22 lr copies of centerfire military style carbines

[stubbicatt]

Guys. I've seen a whole lot of 22 lr chambered copies of the "real thing" AR15 or AK or SIG or what have you.

Anybody buy one of these to use for inexpensive practice and save the "real thing" (and the expense of centerfire ammo)? Do they pretty much shoot the same, given their lower recoil ammunition?

Thanks.

 

[kimberkid]

I have a few ... They are mostly the same in form and function but I just bought them as something more exciting to teach my grandkids to shoot as they progress and for myself as plinkers.

SCAR clone in 22


SiG-522


AK RPK Trainer


Kimber 45 / 22 conversion

 

[brnmw]

They are really fun and in-expensive to shoot (great for training youngsters for semi-auto's), however the oper. systems on them obviously is going to be different than the real things to some degree. I have an MP5 clone that is absolutely fantastic, just so long as you use .22LR "HV" rounds in it for better cycling.

 

[Fishbed77]

Well, my .22LR AR-15 isn't a copy of an AR-15. It is an AR-15 that just happens to be chambered in .22LR.

Here's a detailed write-up of my CMMG M4LE WASP upper on a PSA AR-15 lower. It's an accurate, reliable, and incredibly FUN piece.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=668410


And here's a photo:

 

[Acera]

The .22lr versions of military arms seems to have become a new collector niche lately, lead by http://www.umarexarms.com/

I think it's fine way to expand the sport. Their are now quite a few .22s that are basically indistinguishable at a moderate distance from their centerfire counterparts.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I also have an CMMG AR chambered in .22. I agree that it is as much of an AR as a 5.56,6.5, or 7.62. Mine has a 14.5" exposed barrel(1.6" inside the chamber to clear NFA hassle) so it is actually the same profile as the military standard AR's. It is a great tool to train with and teach new shooters at 1/10th the cost. I love it and out of 4 AR's I own now, this one sees the most trigger time.

 

[Quentin]

I'm very pleased with my Colt/Walther M4 .22LR. No real problems with it if you use ammo it likes, just like most firearms in that caliber. All in all it's a good .22lr carbine. I hear good things about the S&W M&P15-22 as well.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

Funny you should mention it. I was just in one of my favorite local gunstores today and as I was handing back the Ruger GSR, which I insist on fondling every time I see and am more impressed with every time, I happened upon this neat little .22 LR UZI. Thing was made in Israel with the Hebrew markings and everything. It was kinda blocky and entirely too heavy for a .22, but man it looked like a whole lotta fun. I kinda can't help but feel like I need one. But of course, I get a lot of those itches. It's the persisent ones, like the aforementioned Gun Site Rifle, that get stratched.

 

[Grunt]

Here's an older picture of my "tactical .22" rifles:




Biggest thing about these rifles are that they are fun and won't break the bank shooting them. Some like the AR-15 also work fairly well as trainers for their centerfire versions and do are very similar in operation. For example, here's my AR-15 in .22 sitting next to my AR-15 604 clone:

 

[cat_IT_guy]

I dont have one, but the S&W M&P 15-22 is beginning to entice me. Seems to be getting pretty good reviews, too.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

No interest in them whatsoever. I see no point in buying a .22LR version of a weapon when we have such amazing inventions as conversion barrels and drop in bolt carriers for ARs in .22LR. If you want just .22 rifles there are much cheaper weapons than military knock off look a likes.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I had the S&W M&P15-22 but sold it to buy the CMMG. The reason I did so was so I could swap uppers with a 5.56 or other if wanted. The upper is made from the same casting as its 5.56 brother, with a different BCG and barrel(hence the 1.6" internal barrel extension). Either way it is easy to strip the upper change barrel and change caliber in it too. I wanted the 1-16 twist for the .22 insted of gumming up one of my 5.56 rifles. That was the reason I did not want a drop in adapter. I wasn't a big fan of the use of plastic in the M&P, although it shot like a dream.

 

[Hit_Factor]

Just picked up a M&P 15-22 last week. Did some work on it to make it behave and handle like my center fire ARs. Other than the weight it's looks pretty darn close.

So far, just shot it into the bullet trap in my basement to check the sights. Seems like it will be OK. The barrel does deflect some with pressure on the upper in a gun vise, but I don't think that will be an issue while shooting. Minute of Squirrel is all I need.

Probably will take it to the range on Sunday when I check the sights on my guns for deer season.

 

[Sky]

A couple of CMMGs here with plastic lowers I picked up for weight savings and teaching kids or small women. They have had the snot shot out of them; great cheap fun plinking that won't break the bank or make you feel guilty about shooting higher priced ammo down range all day.

One has a red dot (16" barrel) and one has the Nikon 1-4 223 scope (18"). They really don't do anything different than some other .22s but they do help on the transition to the 223/5.56 AR as far as function and operation. Advance course is popping golf balls at 50 yards with the red dot and 100 with the scoped version. Wife likes them both.

