Help me build a dedicated .22lr AR

Tim

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I picked up a couple of the Aero blem lowers last week and think I’d like to build a dedicated .22lr.

I have a 5” hand guard on the shelf, so it’ll be an SBR/Pistol build.

Help me with selecting...
Bolt
Magazine
Barrel

It’ll sport a Specter 2 can.
 
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Get up with WaHoo, he has built several if I remember correctly.
 
I built one using:
CMMG 4.5" barrel and bolt group (dedicated kit, not the conversion kit)
Boonie Packer S&W 15-22 mag adapter
M&P 15-22 mags

Awesome little AR22. As you probably know, 4.5" barrel will keep bulk pack .22lr subsonic, which is why this barrel length is so popular. I went with 15-22 mags because I had lots on hand, and they are very reliable mags. With the BP adapter and 15-22 mags, you get last shot bolt hold open - and bolt stays held back when you drop the mag.

sWu0Byx.jpg


You might consider a longer handguard. I used a 7" handguard and it worked out perfectly when shooting with @NKD suppressor. Problem with a 5" handguard is you really have to gator arm it. Whatever handguard you choose, definitely put a handstop on it, oriented so that it prevents your hand from sliding forward of the muzzle - IMHO, this is a must for these very short pistol builds, especially an AR22 that everyone and their mama will want to shoot once they see it. Very easy for someone inexperienced to let that support hand drift forward on a very short handguard.
 
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I have a CMMG Quebec A, it was their complete .22 AR prior to the Banshee series. I cannot speak highly enough about CMMG. Mine is accurate and runs like a sewing machine. I would consider CMMG parts for any AR .22 build
 
I’ve got a 4.5” with the CMMG barrel and kit with an ALG rail. I put my SiCo can under it and the end sticks out about an inch. It’s fun, but probably going to get posted for sale here soon as I’m downsizing.
 
I’ve got a 4.5” with the CMMG barrel and kit with an ALG rail. I put my SiCo can under it and the end sticks out about an inch. It’s fun, but probably going to get posted for sale here soon as I’m downsizing.

Hit me up to sell the upper and kit.
 
@Tim would you sell one of the blem lowers?
 
I’ll echo the CMMG dedicated setup. I had one custom made by a guy on Arfcom who would take the .223 adapter and machine it into a custom collar to perfectly fit the barrels that he made. The CMMG bolt was also tuned to my preferred ammo. I had CMMG conversions, a Spikes dedicated, and this custom build and the custom functioned soooo much nicer than the others. The only reason I sold it was to help fund my CZ Scorpion SBR when they immediately came out.

15-22’s are so nice I don’t think I’d do another custom build but if I didn’t want a 15-22, a CMMG w dedicated collar would be a no brainer.
 
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I’ll echo the CMMG dedicated setup. I had one custom made by a guy on Arfcom who would take the .223 adapter and machine it into a custom collar to perfectly fit the barrels that he made. The CMMG bolt was also tuned to my preferred ammo. I had CMMG conversions, a Spikes dedicated, and this custom build and the custom functioned soooo much nicer than the others. The only reason I sold it was to help fund my CZ Scorpion SBR when they immediately came out.

15-22’s are so nice I don’t think I’d do another custom build but if I didn’t want a 15-22, a CMMG w dedicated collar would be a no brainer.
M&P 15-22 is a no-brainer for those wanting a 16" AR22. Too bad S&W are such cucks that they pulled back from the AR pistol market just as it was on the verge of exploding.
 
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M&P 15-22 is a no-brainer for those wanting a few 16" AR22. Too bad S&W are such cucks that they pulled back from the AR pistol market just as it was on the verge of exploding.

I have a 16" 15-22 that rarely gets used. Hopefully, this 4.5" dealio gets more range time! Ought to be fun with the suppressor.
 
I have a 16" 15-22 that rarely gets used. Hopefully, this 4.5" dealio gets more range time! Ought to be fun with the suppressor.
Did you shoot my 4.5” 15-22 at VOD?
 
M&P 15-22 is a no-brainer for those wanting a few 16" AR22. Too bad S&W are such cucks that they pulled back from the AR pistol market just as it was on the verge of exploding.
Really wish I could stumble across a 15-22P at a decent price.
 
M&P 15-22 is a no-brainer for those wanting a few 16" AR22. Too bad S&W are such cucks that they pulled back from the AR pistol market just as it was on the verge of exploding.
I haven’t really looked into it but there’s nothing stopping you from chopping the barrel that I know of. The handguard is polymer so you could even cut that down too.
 
I haven’t really looked into it but there’s nothing stopping you from chopping the barrel that I know of. The handguard is polymer so you could even cut that down too.
Only “roadblock” of any kind is getting the wrench (or making your own) to remove the barrel nut. I have two of them. Just bought a second handguard so I can cut it down not as short is it currently is. I have some extra room with the design of the new F1 can I’m using on it.
 
