Might make a good project for a 22LR offhand upper.  $372  

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/615478/cmmg-ar-15-a3-flat-top-upper-assembly-22-long-rifle-1-in-16-twist-20-barrel-wasp-melonite-finished-chrome-moly-matte-with-a2-front-sight-flash-hider

I picked one up to play with when the snow breaks.

Dang.  I think I got mine for $425 last year.  They definitely need a free float tube, as the sling definitely changes POI when you go from off hand to prone / sitting, but it's still a great training tool.

Looks like I need to be on the lookout for a used barrel sleeve kit.  

Until then, it will run offhand practice behind the house.  

I have one I put a cheap UTG pro quad rail on... Great setup and my only issue is a tight camber and a Failure to eject.  Hope to fix that with a little dremeling/buffing.

I will be trying mine out this weekend.

i have one of these i'm happy with it... i paid a lot more and waited liek 4 months for mine!

Ive got these at one of my local shops but it's the entire gun for 499.99. Im thinking buying the whole gun is a little better deal.

I did a little testing today after installing a RRA float sleeve.  The sleeve is not drop-in to say the least.

It was about 15 deg in northern Ohio today with a little bit of wind and very sunny.
I shoot off the patio prone with a sand bag and iron sights.  Groups are at 25 yards with 5 shots each.

The barrel has about 120 rounds down it right now.  

Welcome to the party!  



Bought that from one of our .22lr AR experts on the forum some time ago.  It is a CMMG upper that he custom ordered for accuracy testing.  It's basically the same as what you guys are getting, but without the GI hand guards and FSB.  It came with the aluminum FF tube, so I just drilled a hole and installed a swivel stud at 6 o'clock.  (the screw doesn't even come close to the barrel).

The CH was another EE buy, USGI surplus with a NM hood and Bob Jones insert to *nearly* duplicate my full power NM AR.  The dummy gas block is CMMG, and the front sight is actually Leapers with a NM post added.

It's been a great shooter.  Until .22lr went unobtanium, I was using it for sitting rapid drills and offhand practice.  

They are great little rigs.  Enjoy them!

Matt

Oh, I forgot to mention...  Groups you can expect out of the CMMG (once you free float the barrel, that is...)

These were shot on NRA 50 yard smallbore competition targets (at 50 yards)

Offhand:



Rapid prone:



Those two in the 9 ring are 100% due to the loose screw BEHIND the butt plate.

Matt

What kind of ammo does your upper like?  

I think the Federal Champion 40gr is promising, but only had 10rds to play with.  The group in the bottom left was good till I dropped one low due to my own incompetence.  

Remington bulk 525 packs are now designated to plinking only.  I shot 50 yds for 10 shot groups today with 50rds.  Groups #4 and #5 with a scope both measured 3", very similar to my iron sight attempt the day prior.  

Tomorrow I will try some CCI I have laying around if the weather is decent.

Unfortunately, mine really likes CCI mini mags.

It seems like copper washed bullets are more accurate in general than pure lead or lubed lead.  The Mini Mags work better than Wolf or any other match ammo I have.  Winchester M22s with the black copper coating are also pretty good.

I haven't figured out why yet.  Not sure if the WASP coating just likes the copper coated bullets, or if its a velocity thing.  The M22 and Mini Mag are both pretty hot compared to target ammo.

Also, remember smallbore position matches are shot at the target I showed above at 50 yards.  Guys using Anschutz setups hold the 10 ring (with a decent X count).  The 50 yard reduction of the NRA SR target has a similar size black, but the rings are much looser (X, 10, 9 versus X, 10, 9, 8, 7).  If you are holding the 10 ring on that smallbore target, you are doing just fine.

Matt

What troubles did you have installing the free float tube?

CMMG's plastic case deflector over the ejection port cover does not allow use of a standard receiver vise block.  You must remove the ejection port cover and plastic before removing the barrel.

The standard FSB bayonet lug must be ground off to allow clearance of the float sleeve.  

The extra steps are not hard, just add a little more time to the swap.

aww ok thanks

Not to be a smart-ass, but isn't the price of the quality .22 ammo that can do that justice, approaching the same as .223 reloads these days?  After the capital expense of the upper, man, it just seems like it's going to take a very long time for this to become cost effective.  Am I wrong?

For comparison, I find 55 gr Hornady ball over 25 gr of H335 is plenty accurate for reduced targets.  Heck, just shot 199/200 on the 600 yard reduced (to 100 yard) today with that load.  That's a cheap load, at about 9 cents a bullet (Bulk Hornady 55's), 3 cents a primer, and 6  cent powder charge.  So you're shooting real .223 ammo for about 18 cents a shot.   Match .22 ammo costs more then that now, doesn't it?  If you can find it, Gander Mt is saying they sell CCI Mini mags for $8/100.  So 8 cents a shot.  So... OK, you can shoot Decent (not what I'd call match), .22 ammo for about half the price of .223.   That's... not enough to justify it to me...

You are not wrong, the upper is not the practice solution for everyone.  

I can justify the upper by the cost of ammo and time associated with reloading 223.  Not to mention, my convenience of shooting 22 in the back yard.  For 223 practice, I must drive out and set up my targets in the next field down the road.  With the 22 upper, I can walk out and staple a target to a log at 50 yards.  I will be done with two stings of offhand before firing my first shot with full size ammo.

I just picked up a few bricks of Win M-22 for $64 to my door, so 6.4 cents per round.  The cheapest round I can create right now is about 20 cents given my available components (barring the cost of my time).  Post free-float and carry handle, I have $493 in the upper.  It will take me roughly 3,521 rounds to recoup the upper cost.

Given my current situation and practice requirements, it works for me.  

If your going to compare ammo compare match ammo to match ammo.  Sk is 8 bucks a box and 50 handloads with smks is around 16 bucks.  On top of that i can shoot a 22 at the indoor range in the winter