I have been attempting to purchase a 22 long rifle upper for my AR-15 for a year now. Unfortunately, it’s chronically out od stock. Has anyone else has success purchasing one in the last calendar year? If so, what’s your secret?
5 Likes
You might just have to go full dedicated .22lr AR style rifle. I’ve got the M&P and have handled the Tippmann, which is probably even a little closer to a “real” AR. You can get one of those for about the cost of a dedicated upper.
3 Likes
+1 on Thunder’s advice. Complete, dedicated 22lr ARs are likely the best option right now. I decided to go the conversion kit route a year back, but I suppose that is likely just as hard to find at the moment, and not as accurate as a purpose built 22lr AR.
I have noticed that hole in the wall gun shops, or less-visited Academys/Dicks usually have one or two 22lr ARs on their shelves at any given time (NE Texas/N Louisiana area). It may be worthwhile to spend a Saturday gun shop hopping. I’ve seen plenty of S&W M&P 15-22s on shelves lately. Take advantage of the fact that most people only shop online these days. Go take a look around and you will probably find something to fit the bill.
2 Likes
@bruceetaylor Unfortunately I am unaware of us having any plans to make more .22lr uppers in the near future. We may in the long-run, but not now. It isn’t our bread and butter. It probably would have been different if the craziness of the past year long demand hadn’t happened. The MP15-22’s are nice, and dedicated uppers are great too. I like the dedicated upper since it has the correct barrel twist for the 22lr.
7 Likes
Sad to hear that there are no plans for PSA to build anymore .22 uppers anytime soon. I have been patiently waiting to buy one as I have several lowers waiting for uppers. I know Tippman as a paintball gun company. I have to wonder what kind of real gun they make.
4 Likes
I was in the same boat and just “settled” on the M&P 15-22. I say settled only because I was looking for just an upper, preferably one not cast in plastic. Still waiting to take her to the range, but by all accounts, it is a reliable shooter and you can still accessorize like a real AR.
1 Like
I must admit, the MP15-22’s are EXCELLENT firearms!! Reliable and accuarate.
8 Likes
Bummer on the no 22LR plans. I think there are pretty big demands for them with the ammo costs on bigger calibers. I have a 15-22 but I know I would be all over it if you got them in.
3 Likes
I’m with you. I have no real interest in buying another gun and would prefer to have .22 dedicated AR upper to slap together with one of my AR lowers. Other than a full .22 AR, you would be forced to go with a kit that simply isn’t as good as a dedicated upper with a .22 barrel. If I have to buy an entire new weapon, why go AR?
2 Likes
i ended up building my wife’s rifle into a dedicated .22 conversion pistol. so i can pull the bcg and mag and throw in a full auto bcg and standard mag and rock and roll 5.56 whenever i want on it. she is happy with this situation and is what she wanted. I feel its better all around because i dont waste another space for a dedicated 22 rifle in the long run. but all this talk about how great the dedicated 15/22’s are makes me think maybe i should get one instead of just depending upon the bravo conversion kit…
3 Likes
This is exactly why I got the 15-22. I didn’t want to go the conversion route.
1 Like
Yeah, and granted it has been a long time, but I’ve never had a conversion work as smoothly and reliably as a purpose built AR style rifle. And for basically the same price. Ours doesn’t take up safe space since it’s our go to fox gun, and has to be at the ready.
2 Likes
ive never had any issues with the conversion kit and reliability. Its always been ready to go.
ymmv
4 Likes
Not suggesting that there are any problems with reliability, just that the accuracy will not be as good. Those CMMG conversion kits look great, but I’m kinda OCD.
3 Likes
Are you just not interested in having a .22BCG. If I wasn’t doing that, I’d just get a Rossi, mossberg, or ruger .22 and pump out those cheap little darts to my hearts content. I got a Rossi from PSA a while back and with freight, local ffl costs I was about 165 bucks all in. I bought several mossberg plinkster mags so I’m ready for the squirrel apocalypse.
4 Likes
Yeah, just not as comfortable with the conversion as I am with a dedicated upper, or in this case just a .22 rifle. I did wind up with the M&P 15-22 and I love it…just wish it were easier to find mags for it!
1 Like
Lots of people using the M&P for practice these days, since .22lr is a little less painful to the wallet than full caliber AR shooting right now.
4 Likes
Thank you Josiah.
Looking to build a dedicated 22 upper. Plan on using the Redi-Mag adapter for the S&W 15-22 magazines. Already have my PFG lower with Rise Armament trigger waiting for it.
2 Likes
blueridge, are you going the true 22lr barrel and bolt route, or simply keeping a conversion bolt in an upper? I am having a darn tough time finding both a 22lr barrel and bolt in stock at the same time…
Secondly, is this rise armament trigger mil-spec-ish pull weight? I have had terrible light primer strike luck with 22lr using lighter drop in triggers. Lighter (than mil-spec) hammer springs just don’t have enough power for rimfire applications, in my experience. Just food for thought, in the case you run into that issue getting this build running smooth.
The redimag adapter is certainly a must. A little finicky learning how high it prefers to be positioned to work properly and smoothly, but ya can’t beat lrbho for reload practice. I ended up just dedicating a lower to 22lr as well, to avoid having to take it in and out, although it’s pretty darn easy anyway.