Looking for a High Quality AR-22....

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Skans

Active member
I would like to purchase an dedicated .22lr rifle in an AR configuration. I would rather not have a cheap polymer upper or lower receiver. Looking for all metal, but as inexpensive as possible.

1. Is there a high quality AR-22 available for purchase that anyone knows of;
2. If I were going to build an AR-22, where should I look for the receivers and parts. I've built a number of AR-15 rifles, so that part is not new to me.
 
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Eazyeach

New member
No first hand knowledge here as I shoot a polymer S&W 15-22. But I think the Walther HK 416-22 is metal. Or you could get a cmmg upper. I haven’t shot either one but I am currently considering one or both.
 
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Skans

Active member
Thanks for the information on the Walther HK 416-22. I looked it up and it may be just what I am looking for - seems reasonably priced too.
 
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zukiphile

New member
I would like to purchase an dedicated .22lr rifle in an AR configuration. I would rather not have a cheap polymer upper or lower receiver. Looking for all metal, but as inexpensive as possible.

1. Is there a high quality AR-22 available for purchase that anyone knows of;...
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Yes, but it will be more expensive than a very cheap AR in 5.56.

2. If I were going to build an AR-22, where should I look for the receivers and parts. I've built a number of AR-15 rifles, so that part is not new to me.
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Then that's what you should do. The premium for a "factory" built upper isn't justified (imo) except for the Palmetto State upper when it is $250-ish, and then it is only a value if that's the configuration you like.

I can give you a build list for a CMMG based upper with a heavy taper barrel from which I've gotten good accuracy (less than 1.5inches at 100 yards). For maybe $80 more you can get a Lothar Walther barrel instead. I have one but haven't had testing friendly weather yet.

$160 + s/h CMMG BCG and collar from Right to bear
140 Heavy taper barrel from Optic Planet
50 Anderson lightweight upper
5.09 thread protector from ebay
40 free float tube and barrel nut
40 Anderson lower
40 RediMag Better mag adapter from Redi-mag
40 LPK
105 Larue two stage trigger at AR15.com
45 3 ten round short magazines - Midway sale
50 stock
15 cheap carbine receiver extension (no buffer or spring are needed if you are willing to just cut a dowel to length)
$730.09
 
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MarkCO

New member
Skans, we used to build one, and we had great reviews, but people wanted to run cheap ammo in them and that alone made them more hassle than they were worth.

We used a CMMG style NiB bolt assembly with a Beyer Barrels barrel. Use Black Dog mags and everything else is AR15 parts. With match ammo, we were getting under 1" at 100 yards easily. You are looking at about $350 for the barrel and bolt. There are cheaper ways to go if you want less accuracy.
 
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riffraff

New member
I put some thought into this over time, kinda both from an AR and pistol perspective (ie having an exposed hammer fired .22lr auto loading pistol for instance)..

To me the clone .22lr variations of other center fire platforms basically aren't neccesarily great guns by design, ie for example way over built and excessively heavy, mechanisms that just dont work as well but are made to simulate another gun versus something designed around being a good .22lr rifle in the first place.

A 10/22 is a great rifle and there are high end varieties of them, an S&W 15-22 is a great rifle and you can also get the high end performance model. There are more expensive AR look alikes out there but IMHO then you just added pounds or chose mechanisms for the sake of simulation versus function.
 
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LeverGunFan

New member
Tactical Solutions makes several complete rifles as well as complete uppers that work on a standard AR-15 lower. Advantage is that they have the proper bore and twist rate for rimfire.
 
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9x19

New member
I have three AR pattern guns in .22LR and one in .22WMR

Anderson lower with a 7.5" upper (CMMG) from PSA (Better Mag Adapter and S&W 15-22 mags)

PSA lower with a 9" upper from Tactical Solutions (Black Dog mags)

PSA lower with a 16" upper from Tactical Solutions (Black Dog mags)

PSA lower with a 16" upper from Ray-Vin (.22WMR) (Black Dog mags)

The Tacsol uppers out shoot the CMMG, but it is a small sample size. I think TacSol has the better bolt/barrel design, but that is subjective since they all three run just fine, even with bulk ammo.

