What mags are most successful in the dedicated AR15's using 22LR? I'll be using a Taccom barrel and bolt setup on a standard AR15 upper and lower but plan to leave it dedicated as a 22LR set up. I've seen the Black Dog mags and have heard they're pretty good but I also saw the CMMG mags that looked pretty nice. Need some first hand advice. Thanks, Matt.

I can only speak to the Black Dog mags, which I use in my KelTec. The ones with the steel lips work great. The weakness of these mags is loading/unloading them, since you can't pull the follower down. That could also be considered a strength, since the sides are closed, preventing debris from getting into the mags. Loading isn't really any more difficult than you'd expect, it's really unloading them manually that is annoying, but you really only need to do that when you are swapping out ammo (something I did a lot of when testing my suppressor with various brands).

If the Better-Mag Adapter will work with your setup, I think it is the best way to go. S&W M&P15-22 mags are great and can be found easily and inexpensive. Only con I can think of is looks, not an exact match to 5.56 AR mags on the outside.

I only see the Black Dog mags with the plastic lips. I have heard of the stainless ones but haven't seen any for sale. As far as the adapter, how would I determine rather it would work with my set up or not? I guess I could just give the company a call. I'll try that.

I've got both Black Dogs and CMMG and haven't had any issues with either.  I don't leave them loaded but yes, they are a bit of a pain to load- if they'd add a loading button like the Ruger MK series pistols it'd make them 1000% times better.

HERE are the stainless lip black dog mags.

Another option is to get THIS and use S&W M&P 15-22 mags with your 22lr upper.  The M&P mags are much easier to load than black dog mags.  

Another option is to modify the black dog mag with a pull string on the bottom (check youtube) that pulls the follower down.

HERE are the stainless lip black dog mags.

Thanks for the link. I like those a lot. I'm still kinda figuring this 22AR thing out. I'm assuming those will work with my Taccom bolt and will hold the bolt open on the last shot? Or how does that work?

+1.

No jams, always locks back, easy loading, cheap.

Yes, Black Dog Machine has a bolt hold open. They were the original and are still the best in my opinion. Even the plastic feed lip type are very durable. You can find some versions for $15 even at MidwayUSA. How much more affordable can a high cap 22 AR conversion mag get?

I hear say the plastic feed lips are preferred over the stainless by some. Don't know if there's any truth to that. I think I would rather have the stainless personally.

I have them both and have used them since they first came out. Even worked with testing them before they were on the market. I have to say that both work great and neither has ever given me a problem. I know it seems like the Stainless lips should be better but the "plastic" ones are actually Nylon and very strong. Also the Nylon ones are sort of self lubricated with the material allowing the rounds to slide across very smoothly. I would thing that is why some prefer the Nylon ones. (Don't call them plastic!  )

I have CMMG mags also and they don't give me any issues. On those I actually like the ones WITHOUT the BHO feature. One thing I have done that worked well was to take some of the older CMMG mags with that cursed  black spring loaded BHO follower and "updated" them with replacement springs and followers that you can buy inexpensively from Black Dog.

I have put thousands of rounds through .22 ARs but I am sure there are others here who have even more experience with them. I have not tried the S&W mag adapter. But, that is due to me have a couple of boxes of CMMG and Black Dog mags that work fine. I just am not motivated to go buy even more mags and an adapter when I have piles of good magazines. If you are starting from scratch your choices might be different.

I have them both and have used them since they first came out. Even worked with testing them before they were on the market. I have to say that both work great and neither has ever given me a problem. I know it seems like the Stainless lips should be better but the "plastic" ones are actually Nylon and very strong. Also the Nylon ones are sort of self lubricated with the material allowing the rounds to slide across very smoothly. I would thing that is why some prefer the Nylon ones. (Don't call them plastic!  )

I have CMMG mags also and they don't give me any issues. On those I actually like the ones WITHOUT the BHO feature. One thing I have done that worked well was to take some of the older CMMG mags with that cursed  black spring loaded BHO follower and "updated" them with replacement springs and followers that you can buy inexpensively from Black Dog.

I have put thousands of rounds through .22 ARs but I am sure there are others here who have even more experience with them. I have not tried the S&W mag adapter. But, that is due to me have a couple of boxes of CMMG and Black Dog mags that work fine. I just am not motivated to go buy even more mags and an adapter when I have piles of good magazines. If you are starting from scratch your choices might be different.


Lots of good info here. I appreciate it. I like the thought of the stainless but the "nylon" explanation makes since.

I have two favorites for my 22LR AR's
#1 Redi-mag adaptor  with S&W  M&P 1522 mags
#2 Black dog with nylon feedlips

Wanted to let y'all know. I bought 2 Black Dog Machine mags. They came in the other day. I haven't had a chance to use them yet but I'm very pleased with the quality. And a good value it seems at $11 each. Thanks for the suggestions. Matt