Picked up a stripped lower today and will be doing a dedicated build as a pistol with an element 2 on the end.

Question, which CMMG bolt/barrel did yall get exactly? I'm going with the 4.5" barrel but not sure of the bolt.

Is it this one? https://www.cmmginc.com/product/barrel-and-bolt-group-kit-4-5-mt-4140cm-22lr/

Thanks
Barrel/carrier kit: https://www.righttobear.com/CMMG-22LR-4-5-inch-barrel-and-bolt-group-kit-p/22d5b6e.htm

Charging handle: https://www.righttobear.com/CMMG-Charging-Handle-22LR-p/22ba596.htm

Magazines:
https://www.righttobear.com/CMMG-AR-15-Magazine-25-Round-22-LR-p/22afc25.htm

Upper receiver (if you don’t have a donor):
https://www.righttobear.com/RTB-9mm-22LR-Slick-Side-Upper-Receiver-p/rtb-pcc-m4.htm
 
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Def pick up the 22LR specific charging handle or you will be severely annoyed with failure to eject/stovepipe jams.
 
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That too! I would have a hard time filing a form on a poly lower though.
Meh. Didn’t bother me. Heck, it didn’t even stop me from engraving it freehand with a dremel. :p

0C3EF12C-DD2E-4B17-B6AB-0AD3A1D9E0C8.jpeg
 
o_O... or you could just, like, ya know, do it the legal way, like almost everyone in this thread has already done. Soooo, yeah...
Sure, you could. But a lot of people don't want to go through the expense of cutting the barrel and SBR'ing a polymer lower. I've seen many threads on arfcom by people who loved the 15-22, but went with CMMG bolt and barrel for either a pistol (like I did; which as you know, can't be done with the 15-22) or SBR.

16" in an AR22 is kinda pointless (apart from more easily complying with gun control laws) - it's not meant to be a precision firearm, so a shorter barrel is far more handy and fun, and the ability to go suppressed subsonic with inexpensive rimfire ammo ups the fun/cool factor a lot. I loved my 15-22 for its reliability, but the fun factor of my 4.5" AR22 pistol is off the charts.

S&W lost a lot of potential business when they discontinued the 15-22P (pistol). Great for CMMG though.
 
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I'm pretty sure the answer is "no"....but I'll ask anyway.

You do NOT need a buffer/spring in the receiver extension with the CMMG dedicated bolt, correct? I KNOW that the bolt itself incorporates the blowback/recoil system, but I'm not clear if there needs to be any kind of block or wall to prevent anything from 'falling' back into the extension.

IOW, I run a completely empty extension tube, right?
 
I think so Tim from what I was able to googlefu last night but not 100% like you. I was going to post that question today along with what length handguard 5" or 7" or 8" is best?

I think I'm just going to get a cheapo buffertube and cut it down to a length I want and put a brace on it. May put a piece of foam in the end near the bolt pending other comments. I just can't see spending $60 on a pistol length compact buffertube and spring/buffer if it isn't needed. Trying to go as short as possible.
 
I'm pretty sure the answer is "no"....but I'll ask anyway.

You do NOT need a buffer/spring in the receiver extension with the CMMG dedicated bolt, correct? I KNOW that the bolt itself incorporates the blowback/recoil system, but I'm not clear if there needs to be any kind of block or wall to prevent anything from 'falling' back into the extension.

IOW, I run a completely empty extension tube, right?
Correct, no buffer or spring. Once assembled, you will notice there is a slight amount of fore-aft play in the bolt. This will not make a difference when running suppressed. It may slightly reduce reliability when running a 4-1/2" barrel unsuppressed by not putting 100% of the recoil energy into compressing the spring.

To combat this, Taccom sells, or used to sell a pressure plug you use in conjunction with a buffer spring. I opted to use a 3/4" dowel cut to length and placed in buffer tube such that the bolt could not move rearward at all.

But if you're running suppressed all the time, the increased backpressure will likely make this a non-issue.
 
I'd also recommend polishing the feed ramp to smooth out the machining marks. You want that ramp smooth so that you don't get feeding issues with cheap bulk ammo.
 
FWIW the package of CMMG goods arrived from Right to Bear today and it was USPS signature required. Didn't realize that it needed a signature and I got lucky it was lunch time and I was home. It was packaged nicely.
Like any other custom AR this sure is getting $$ quick.
 
Thanks for all the help yall. I got it assembled today. Then I broke the plastic CMMG charging handle when I hit the bolt release for the first time. POS. I've tried to superglue but no real luck. This afternoon I modified a standard aluminum charging handle so we'll see how that works.

Need to decide on a red dot of some size.

7" Midwest industries and an AAC Element 2 with a generous inch protruding.

