AR15 CMMG .22 Conversion Kit

[gregkl]

I want to improve my general handling of the AR. Stuff like working the sling, incorporating use with a chest rig, manipulating the controls, etc.

I can do a lot of this dry fire, but was thinking it would be nice to work some on the range also. Live fire would be good to work on fast transitions from primary sights to offset sighting and back again. But I don't want to burn through a 100 rounds of .223 every week.

I'm not looking for pinpoint accuracy or recoil management. .223 recoil is not a factor for me and the main role would be familiarization with the platform.

I would run a mag of .223 through it at the end of a session to help clean it out and work on some accuracy.

What experiences do you all have with the conversion kits?

Do you recommend them or are they a waste of time,energy and/or some money?

 

[Pin]

I've had a kit for years, propably a thousand rounds threw it or more. It blew up. I emailed CMMG, they sent me a new one which is way more reliable. The older ones have more play in them so try to get a new one.

 

[SmileDocHill]

Some of the differences I can think of: malfunction drills won't be the same, muscle memory for up drills will not likely be the same (could be a different poa/poi) but not a huge deal.
I loved mine for years but it became unreliable after several thousand rounds no matter how much I clean it and the gun.
In general it sounds like you have a good mindset for getting good use of one. Your not expecting it to be exactly the same but a cheaper way to work on many aspects of training.

 

[ashby koss]

I have one. Accuracy is.... bad. At least for me in my setup. Just not great. Does it function 100% yes. But also 4” low at 10-15 feet. (And not consistent) Mostly I think due to the twist rate vs 22lr and the weight. Perhaps better ammo on my part. Idk.

 

[Old Bear]

I have one that that is a dedicated .22 set up. I get good accuracy out of the 1/9 twist barrel and very reliable with CCI mini-mags or Stingers. The rifle is a standard A2 set up and I know the mechanical zero for .223/5.56. If need be, I can pull the conversion, pop the original bcg back in, reset the mechanical zero and I'm off and running.

I shoot the crap out of that thing (especially here lately), to conserve my 5.56 stockpile and keep the muscle memory in tact.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I have three. I look at them more as SHTF prep. I put it and a hundred rounds of .22 in my go-bag so I have options.

They lead up the barrel if you shoot a lot and clearing drills are very different. For regular shooting I built a dedicated .22 AR.

 

[MCgrease08]

I bought one used and it has been a complete POS. It jams with all types of ammo, even high velocity stuff. A lot of types of .22 wouldn't even chamber in it properly. I had to lightly sand down the breech of it just to get the rounds to fit.

I've pretty much given up on it ever working. I probably should consider sending it in to CMMG just to see if they would replace it.

Here are some good dry fire drills to work on and some tips.for making them feel a lot more like live fire.

[video=youtube_share;VBZhV-bySFM]http://youtu.be/VBZhV-bySFM[/video]

 

[88E30M50]

I have one and it’s been great as long as I clean it occasionally and keep it lubed. Accuracy is off a bit but it does let me practice in the bays at MCFG. It also increases my trigger time without killing my reserves of 5.56

 

[VERT]

The one I have works fine. Haven’t used it in quite a while though.

 

[gregkl]

Hearing hit and miss with reliability here.

I may still try one. I need to see what I have for .22. I have some CCI's in various flavors and quite a bit of Aguila Super Extra 22. I wonder if that would work?

Those of you that have had trouble, was it the SS version? I have read that they are a little better than the parkerized models.

 

[gregkl]

I'm watching the video MC.

 

[Old Bear]

Hearing hit and miss with reliability here.

I may still try one. I need to see what I have for .22. I have some CCI's in various flavors and quite a bit of Aguila Super Extra 22. I wonder if that would work?

Those of you that have had trouble, was it the SS version? I have read that they are a little better than the parkerized models.

Mine is the stainless version and it works great with CCI. It is basically a single shot with Aguila Super Extra 22

I forgot to add a comment about how it works in different rifles. I have an ultra light 1/7 twist rifle that it works great with any HV ammo, but accuracy is not great. The 1/9 rifle it lives in now is very accurate, but it took a little polishing to get the reliability. For my conversion, the looser chamber of the 1/7 rifle made it more reliable. The tighter chamber of the 1/9 rifle made it less reliable until I polished the conversion bolt assembly. YMMV

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

Mine is very reliable and very fun. I use it in an AR pistol with 10.5" 1:7 twist barrel and I've been told that my "linear compensator" (Spike's barking spider II) aids in this reliability.

 

[gregkl]

Based on the comment about the Super Extra being a "single shot", I am leaning towards just doing dry fire drills. I think it would be fun as advertised and my wife said she'd love to to shoot it with .22 but I am easily frustrated when things don't work well.

I don't have enough .22 other than the Aguila to get my ROI back and with .22 going up in price and becoming more scarce, it's probably bad timing on my end.

Plus, doing some reading reading on the CMMG website, they say that it is hit and miss with Wylde chambers which mine is.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I was under impressed with the conversion kits.

Purchased a S&W .22 rifle. Much happier.

The Tippmann is supposed to be the cat's meow.

 

[hammerd13]

I was under impressed with the conversion kits.

Purchased a S&W .22 rifle. Much happier.

The Tippmann is supposed to be the cat's meow.

I just got this Tippmann M4-22 Elite Pistol (.22lr). It's absolutely fantastic. Eats anything and is very accurate (much more so than my M&P 15-22).

I highly recommend the Tippmann rifles/pistols. They feel/function exactly like a 5.56 AR. The magazines are genius and contribute to the reliability and accuracy of the platform.

Only cons with the Tippman (imo) are...

1. factory backup sights are junk. I replaced with Magpul
2. factory trigger is okay, but a bit gritty before break. I replaced with ALG Advanced Combat Trigger (excellent).

https://www.tippmannarms.com/

 

[gregkl]

I would consider a dedicated .22 rifle, but my main focus is working the actual rifle (and sighting systems) that I will be using. I want to gain that, dare I say intimacy, with the rifle so it becomes natural when I pull it to my shoulder and look through the main optic, then transition to the secondary, get the feel for the controls, balance, etc.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I would consider a dedicated .22 rifle, but my main focus is working the actual rifle (and sighting systems) that I will be using. I want to gain that, dare I say intimacy, with the rifle so it becomes natural when I pull it to my shoulder and look through the main optic, then transition to the secondary, get the feel for the controls, balance, etc.

I understand your software concerns and that is perfectly reasonable. However, you have a hardware problem: the conversion kits are less than optimal, conversion kits in an internal piston (DI) system create inherent contamination issues with gas tube, inter alia.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

factory trigger is okay, but a bit gritty before break. I replaced with ALG Advanced Combat Trigger (excellent).

Awesome!

 

[MCgrease08]

I would consider a dedicated .22 rifle, but my main focus is working the actual rifle (and sighting systems) that I will be using. I want to gain that, dare I say intimacy, with the rifle so it becomes natural when I pull it to my shoulder and look through the main optic, then transition to the secondary, get the feel for the controls, balance, etc.

Much of this can be done through dry fire, simple presentation drills, mag changes, etc.