Dedicated 22lr upper

Gear Head

Gear Head

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Has anyone built one and have it run reliably? I have a dead air mask in jail that I plan on running on a bolt gun but I really want a semi auto plinker. I had a 15/22 before but ended up selling it to make room for some other things. I may end up going that route again but I'm putting together a pistol lower and plan on sbr'ing a lower so I'd like to build a dedicated upper in the 10-12" range. I've been googling a little and it seems like a lot of the 22 ar stuff is discontinued.
 
Since photobucket killed everything I'll have to search my computer tonight but yes I had an awesome dedicated suppressed .22lr upper it had a 4.5" barrel, was based on a CMMG kit, the barrel was custom, and the kit was custom machined to match the barrel. It was an awesome upper! There was a guy on Arfcom who built it for me like 4-5yr ago, not sure if he's still doing them.
I've had 2 CMMG conversions, a dedicated spikes, and this custom upper was FAR better. I only sold it to free up funds for my CZ Scorpion Evo SBR.
 
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My buddy told me that PSA make a 16" 22lr upper. I looked it up and it's $329 with BCG and CH. He was saying they have great reviews but I haven't looked at them yet. I just wish they made something shorter. 16" plus a 4" can is a lot longer than I'm wanting. I suppose I could just drop another barrel in it
 
I've got an old Kuehl conversion built off a Ciener kit. It's chopped down to about 5 or so inches now and runs great suppressed.
zb5Iz9m.jpg

Can is a full length Griffin Rev 45 with 22 front cap. Fun, fun, fun.

CHRIS
 
Nice. A quick google search confirms that's some old school stuff haha. Keuhl doesn't even have a website. If I were to get the PSA dedicated upper (trying to avoid conversion kits) how much would it run to have it chopped down and threaded?
 
CHRIS_WNC said:
I've got an old Kuehl conversion built off a Ciener kit. It's chopped down to about 5 or so inches now and runs great suppressed.
zb5Iz9m.jpg

Can is a full length Griffin Rev 45 with 22 front cap. Fun, fun, fun.

CHRIS
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I thought I saw a gas block but that’s the rear of the can I guess


@Gear Head ADCO cuts and threads AR barrels (standard) for $75. Non standard for $150. Not sure which they consider a .22 barrel.

CMMG sells a 4.5” .22 barrel for $150
 
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Remember it’s better to have a 1:16 twist barrel for .22lr for accuracy ... not necessary but better ... just FYI.
 
Nordic Components is the OEM manufacturer for JP and DPMS 22LR uppers. I have two Nordics and both run like a sewing machine until the carbon builds up around 1.5k-2k rounds.

If suppressing you want a maximum of 4.5" barrel to keep bulk pack ammo subsonic.

https://www.midwayusa.com/22-long-rifle/br?cid=23418

https://nordiccomp.com/categories/nc-22rb-upper/

https://grabagun.com/nordic-22rb-16-upper-w-bolt-saver.html

https://nordiccomp.com/categories/9-25-nc-22lr/

I call this the giggle stick when it has the 50 round Black Dog drum mag inserted:

 
11B CIB said:
ADCO cuts and threads AR barrels (standard) for $75. Non standard for $150. Not sure which they consider a .22 barrel.
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At least with my 15-22 barrel, it was considered an AR barrel. Any barrel that will drop through a hole with a slightly larger diameter than the barrel counts as AR/standard. It's simply due to the hassle that's required to chuck it up in the lathe, or whatever equipment they're using.

Bunsen said:
If suppressing you want a maximum of 4.5" barrel to keep bulk pack ammo subsonic.
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This is good advice...and is the reason my 15-22 has a 4.5" barrel. ;)
 
Gear Head said:
Has anyone built one and have it run reliably? I have a dead air mask in jail that I plan on running on a bolt gun but I really want a semi auto plinker. I had a 15/22 before but ended up selling it to make room for some other things. I may end up going that route again but I'm putting together a pistol lower and plan on sbr'ing a lower so I'd like to build a dedicated upper in the 10-12" range. I've been googling a little and it seems like a lot of the 22 ar stuff is discontinued.
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The best you can do in an AR-22 is to match 15-22 reliability. The worst you can do is have an AR-22 that chokes regularly.

