OK... and what a good start it is to 2006! I received my Oly 2217 system from CTD and it was delivered by FEDEX on Saturday, 31 Dec. Too late to go to the woods, but at least I've got it. The upper didn't come with an operators manual, but no big deal as it's not like this thing is terribly complicated and it isn't too hard to figure out. Provided, that is, you don't let the little pieces go flying into the carpet in your den. So, I've sent an email to Olympic asking if they can supply the manual.

However... one minor problem: the 2217 system is said to be compatable with all rifles with milspec lower receivers. But, when I tried fitting the Oly upper to a Bushmaster XM15-E2S lower, the front hinge pin went in OK but the rear pin wouldn't go in at all. It appears that the rear hole of the Oly upper is smaller than the Bushmaster pin.

Then in total defiance of my wife having said many years ago "Why do you need more than one AR15?", I went to another Bushmaster XM15-E2S and tried fitting the Oly upper to that Bushmaster lower. On this try, the front pin went in OK and I can get the rear pin into the Oly upper, but it's a tight fit. Taking the pin out in a matter of using a tool to push the pin out and then gently pry out the pin.

So... should I gently ream out the Oly upper with a drill bit to open up the rear hole a bit? What do you guys think?

Next Friday, weather permiting, it's off to the woods!

SSFeldjager,

Glad you finally got it..... I also thought that I didn't get a manual.....but after my new puppy finished tearing the box apart....I found the manual stuck in around the packing paper....

I am also using the Oly on a Bushmaster lower..... a tight fit but really not a problem to me.....  I'd hate to ream out the holes in fear that it might weaken them.... like I said a tight fit is no problem.....

SSFeldjager,

I found this on a site this morning....this will most likely apply to all upper and lowers.....
hope it helps.....


Fitting a Rock River upper to you lower. (Tight fit? We can help)
All of the Rock River Arms lowers are an extremely tight fit, they need to be worked in the following way :


1. Assemble the front pivot pin to the upper.

2. Lubricate the rear lug completely with a light grease (best) or oil, lube the inside of the receiver also.

3. Ensure the rear takedown pin is completely out in the open position (detent is holding)

4. Slowly push the 1/2's together, they will stick (THIS IS NORMAL) it will most likely not close completely at first this is normal.

5. Open and close, repeat being careful to keep the halves aligned, do not slam them together but continue to use increasing force to fit together, when almost completely together use a nylon or soft rubber mallet to tap upper receiver into final position.

6. When they are seated (little to no gap between upper and lower) lightly tap the rear takedown pin into place.  This will seem scary to a beginner but it is natural for a tight fit.

7. You may see some of the anodized removed from the rear lug at the corners, AGAIN, this is normal.

8. You may have some difficulty separating the upper and lower, with barrel up and rifle unsupported (hanging in the air) grasp the rifle by handguard and give a "smack" to the top of the buttstock, you may need to do this repeatable, usually 5-10 times will do the trick.

SSF:

Glad to hear your 2217 Partner system arrived.  Welcome to what is apparently a rather exclusive club.

I'd imagine it was like being a kid again on Christmas Day for you.  At least that's how it always is for me when I open a just-delivered UPS box.  hould

My .22LR barrel sleeve was shipped without the hook pin.  Of course, this rendered it useless.  But Oly responded promptly to my telephone request and shipped a roll pin to me, no questions asked.  Now all is right with me.

As a matter of fact, I shot the .22LR upper this afternoon.  I took the cheapie tactical red-dot sight off and put on a compact 6X scope with illuminated mil-dot reticle.  After sighting in, I was pleased to see 3/4" groups at 50 yards with CCI Mini-Mags HP.

Craig (User 246):

I had exactly the same "problem" assembling my Oly 2217 upper to a brand new Rock River Arms lower receiver.  Without having the benefit of the procedure outlined in your message,  I wound up essentially followed it anyway by trial and error.

I couldn't push the rear receiver pin through at first.  About a dozen open-close cycles got the upper and lower mated together well enough to get the rear pin in line with the hole in the upper and the outer hole on the receiver.  Still can't push it in (or out) with my bare fingers.  But tapping the pin with a brass punch lightly with a leather mallet gets the pin in/out, no problem.