Good luck.
 
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zukiphile

New member
riffraff said:
A 10/22 is a great rifle and there are high end varieties of them, an S&W 15-22 is a great rifle and you can also get the high end performance model. There are more expensive AR look alikes out there but IMHO then you just added pounds or chose mechanisms for the sake of simulation versus function.
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Building an AR in 22lr in order to have something that looks like an AR is an expensive way to get a cosmetic result.

The greatest drawback to an AR in 22lr I see is the need to adapt it for a last round bolt hold open. The solutions work well enough, but no one would design a system like that if they were starting from scratch.

The shortcoming of the 10/22 can be the manner in which the barrel is connected to the receiver. In my limited experience, 10/22s are more ammunition sensitive; I don't know whether the barrel connection plays a role in that.

Economically, in a market that currently has AR BCGs in 5.56 for $50, one pays triple that for a BCG and collar in 22lr. On the other hand, a nice two stage trigger for a 10/22 is several hundred dollars, while the choices for AR triggers are ample and more reasonably priced.

EDIT - Rhineland Arms made a rifle that used an AR trigger and 10/22 barrel and magazines. It looked vaguely like an HK rifle and may have used an HK buttstock.
 
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Fishbed77

New member
I own a CMMG .22LR upper (paid $369 for it a few years back) on a AR-15 lower. It has been fantastic - far better IMHO than the plastic/potmetal clone rifles (M&P 15-22, HK 416-22, etc.)
 
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Mobuck

Moderator
Any AR type 22 is going to be a compromise.
"High Quality" is a relative thing and I've not yet seen any AR 22 that was superior to an off the shelf 10-22.
 
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mikejonestkd

New member
I am very pleased with my Smith M&P 15-22. Its been dead on reliable, and quite accurate.

It is easily on par with my ruger 10/22s as far as reliability and accuracy, and better than my marlin 60 and 795.
 
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bbqncigars

New member
My PSA upper (on sale 249.00) runs fine with every ammo I've tried in it. It's almost as accurate as my tricked out 10/22 which cost far more than the upper and lower combined. The bolt holds open on Black Dog mags, but closes as soon as the mag is removed. Very happy with this combined with the MBT trigger.
 
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MarkCO

New member
Mobuck said:
Any AR type 22 is going to be a compromise.
"High Quality" is a relative thing and I've not yet seen any AR 22 that was superior to an off the shelf 10-22.
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There are a few that are far superior to an off the shelf 10/22, but it takes some effort to get there.
 
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Fishbed77

New member
Any AR type 22 is going to be a compromise.
"High Quality" is a relative thing and I've not yet seen any AR 22 that was superior to an off the shelf 10-22
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Can confirm that my dedicated .22LR CMMG upper is both more accurate and more reliable than my off-the-shelf 10/22.

So there you go.
 
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zukiphile

New member
Fishbed77 said:
Any AR type 22 is going to be a compromise.
"High Quality" is a relative thing and I've not yet seen any AR 22 that was superior to an off the shelf 10-22
Click to expand...
Can confirm that my dedicated .22LR CMMG upper is both more accurate and more reliable than my off-the-shelf 10/22.

So there you go.
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I agree that an AR22 is a compromise, but then so is a 10/22.

I've made some pretty accurate 10/22s, but none of them came out of the box that way. I've had a Kidd trigger, a Volquartsen and done my own trigger work, but I've never had a an out of-the-box 10/22 with a trigger that was even OK. The stock sights are appalling, imo. The bolt catch, brilliantly conceived to reduce productions costs, operates as if it were designed to reduce production costs. The receiver doesn't permit cleaning with a rod from the breach.

I checked with Fishbed before assembling my first AR22. From my experience with thin 10/22 barrels, I thought an M4 profile in 22lr would produce terrible accuracy, but Fishbed claimed good accuracy. My experience matched his. I have gripes about the design of the AR in 22lr, but accuracy and reliability aren't amongst them.
 
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