jkrispies Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 I'm considering lots of options for a new iron-sighted rimfire rifle build for Steel matches. As part of my research, is there anybody who has experience with a .22lr rifle upper that can be swapped onto an existing AR-15 lower and that runs with 100% reliability? To be clear, I'm far more concerned with a gun that goes bang for 200 consecutive shots than one which is super accurate or cool looking. Having said that, if the upper can accept AR handguards (ie, a BCM KMR, etc) to match my .223's ergonomics and balance point, that would be a nice bonus. IMPORTANT: With all due respect, please don't side-track this into a "just get an M&P-22" or "I like 10/22's" thread-- that's not my question. I already know that those guns are reliable. I'm looking specifically for info on conversion uppers that are reliable enough for competition use. Thanks, J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 I think the reliability of a .22LR AR upper is not so much the upper as it is the ammo you feed it. My .22LR upper is home built with a Taccom barrel and CMMG conversion kit. With the right ammo, it is very reliable. I can't say it will go bang 200 times in a row but that is more an ammo problem rather than an upper problem. Back when .22LR ammo was hard to find, if it was on the shelves I would buy it. Now I have lots of somewhat crappy ammo. I have a Ruger Mk II pistol that shoots almost anything. Due the the crappy ammo, it will still not fire every time. It does feed and extract, it just don't always fire. The shell will have a nice dent where the firing pin hit. It just don't go bang. The cheaper bulk grades of Remington and Winchester are the worst. The AR upper is much more ammo sensitive than that Ruger pistol. On the non-crappy side, Federal bulk ammo (with the copper plated bullets, not the bare lead bullets) function well in my upper. The full line of CCI ,22LR ammo (except the soft shooting sub-sonic stuff) runs the best. That will include both the CCI standard speed and the Mini-Max rounds. I've also found that the harder the hammer hits, the better the chance it will go bang. Lowers with mil-spec triggers do well. An upper with a CMC trigger which has less hammer energy does not do very well. The best lower has a Hiperfire 24c with the springs for the lightest trigger pull (and yields the highest hammer hit). Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjw Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 (edited) 26 minutes ago, jkrispies said: I'm considering lots of options for a new iron-sighted rimfire rifle build for Steel matches. As part of my research, is there anybody who has experience with a .22lr rifle upper that can be swapped onto an existing AR-15 lower and that runs with 100% reliability? To be clear, I'm far more concerned with a gun that goes bang for 200 consecutive shots than one which is super accurate or cool looking. Having said that, if the upper can accept AR handguards (ie, a BCM KMR, etc) to match my .223's ergonomics and balance point, that would be a nice bonus. IMPORTANT: With all due respect, please don't side-track this into a "just get an M&P-22" or "I like 10/22's" thread-- that's not my question. I already know that those guns are reliable. I'm looking specifically for info on conversion uppers that are reliable enough for competition use. Thanks, J i have several .22's ruger take downs and ar uppers by tac solution i have a t/sol 6" bbl upper made as a proto-type around for yrs.. as accurate as any gun i have ever seen. good on target's to 200 yds 10" plates. have a 16" lt wt t/sol runs 100% also REMEMBER .22"s are not as reliable as ar's. u will have to just live with it, we all do. drowned in mil-tec helps. with the 16" and a 3x9 w/red dot last year i hit same 10"ers at 300 5x5 laying on the grounds. at a match. i cant do any better. i seen a ton of hi $ uppers gag. chet (t/s/owner) knows his stuff. use black dog mags customer service is as good as it gets in this business. (i am in the business) quick turnaround use good glass READ CAREFULLY: i have never seen another upper i would trade mine for. if shtf ever comes i will take the 6" upper stuffed in my o.t.d. rig, gemtec seahunter can, 1000 rds of cci standard v. same glass. like my chance's. of course an ar is my primary and always will be. good luck jjw u will be glad u did Edited June 2, 2017 by jjw spelling sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushmeat Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 I put together an AR upper with CMMG conversion bolt and CMMG 16" .22 barrel. With the new Black Dog steel lipped mags very reliable with CCI 22 AR and Mini-Mags (had one failure to fire in more than 500 rounds) and moderately reliable with Fed bulk pack copper plated (like a couple of failures every 50 rounds). However, it does not like to be monopodded. Tends to shave bullets if I do and I get a buildup on the feed ramp of the bolt collar (I think that's what it's called). After the first 300 rounds of use, It broke the hammer of the Rock River 2stage I had in the lower. Switched to a Geissele SSA-E and no problem since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted June 5, 2017 Author Share Posted June 5, 2017 Thanks for the info guys! I'm doing a little more research and am actually within a "one degree of separation" of Chet, so I might look extra hard at that option, especially after jjw's strong endorsement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recoilchamp Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 I had the Chiappa 22 upper, which some people have had issues with, but worked fine for me. I've been using the M&P 15-22 mags (they're loose, but do fit in a regular AR lower, and are more reliable than any other mag I've used). I did crack one of the front lugs on the plastic upper trying to torque on a free float handguard, but was able to replace it with a mil-spec aluminum upper and it's been running great since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Last Friday I posted "I can't say it will go bang 200 times in a row but that is more an ammo problem rather than an upper problem". After a thorough cleaning, I took the gun to the range this morning. By the time I was done, I had shot 325 rds of Federal .22 LR ammo without a single problem. No misfires, no jams, no failure to feed or extract. This was Federal bulk pack ammo with the copper plated bullets (not the bare lead ones). A clean gun with good ammo can be reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStagePlan Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 mine consistantly out runs ruger 10/22's running cci mini mags at every rimfire challenge match i have gon to i do shoot eleys out of it though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 7 hours ago, Wheelsonly said: mine consistantly out runs ruger 10/22's running cci mini mags at every rimfire challenge match i have gon to i do shoot eleys out of it though What's the make? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStagePlan Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 Jp I have done some improvement on it but it's the best foundation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntenseImage Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 Taccom barrel, cmmg BCG, using 15-22 mags ... And CCI AR Tactical this thing has been damn near flawless.Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStagePlan Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMXRACER Posted June 18, 2017 Share Posted June 18, 2017 My Taccom upper runs great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted June 18, 2017 Author Share Posted June 18, 2017 On 6/10/2017 at 0:09 AM, Wheelsonly said: Nice shooting! I'm glad to see folks are continuing to use the West Coast Steel stages (Wild Bunch) as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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