Sure is tight.  Hope it loosens with time.  I'll have to carry a drift punch to get the pin in or out for awhile.  At least the rifle shouldn't rattle, like other combinations of upper and lower.  Maybe the tight fit contributes to the accuracy?

Happy New Year to you guys.  Keep us posted on your experiences with the Oly 2217 Partner conversion.

R/ Jim

Hi guys,

"Welcome to what is apparently a rather exclusive club"  

Seems odd that out of approximately 2500 members of this site, there are only 4 of us that are using this system..... the .17 in particular.....

I got a chance to use the .17 out to 100 yards on Saturday.....just plinking at clays and steel plates ...no problem hitting them with the A2 sights......I really like the .17 round....now I need to find the cheapest price so I can stock up.....My local Wallyworld doesn't carry them....at least that's what the sales clerk said....

again.....HAPPY NEW YEAR  to all............

User426 and BastropJim...

Thanks for the tips on mating up an uncooperative upper and lower. Jim, I'll probably have to keep the drift punch handy as well, because just as in your experience, you can't push out the rear pin. Hey... as long as it works, right!! I turned the box and wrapping inside out to make sure I didn't have a manual hidden in there somewhere, but there were only the Thompson Cigar Company flyer and a CTD Master Catalog with the 2217.

426, it's good to hear that your did pretty good with the irons. I may try that at 100 yards just to see how I do. Usually though, I stick to scopes on my 22LR's so I can at least see what's supposed to be the target!

Right now, I have a Leapers T168 6x scope mounted on the rifle and I hope to sight in the 22LR with that. I'll probably finish out the squirrel season using this combination, as that's generally what I hunt. My sons think I'm nuts going squirrel hunting with an AR15, but like I told them, "It's legal because it's a 22LR or a 17HM2, not a 5.56/223." However... in reading through the latest edition of my state's hunting regulations, I see that there's no closed season on armadillos... and since I did see an armadillo on the property where I hunt during one of my last trips into the woods, NOW I have an excuse as to why to be in the woods after squirrel season ends and to bring along the 17HM2. hat

Hope you have a great New Year.

SSF:

I prefer to think of us as members of an elite club, rather than just a handful of dupes who got suckered into buying the Oly 2217 system.  hooting

It's a small world.  I also chose the Leapers T168 6x scope for my rifle, when I took off the cheapie tactical sight shown in the photo on p.1 of this thread.  It not only looks great on my CAR-17HM2, but I like the illuminated mildot reticle.  I've got mine focused to 50 yards.

I just today got in a box from M-A Parts with a complete set of tiger-stripe furniture for my rifle.  It includes the CAR stock, handguards, and pistol grip.  Really looks great, at least in the box.  I'll post some pictures when I install it.

Looking forward to your shooting report.

R/ Jim

Jim,

Who is M-A parts?????

I've been looking for a set of Coyote Brown Furniture..... they used to all over the place, now nowhere......

craig

Craig:

Go to www.m-aparts.com.  Page 31 of the catalog has the black, greeen, & tiger-stripe furniture.  Unfortuately, I don't see coyote tan.

Also try the following:

http://www.eaglefirearms.net/ar15_parts.htm

http://www.tapco.com/product_list.asp?dept=197&last=21

http://www.lonestarwholesale.com/index.html

Or just do a search on "coyote tan".

The military is switching to an official color "flat earth brown", or something like that.  I believe coyote tan is being phased out.

GL, Jim

Jim,

thanks........

I've been looking for a set of Coyote Brown Furniture..... they used to all over the place, now nowhere......

Cavalry Arms still shows Coyote Brown on their website, so anybody who stocks CavArms stuff should have it.   Unless the supply is all going to the sandbox or something.   RRA and Armalite make green furniture so that's easier to find.

Seems odd that out of approximately 2500 members of this site, there are only 4 of us that are using this system..... the .17 in particular.....

I'm sorta surprised there's not more about the Oly .22LR on this site too, but then Oly in general has never been a "crowd favorite" here.  The .22LR upper market seems, at least to me, to be mainly either for the "blasters" who want cheap uppers with hi-caps, which the Oly doesn't have, or for the "high-power practice" guys who want top accuracy, which the barrel-sleeve design probably doesn't appeal to.  

With the cost of .17HM2 it's not really in the "plinker" category.  More of a niche market like the .22 WMR and .17 HMR.  A niche that I think doesn't overlap with the AR market for most people.  

