I didn't want to fill up the rimfire madness thread with tons of pictures in one post, so here is a brief overview of what's involved in upgrading from the flimsy factory polymer handguard on a Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 rifle.
Tacticool22 came out with a handguard specific to the 15-22. Their adapter barrel nut has been out for years and while very popular, it does not allow a tight fit between many aftermarket AR handguards and the upper receiver and leaves an unsightly gap. They offer their handguard in various lengths of 10"/12.5"/15". I chose 10" to match the factory length handguard. Due to the POI shift I was encountering with the factory handguard when resting it at the end, I decided I didn't want to add length to the equation, further compounding the issue. However, after the install, the new handguard is very noticeably stiffer and I probably would be okay with a longer handguard.
https://www.tacticool22.com/
Here is what I purchased: handguard kit (includes barrel nut & hardware) and factory barrel nut tool
Upper has a metal bushing/sleeve installed where the barrel is inserted. I also took the liberty of finishing installing the two roll pins the rest of the way for Smith & Wesson while I had the barrel off (pic below only shows the one pin). They attach the barrel extension/feed ramp/ejector to the barrel.
Comparison of the factory handguard and the Tacticool22 version. Both use the M-Lok design. The T22 version has a front QD swivel with anti-rotation at the 3:00/6:00/9:00 positions towards the muzzle end of the handguard, I personally prefer the other end, but I probably won't be using a sling on this rifle anyways as it's main use is benchrest using bags.
Comparison of nuts, of the barrel variety that is. Such a difference that it actually made me laugh a little when taking the pics. The larger barrel nut, the fact that the T22 handguard isn't "sammiched" in between the nut/receiver and that the T22 is aluminum instead of polymer all factor into the increased stiffness of the whole setup. Note: the factory barrel nut is steel, the T22 one is aluminum. That would bother me if it were an AR-15 in 5.56 where the torque values are higher, but not in this case.
New barrel nut on and torqued. The instructions say to call S&W for the torque spec, but then state it's around 20 ft/lbs.
I lightly cleaned the edges around where my tool contacted the barrel nut with a small file before installing the handguard, to help aid in installation.
These are the vise jaw inserts I've used for a few years now, they work great by the way and held the barrel really well without damaging it.
https://www.amazon.com/Vise-Jaws-Mu...ce+jaws&qid=1561874652&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr1
New handguard installed, used blue Loctite on the 3 screws for peace of mind. I did struggle a little with the front screw that threads into a separate little nut that has a pin (kinda teardrop shaped), which ended up being resolved by tightening the other two screws first. Notice there is no gap between the handguard and receiver as promoted by Tacticool22 (I feel like there's a "mind the gap" joke for all you Chivers out there
).
Rock solid feeling now, honestly it's pretty much as solid as my other AR's in 5.56. Looks good, feels good, life is good.
I decided to repurpose the factory polymer M-Lok handguard and replaced the quad rail on my gen1 camo 15-22. It's pretty much gonna stay a red dot gun used for plinking and not groups anyways, so any shifts in POI shouldn't be too noticeable. Unless I run across a solid deal on a Volquartsen barrel, then things might change.
Tacticool22 came out with a handguard specific to the 15-22. Their adapter barrel nut has been out for years and while very popular, it does not allow a tight fit between many aftermarket AR handguards and the upper receiver and leaves an unsightly gap. They offer their handguard in various lengths of 10"/12.5"/15". I chose 10" to match the factory length handguard. Due to the POI shift I was encountering with the factory handguard when resting it at the end, I decided I didn't want to add length to the equation, further compounding the issue. However, after the install, the new handguard is very noticeably stiffer and I probably would be okay with a longer handguard.
https://www.tacticool22.com/
Here is what I purchased: handguard kit (includes barrel nut & hardware) and factory barrel nut tool
Picture of the upper disassembled. Note that the barrel slides out the back of the receiver.
I already have non-marring jaws on my vise, so clamping the barrel was not a problem.
Upper has a metal bushing/sleeve installed where the barrel is inserted. I also took the liberty of finishing installing the two roll pins the rest of the way for Smith & Wesson while I had the barrel off (pic below only shows the one pin). They attach the barrel extension/feed ramp/ejector to the barrel.
Comparison of the factory handguard and the Tacticool22 version. Both use the M-Lok design. The T22 version has a front QD swivel with anti-rotation at the 3:00/6:00/9:00 positions towards the muzzle end of the handguard, I personally prefer the other end, but I probably won't be using a sling on this rifle anyways as it's main use is benchrest using bags.
Comparison of nuts, of the barrel variety that is. Such a difference that it actually made me laugh a little when taking the pics. The larger barrel nut, the fact that the T22 handguard isn't "sammiched" in between the nut/receiver and that the T22 is aluminum instead of polymer all factor into the increased stiffness of the whole setup. Note: the factory barrel nut is steel, the T22 one is aluminum. That would bother me if it were an AR-15 in 5.56 where the torque values are higher, but not in this case.
New barrel nut on and torqued. The instructions say to call S&W for the torque spec, but then state it's around 20 ft/lbs.
I lightly cleaned the edges around where my tool contacted the barrel nut with a small file before installing the handguard, to help aid in installation.
These are the vise jaw inserts I've used for a few years now, they work great by the way and held the barrel really well without damaging it.
https://www.amazon.com/Vise-Jaws-Mu...ce+jaws&qid=1561874652&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr1
New handguard installed, used blue Loctite on the 3 screws for peace of mind. I did struggle a little with the front screw that threads into a separate little nut that has a pin (kinda teardrop shaped), which ended up being resolved by tightening the other two screws first. Notice there is no gap between the handguard and receiver as promoted by Tacticool22 (I feel like there's a "mind the gap" joke for all you Chivers out there
). Rock solid feeling now, honestly it's pretty much as solid as my other AR's in 5.56. Looks good, feels good, life is good.
I decided to repurpose the factory polymer M-Lok handguard and replaced the quad rail on my gen1 camo 15-22. It's pretty much gonna stay a red dot gun used for plinking and not groups anyways, so any shifts in POI shouldn't be too noticeable. Unless I run across a solid deal on a Volquartsen barrel, then things might change.
