22lr conversion for a AR-15

[svxwilson]

I am considering getting a 22lr kit for my DDM4v7. Just to give me something cheaper than 5.56 to get some short range trigger time with my AR. I have seen the CMMG bolt conversion kit, does anybody own this or have any thoughts about it? Or should I just buy a whole 22lr upper to practice with?
How about accuracy? With the 22lr kits? I have a 10/22 and get marginal accuracy out of it. I can still bang steel with it at 200 though. I have not babied it. Shot the living shit out of it so I don't expect it to be accurate. And a large group of those shots are at a high rate of speed, gotta love the 22lr! Anyway let me have it guys!

 

[Ultraman550]

I've tried them in 1:9 and 1:7 twist barrels. 1:7 was too fast to stabilize the bullet and caused it to go haywire at about 50 yards. The 1:9 was fine. I would only shoot jacketed bullets out of your barrel since it's a good barrel because the 1:9 twist barrel I used was caked with lead extremely fast. If anything I think buying a .22lr AR upper is the way to go and they can be found pretty inexpensive right now like $350.

 

[svxwilson]

I've tried them in 1:9 and 1:7 twist barrels. 1:7 was too fast to stabilize the bullet and caused it to go haywire at about 50 yards. The 1:9 was fine. I would only shoot jacketed bullets out of your barrel since it's a good barrel because the 1:9 twist barrel I used was caked with lead extremely fast. If anything I think buying a .22lr AR upper is the way to go and they can be found pretty inexpensive right now like $350.

I have a 1/7 so that throws the conversion kit out the window. If I can find a 22lr upper for $350 or around that that would be the way to go. I didn't know they could be had for that cheep. And I could keep my good DD barrel ready for its 77gr bullets, that's even better.

 

[BoilerUP]

22lr conversion for a AR-15

I run a CMMG Bravo in a 16" 1:9 carbine gas 5.56 A1 and it works great. Through irons and offhand, I can consistently hit a 8" round at 100yd which is "good enough". I use CCI AR Tactical, Fed Automatch, and CCI SV - all function flawless. I'd be curious to mount an optic and shoot it for groups to get a real feel for accuracy potential.

Tried the kit in a BHW 18" 1:8 rifle gas 5.56 barrel and accuracy was poor (like 3-4" @ 50yd) and just 20 rounds caused gas issues. The A1, OTOH, can chew through a brick of 22LR and feeds/functions 5.56 just fine.

For $200ish bucks, it is serious fun...but I wouldn't use it in a dedicated precision AR or a "fighting rifle" unless I planned on a SERIOUS cleaning regimen afterwards.

 

[rundm]

Aguila super sniper rounds are sub sonic, 60gr bullets that should stabilize in the 1:7 but they are not jacketed and seem to be very dirty. I would get an upper to shoot the 22's with instead of fouling up my good barrel. I use my lmt mrp with the spikes kit and it runs without a hitch. Some say that if you shoot a few rounds of 5.56 ammo right after shooting the 22's, that it will clean out the barrel and gas block. I just never thought it was worth it.

 

[DesertDenizen]

Those Aguila 60gr were terrible in my experience. I have a CMMG kit in my Bushmaster 16" 1:9 upper and the rounds were not powerful enough to cycle the bolt. I had good results with Mini-Mags, and there is a good video on YouTube of a guy doing an accuracy test with several CCI selections at 50 yards. He found the subsonic and surprisingly the Velocitor to be best, with Mini-Mags grouping really well too.

 

[wakajawaka]

I've an older Jonathan Arthur Ciener .22 conversion that has been flawless.

Also a newer Ciener kit that is not of the same quality as the older one. It woks pretty good but not like the old one.

I recently picked up an older Spikes (a copy of the Ciener, as is the CMMG) it suffers from extraction issues. Spikes is still listing a very few .22lr items but if you need parts, like an extractor, you'll need to get them from CMMG.

I can't recommend any Ciener products. At one time they were the only game in town. Now, they aren't. He made some really nice stuff back in the day.

Today, CMMG is probably the way to go. A dedicated upper is the best choice as you do away with the chamber adapter and get a barrel with an optimized twist for. 22lr. Converting your existing upper is second best option. I've got an older AR 1/12" twist barrel that provides reasonable plinking accuracy but nothing like a dedicated upper.

The Ciener, Spikes, and CMMG are all full auto adaptable with the addition of two simple items.

You may find an old Colt conversion or an Air force conversion. They work but parts are not available and each require their own magazines that are no longer made. Also, neither will run full auto if you have one.

Get your magazines from Black Dog.

 

[SABuzzard]

Go with a complete upper. I have a dedicated CMMG 22 upper. Eats everything, is surprisingly accurate and cleans up quick.

 

[hk dave]

I bet they have some kind of sale on a dedicated 22lr upper black friday.

My CMMG upper came with a 1:16 twist i think... works great. Couldn't be happier.

Im pretty sure i'm at 10K rounds out of it. Had to replace a couple of the parts on the actual bolt but they were really cheap to replace. Totally worth it if you consider the savings on ammo.

 

[bunsen27]

Go with a complete upper. I have a dedicated CMMG 22 upper. Eats everything, is surprisingly accurate and cleans up quick.

This +100. I have a Nordic Components .22 upper. It eats EVERYTHING, and isn't too shabby on the accuracy side either. Although they have been un-obtanium for nearly 2 years you can get still get a JP or DPMS which are essentially Nordics as Nordic makes the BCG's and other parts for them.

