Range Report: Tactical Solutions .22LR dedicated upper

[LOKNLOD]

Last week, I recieved my dedicated .22LR upper built by Grant at G&R using the Tactical Solutions bolt and barrel. Since my hope is to be able to use this setup to get some training/practice value at a lower cost, I opted to go with the setup to duplicate an M4 upper as close a possible with standard handguards and a pinned fixed FSB. Handling this setup reminds me of how light and handy a basic carbine feels in the hand. As much as I like the way more heavily "improved" carbines handle, it makes an argument to me for having just a basic carbine with a red-dot.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/1.jpg

On Saturday, I got to do some shooting with it, and ended up firing roughly 300 rounds through it, with few issues. I did experience a lot of failures to fire -- all due to dud .22 rounds. The ammo I had on hand was some bulk pack Federal, which has been following me around for proably 7 or 8 years now, including spending most of this summer out in my (hot) garage. So I'm not the least bit surprised that I had some issues with it. They all had evidence of solid rim strikes so I don't think it was related to the weapon itself. I did have 2 failures that were possibly the gun's fault -- both times it loaded a new round and then "stovepiped" the empty casing (smahing it flat in the process). I'm not sure what caused this, and to be honest I didn't really spend much time trying to diagnose it. Both happened fairly early, and if I was going to be out in the 103° heat, I wanted to be shooting, not troubleshooting.

I started out by roughly zeroing both my Aimpoint ML2 and Trijicon Accupoint TR-21R at 25 yards. I didn't have a bench to shoot from (far from ideal, I know) but accuracy was acceptable, with no trouble keeping rounds on the 1.5" circles I was shooting at. I had one little cluster fall in a quadrant of the circle, so that was roughly a 3/4" group. After that, I spent some time plinking at cans -- not very "tactical" but it let me have some fun while running rounds through it.

Before I get to more thoughts, some pics for those who might want some more info on the setup. These also show how dirty it got after only about 300 rounds.

Here's the bolt in the closed position. You can see how the barrel extends into the upper, and this is part of the reason why the upper's overall length is closer to a 14.5" AR than a 16".
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/2.jpg

Here's the bolt locked back. Note that this is as far back as the charging handle can be pulled, and that the bolt is only held back by the follower on the magazine. Pulling out the mag (it won't drop free from this position) lets the bolt forward.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/3.jpg

Here's the bolt/carrier assembly.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/5.jpg

Here you can see how the bolt slides in the carrier.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/10.jpg

Here is the rear of the bolt/carrier assembly, as installed. You can see the cutout for the buffer retainer pin -- since the bolt slides in the carrier, and the carrier remains stationary, not engaging the buffer/spring.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/4.jpg

This is the chamber area.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/8.jpg

Closeup of the Black Dog Mag.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/9.jpg

Now, here is one issue that showed up tonight when I pulled it out to take the pictures. This little o-ring fell out:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/11.jpg

I think it belongs as shown here, but honestly don't remember noticing it before. I'll have to follow up on this, as I think it functions as a little recoil buffer. I hope this doesn't turn out to be something that needs constant replacement.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/6.jpg

Some thoughts:

This is perfect for teaching a new shooter on the cheap.

This setup will be handy for close range drills like alternative shooting positions, pistol transitions, or others where all you need to do is poke a few small holes in paper, that perhaps don't get as much attention as we'd like because of the high ammo cost.

This also made a very effective test bed for comparing my new Accupoint to my old Aimpoint for close range shooting.

This is not the best way to get your reloading skills fine tuned. It'd be acceptable for practicing a "tactical" reload (replace and retain half-empty mag during a lull) but the bolt-hold open setup won't work for practicing a "speed" reload (bolt locked, empty mag drops free).

At current 5.56 prices, this upper setup will pay for itself in less than 2000 rounds...that's a good value, to me. Plus, I Ihink ARs are fun to shoot -- and this lets me shoot an AR (more or less) without feeling guilty (or going broke) just plinking.

[Deoje]

Thanks for the review. I really want to get one of these for my sbr. I hope they come out with a 5.5in one.

I'm curious to see what the o ring is for. It does appear to be a buffer. That would be a pain if it has to be replaced often.

[zenghost]

I have a similar setup put together by G&R. I also had the same o-ring issue. I contacted TacSol and G&R about this and both advised the system would run fine without the o-ring. To their credit, TacSol sent me several replacement rings in the mail. I have run the system without the o-ring and it seems fine, but I have not put the system through extensive use yet. Additionally, I have not replaced the o-ring, so I do not know if the ring failure is a chronic issue.

I wonder why the o-ring is even there if the darn thing fails so early and falls off and then I am advised it is not even necessary.

I am still sorting through ammo selections for this gun. I have almost no experience with .22 LR ammo, so the I am seeing quite a few FTF and jams. If it gets to be too much trouble, I'll might sell it and just buy more .223. I originally intended to use this gun for less costly training, so I don't mind dealing with a few malfunctions.

[LOKNLOD]

I have a similar setup put together by G&R. I also had the same o-ring issue. I contacted TacSol and G&R about this and both advised the system would run fine without the o-ring. To their credit, TacSol sent me several replacement rings in the mail. I have run the system without the o-ring and it seems fine, but I have not put the system through extensive use yet. Additionally, I have not replaced the o-ring, so I do not know if the ring failure is a chronic issue.

I wonder why the o-ring is even there if the darn thing fails so early and falls off and then I am advised it is not even necessary.

I am still sorting through ammo selections for this gun. I have almost no experience with .22 LR ammo, so the I am seeing quite a few FTF and jams. If it gets to be too much trouble, I'll might sell it and just buy more .223. I originally intended to use this gun for less costly training, so I don't mind dealing with a few malfunctions.

Interesting that you had the same O-ring issues. Maybe it's a matter of poor material selection for the application.

On the ammo issue, Grant was advocating the Winchester Dynapoints if memory serves correct. I need to buy some fresh ammo before I make a judgement on the Federal I was trying.

[Yojimbo]

Nice range report!

I will be posting a more detailed review of my TacSol uppers after I get a few more rounds down range. I got mine about two weeks ago and have put about 900 rounds through it so far.

I used Remington Thunderbolt High-Vel .22 as well as the Winchester Dynapoints.

I didn't have the o-ring issue you guys have had but after one range session when I pulled the BCG out for cleaning it fell apart due to the e-clip coming off the guide rod sometime during the shooting. It didn't affect function but it was sort of a pain in the ass to put it all back together.

During the first three hundred rounds or so I had quite a few FTE's and FTF's with both types of ammo. It seemed to have smoothed out and settled down sometime after 500 rounds. I'll be keeping a close eye on it to see how it goes as the range count goes up.

ETA: I forgot to mention that I did talk to TacSol about the issues I encountered and they said the upper should smooth out around 500 round like I noticed. They also said that they will send me out a spare e-clip and o-ring. So far the customer support from TacSol is excellent.

BTW, they also mentioned that they have a .22 upper maint kit comes with some e-clips, o-rings, buffer and main spring. These kits are supposed to run about $22.

[Tundratrader]

Does the bolt stay open when magazine is empty on these? I see that black dog has bolt hold open followers so maybe the standard mags dont hold it open and allow use of bolt release.