CMMG .22LR Uppers - 22B7CC2 vs 22B7CC6

[Badger89]

I received my upper a couple days ago but have been kind of busy so I couldn't respond back. It did come with a functional forward assist with the SS bolt. A piece is added to the bolt to allow it to work. But with that being said, I agree with shadow65 that it is nice to have the option especially for later builds but not sure how often it would get used and the SS bolt is nice. I will say that when first mating it up to my RRA lower, it was an extremely tight fit and hard to push both pins in. And also I was having a hard time getting the upper to tilt forward. But after working with it, it has loosened up a bit. I'm sure a little gun lube and using it will take care of this. It has a nice solid feel when put together and the weight feels similar to my other M4's. I can't wait to get this out to the range. Maybe next Mon...

Thanks for reporting back. I guess a tight fit is better than a loose fit. It should wear in with time and a little lube, otherwise you could always sand it down a bit if its really tight. Not much you can do if its too loose though. Is the peice they added to the bolt for the forward assist to function stainless as well or not?

[Badger89]

Bypass the black bolt and go with the stainless. It's smoother, stronger, easier to clean and stays cleaner, longer.
I always go with the forward assist in the event I want to use the upper for another caliber barrel.
It's more expensive to add it later.
That said, the forward assist blocks fit looser all the time and can cause cycling issues..

I do not recommend the Evolution upper receiver with side panels. I've seen OBD's blow the panels off.
Stick with the standard upper receiver.

The ceramic finish will not match an anodized lower receiver if that's important to you.

The anti jam charging handle was developed for the jam prone Spikes BCG. Not really an issue with the CMMG's. Doesn't matter because you will get it automatically. It's plastic and has been known to break. A mil spec CH will work fine.

You can also ditch the tacky looking gas deflector for a standard dust cover.
Dave N

Thanks for the advice. I noticed in another thead you mentioned the Nordic/DPMS 22 uppers were very reliable. Is this based off personal experience? You mentioned running 18,000 rounds through a stainless CMMG in the same thread. I know were slightly off topic now, but if you were to buy another, which would you go with? Am I barking up the wrong tree looking at CMMGs? Is the DPMS better or just another viable option? I noticed the price on them is lower, but theyre also out of stock everywhere Ive looked...

[mikeyk101]

No, the FA piece is not SS. But it is not visible at all through the ejection port. It is only visible when the BCG is removed for maintenance. You can see it HERE It fits in the middle of the .22lr BCG. And after using a little CLP along with putting the upper on and taking it off several times, it now fits together properly and tilts forward easily.

[Badger89]

Well I went ahead and ordered the 22B7CC6 (stainless bolt w/ forward assist) today from Cabela's. Total came to $511 and change when tax and shipping where figured in - Only $16 more than backordering one directly from CMMG and I won't have to wait for it. Unfortunately I'll still probably end up waiting to shoot it regardless, unless one of my late night searches for fresh .22LR at Walmart prove successful.

Thanks for helping me choose.

[deadeye99]

If you want the forward assist to be stainless you can order it with the auto sear trip and the anti bounce weight has forward assist grooves.

[jasonprox700]

BTW, the FA does work. I actually use mine. If you get into "cheaper" ammo, it tends to run a little dirtier and you start to get feed issues. A tap on the FA is all you need. Otherwise, just take a few minutes and clean the chamber and action and you good to go.

I've used the FA when hunting. I just like to be as quiet as possible, so it gets used. The squirrels probably see and hear me coming from a ways off anyway, so it probably doesn't matter!

[RHINOWSO]

I owned the black one for awhile, worked pretty good although I'd get the occasional case in the charging handle andi didn't like the POI shift with the 22LR through the 5.56 barrel.

