Which dedicated .22 AR upper/complete gun did you buy and why?

**rob_s** · 06-20-09, 06:54

Known complete uppers:
CMMG
Model 1 Sales
Spike's Tactical
Tactical Solutions

Known complete guns:
Colt/Umarex M4 Carbine .22 Tactical Rimfire
Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 and threaded barrel model

What I want to know is:

what made you choose one over the other?
what were your experiences with either/both prior to purchase?
what were your initial impressions?
what, if any, break-in issues did you have?
what, if any, initial tinkering did you have to do to get it to work?
what's your current round count up to?
how many malfunctions have you had to date and has the frequency increased or decreased?
what is your current impression of your purchase?
do you wish you had bought a different make/model now that you've been shooting it for awhile?
what ammo has been the *best* (most reliable and accurate) in your upper?

what I am NOT interested in hearing about are .22 drop-in kits on 5.56 upper and I am NOT interested in hearing about out-of-production uppers like the DPMS. I am also not interested in hearing bashing of one or the other, or hysterical responses/defenses if you feel like your choice is being slighted. Finally, while I'm not opposed to hearing about it, I'm not terribly interested in the Carbon 15 .22 upper or in the complete guns like the Umarex or the S&W dedicated .22 ARs. Complete, dedicated .22 uppers only.

**SeriousStudent** · 06-20-09, 08:18

I bought the TacSol upper.

1. Reading threads on here, and seeing member comments. LtCol Blish, Grant and others were proponents of the TacSol upper.

2. None. I had not shot either one, so I was going off member feedback. I had fired a Model 1 Sales .22 upper, and decided to pursue another path.

3. Excellent. It's accurate with irons, very easily to clean, and reliable with Black Dog mags.

4. The first two magazines experienced two FTE's each. This was with brand new mags, on a brand new upper. I was using Federal .22 Bulk Pack. I broke down the weapon, and added some more TW-25B to the internal rails, and it has worked flawlessly since. Two different mags, same ammo, brand new mags that have not had an issue since.

5. See above. I merely increased the lube a bit during the first 150 rounds.

6. Only 650-ish rounds so far. It's getting another 1100 next weekend.

7. No malf's after the initial two magazines mentioned. That was a total of 4 FTE's, which were very quick to clear. (I could almost hear Mr. Costa's voice in my head going "Okay, now power-stroke!")

8. Ridiculously happy. Everyone that has shot it walks away with a big goofy grin on their face. I have bought a Aimpoint C3 and a American Defense mount for it per your recommendation, and will wring that out next weekend.

9. Not at all. I love it. It's my fifth AR. I have it running on a CD lower with a G&R LPK, and all MOE gear. I'm going to buy another just like it for my daughter.

**mpardun** · 06-20-09, 08:30

10% Fathers day discount and $25 Black Dog Mags ($10 off) put me over the edge this am!

http://www.tacticalsol.com/store/pc/...t.asp?idpage=9

**RogerinTPA** · 06-20-09, 08:46

I saw colt/umarex M-4 carbine for $600.00 on J&G sales. It's a complete rifle if anyone's interested.

http://www.jgsales.com/product_info....oducts_id/3581

**Niall of the Nine** · 06-20-09, 08:47

I purchased the Tactical Solutions "LT"

1. what made you choose one over the other?
2. what were your experiences with either/both prior to purchase?

Had not seen either in the flesh, just liked the Tactical Solutions web presentation. (I know... but sometimes you just get a good feeling about something and have to take a chance.)

3. what were your initial impressions?

Very positive. The materials, machining, fit and finish are beautiful.

4. what, if any, break-in issues did you have?
5. what, if any, initial tinkering did you have to do to get it to work?

Problem with 4# Timney Trigger. Failures to fire due to its light hammer spring. Replaced it with two stage LMT trigger, problem solved. (T.S. specifically recommends using military triggers).

6. what's your current round count up to?

Am now nearing 600 rounds.

7. how many malfunctions have you had to date and has the frequency increased or decreased?

None, since trigger swap at 120 rounds.

8. what is your current impression of your purchase?

Positive. Very good accuracy and reliability. 100% function, even with cheap Federal "value pack" rounds. (With CCI Standard Velocity the smoothness and "quietness" (unsuppressed) is almost seductive.)

Only complaints: Like most 22 AR uppers, does no lock back after final round. And, the carrier can slide out of upper when off lower. Unlike a conventional AR-15 upper, the charging handle does not retain the carrier.... so, if you tilt the upper rearward (when off the lower) you will be in a "think fast" situation!

