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.22lr barrels for AR platform

D

dm250

Private
Minuteman
Apr 16, 2008
16
9
Hi All,

I was hoping to pick everyones brain on suggestions for a dedicated .22 upper build.

I have one that a built a while ago just out of a cheap CMMG kit I got on sale and I love it! so now I want to build something with a little more accuracy. I am not super familiar with higher quality .22lr barrel manufactures or what barrel length to get. But I don’t really want to go crazy not he barrel length. I was thinking in the 12” range

For an idea of my use; I am not competing with this or looking to set any records. I just have an appreciated for good quality parts and builds so I don’t mind spending a little extra. Also not looking for precision shooting at 300yds so I don’t need a 22” match grade custom Anschutz barrel either.

I have a spare brand new Aero upper (ok we’ll actually have 2) so I was going to use that as starting point, and I really like the Bore Buddy BGC, but I am open to suggestions for other BGC,. I have noticed JP has a nice bolt and barrel kit but I don’t know if I really want a 16” barrel, I was also looking at Keystone barrels as well. But I kind of wanted something a little shorter maybe in the 12-14” range as I would like to run a can on this and don’t want it to get crazy long. But once again I am all ears for suggestions. (Also I have 3 SBR’ed lowers so no issues with barrel lengths)

I also noticed Bore Buddy has “match“ barrels on there site for very reasonable price. Any one have any experience with these?
 
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I currently own a BoreBuddy BCG, and have owned CMMG/PSA in the past. I suspect they all originate from the same place, the stampings and welds look identical to me. New BoreBuddy BCGs do come with an improved firing pin which doesn't seem as prone to breaking.

I do have a 20" Apogee Match barrel, and so far so good. No reliability issues, and I haven't noticed better or worse accuracy with the 1-12 rifling. The 12" barrel should be good to go, I'm thinking about picking one up to build a rimfire trainer similar to my main 5.56 upper. As far as I can tell the non-match barrels are .625 straight profile and the match barrels are .750. Apogee match is .750 but in stainless steel (nitrided).
 
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If you already have the CMMG kit you don't need a brand new bolt, unless there is something wrong with the one you got. You can just purchase the front collar and swap it out for the conversion collar. This will work with most of the conversion barrels out there. You can get this from BoreBuddy along with one of their reliability kits. They work great and all the parts are easy to install.

I didn't have a great luck with accuracy on my CMMG 16 inch barrel, but have heard good things about the BoreBuddy Apogee barrels so might say that's a decent route to go. Keep in mind that the conversion barrel length is very different than a standard AR barrel because of the shank length. A 16 inch conversion barrel is basically a 14.5" barrel as far as how much it protrudes from the receiver.

My 14.5 223 Wylde Barrel (bottom) vs 16.1 CMMG 22lr Barrel (top)
1709829263879.png
 
Pomyluy said:
I currently own a BoreBuddy BCG, and have owned CMMG/PSA in the past. I suspect they all originate from the same place, the stampings and welds look identical to me. New BoreBuddy BCGs do come with an improved firing pin which doesn't seem as prone to breaking.

I do have a 20" Apogee Match barrel, and so far so good. No reliability issues, and I haven't noticed better or worse accuracy with the 1-12 rifling. The 12" barrel should be good to go, I'm thinking about picking one up to build a rimfire trainer similar to my main 5.56 upper. As far as I can tell the non-match barrels are .625 straight profile and the match barrels are .750. Apogee match is .750 but in stainless steel (nitrided).
Click to expand...

BoreBuddy Engineer here.

CMMG/PSA/RTB bolts are identical. Our bolts use two common components with those bolts, but the rest of the parts in the bolts are made by BoreBuddy.

We've been getting great feedback on the 12" match, they are the premier suppressor host barrel but are still long enough to shoot and feel like a rifle without a can. Match Barrels are Bentz chambered. Here's a recent customer post about the 21" Apogee Match accuracy:


We've had quite a few customers swap out the new Taccom barrels for ours after being disappointed in fit/finish/function/accuracy. We may be running across all the people who got a small minority of bad barrels from Taccom, or there could be some more widespread issues, which it is I do no know. On the lightweight Taccom barrels (steel liner inside an aluminum body), the extractor tears up the aluminum pretty quickly and causes chambering/extraction issues.
 
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renaissanceman said:
BoreBuddy Engineer here.

CMMG/PSA/RTB bolts are identical. Our bolts use two common components with those bolts, but the rest of the parts in the bolts are made by BoreBuddy.

We've been getting great feedback on the 12" match, they are the premier suppressor host barrel but are still long enough to shoot and feel like a rifle without a can. Match Barrels are Bentz chambered. Here's a recent customer post about the 21" Apogee Match accuracy:


We've had quite a few customers swap out the new Taccom barrels for ours after being disappointed in fit/finish/function/accuracy. We may be running across all the people who got a small minority of bad barrels from Taccom, or there could be some more widespread issues, which it is I do no know. On the lightweight Taccom barrels (steel liner inside an aluminum body), the extractor tears up the aluminum pretty quickly and causes chambering/extraction issues.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the input on the 12” this is what i have my eye on the most.

Any chance you know what is the bust length handguard to go with that to have the suppressor “tucked” in and just a little bit of the front sticking out. I have a Dead Air Mask and a BDE22 for length reference
 
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dm250 said:
Thanks for the input on the 12” this is what i have my eye on the most.

