Over the past couple years i've built fourAR15's of vraious calibers with the latest being a 300 Blackout pistol and a 6.5 Grendel rifle. I have a couple of spare standard uppers and multi cal lowers lying around and am intrigued by the thought of building a dedicated .22 long rifle one. I've looked at the conversion kits out there along with their pro's and con's, and think i'm leaning toward one just for .22. Tried doing some research online but it hasn't been real successful so i was hoping for a little insight for the members on here as to what components i need and where to source them. i would rather build my own as opposed to buying a completed upper. My questions are :

Barrel - steel or aluminum( Beyers) , i really don't want a M4 style, prefer a 16"-20" standard profile and do i need the barrel collar to go with it

Gas System - go i go with a setup that doesn't us a gas block and tube or just go the traditional route, and which bcg do i need with each

Charge handle - do these setups up a standard charge handle or is there a dedicated one for .22LR

Buffer Tube - Do a dedicated setup require a buffer tube or is it essentially just there to take up space

Magazine - Do the different options of barrel and gas systems require a different magazine.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated

Throw our your gas system worries because they are all blowback.

They don't use AR buffer assemblies at all.

The magazines are either Cienar-type (CMMG, Blackdog, etc) or S&W type.

I have some CMMG kits and complete uppers and I've been happy.

+1 on the CMMG collar kits and dedicated .22lr barrels... I have a 16" and a 10" for my SBR... originally used with a chamber insert and 5.56 barrel, and not happy with the accuracy... replacement with dedicated .22lr barrels cured that... mine is on an Aero Precision upper with take off PSA hand guard, so is not exceptionally light weight.. I used the SW15-22 mags with a Boonie Packer LRBHO but switched back to Black Dog stainless feed lip mags after the 15-22 mags had a gazillion rounds through them, and started to have considerable wear on the feed lip, from the rim

I use a home made pressure plug, about 1" long and convex front surface made of aluminum... I run it pretty wet lubed

for Steel Challenge competition, though, I put together a Brownells BRN22 integral rail and barrel, in a PMACA light weight chassis, Ruger bolt, CH, and BX trigger ... slanted SOPMOD stock and Hogue grip, angled fore end cantilevered off front of chassis.... Holosun 510 jumbo tron sight... I wanted the reliability of the 10/22 rotary magazines and lighter front weight, without going to a carbon fiber tension barrel... regards

I have a Nordic arms upper I used to make a dedicated 22lr. The basic design of the internals is based on a 10/22 so it feeds anything.

I just built a retro upper that I throw on a lower used for 5.56 . I used RTBs rebranded Cmmg bolt and barrel. I use Black Dog mags. I also got the basic Bore Buddy reliability kit. I used a standard spikes forged charging handle. The Bore Buddy kit has an insert that goes in the charging handle to keep cartridges from jamming up in the handle. I did not want the plastic cmmg charging handle.
Here is mine. I shot about 150 rounds yesterday and it fed and ran well. Maybe had 1 or 2 jams. I may polish the feed ramp some.
My new build


Edit.. this bolt has the included collar you need for a dedicated barrel.
RTB Bolt

It confused me with them selling collars separately but you will not need a separate collar.

Here is the barrel I bought and had cut down.
RTB barrel

I have a dedicated .22 running a Ceiner bolt group, Black Dog magazines and a barrel machined by Accuracy Speaks. It is very reliable, even when doing mag dumps. I would just buy an upper already made from CMMG or a similar source. Black Dog magazines with the metal feed lips have been outstanding for me.

Because more than 2" of .22 LR barrels are inside of the upper receiver you end up with an upper that is M4 in outside dimensions. It's actually 16" long, but only around 14" is exposed.

I am not a believer in using standard AR-15 uppers and .22 ammo. The barrel twist rate isn't ideal and you are depositing lead in the barrel. Reliability will never be as good with the chamber inserts when compared to a dedicated .22 upper.

Built my own.

Was given a bolt group by a coworker that found it in her yard.   Brass collar was a hair too big to fit in my PSA uppers but fit fine in a old Colt upper.  Instead of getting new brass bushing I just built it up...

Barrel and collar were inexpensive from Velocity Firearms in Mn, standard Anderson No FA/No Dust cover upper, charging handle is milspec BUT I got the version from RTB that has rubber/silicon filler to keep cases from getting jammed up into it.  Cost a whole $2 extra, think I would've spent more on a tube of RTV if I had to DIY that bit.

Training with a dedicated 22lr AR makes a lot of sense money wise. With all the propriety parts amongst the platform I just opted for a complete firearm, the M&P15-22.

Drop in over HERE

I have two .22LR ARs:

- a retro-inspired 2-stamp carbine featuring a Bowers Bitty suppressor

Attached File


- an M4-ish carbine

Attached File


The M4 has a binary trigger. It’s a ton of fun.

I used dedicated 1/16 barrels. They’re sorta minute-of-pie-plate.

Topic Moved

Neat.  That suppressor is a passable approximation of an XM177.

If you were to experiment with different ammunition, you may do much better than minute of pie plate.

Same.  I love my nordic and styled it after my 3gun rifle.  It is the same weight and balance.

Yeah I was trying to make it look like a 607 moderator. I asked John Thomas of Retro Arms Works to fabricate a small spacer to simulate the wrench-flats portion of the moderator. I feel like it turned out great.

I went with the 4.5" barrel, bolt group, and mags from CMMG for my dedicated .22LR pistol build. It runs great suppressed with no issues thusfar.

She has a BCG tree?  Sweeeet!

Maybe you can talk her out of some seeds to share with the group

I run Blackdog and 50 round drums, SW 15-22 mags..All work flawlessly.

I assembled a this dedicated setup as a A2 clone.  CMMG dedicated bolt and Barrel.Mostly USGI FN other than the barrel and BCG, and Lower of course..Lower is a M16A2 clone lower..Added a Franklin Binary and it is sweet.

I have never had a problem using standard GI Charging Handles in any of my dedicated uppers.

Anybody got a lead on 10 - 12" bbls? Lothar Walther's on the top of the list, just wanted to see if there's anything in stock, <$200 that I'm overlooking.

+1

This is the way.