Hello, Mike, and welcome to our little "club".

Your comments about Olympic Arms in general are well taken.  This 2217 Partner system is my first contact with Oly.  So I can't speak from much experience.  However, I do have AR-15 rifles, lowers, and uppers by Colt, Bushmaster, DPMS, & RRA.

As far as accuracy is concerned, my limited experience is indicating the barrel liners in the Oly upper are at least as accurate as my dedicated .22LR uppers by Bushmaster & DPMS.  It's a little early to tell yet, but I'm shooting 1-1/2 MOA with the .22LR liner, and about 1 MOA with the .17HM2 liner.

This is at 50 yards, rested or off a Harris bipod, with an inexpensive 6X scope.  I haven't tried the .17HM2 at 100 yards yet.  Also, the functioning of the upper is comparable to the others.

I agree that a barrel sleeve in .17magnum would be ideal for suburban target shooting.

Time will tell about the Oly rimfire system ...

R/ Jim

I'll have to just be an honorary member of your club since I don't have an Oly.  My only experience with them is ordering a barrel wrench.  Their website sucks, but the wrench worked fine and came the day I e-mailed to complain that I didn't get it yet.  

I'm guessing the barrel sleeve thing is a turn-off to some buyers, but I don't doubt that it works OK, and the switch-caliber thing is unique.  Since the action seems to be based on the M-261 kit it should be pretty reliable, at least in .22LR, since that kit has a pretty good rep.  Lack of hi-caps might hurt them though, especially now that DPMS has them.  They'll get some .17 buyers, but probably not as many as they'll lose .22-only buyers on the magazines.

I'm curious how they got it working with the .17HM2, since the reports I'd seen on other sites indicated that it wasn't just a barrel swap for most semi-autos due to pressure curve issues and I think Ruger dropped plans for .17HM2 versions of the 10/22 and MkII because of that.  

Oly doesn't seem to have gotten the exposure for their kits that DPMS and CZ have had for theirs.  CZ's has been reviewed in Dillon's Blue Press and the DPMS has been mentioned in American Rifleman but I haven't seen anything about Oly's except in passing in a few threads on here.

"I'm curious how they got it working with the .17HM2, since the reports I'd seen on other sites indicated that it wasn't just a barrel swap for most semi-autos due to pressure curve issues and I think Ruger dropped plans for .17HM2 versions of the 10/22 and MkII because of that."

Mike_L,

I was also curious about that ...I read a lot of posts on Rimfirecentral about the pressure curve issue.....But all I can say is that it works ...and works well....... I bought the kit primarily for the .17 conversion..... for squirrel hunting and 100 yd plinking.... It has yet to fail and is quite enjoyable to shoot.... I think I have close to 750 rounds thru it....it is also a lot cleaner then .22LR.....

craig

OK... although I haven't yet had a chance to get out and shoot my new 2217 [two more days, hopefully...but who's counting, eh?] but in the time I've had it I've looked it over long and hard. I printed out the US Army TM on the M261 [do a Google search for TM 209-6920-363-12&P; it's in Adobe PDF format] and took the thing apart. Hey... I was feeling lucky. The TM is great, and it covers the disassembly and so forth down to the basic level [my level].

The fit and finish on my Oly 2217 is great. The barrel inserts fit snug with no rattle and they extend only to the end of the barrel, not extending into the A2 flash hider. The magazine insert fits with no problems into an Orlite magazine. I haven't tried chambering a round yet, but that's not far off. But as far as quality, with the exception of the rear pin of my Oly 2217 upper being a tight fit into a Bushmaster lower, all seems fine. Changing barrel inserts is just a matter of opening the rifle, pulling out the bolt assembly with the attached insert; one comes off, the other insert goes on; slide the bolt assembly with insert attached back into the rifle and you're ready to go with the caliber change. With the 2217 assembled and the Orlite magazine with the insert in it, you can't tell the 2217 from any of my other AR15's.

The first outing will be to use the 22LR insert for squirrel, as that's what I hunt. Deer and hogs are fine [and I do hunt those], but my thoughts on that are if you shoot a deer or hog, your day's over for the most part. If you shoot a squirrel, you wait a few minutes, pick him him, wait a few minutes more and repeat as often as you like. Rimfire hunting is great as it doesn't "broadcast" over several square miles that you're out there shooting. It's quiet, and the woods recover soon after you shoot. Thus, more hunting time. And, using a rifle to hunt squirrels rather than the "traditional" shotgun, makes me a better shot. Remember, a squirrel isn't that big of a target and they have great natural camo!!! h

SSF:

Thanks for the link for the Army tech manual for the M261.  Great info!  Looking forward to your field report on your 2217 system.

Craig:

Wow, 750 rounds of .17HM2 already.  If my calcs are correct, that's about $90 worth of ammo (or 15 boxes) - and in less than a month! hock.gif

Mike:

As Craig says, the .17HM2 barrel sleeve and bolt combination seem to be working perfectly.  I'd guess the mass of the bolt is just about right for the spike in the pressure curve for the ammo.

As you point out, Ruger has abandoned a .17HM2 conversion for the Ruger Mark II pistol and 1022 rifle.  However, Kimber has a conversion kit for their 1911-style pistol, and it works great.  I use mine with my one-and-only Kimber pistol (it's the .22LR).  So I have both calibers on the same pistol, just as with the Oly 2217 Partner system in my CAR-15.

I've already noticed that you NEED TO USE high velocity .22LR ammo with the system, or jams occur.  This makes sense, because the bolt would need the extra recoil to properly eject and feed the .22 ammo.

R/ Jim

Jim,

"Wow, 750 rounds of .17HM2 already. If my calcs are correct, that's about $90 worth of ammo (or 15 boxes) - and in less than a month!"

I like to blast......but look here......CDNN

As you point out, Ruger has abandoned a .17HM2 conversion for the Ruger Mark II pistol and 1022 rifle.  However, Kimber has a conversion kit for their 1911-style pistol, and it works great.  I use mine with my one-and-only Kimber pistol (it's the .22LR).  So I have both calibers on the same pistol, just as with the Oly 2217 Partner system in my CAR-15.

Odd that Ruger can't seem to make their guns work, but others can.  And apparently with no bolt/spring changes between them.  I suppose that a combination of bolt mass and recoil spring pressure keeps the bolt closed during firing and the .22LR is much more forgiving about how they're balanced than the .17HM2.  Kimber and the Army just got lucky and got the right combination for .17HM2 when they designed their .22LRs and Ruger got unlucky, twice?

Well, add another member to the exclusive club.  Early last month I was contemplating what rimfire solution would best serve my needs.  I wanted accuracy, but was not willing to spend over $500 to get it.  Based on the price at CTD and the limited reviews I could find I chose the 17-22 system.  It arrived just before Christmas, at which time I discovered it would not fit my lower (a 1980 vintage Oly CNC machined 4XXX s/n unit).  The rear pin would not go in, and looking in the hole I could see that there was a mismatch of about .010 inch (the hole in the upper was offset forward.  

A few hours of careful filing and fitting solved that problem, and I was ready to go.  My first trip to the range identified the next problem: pull trigger-no fire.  Changing to a different ammo improved the situation but didn't completely resolve it.  I do notice that the failure is always first round, and believe that the bolt may not be coming all the way forward on the first round.  I need to try a faster harder release of the charge lever to see if this solves the problem.

Other than this, I've had no misfeeds or other problems.  The accuracy is as good as I was getting from my trusty old Glenfield model 60 using the same ammo (definition: I've not shot a rifle for over 25 years, so that day on the range both rifles were better than the shooter.   I need more practice!)

I'm loving this thing!  I hope the first shell fire failures will go away with use, as the bolt mechanism does seem tight and in need of some wear-in.  As others have noted, a larger capacity mag would be a nice addition.

I look forward to hearing other reviews, and comments on an appropriate inexpensive scope.  I'll update the "club" after my next range trip.

Welcome to the club, Rono.  Please do give us a range report and some photos of your setup.

Craig, your tip on the magazine inserts from the Equipment Exchange paid off - thanks!.  I contacted GDS Enterprises (Gerald Swank in Austin) last week.  They still had the 2 .22LR inserts, so I went ahead and took a chance and bought both.  They arrived yesterday.  They look just like the one that comes from Oly, but they have the tab on the front.

My next project is to change out the furniture on my Bushmaster CAR .22 to tiger stripe.  Photos will be posted.

