AR-15 in "odd" calibers

[redneck2]

Thinking of getting my first AR. Proabably a RRA fast twist varminter flat-top in the typical .223.

Saw another thread about someone that had an upper in .17 Remington. Since I also wanted to get one of those sometime in the future, how well does the AR handle "other" rounds???

 

[444]

The primary problem is the magazine.
You can chamber the AR15 in a ton of different calibers, but getting these other rounds to feed through the AR15 magazine are another story.
Most of the calibers other than 5.56 attempt to use the 5.56 magazine and usually have to be downloaded to function.
I have a friend that has an upper in 7.62x39. He has to download his magazines to like eight rounds for it to run right. I have heard the same thing about the new 6.8 mm stuff. I have an upper in .458 Socom. Same deal: you can load a few rounds in a magazine and it will work but you ain't getting a 30 round magazine. In fact the .458 Socom uses a standard double stack 5.56mm magazine as a single stack.
One good place to go for these "exotic" upper is SSK: http://www.sskindustries.com/ar15.htm
Their website has some stuff to think about, and if you are serious about it, you can call and talk to JD Jones.
Bottom line (my experience): they work, and are worth buying: however, you are giving up a little to make it work, usually in terms of magazine capacity.

 

[pauli]

this thread was listed immediately after "What are my choices for a 45-70?"

and they say the ar has no stopping power!

 

[Zak Smith]

I have a friend that has an upper in 7.62x39. He has to download his magazines to like eight rounds for it to run right. I have heard the same thing about the new 6.8 mm stuff.

There are some original pre-ban 7.62x39 magazines out there, which work properly.

For 6.8SPC, PRI is listing post-ban and LE mags available now. Kits for converting pre-ban 5.56 mags should be out soon.

-z

 

[Black Snowman]

What timing. I had just noticed Oly Arms came out with .223 and .243 WSSM uppers and rifles. I'm guessing they use standard mags as single stacks but there really ins't any info on the site.

Anyone have any experiance with these offerings? I was wanting and AR, and a .223 WSSM, but if the gun doesn't function or isn't accurate then there's no point.

 

[Langenator]

Oly Arms also offers ARs in 9mm, 10mm, and .45 ACP that I know of for sure. Not sure if .40SW is on the list.

I think a 10mm AR would be a nice HD carbine.

 

[ACP230]

Some ARs were made in .222 Remington. Supposedly they were for export to places where the .223 was outlawed as a "military caliber."

CDNN had some for sale a couple of years ago.

I figure that round should work perfectly through the regular AR mag.

 

[JOE MACK]

Any cartridge based on the .223Remington case is pretty simple such as the 6mmx47, 7TCU, .20Tactical, etc. Also, a lot of pistol rounds involve a magazine block and can be set up to use uzi or bren magazines. The AR base is really versitile.

 

[redneck2]

Thought of this later...the AR-10 uses a .308. How does the mag vary from an AR-15??? Are they interchangeable???

 

[Black Snowman]

AR- 10 magazines are similar to M1A magazines but not interchangable. M1A magazines can be made to fit the AR-10 but I don't think it works the other way around. Not positive though. The .308 is much larger than the .223 and so the magazine is larger to accomodate the larger round.

 

[444]

"There are some original pre-ban 7.62x39 magazines out there, which work properly."
I don't know about this personally, I am just repeating something I once read on AR15.com. But, this guy claimed that he had a couple Colt 7.62x39 magazines and they were exactly the same as a 5.56 AR15 magazine down to the last dimension with the only difference being the caliber stamped on the floorplate. Again, this might be more internet hogwash, but that is what he said.

"Oly Arms also offers ARs in 9mm, 10mm, and .45 ACP that I know of for sure. Not sure if .40SW is on the list."
9mm AR15s have been around for years. Colt made (or makes ?) a submachine gun in 9mm based on the AR15. I own a pre-ban Colt Lightweight Sporter in 9mm. The 9mm gun differs from a normal AR15 in several respects. As was mentioned, there is a magazine block: the magazine is much shorter in 9mm so a block in installed to take up the space. There also is no gas system: the gun operates on blowback. And, the bolt is different. But, you can turn your standard AR15 into a 9mm pretty easy.
The Colt 9mm use a Colt magazine which are now pretty expensive. A 30 round mag costs over $100 if you can find one. Many of the other companies like Oly use an already existing magazine like the Sten or Uzi magzine. I don't know what they are doing in .45 ACP: maybe an M3 magazine ?