9. do you wish you had bought a different make/model now that you've been shooting it for awhile?

Not yet... I've seen several conversions that use the .223 barrel and have out shot all of them (even against known better shooters). All comments from others have been positive, and two orders that I know of have resulted.

**rob_s** · 06-20-09, 08:49

added a question 10 re: ammo. most of you have already addressed it.

**SeriousStudent** · 06-20-09, 09:21

Rob, I have only shot Federal .22 Bulk Pack in mine. TacSol specifically warns against using Remington Golden Bullets, so I never bothered to try them.

I have a couple of thousand rounds of Aguila .22, and I may try that next weekend, just for eval purposes. However, that particular load does not cycle reliably in my daughter's P-22, and has been relegated to revolver use only. it would be great to burn it up in the TacSol upper.

I am itching to try some Federal Auto Match, and some Eley, and see what kind of groups I can get with those, along with the new 2MOA Aimpoint C3. The problem is that it's easier to find Krugerrands here, than it is to get Federal ammo right now.

**uspc9mm** · 06-20-09, 17:15

I have a Spikes 5.5 inch upper that I run exclusively with a silencer. I have a DPMS hammer and BDM mags.

1)what made you choose one over the other?
- I was buying a factory sbr from them at the time.

2)what were your experiences with either/both prior to purchase?
-Delivery was much faster than I expected.

3)what were your initial impressions?
-I noticed that a lot of the FTF problems people on the forums had seem to be fixed by increasing the feed lip on the bottom portion of the barrel chamber. I noticed that the Spikes upper already had this done.

4)what, if any, break-in issues did you have?
-I initially shot 200+ rds of minimags with a suppressor thru it. I had a few malfunctions here and there but the lower was also new too. I never clipped any of the recoil spring bc I didnt want the gun to potentially have return to battery problems.

5)what, if any, initial tinkering did you have to do to get it to work?
- I used a little bit of tetra grease on the rails and on the hammer, thats it.

6)what's your current round count up to?
-A few thousand.....

7)how many malfunctions have you had to date and has the frequency increased or decreased?
-Ive probably had no more than a handful of malfunctions and they have Decreased. Its 100% now. It tends to have problems after about 1k rounds of no cleaning. Running a bore snake thru it seems to clear up any problems though.

8)what is your current impression of your purchase?
- I like it but my only beef is the recoil spring guide rod. The recoil spring is held on by an E-clip. If the e-clip snaps you have an expensive malfunction. Spikes is supposedly working on a one-piece guide rod. With a one piece the guide rod the whole setup would be rock solid.

9)do you wish you had bought a different make/model now that you've been shooting it for awhile?
-Im happy with it.
10)what ammo has been the *best* (most reliable and accurate) in your upper?
- CCI blazers in my experience are the best bulk ammo followed by Win Xperts. The upper shoots Rem and CCI subsonics without problem. In my experience the Fed bulk ammo has been inconsistent

Im no Spikes fanboy but Im pretty content with my .22 upper.

**TonyM** · 06-20-09, 17:59

Tac sol- I tried the CMMG drop in unit but with a 1/7 twist barrel all I got was a pattern not a group.

I started with a new LMT lower but with a 25% failure rate I was pretty dissatisified. I changed to a well used RR lower and now I have a 99.8% success rate. The upper did not fit either lower well and I had to remove small amounts of metal in the mounting holes to get the pins to go through. I think the new springs might have been too much for the little .22 to overcome. I have about 1100-1200 rnds through it. Yesterday I ran about 150 rnds thru it and had 3 cases fail to fully eject, they would extract but not fully eject spin around and lodge in the extractor. Could be because I did not clean it after the last time I took it to the range. The last range session I shot about 300 rnds and only had 2 failure to eject. I am using Federal bulk pack and Federal target ammo. It also shoots WW bulk ammo fine. It does not like the Rem Golden Bullet but they tell you that up front.

While I was having problems Tac Sol was giving me ideas as to a fix and offered to give me a RGA to send it back several times. They wanted me to be 100% satisfied with their product.

Now that I have the bugs worked out I am very satisfied. I take a T1 off one of my other rifles and it prints about 1 inch low at 25 yds. I have not put it on a rest but offhand rapid fire I get about a 1 1/2 to 2 inch group. For the price of 2 cases of .223 I can now shoot all afternoon for about $ 15.00. Other than the bolt falling out when the halves are separated, and the bolt catch won't hold the bolt back I have no complaints.