22 Long Rifle AP4 Barrel Assy

JP - JPNC-22 Rifle and Upper Assemblies

 

[Kynd]

i put together a dedicated 22lr upper.. i used the stainless cmmg conversion and their barrel, 12.5 rail and inexpensive stoner upper receiver. shoots great, feeds anything, semi accurate. im able to keep groups to about 2 inches at 50 yards... the only problems ive seen come when its dirty, it gets gummed up and doesnt cycle. i just take the bolt out and wipe it down or just spray some lube in er! over all im pretty happy with it... but adding it up, i spent way too much on a 22! $700ish for half a 22 seems absurd? but ill keep it forever, or trade it for something cool! lol..
22 upper is on the lower, 556 upper on bottom.

 

[Kamkaze]

I run a smith mp22 setup just like my .223, way better than a conversion imo dedicated upper works too though

 

[Kynd]

i thought about just buying s&w mp 22, but i wanted all the benefits my ar lower has to offer.... better trigger, badd ambi safety, maid grip, acs stock and familiarity.. didnt want to have to buy all that stuff again, its the price of a m&p22! i want my 22 to be just like my 556, not just look similar. changing the upper isnt like grabbing a different rifle, its like your rifle just got quiet! plus, you should see how jealous the m&p guys are of a real ar22! my upper runs and shoots as good or better than any of the factory made ar look alike 22s. i did get waxed by a ruger 10/22 with a target barrel and some other goodies.. but thats hard to beat in the semi auto world!

 

[Redmanss]

Jump on this bitch like a Chinese hand grenade, it will not last long in stock: DPMS AR-15 AP4 A3 Flat-Top Conversion Upper Assembly 22 Long Rifle 1

The DPMS uppers are a Nordic in disguise.

 

[samnev]

I've an older Jonathan Arthur Ciener .22 conversion that has been flawless.

Also a newer Ciener kit that is not of the same quality as the older one. It woks pretty good but not like the old one.

I recently picked up an older Spikes (a copy of the Ciener, as is the CMMG) it suffers from extraction issues. Spikes is still listing a very few .22lr items but if you need parts, like an extractor, you'll need to get them from CMMG.

I can't recommend any Ciener products. At one time they were the only game in town. Now, they aren't. He made some really nice stuff back in the day.

Today, CMMG is probably the way to go. A dedicated upper is the best choice as you do away with the chamber adapter and get a barrel with an optimized twist for. 22lr. Converting your existing upper is second best option. I've got an older AR 1/12" twist barrel that provides reasonable plinking accuracy but nothing like a dedicated upper.

The Ciener, Spikes, and CMMG are all full auto adaptable with the addition of two simple items.

You may find an old Colt conversion or an Air force conversion. They work but parts are not available and each require their own magazines that are no longer made. Also, neither will run full auto if you have one.

Get your magazines from Black Dog.

I agree with the above except when it comes to the Black Dog Magazines. My H&R mint M16A1 runs flawlessly with the Ciener Conversion in full auto. When I tried to use the BD mags the upward pressure from the mag on the conversion caused on failure to feed after another. I did not try it on semi. Put the Ciener conversion back in and it ran flawlessly.

 

[wakajawaka]

I agree with the above except when it comes to the Black Dog Magazines. My H&R mint M16A1 runs flawlessly with the Ciener Conversion in full auto. When I tried to use the BD mags the upward pressure from the mag on the conversion caused on failure to feed after another. I did not try it on semi. Put the Ciener conversion back in and it ran flawlessly.

Sorry to hear the Black Dog Machine mags didn't work for you.
I've got 12 of the older ones (not the skinny ones) and 4 of the newer with the replaceable feed lips.
All work well in my 614, full or semi.
All my shooting buds are using them too. And, they have a mag loader that shure beats loading them by hand.
I don't like the Ciener mags as the feed lips are hard on my old fingers.

I'd love to have an H&R but they have gone through the roof.

 

[Kamkaze]

i thought about just buying s&w mp 22, but i wanted all the benefits my ar lower has to offer.... better trigger, badd ambi safety, maid grip, acs stock and familiarity.. didnt want to have to buy all that stuff again, its the price of a m&p22! i want my 22 to be just like my 556, not just look similar. changing the upper isnt like grabbing a different rifle, its like your rifle just got quiet! plus, you should see how jealous the m&p guys are of a real ar22! my upper runs and shoots as good or better than any of the factory made ar look alike 22s. i did get waxed by a ruger 10/22 with a target barrel and some other goodies.. but thats hard to beat in the semi auto world!

For me the only difference is the trigger, and I am not sure (haven't even looked) if there are aftermarket triggers for them or not. I'm definately impressed with the m&p 22 for sure but I might look into doing a dedicated upper when my boy fully takes over my m&P 22. To be honest that's the real reason I bought the Smith was for him but he was just a little too small for it, but now that it will be an SBR shortly and him a little older I am sure he will run it like a champ in no time.

 

[blfuller]

I have a limited run CMMG upper working with an old Ceiner kit. It was one of the uppers with the 18" WASP barrel and full length handguards, a pseudo dissipator. Initially I tried the Ceiner kit with my Colt HBAR upper which was a 1/7 twist and it was not very accurate. I obtained a SAC 1/12 M16A1 barrel and put it on a SP1 upper and that did tighten the groups to where they were somewhat acceptable. But I finally decided to go with a dedicated upper with a 1/16 twist and that did the trick. I have been using black dog mags and they work great.