AR-15 .22LR Conversion Kit

[Old Salt]

I am new to the AR world so this may be a really stupid question, but I will ask anyway. I recently bought a Bushmaster .223 and today I ordered the CMMG .22LR conversion kit. I bought the kit so I could practice and have fun on the cheap. How accurate would an AR with the .22LR conversion be within 20 to 30 yards?

Would it be possible to use the AR with the kit to squirrel hunt or is the sight radius of the AR too high for the distance needed. I'm assuming that a scope wouldn't work for this reason. If I am wrong, and in this case I would love to be, it would be fun to hunt with it. When I bought the gun, I told my wife I needed it, because I didn't have a good squirrel gun.

 

[repair]

I just got back from the range with my tactical solutions .22 upper and it seems to be verry accurate.

I'm still new to ARs so I don't now how the conversions are but I'm sure that I could hunt with mine.

 

[melensdad]

today I ordered the CMMG .22LR conversion kit. I bought the kit so I could practice and have fun on the cheap. How accurate would an AR with the .22LR conversion be within 20 to 30 yards?

Would it be possible to use the AR with the kit to squirrel hunt

The 22lr conversion kits (I have a Ciener) are reasonably accurate, goo to about 50 yards, not as accurate as a dedicated upper or a 10/22 but still pretty good within reason. The conversion kits rely on shooting a 22lr bullet through a slightly oversized barrel (a 22lr barrel has a smaller internal diameter than a 223/5.56 barrel).

I just got back from the range with my tactical solutions .22 upper and it seems to be verry accurate.

I'm still new to ARs so I don't now how the conversions are but I'm sure that I could hunt with mine.

The Tactical Solutions is a complete upper assembly, not a conversion bolt assembly. It is more accurate than a conversion bolt assembly.

 

[Old Salt]

Thanks for the information. Is it probable to make head shots on squirrels. If not I will buy another rifle, but if the AR with the .22LR conversion can be used for this it would be great.

 

[melensdad]

Is it probable to make head shots on squirrel.

That will depend on you, your conversion kit, and you ammo.

The conversion kits are typically pretty well made, and are reasonably accurate, but only by testing it and various ranges with various ammo will you be able to determine that with your rifle. I'd start with cheap ammo and see what type of accuracy your rifle/kit is giving you, then I'd work my way up to some of the high cost ammo if you are not getting the accuracy you need.

Also, I ONLY use copper washed, copper jacket bullets in with my conversion to cut down on the lead fouling, but while most of the conversion kits recommend only using the high velocity premium rounds I don't have any trouble shooting bulk pack ammo with mine.

 

[Old Salt]

Thanks. As soon as I get the kit I will test the gun. I was worried that because the sights are relatively high above the barrel on an AR that precision shots at closer ranges (20-30 yds) might not be viable.

 

[ROLEXrifleman]

Here is a thread I created for another forum I frequent. It is a direct cut and paste and all my verbage:

Since the AR bug has hit and everyone is buzzing with saving money I decded to post as to why I don't belive in drop in conversions.

1) .22lr twist rates are not the same as .223! 22lr bullets stabalize in 1:16 inch twists and .223 barrels come in 1:7, 1:8, 1:9, 1:12. .22lr stabalizes in a less agressive barrel because of the fact that it is not as high in velocity as .223 and general speaking the weight of the projectile is about half.
The craziest .22lr HV bullets shoot out at 1700fps.
The average 69gr .223 load comes out at a minimum of 3000fps

2) diameter. .22r are .223, .223 is .224
Every bit counts. that small amount of play will make a diffrence.

3) Copper vs. lead. .223 is copper jacketed. This protects the gas system in the AR upper from becoming fouled. Not to say that fouling of the gas system isnt possible it is less likely than compared with lead .22's or copper WASHED .22lr's. Don't be fooled, copper washed is not even close to copper jacketed.

4) chamber maintance. You have no idea how many times I have had people complaining at the range because of issues with their AR's after shooting .22lr.
You can not shoot any large amount of .22lr through your AR upper and then imediaitly switch to .223. You are just asking for trouble. Since AR conversions use a chamber sleeve that fits into the .223 chamber and then load .22lr ammo into that sleeve you get residue, carbon and other dirt that gets into the chamber after several rounds of .22lr fire. If you imediatly remove the conversion kit and load .223 you MAY have issues chambering and extracting fired rounds. Also because of the fouled chamber you run the risk of increasing chamber pressure which is not a good thing. If a conversion is to be used I cant stress enough that a fantastic cleaning job be performed prior to shooting .223 out of that upper.

Many people have shot .22lr out of their .223 AR uppers with no issues. The above information isnt to be taken as conversions suck or don't work or are not worth it. It is simply to inform you of teh CONS they pose. The biggest CON in my opinion is accuracy. While accurate enough for plinking, AR conversions do not bring the level of accuracy to the table that I like or that a dedicated .22lr rifle or .22lr dedicated upper have. This accuracy insnt seen at indoor ranges at 25 yards but instead at longer ranges in excess of 50 yards. To the average or recreational shooter a .22lr conversion will do just fine as long as teh proper maintance is kept. For the shooter looking for pin-point accuracy........ save your $