R/ Jim

Hey all if you ever find the HMR set up would someone please let me know. I would love to have on for my AR
Good info here on the HM2 you all have done a good job.
TODD

Hi All,

It's a warm 32 degrees.....so we're heading for the range......I've got 10 mags loaded up so we'll see how the .17 likes the cool weather......I'm also bringing my 9mm fun gun....

www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=122&t=263189

I'll run a couple of mags thru it to warm up my fingers....

I'll get back to you later.....

craig

OK... I was finally able to get out to the woods on Friday, 6 January 2006 to see how my new Oly 2217 would do.

I loaded up the magazine with 10 Remington Golden high velocity HP's and tried to chamber a round, but the round wouldn't go into the chamber. I was able to clear the jam and tried again with a fresh round. The round still wouldn't feed into the chamber. Time to sit down at the tailgate of my truck and look this over carefully.

I found that the round wasn't at the proper angle to be able to feed from the magazine into the chamber. So, after a little bit of work and looking things over, pulling the magazine out, trying it again with no luck, I finally figured out the problem. When you load the magazine and before you put it into the mag well, you have to slightly tilt the front of the magazine insert UP so that when you insert the magazine into the mag well, you'll have the proper angle to feed the round. I tried shooting 10 rounds to loosen up the bolt and the action and to see how it would feed. Eureka! It worked with no feed problems!

I had mounted a Leapers T168 6x scope on the AR15 to use with the 22LR insert, and I set up my sight in target at approximately 50 yards. No sandbags were available and my "rest" was an oak tree. The temperature was about 50F; the sky was overcast/cloudy; the wind was approximately 10MPH from the north and blowing [more or less] from behind the target toward me.

Bear with me, guys... I don't work for NASA. he
Oly 2217 Target 01

Overall, the 2217 system is capable of better accuracy than I am able to give it. I fired about 200 rounds of the Remington 22LR Golden HP's and didn't have a single problem, other than what I note above which was nothing more than my error in figuring out how to care and feed the 2217.

By the way, the people at Oly sent me an owners manual since I didn't get one with the upper when I ordered it from Cheaper Than Dirt. The Oly manual is OK, but the US Army manual that I referenced in one of my earlier postings is much better and really gets down to the small details.

Shooting with the 17HM2 insert will have to wait until squirrel season is over, but I expect performance to be about the same, if not better.

My impressions? The Oly 2217 is a quality product, and works as advertised. I'm very pleased with the 2217 Partner conversion system, and highly recommend it to those who have been trying to make a choice as for what to get. My choices were between the DPMS 22LR M4 dedicated upper, the CZ 22LR upper or the Oly 2217 and after reading the posts by BastropJim and User426, their experiences made me decide to go with the Oly 2217. Of course, CTD's price at the time [$399.99] also was a big influence. With the Oly 2217, I can shoot TWO calibers with swapping out only the barrel inserts! So, thanks guys for posting how your experiences went, because I'm sure happy I went with the Oly 2217.

Tag

SSF:

Thanks for that very informative report on your first experience with you 2217 Partner System.  It's great to hear that you're pleased with it - at least so far.  We now have 4 satisfied members of "the club".  he
I'm sure you noticed that the insert tends to move around while loading, especially during the last few rounds (#7-#10).  The GI mag spring doesn't have the stiffness to keep the insert in place.  I'd like to see the inserts riveted so they can't move around.  If someone could provide this service, I'd be interested in having some of my GI mags converted.

When you get the chance to try out the .17HM2 barrel insert, I think you'll find it will shoot groups roughly 1/2 the size of .22LR at 50 yards.  There's no reason why the .17HM2 Oly barrel insert won't shoot 1 MOA groups.

We had a high temperature of 76 degrees, but I didn't have a chance to get out to do some shooting of my own.  h
R/ Jim

Hi guys,

Today I had a chance to use both barrel inserts.....not a single problem out in the field....I thought that I might encounter a problem removing a hot insert....but it came out with ease and was only slightly warm after about 250 .17 H2 rounds....... the 22LR insert in the upper was also quite impressive ..it could easily outshoot me.....  we were just hitting steel plates at 50 yards but a lot of fun.....now if I had a couple of high cap mags....