 

[happygeek]

+1 on CMMG's 22LR upper. I've got right about 17,500 rounds through my two (one with irons, one with a Burris 2-7x) and they've been about 99.7%. The magazines have gotten a lot cheaper too over the last few years.

 

[nfafan]

My WASR22 - successor to the AKT98. Purpose-built AKM in .22LR.

My keeper is the one in the bottom of the pic, WASR22 in the top of the pic was long sold.

 

[Harley Rider 55]

Perfect/cheap tool for working muscle memory and technique

 

[stubbicatt]

Very cool. I have a 22lr conversion kit for my G3 clone, which I use a whole lot. It is a bunch of fun in its own right, albeit a bit ammunition sensitive, just like its host rifle! LOL.

Maybe I'll train for tactical rifle matches with it someday.

Does anybody use these lookalikes to train for shooting sports?

Regards,
Stubb

 

[doubleh]

I've been shooting a Colt M4/22 for quite some time now. Other than not feeding Remington Golden bullets reliably it's been a fun gun and pretty accurate to boot. I bought it to play with. I shoot steel swingers, kill caliche rocks, etc. (no glass bottles) and occassionally shoot some groups from the bench. It's pretty accurate and beats my son-in-law's S&W a little in the group department ( me shooting both). It feels almost identical to my S&W M&P other than the noise and a little recoil from the .223.

 

[scramasax]

I guess you might say I've been collecting .22 clones for the last year. I look at it as my "tactical Squirrel" collection. Most shooters would be best served by having .22rf guns than centerfire. More shooting lest cost. I do happen to own working gun centerfire rifles and pistols tht match the .22s. The exception to that is the STG-22 that I plan on getting in the furture. Also thinking about putting on a tactical squirrel match on the farm limited to service style rifle and pistols in .22rf only.
Yes .22rf clones of duty weapons are good for cheap training to develope motor skills. They just don't help get someone ready for the noise and recoil control. These need to be thought about with inexperienced shooters.

Cheeers,

ts

 

[4v50 Gary]

The Germans had a Mauser 98k lookalike for training the Hitler Youth.
The British and Australians had their 22 versions of the SMLE
Springfield Armory (the real Springfield) made an unsuccessful 22 LR version of the M1903. Springfield later made one but it look like a sporter or target rifle (M1922, M1 and M2).

 

[ifit]

dont have the real thing, but sure is fun to shoot and pretty darn accurate. family and friends really enjoy this rifle at the range. after seeing some really nice .22 replicas here, like the rpk trainer/old school ar15/wasr 22 looks like i m gonna do some research...thanks guys, thought i was done buying guns
my ISSC scar clone in .22

this thing can shoot, groups are on tope left/head shot/and center mass all 22 shot using vortex sparc reddot w/magnifier 50y, using bulk ammo

 

[Grunt]

Well, I can help you out a little in regards to the old school AR-15 and maybe give you some ideas based on what I did. First, one thing that you can leave out to cut back on expense on this type of build is the buffer and action spring. The CMMG conversion kit doesn't need these parts so I just left them out.
Now everything I used was old retro AR-15 parts, especially the barrel with a 1:12" twist. This is why I never use my CMMG conversion kit (the kit that lives in the retro AR-15) with my M-4gery because the tighter 1:7 twist on my M-4gery doesn't react too well to lead .22 bullets. Once upon a time, the USAF and a few others used a .22 conversion for training. However, when the Canadians went over to the C7, they fould a lot of leading problems with the tighter 1:7" twist so when the USAF changed over to the A2 and later the M4, the conversion kits weren't used. The 1:12" twist of the retro barrel while not the ideal twist rate for the .22LR (1:16" is generally considered the optimum twist rate here) it's still closer than the 1:7 or even a 1:9 twist rate.
The next problem is that being a USGI barrel, there is still a gas hole in the barrel. If I put a gas tube in it, the gas will still flow through the tube and back onto the bolt assembly fouling it sooner and require more frequent cleanings. However, the gas tube also keeps the handguard flange just behind the front sight assembly in place and prevents it from rotating around if any rotational pressure is applied to the handguards. My solution was to take an old gas tube and cut it down far enough that it would still protrude past the handguard flange for stability but not so that it would enter the receiver to help keep it clean. The next problem with the gas tube stub is that gas can still flow back onto the barrel under the handguards making a mess. The simple solution here was to install the gas tube stub upside down. Now no gas will flow through it at all keeping everything cleaner and turning the rifle into a pure blowback design. Here's what it looks like under the handguards:

 

[MilsurpShooter]

I see the MP5 .22 clones that have the fake cans to make the barrel legal, they're fun, cheap to shoot, and in a state that I couldn't own the real thing makes it a good option.

That said I never found the desire to buy one. However... My opinion changed when I saw a company making an STG.44 in .22 caliber. Now that I want very, very badly because I'll never EVER get my hands on the real thing.

 

[Grunt]

Dude, you live in New York. Probably will never ever get your hands on an STG-44 in .22 caliber either!!!:banghead: