is it a potential hazard to the firearm or just a PIA to clean?

[MarkCO]

Lead fouling the gas system? I've never heard of that, thanks for the heads up. Is it a potential hazard to the firearm or just a PIA to clean?

Just a PITA to clean the gas port and gas tube.

[mikeh1911]

I have tried several different 22 LR conversions including the Colt and an AF 22 LR conversion. I had lots of malfunctions with both of these systems. About 15 years ago I had Accuracy Speaks build me a dedicated 22 LR upper. With the right ammo it shoots under 1/2 inch at 50 yards. Two years ago I had a dedicated 5 1/2 inch 22 LR AR upper built for my SBR AR so I could put my GemTech Outback II can on it. It is not as accurate as the Accuracy Speaks upper but I'm not looking for accuracy out of this 22 LR AR. It is fun to shoot and I don't have to wear ear protection when shooting it. It and the S&W M&P AR 22 are what I use when teaching women to shoot an AR.

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