That said, if you're getting a can, you want an AR-22 because with the 15-22, most of your options are suboptimal:
  1. You could slap your can on the end of the 15-22's 16" barrel. This is lame city.
  2. You could shorten your 15-22 barrel, but now you're looking at SBR'ing the polymer 15-22 lower. That's a mental hurdle for many, but if you can clear it, you will have an uber reliable AND uber sexy SBR that could easily become your favorite firearm (not to mention the favorite firearm of any women and children in your life). See pic below.
  3. You could buy a ridiculously overpriced 15-22P (pistol variant, long since discontinued), and then work out some kludge to attach a pistol brace.
  4. You could buy an integrally suppressed 15-22. Since you already have a can, this route doesn't make much sense.
Not mine, but here's a SBR'ed 15-22. 15-22 reliability with suppressed SBR sexiness!
AqbqDqK.jpg
 
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Good call on the 4.5" fellas. I didn't even think about things going supersonic. I'll check out some of those links above. I'm not in too big of a hurry seeing as how I just spent a buttload of $ on a long range 223 Wylde build and just ordered the last of my parts for a blackout pistol that cost a lot more than I was planning on. Plus I'm only like a month and a half into my wait on the mask so I've got time.
 
Found some pics of my above described upper. I should've added that it was tuned for Fed bulk pack and therefore ran damn-near flawlessly with everything I fed it.

Compared to my 11.5" SBR, and it had a 7" Troy handguard & SS Sparrow.
image.jpeg image.jpeg
 
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I measured my barrel today and I guess I had it chopped at 6". That's before I knew any better, yeeearrrs ago. :p
The Keuhl conversion had a dedicated barrel turned. It doesn't have the collar thing that most of the new ones do, it was all machined as one piece so it extends into the upper about an inch. Pretty cool.

CHRIS
 
Using a standard ar15 upper with the following parts runs like a top with 15-22 magazines.

This 4.5" CMMG barrel and bolt kit (can be had much better price elsewhere):
https://www.cmmginc.com/product/barrel-and-bolt-group-kit-4-5-mt-4140cm-22lr/

With this CMMG 22 specific CH (is filled underneath to lesser change for jams):
https://www.cmmginc.com/product/charging-handle-assembly-22arc/

With this 15-22 mag adapter:
https://www.redi-mag.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=52

And this in front of your buffer/spring:
https://taccom3g.com/product/22rf-insert-pressure-plug/

And if you put it on an SBR lower, you can use this stock kit (22 specific as you don't use a buffer system with it):
https://www.spikestactical.com/products/parts-lower-parts-agp-side-folding?variant=32734231244
 
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Since the 22lr barrels extend into the upper a bit is the barrel length measured from the back of the collar? My mask is 5.25" so I'm trying to figure out how long of a rail I could get away with and still have enough can to grab hold of.
 
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S&WNewb said:
A 7" rail with a 5.25" can and 4.5" barrel will leave you about 3/4 - 1" left out the end of the rail.

An example: https://www.instagram.com/p/w7Gvsjnd81/?taken-by=innovativearms
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^ Pretty much this. Assuming you go 4.5" on the barrel to keep bulk pack ammo subsonic, you really can't go longer than 7" on the handguard unless you want to make taking the can off a real pain. That said, if the can is going to exclusively sit on this upper, if you get a handguard that is easy to remove with just a hex key, you could take the handguard off to get the can off for cleaning.
 
I bought the can to sit on a cz 455 which is my only 22 currently. Figured if I have a 22 can I want to have something semi auto to plink with so I'm looking to add a dedicated upper and a 22/45 so I'll be swapping it a good bit I would imagine.

My only concern with a 7" handguard is I'm 6'2" and am used to really reaching out on a 13" rail.
 
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Gear Head said:
My only concern with a 7" handguard is I'm 6'2" and am used to really reaching out on a 13" rail.
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As mentioned you'll have enough to grab onto to remove the can but it's definitely a different feeling shooting something so compact. I really love the feel of a 13" slim handguard, so going to this little 7" was quite a different feel, a little awkward at first but OMG was it a fun gun to shoot! Also, we're talking about a .22, which is strictly a fun gun IMO, so if you have to take a little different grip, no big deal.
 