[Badger89]

Just wanted to update this thread for the collective knowledge regarding my experience with Cabelas. I've been holding my tongue on this until it reached a conclusion, so I apologize for bumping such an old thread (even if it is my own) but I didn't want to paint anything but a complete picture. So here it goes:


On June 15th I placed my order for the 22B7CC6 CMMG .22LR Upper Assembly with a stainless steel bolt group and functioning forward assist. A week or so later I recieved a generic letter from Cabelas informing me that I needed to verify my card information and shipping address before my order could be processed... Ok, not sure why a simple phone call wouldn't have sufficed since they had my number. They also had my address wrong in the letter, even though the letter itself was addressed corrrectly. When I called customer service and explained the letter I was informed that it is apparently a generic letter that gets sent out to everyone who places an order online. I don't know if I can believe that since it seems awfully tedious, but I went ahead and verified my address and billing information with them anyway. Then the nice lady on the other end of the line told my I would have to call back between 8am and 5pm and ask for a certain extension to have my order processed, since whoever needed to verify my info was gone for the day. ... could have told me sooner. Anyway, I call back the next day and re-verified all of my order information and my order was placed. I was told to expect it in the mail in 7-10 days.


The package arrived about a week into July... 3 weeks after I ordered it. Regardless I was happy if finally arrived, that is until I actually opened it. Inside the shipping box I found a CMMG box marked 22B7CC6, but inside that box I found a franken-upper that was neither the 22B7CC6 nor the 22B7CC2. It had the stainless steel bolt group of the CC6, but lacked the forward assist adapter on the bolt and the upper receiver had a fake plastic plunger pinned in place of the functional forward assist, like on the CC2 models. I called customer service and explained the situation, and explained that not only did the manufacturer's website state that the 22B7CC6 should have a functioning forward assist (which mine lacked), but their own website specifically listed this item as having a fully functioning forward assist in the Q&A section. They apologized and paid for return shipping so I could exchange it for the correct unit.


Fast forward 2 weeks and package #2 arrived in the mail. I opened it to find the exact same thing I had returned. 22B7CC6 on the box, franken-upper inside. Phone call #4 to customer service lasted half and hour and I got to talk to one of their "product experts" about the issue. They're really starting to like me now. After thoroughly explaining the situation to the product expert, he insisted on me breaking down the upper and feeling the inside to see if the forward assist was there... Obviously it was not. He then asked if there was a "gray plastic piece" on the top side of the bolt group near the rear... I told him I believed he was referring to the FA Adapter, which is actually phosphated steel, not plastic. He got all excited and said, "Yep, that's it!" until I told him that no, there wasn't one there. That's why I called in the first place.
Eventually he realized that I must actually know a little bit about what I'm talking about and told me that I was correct in expecting the missing parts to be there. He ordered a stock check of the warehouse to see if the entire lot was wrong and told me it would take a couple days, but they would try to find me one that was correct and ship it out ASAP, or special order another one in. I was also mailed a $15 gift certificate for my patience and told to expect a phone call in a few days.


Two weeks went by and I received my gift certificate but no phone call. Call #5 to customer service was short and sweet, and I was fed a line of what tasted like BS, that they were still in the process of completing the inventory check and would call me when it was finished. Four days later I received a voice mail informing me that my upper was correct and that they were not supposed to come with a functioning forward assist, and "sincerely apologized" for the misinformation on the website. Apparently someone pretty high up in management decided that they weren't going return an entire inventory of uppers, so we'll just say that's they way they're supposed to be.


That brings us to today, nearly 2 months after placing my order, where phone call #6 to customer service lacked all patience as I told them they could either refund me the cost to order the correct parts from CMMG needed for a functional forward assist and I would install them myself, or they could refund me the entire purchase price and pay shipping (again) so I could return the upper. I also informed them that I could have back ordered this upper from Brownells or directly from CMMG for less money and probably would have had the correct upper sitting in my lap by now. After being placed on hold for a little less than 10 minutes, I was informed that $50 would be refunded to my card and they apologized again for the inconvenience.


In the end, I guess $430 for a CMMG .22LR Upper w/ a stainless bolt group and a $15 gift certificate isnt too bad, although the whole ordeal was incredibly frustrating. If I really cared about having a forward assist on my .22LR upper I would probably be more upset.
Not sure I'll buy from Cabelas again once I burn up that gift certificate though... YMMV.

[jmk]

FWIW, i have both the CMMG and the S&W M&P 15-22.

between the failures-to-feed and lack of BHO on the CMMG, and the price being pretty much the same, wish i would've started and ended with the 15-22.

sorry you got a raw deal from cabela's - so far they've gotten all my orders right.