Jim,

"I'd like to see the inserts riveted so they can't move around. If someone could provide this service, I'd be interested in having some of my GI mags converted."     I'd also like to get a few inserts rivited in..... but at least that front tab on the GI inserts helps the insert nose diving problem.....

All in all a great product .......

Well, I went to the range again today.  This time there were no first round misfires.  I did have a bit of trouble with feeding this time.  After 200 rounds, I think I know where the magazine insert is supposed to set for proper feed.  The last 20 or 30 rounds were feeding just fine.  This outing I used new CCI .22 instead of the 35 year old Remingtons I was shooting last time.  The CCIs have a much tighter pattern, and actually shoor higher than the Remingtons at 25 yards.

With a hundred fifty rounds of practice, I was able to tighten the groups of 3 to an area smaller than a nickel.  Much better than last time, when I couldn't cover a group with a half dollar!  I shot some pix of the target and of the gun.  I just need to figure out how to get them linked to a message.

More next time, when I hope to try the .17 insert.

Rono.....

Check out the picture below.....



the photo on the left shows the proper hieght of the insert in the mag......I have had NO FTF at all at this configuration.....you'll notice the tab on the left insert....the OLY insert does not have it,,,, so it tends to drop to a lower level and cause problems.....good luck and happy shooting.....

Thanks user426,

Two difficulties I noted on keeping the right placment: first, it shifts when loading.  The first 5 are not a problem, but every successive cartridge seems to cause a shift of position.  I always have to reset the insert at the end of loading.  Second, the insert seems to shift in the receiver, maybe due to the bolt rubbing it.  I noted on some of the misfeeds that the insert had shifted down to the point where the bolt wasn't picking up a new shell.  Most times just a smack on the bottom of the magazine resulted in the insert showing a visible shift upward which corrected the feed problem.  Maybe a stronger magazine sprong, or a block in the mag to compress the spring will help hold the insert tighter.  I'll keep tinkering until i have a solution.

One last question user426, when looking at the side of the magazine, is the insert tipped upward (so the bullet nose is higher) or should it be nearly flat?

Thanks again...   ron

Rono,

"One last question user426, when looking at the side of the magazine, is the insert tipped upward (so the bullet nose is higher) or should it be nearly flat?"


take a look at the pix to see the angle of the bullet in the insert.....as you can see it is nearly flat in the insert....not pointing up at all





good luck..... and good shooting

craig

Just got mine today! I am impressesd with the fit so far. I also had a tight rear takedown pin though. I am heading to the range this weekend, I cant wait to try out the .17 caliber -looks like a nasty little round.

Quoted: Just got mine today! I am impressesd with the fit so far. I also had a tight rear takedown pin though. I am heading to the range this weekend, I cant wait to try out the .17 caliber -looks like a nasty little round.

Tight is good.....  good luck with it....   I wish I could get to the range .....but my closest outdoor range is closed for the winter....

Hi All,

Has any one ordered the Oly 2217 rececently from CTD?  The CTD website indicates the Oly 2217 comes without the flash hider.  What's the deal with this ... would appreciate any thoughts.   I'm seriously considering ordering the Oly 2217.  Thanks for the great forum!

I would call them to verify.......

Quoted: Quoted: Had my 2217 partner since Sept.  No problems with either caliber.  What I hate is the 10 rnd mag.  I wish I could come up with higher capacity mag than this.  Any help out there? Well, there is a way to get hi-caps for the M261 unit that Oly uses for their 2217 partner setup but you may not like it! You will have to make them or have them made -- see below; img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/877429/Modcienerhomemadeoriginal.jpg You can modify a Ciener 30 round mag (center) or get a mag insert from E-guns.com like the one on the right and come up with the mag on the left. The Ciener is almost too expensive to screw with and the mag inserts that I got from e-guns.com look like the ciener magazine part but are not as good in quality but they work. The other mag I made is a 20 rounder (colt mag in pic for size comparison) and it was just a quick slapped together thing that I made to see if I could use some mags that SARCO sells that were designed for an AK-47 22lr trainer rifle. As you can tell I was kinda ticked that nobody made hi-caps for the M261 unit also! img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/877429/20rdmagside.jpg For a junky mag it doesn't look bad in my AR! img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-11/877429/20rdmaginAR.jpg

where did you get those inserts?