I am putting together an 8.3" blackout with a 9" rail now so I imagine that will take some adjustment too but at least it will give me an idea of how jammed up I'll be on a 7" rail. The pistol lower for the blackout will be the same lower I'll run with the 22lr.
 
Gear Head said:
I am putting together an 8.3" blackout with a 9" rail now so I imagine that will take some adjustment too but at least it will give me an idea of how jammed up I'll be on a 7" rail. The pistol lower for the blackout will be the same lower I'll run with the 22lr.
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Sounds like this :)
image.jpeg
 
Gear Head said:
Yessssss. Is that the exact rail and barrel length I mentioned? I've got a m4e1 set waiting for this build. SB pdw brace and seekins mcsr rail shipped yesterday :cool:
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Haha yup, it's an M4e1 set, 9" MLOK, 8" BA barrel, SB PDW brace, Octane9.

Size comparison 14.5" pinned up top.
image.jpeg
 
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For decades used to just run a M261 .22LR conversion kit in my XM177E1 clone. Accuracy wasn't to bad as it had a 1:12 bbl.

CD
 
So I ordered a cmmg conversion kit for $140 but am still going to get a dedicated barrel and collar. For a few extra bucks I went this route because I liked the idea of being able to shoot 22 out of a regular upper too in a shtf scenario. Also picked up a ready mag adapter to run 15/22 mags.
0209181632a.jpg
 
Have two of the DPMS dedicated .22 uppers. Lots of rounds through both at a dueling tree and no malfunction. Accuracy is also amazingly good. do not believe they are in production now. I have taken squirrel hunting and only take head shots. Magazine capacity is kind of nice for squirrels. Had one of the CMMG kits before that, ran good, but really nasty on a bbl. and accuracy was just so so.
 
Yeah I'm not expecting much from the conversion kit especially with my 1:7 barrel lol. Mainly just for shtf but I did shoot a conversion last weekend and it ran well and was plenty accurate at the 25-50 yds I was shooting. The other reason is because my dedicated upper will be a 4.5" barrel and I don't have my can yet so this way I'll still be able to shoot some 22 while I wait for my stamp.
 
Remshooter said:
Have two of the DPMS dedicated .22 uppers. Lots of rounds through both at a dueling tree and no malfunction. Accuracy is also amazingly good. do not believe they are in production now. I have taken squirrel hunting and only take head shots. Magazine capacity is kind of nice for squirrels. Had one of the CMMG kits before that, ran good, but really nasty on a bbl. and accuracy was just so so.
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The DPMS 22 uppers are the Nordic Components design with most of the parts made for DPMS by Nordic. The 22 upper JP Enterprises sells is also the Nordic Components design and parts but with JP's handguard and barrel.

Nordic launched their uppers in July 2011 and then they basically became unobtanium until late 2015 due to initial demand, production and contractual obligations to DPMS and JP.

I steered several people towards the DPMS models during 2012-2015, and they all were quite pleased with the DPMS branded models.
 
I had a dedicated 22 upper that ended up becoming a dedicated 22 AR. Loved it. Wished I'd never sold it. IIRC it was a CMMG and was set up like my 5.56 rifle down to the style of optic. I dyed the furniture and mags "Bakelite" orange to make it easy to tell apart. Ran like mad even when filthy.

AR22-16inch.jpg

The idea was to duplicate this rifle but in rimfire

16inchAR.jpg
 
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My CMMG .22 upper has been dead nuts reliable even by 22 standards. Runs as well as any of my 22's including the M&P 22. It will even run with M&P 22 mags as will as the Black Dog mags. The M&P 22 mags have a bit of forward/back play in the mag well but I just put a small piece of adhesive backed Velcro on the upper rear of the mag and this makes them lock in tight with no movement.

hMclk3Y.jpg


pm581Ya.jpg
 
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Does anyone own the taccom quiet bolt kit? Delrin bumper that goes behind the bolt and a barrel collar made from delrin. Looks like taccom doesn't make 22 stuff anymore so I was thinking about seeing if someone would machine a delrin collar for me but was wondering if it was worth the trouble.
 
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