Promag Archangel ARS?

[Dan Goodwin]

Got a notice that these 10/22 conversion kits are available in the June Brownell's newsletter.

Anyone seen/tried one of these and any thoughts on the unit compared to Nordic Components kit?

[bluepythons]

Hi Dan,

I have one. I was going to post some pics and a mini review but have frankly just not had the time. Here is the short of it. If you want an "AR Trainer" and have an extra 10/22 laying around, go for it. I had an extra receiver around and wanted to build a trainer that would be reliable and able to shoot any ammo. I would love to buy a Spikes or Tac Sol upper, but $600 plus the cost for extra mags just isn't in the cards right now. Also I have heard reviews of this upper likes only X ammo and that upper only shoots Y ammo, etc, etc.

Enter the Archangel, a poor mans nordic so to speak. I got it a while ago while they were still new and with a dealer account I think it was right around 100 bucks, cheap enough for me to give it a try. I had the extra receiver and all of the other parts to make a 10/22 run.

Pros:
-Uses a 10/22
-Because its a 10/22 at heart you get:
Great reliability
Any ammo works, and I mean any cheap crap I use
Parts are easy to find and install
Easy to sell, modify etc
-Easy to install, simple design (see cons though)
-Feels pretty solid for it being plastic
-Stock similar to MagPul
-Cheap

Cons:
-Its plastic, easy to strip out threads
-Tight fit, mine required sanding to fit flush
-Rails are not quite spec, although I mounted an extra Holo-Sight and VFG just fine
-Some mold flashing, again may need sanding

Now they are saying to heat some parts in the oven to install, I guess it makes it easier which makes sense. I used some sandpaper and a dremel in some spots to get the fit flush. I really didn't care for the bayo lug/flash hider, I didn't care about the looks. I wanted a rifle that felt like an AR but would run on anything. I really like it, I have taught kids to shoot with it, wives/girlfriends of officers, explorer scouts, etc before using a 223. I have even used it with some of the "special" shooters on the dept to diagnose problems. As a training tool it has been great.

Overall it isn't as nice as a nordic kit or a dedicated upper, but for the price it cant be beat. I will try to post some pics up in next day or so. The weakest point of the 10/22 is the mags. If you do do it, spend some money on some high quality mags, like the ones from Tactical Innovations. Not cheap but will last, they now make a plastic cheaper version that is supposed to be really good, will probably order some of those in the future.

Dave