AR Sponsor
Posted: 3/3/2026 10:27:10 PM EDT
|
I've built several AR's in several calibers, but never 22lr. I've decided to build a dedicated upper, I'll be using the CMMG 22 barrel and bolt. But what Upper will work with that? Will any .223/5.56 upper be plug and play with the .22lr? What about 9mm uppers? I ask because I have one laying around. I'm assuming the ejection port size is relatively unimportant, am I right? What else do I need to know? Ideally I'm looking at a slick sided upper. |
|
Pretty much any upper. Barrel, bolt and magazine and you are good I used a CMMG barrel and bolt to build my dedicated 22lr and it functions great and accurate Bottom 
|
I was born in Birkenhead and I was poor , I was dressed from the local army and navy store and I can tell you its no fun going to school dressed as a Japanese admiral-UKjohn
I just finished a dedicated AR22 build a couple of weeks ago. Still have not shot it but plan to this weekend. Build included:
|
AT7WE2
|
I'm pretty sure that 9mm upper will work just fine. Otherwise and std upper receiver will work. I recommend the pressure plug. That just keeps a little forward pressure on the frame that keeps the collar in place. The bolt reciprocates but you want to limit the collar moving as much as possible. I recommend Black Dog magazines or S&W M-P 22 mags (with magwell spacer). I've never had much luck with CMMG mags. Good luck and have fun! |
|
Considering all the trouble people are having with .22 AR's, I would suggest that you go with a dedicated upper from CMMG or other manufacturer. There have been multiple threads about possible fixes to get a .22 running consistently with the CMMG conversion bolt assembly. There is now a market for "fixes" to these builds. You can invest many times the cost of a CMMG upper by trying to fix the problem. Maybe you'll get lucky and get yours to work right off the bat. Kudos to you if you do, but many of us have essentially magazine fed single shot or three shot AR-22's. It's very frustrating, especially if you're doing any sort of competition. |
|
OP, if you audible, RTB is GTG https://www.righttobear.com/complete-22lr-upper-groups/?sort=priceasc |
|
I have put together atleast 6 dedicated 22 uppers. Every single one ran great with any standard cheapest AR15 upper receiver I ever bought. Not understanding what troubles people could be having? Every single one ran perfect from day one.. CMMG uppers cannot be any different than any other standard AR15 upper reciever. I always just throw on the dedicated barrel to my cheap receiver, throw in the dedicated stainless bolt assembly and I was always off and running. I also never use crap ammo. Only CCI SV and MM. And god forbid. No oil lube..That is the most detrimental people cause themselves with them.It is simply not needed.. A little dry lube if you have to lube at all. I do have a pressure plug, and one of their firing pins in my current one that Bore buddy gave me a few years back. But I started running a SS so thought those would be a good idea to use. I am at a complete loss as to what people can possibly be doing to create these problems. First I have ever heard of it, let alone on a mass scale.. RTB barrels and BCGs are good to go..I think they are made by CMMG anyway..Or used to be. Bore buddy has great stuff too. I have their Trip and weights in SS equipped one. Great products.. I myself would skip the expense of Bolt Hold Opens. I just use trouble free Black Dog Mags, 25 and 50 round drums...I have used the better mag adapter and such with SW 15-22 mags..They are great mags..But LSHO adapters have always just caused me headaches, and I have no use for them..Maybe some will put up with them and ne4ed them for shooting competition. Just not me.... Know nothing about Kriss mags..And do not need to..BDs work all the time reliably. So I will stick to those.. And I use 50 rounds almost exclusively with my SS.. No last shot hold open made for those anyway.. |
Joined:
Jul 2023
Posts:
135
EE: 100% (8)
AZ, USA
|
Originally Posted By Piratepast40: Considering all the trouble people are having with .22 AR's, I would suggest that you go with a dedicated upper from CMMG or other manufacturer. There have been multiple threads about possible fixes to get a .22 running consistently with the CMMG conversion bolt assembly. There is now a market for "fixes" to these builds. You can invest many times the cost of a CMMG upper by trying to fix the problem. Maybe you'll get lucky and get yours to work right off the bat. Kudos to you if you do, but many of us have essentially magazine fed single shot or three shot AR-22's. It's very frustrating, especially if you're doing any sort of competition. I have built an about half a dozen 22’s all with mil spec regular plain Jain uppers and never had any issues. The OP said he has an actual dedicated 22 bolt carrier group (not a conversion) and a barrel. He should be fine. 22 builds are not very complicated. It’s only when you get conversion kits and non dedicated 22 barrels and crappy mags that you start running into issues. I have used multiple combos of CMMG parts, bore buddy parts all mix matched and never had issues. I think the main thing is buy good mags. Black dog or S&W (make sure you get the conversion block) I have actually found 22 uppers to be super easy and not picky at all. In all my builds I have yet to have any issues and I have tried about the entire list of cheap bulk box 22 ammo in all different configurations, generic 22 barrels, short little 4” CMMG barrels, log BB apogee match barrel, suppressed, unsuppressed, etc. never had any issues. And with the S&W mags and Better-mag block I would say about 95% of them time I get last round hold open. |
AR Sponsor