Any chance you know what is the bust length handguard to go with that to have the suppressor “tucked” in and just a little bit of the front sticking out. I have a Dead Air Mask and a BDE22 for length reference
Click to expand...
You'll want a 15" rail for a 12" barrel, that should leave around 1ish inches of can sticking out.
 
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dm250 said:
I also noticed Bore Buddy has “match“ barrels on there site for very reasonable price. Any one have any experience with these?
Click to expand...
I have a 21" Apogee Match Barrel. It has been shooting great for me. Next time I take it to the range I'll be sure to get some pics of targets at 50yds. It easily shoots 1/2-3/4" groups with your average ammo (CCI SV, CCI ARTactical, Norma Tac22 and Match22); not high end stuff but not the "bucket 'o freedom" stuff either. I haven't had any issues with it cycling. If you're after a 12" barrel, I don't think you could go wrong with one of theirs.
 
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Let me know if you find a 12'' .22lr AR barrel. I've been using JP's 18'' .22lr barrel and I love it. It eats up CCI SV and I'm able to get on steel out to 250yards (as far as I pushed it).

They do have a shorter barrel option for steel challenge. It's not a 12'' but that light weight set up looks fun. https://jprifles.com/buy.php?item=JPSM22-6UL16
 
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I've had a couple JP 22 barrels, and while they've been 100% reliable with a large variety of ammo, they have not been impressive in the accuracy department. Even JP's manual states "From most high‐velocity ammunition, you can expect 2‐3 MOA and 1.5‐2 MOA out of less expensive target‐ or match‐grade loads at 50 yards. However, the higher quality match loads may deliver MOA performance at 50 yards." When I talked to JP about this it was clear they put a higher emphasis on reliability than max accuracy. They seem to be super ammo/lot picky, much more so than my 10/22's etc. Mid level match ammo might shoot 3" at 50yds, or 1", I've only ever found a couple lots of high end match ammo (and I've tried tons) that would approach 1MOA at 50yds. Both suffered from the same problem of random flyers, I usually shoot 5rd groups (range I shoot is limited to 6 rounds loaded), and it's almost always 3-4 really nice rounds and 1-2 flyers, never consistently the first/last round etc. I don't think I've ever found a round that would shoot say better than 2" at 100, and most are in the 4" range. Awesome reliable steel challenge rig, but not up for precision.

JP has a new rimfire precision full build out that is supposed to be approaching 1MOA at 100, but you can only buy it as a built gun, and it's price is well north of $3000, $3500 if you want match parts. It's unknown if they'll ever offer it as an upper or barrel kit, but given the price of the current version $525, it would probably be significantly more.
 
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What optic and use do you anticipate?

I have a 7.5" and a 9.5" barrel from Beyer Barrel that I have been very happy with. The 7.5" worked well with everything, while the 9.5" had to go back because it was misfeeding. I don't recall what the exact issue was--it may have been the chamber or the CMMG feed ramp. But Clint fixed the issue, turned it around quickly, and I think it was just a one-off/ rare occurrence.

The 9.5" has a RDS and magnifier and while accurate, I don't typically shoot it for groups. Beyer Barrels are steel-lined with AL sleeves and so pretty light for length.

More recently, I also recently built using a 16" Keystone Accuracy barrel and a 1-8 scope. Ive been too impatient, or had breezy conditions, to focus on groups, but have shot a few that were at 1/2" and I have to think with more effort, that would shrink a bit. The KA is heavy and was more expensive than the Beyer. It feels, looks, and shoots quite nicely.

There was nothing wrong with the 7.5; I wanted to use a slightly longer handguard. The 7.5" with suppressor is a very light and user friendly setup for new shooters, fun, etc.

The 9.5 with suppresser is a very nice size and weight, and could probably do everything easily.

The KA feels kind of... decadent, and affords you a number of options.
 
I have a beyer 16" for about 5 years. Shoots well usually under 1 " at 50. Sometimes 5 will cluster at 50. I use mine for the steel challenge so I would say the bolt barrel combo is reliable. had to replace cmmg factory spring and did put the bore buddy weight in after a open bolt discharge.
 
cbailey said:
I have a beyer 16" for about 5 years. Shoots well usually under 1 " at 50. Sometimes 5 will cluster at 50. I use mine for the steel challenge so I would say the bolt barrel combo is reliable. had to replace cmmg factory spring and did put the bore buddy weight in after a open bolt discharge.
Click to expand...
2moa is about the accuracy limit for many AR22 barrels. What ammo?
 
mostly sk standard, centerx I order lots for my benchrest rifle and shoot the not so good in my ar. good groups were with a scope for testing. red dot for steel challenge
 
started with this ar setup for local 50 yd with a23 targets if i remember. Quickly switched to cz 457, then had a custom barrel on cz457. then had a vudoo, then what i now shoot is old 10x single shot with shilen ratchet i put on. Rabbit hole
 
Has anyone done a comparison of the bb match and the keystone barrel. I realize there is a pretty decent price difference between the 2 just checking to see if performance is close
 
For those of you who have messed with the RTB and BB uppers… are the Bore Buddy worth the extra money vs a couple extra mags and ammo? I’m not looking for match grade just decent plinking.
 
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