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So took it shooting today for a brief minute and it ran fine. It's a lot of fun with no recoil, all action momentum. A lot of action noise but pretty quiet.

I think I've figured out the broken charging handle issue. The problem is that the charging latch hits the back of the upper and due to the shape of the upper and the outside part of the hook on the latch it does not open to allow the latch to open up and catch the upper. Thus when I hit the bolt release and it ran home the handle was not able to catch the upper, thus ripping off the tip of the plastic handle. After googling it appears this is a common issue with the plastic charging handle from CMMG.

I've modified a regular cheapo handle and have filled the channel with JB weld to cure to prevent a spent case from jamming up. I'll then sand a slight channel in it tomorrow. Also I removed the spring from the latch and cut off around 1/2" to make it easier to pull. On the hook of the latch I eased the radius a bit more and polished it up so that it will open easier around the upper as it is latching.
 
I used a AR charging handle (BCM Gunfighter). You might want to use some rtv silicone on the back of the charging handle, i.e., a DIY gasbuster charging handle.

When doing mag dumps suppressed, I was getting a lot of gas in the face and eyes. Using silicone to seal the gaps where the charging handle meets the upper receiver resolved that issue.
 
Has anyone used one of these CMMG upper builds with a binary trigger system or full auto? How do they handle on the giggle switch?
I can't find the rate of fire listed on their website.At one time,they made a semi and a full conversion kit in the 22lr..
 
I will start off with setting expectations, in case yours are similar to what mine were....There are FAR fewer options for 22lr AR uppers than one would expect, given popularity of the platform and popularity of the cartridge. With that, the market is NOT under the same competitive pressure as others and the uppers are quite pricey, unfortunately.

That being said, the 22lr upper can be financially justified (if you need it to be) depending on the purpose. For me, I had joined a gun club, purchased a bunch of steel targets and really got into the craft of shooting--previously, I was only a casual shooter and expert gun fondler. As a result, I was spending substantial amounts of money on ammunition (even after selling my soul to Russian steel cased brands) shooting ~500 rounds per week of predominantly 9mm and 223/556. It was clear, I needed 22lr conversions for my go-to proficiency training weapons to maintain this momentum. Id say for 90% of drills recoil and report are negligible parameters, and instead repetition, sight alignment, trigger control, muscle memory, heart rate, moving/dynamics, and myriad other variables are the skills needing to be honed for high performance shooting. In that regard, 22lr was the perfect training caliber and enabled me to become proficient in those skills at .04$ per round. I shot MORE and spent less. For my set up (both Glock conversion AND AR upper), I believe my financial breakeven point was at ~3k rounds of ammo. The 22s literally paid for themselves in a month.

However, sounds like you want to build one simply to fill a void in the collection. And believe me I'm nearly air tight, literally creating voids at the most granular level to justify certain purchases, but just know if you are not building it to SUBSTITUTE high volume shooting of another caliber, it may get pricey, with one exception (that I know of anyway). That exception is '22modsforall' dot com. I tried to purchase a 9in 22lr upper from them but they wouldn't sell it to me because of the disgusting location I lived in (despite being legal--can explain if needed--its as convoluted as you would expect). I think the price was ~$200 buck and it came with 2 mags, linear compensator and BCG. I have no clue how reliable or the quality, but for $200, id be willing to do some Dremel work to get it running 100% if needed. I may even buy another upper just to try one of theirs out now that I live in good ol' NC :)

For my AR...
-The Upper: Tactical Solutions Kestrel
-@ muzzle: Spikes Tactical Barking Spider Linear compensator
-RDS Optic: Sight Mark Ultra Shot Plus QD reflex sight
-BUIS: generic made in china ALUMINUM (never get generic polymer from china, worse than useless). Drilled it for putting in fiber optic wire (forget the gauge off hand).


Some pictures below on my Troy Ind. lower. if any questions happy to assist.



IMG_0106.jpg IMG_0081.jpg IMG_0078.jpg IMG_0080.jpg
 
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Here's some follow up. I did some plinking today and it runs pretty good dirty. I've made some upgrades over the last few months.

For the price ($120), I'm pretty impressed with this bushnell TRS26. MRO knockoff. I'll probably pick up another for my 45acp AR that has a venom on it right now. The bigger lens is nice than trying to squint through the venom.

I also added this folding stock adapter from a member here. Its a HERA Arms SFU. It makes it nice and compact, fitting into a small backpack. The only downside that I've yet to fix is that the stock will hit the bolt release and send the bolt home. The length is just under 17" when folded from front of can to back of the hinge.

The last is this small forward hand grip. The way it is mounted it fits right into the webbing between my thumb and pointer finger. It's mounted backwards but works well. BCM KAG.

22 A.jpg

22 B.jpg
 
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