So I’ve decided on purchasing a dedicated 22LR AR-15 and narrowed it down to the following 3. My wife and I are new to shooting - I want this as practice for my AR-15 as well as being the gun she can use at the range when we go together and I'm shooting my KS-47. For these reasons I'm looking for something as close to an AR-15 as possible. That is why I'm not considering a 10/22. Also why I"m requiring it to have aluminum upper and lower along with a preference for operating bolt release and functioning forward assist. I'm not looking for recommendations on any other rifles or getting a conversion kit instead, I want to keep my selection between these three rifles only (they have the features I want AND most importantly they are in stock/accessible). What is everyone’s thoughts/advice? How would you rank these three and which one would you prefer? Additionally any scope recommendations?

1.)Tippmann Arms M4-22 ELITE Tactical Rifle

https://tippmannarms.com/tippmann-arms-m4-22-elite-tactical-rifle/

2.) Rock River Arms LAR-22 Aluminum

https://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=1909

3.) Kriss DMK22C

https://kriss-usa.com/item/dmk22c/

In my experience, you are better off just getting a dedicated upper that interfaces with a standard AR lower (or just build a complete 22LR AR using as many real AR components as possible).

Here is a good way to do it:

Lower
- Standard AR complete lower (all parts work with a 5.56 upper)

Upper
.22LR specific Parts
- 16" .22LR pencil barrel
- Dedicated 22 LR Stainless Steel Bolt Group w/ included barrel collar
- 22lr AR Premium Reliability Bundle
- 22lr AR Charging Handle Insert
- Redi-Mag BETTER-MAG S&W® .22 RIMFIRE MAGAZINE ADAPTOR
- S&W 15-22 Magazines
Optional .22LR specific parts
- 22LR True Slick Side Upper Receiver
Traditional AR Parts
- M4 Stripped upper, forward assist, dust cover (if not using the .22LR-specific upper listed above)
- Charging handle
- Muzzle device
- Crush washer
- Free Float handguard

My .22LR SBR
Attached File


Pic of Redi-Mag Better-Mag. This adapter features reliable last round bolt hold open and allows you to use the best .22LR AR mags in the business. Plus, if you ever want to press the lower into service as a standard 5.56 AR, you can just pop out the adapter without having to use any tools.

Attached File

BTW... A forward assist is useless on a .22LR upper. They make adapter kits that attach to a .22LR BCG but they are unreliable and cause other issues.

CMMG 22LR Forward Assist Adapter Kit

While we're at it, why do you even use the forward assist to begin with? It was not part of Stoner's original design. It was added as a Band-Aid to address issues with changes made to ammo propellant in the early M-16s. In 2021, why would you want to force a round that is balking into the chamber? I would think ejecting the round and checking the chamber and bore for obstructions would be a much safer remediation.

Another option:

Complete dedicated .22LR upper that you can slap on to any standard AR lower.

https://cmmginc.com/product-category/uppers-and-lowers/uppers-uppers-and-lowers/?orderby=popularity&filter_caliber=22lr&filter_barrel-length=17

I'd still pick up the Redi-Mag Better-Mag, S&W magazines and reliability kit to go long with anything in the link above.

I’ll echo what’s already been said. Buy or build an upper. Slap it on a normal ar15 lower.

I built one a couple of years ago using the same pencil barrel and bolt recommended above. It’s a great rifle. Buddy of mine shot it at an Appleseed event. Worked flawlessly and he got his rifleman patch with it. Alas, using a 10/22, i came up short.

I absolutely love my Tippmann 22 AR.  It's been reliable, accurate enough, and a blast to go shoot.

nordic arms 22lr upper

Tippmann M4-22 Review

I'm now considering building my own upper.

I see someone above listed that there is a dedicated .22lr stripped upper. How is this different from a standard M4 stripped upper, aside from lack of forward assist?

To be honest, it only just occurred to me that .22lr uppers don't have gas systems, lol.  Will it function less reliably if you have a milspec stripped upper vs .22lr specific stripped upper? Any advantage to using .22lr specific upper vs. milspec?  

The advantage would be mostly aesthetic.  You won't be able to check to see whether the hammer is down through the ejection port.  A pistol specific has a shorter door so you would have the "advantage" of the bolt filling the port visually.

I have no use for a FA or dust cover, so I use Anderson upper that lacks those, but has a rifle length port so I can witness the hammer on the firing pin.

I once over 20,000+ had an empty brass lodge in the hole for the gas tube, but that's so rare I hesitate to list that as a milspec problem.

How much money would I save by building my own 22 LR upper versus buying a complete upper? I wouldn’t mind buying used parts mostly. The barrel I would probably get new. But everything else, I would want to save money.

You'd have to price available piece in the current market.  When I did the comparison in a more plentiful market, the assembled CMMG product seemed expensive.

The more important part of the decision to build was the ability to choose all my own parts.

Nordic Components upper or complete rifle would still be my recommendation.

I went with the upper.