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

[wahoo95]

What I want to know is:

1. what made you choose one over the other? I read great things about it and it has a Nickle Coated Bolt!
   
2. what were your experiences with either/both prior to purchase? None.....first order from ST.
   
3. what were your initial impressions? I love it! Worked right out the box until i started tinkering to get it to run Aguila 38gr SS ammo.
   
4. what, if any, break-in issues did you have? None....worked right out the box.
   
5. what, if any, initial tinkering did you have to do to get it to work? I made a few changes with the Lakeside Spring kit to get it to run with Aguila 38gr SS ammo which led to light strikes. Have since returned it to stock configuration and it runs like a top. Since it's now broken in it even runs well on SS ammo.....it prefers Winchester SS.
   
6. what's your current round count up to? I've probably got about 5k rounds through it.
   
7. how many malfunctions have you had to date and has the frequency increased or decreased? Not sure since I had lots when I made the spring changes. Since returning to the factory configuration I only get an occasional ammo related jam associated with rimfire ammo.
   
8. what is your current impression of your purchase? I love it! Was suprosed at how accurate it was so I put an inexpensive scope on it to see what it would do. Will easily shoot 1" groups at 25yds.
   
9. do you wish you had bought a different make/model now that you've been shooting it for awhile? Nope
   
10. what ammo has been the *best* (most reliable and accurate) in your upper?

Winchester Dynapoint, 333, & Xpert HV
Federal Bulk Pack
Eley Sport
CCI Standard & Blazer
Aguila 38gr SS(very quiet!)

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.

Answers in bold above. I went with the Spikes Dedicated Upper. I plan on having the barrel shortened at some point.

[Phazuka]

I have a spikes ST-22 SD and I have the M4 model on order with the Walther barrel. I'm thinking of cancelling that order for a CMMG M4 model.



1. what made you choose one over the other? The cute asian girl from Spikes Tactical, MJ.
2. what were your experiences with either/both prior to purchase? Only the web reviews on TOS
3. what were your initial impressions? Great dedicated upper, no failures attributed to the upper itself, only attributed to the 1st gen BDM's.
4. what, if any, break-in issues did you have? 1st Gen BDM mag issues with the flat followers
5. what, if any, initial tinkering did you have to do to get it to work? bought mag rebuild kits
6. what's your current round count up to? Almost 500
7. how many malfunctions have you had to date and has the frequency increased or decreased? About 3 per mag, attributed solely to the mags. 2nd gen 15 round mags work fine with no malfuctions or stoppages
8. what is your current impression of your purchase? Best .22lr evar!
9. do you wish you had bought a different make/model now that you've been shooting it for awhile? I'm getting a 2nd M4 model, just to have.
10. what ammo has been the *best* (most reliable and accurate) in your upper? FVP

[CleverNickname]

never mind

[Yojimbo]

What I want to know is:

1. what made you choose one over the other?
   I chose a TacSol M4 upper due to high praise it got from Grant, Pat Rogers and FJB.
   
2. what were your experiences with either/both prior to purchase?
   I had no experience with any of the other dedicated .22 uppers.
   
3. what were your initial impressions?
   I very was impressed with it's construction.
   
4. what, if any, break-in issues did you have?
   I had quite a few FTF/FTE issues during the first 500 rounds. I've determined that part of the issue was user based. I ran the .22 BCG very wet like my 5.56 BCG's which isn't a good thing for a blow back operated weapon.
   
   I had also used Remington Thunderbolts which were not recommended for use by TacSol. Now I use Winchester Dynapoints and Federal 550 which have proven to be very reliable with the TacSol upper.
   
   The other cause of the FTF issues were that the firing pin was a bit too short. TacSol provided me with new FP that was .0300 longer and that has cured the FTF issue.
   
5. what, if any, initial tinkering did you have to do to get it to work?
   The changes that caused my TacSOl to function reliably were using Fed 550 ammo, running the BCG almost dry and installing the longer firing pin.
   
6. what's your current round count up to?
   Around 6k.
   
7. how many malfunctions have you had to date and has the frequency increased or decreased?
   I don't have an exact number but I know it was greatly reduced after 500 rounds and is down to maybe 5-15 rounds per 500. My guess is that most of the malfunctions I'm seeing now are just due to quality of bulk ammo.
   
   
8. what is your current impression of your purchase?
   I'm very happy with my purchase and would recommend the TacSol uppers to anyone looking for a dedicated .22 upper.
   
9. do you wish you had bought a different make/model now that you've been shooting it for awhile?
   No, because I basically see the same issues happening with the other dedicated uppers. IMHO, the .22 uppers are all somewhat sensitive to ammo and over lubing issues. Once you find a good combo of ammo and maintenance they should run really well.
   
   
10. what ammo has been the *best* (most reliable and accurate) in your upper?

I have never really tested for accuracy but I was able to get about 2"-2.5" groups at 50 yards with Fed 550 using irons. That was good enough for my purposes but I have seen reports that the Rock Creek barrel used with the TacSol uppers are much more accurate than that.

Fed 550 bulk and Winchester Dynapoints are most reliable with my .22 upper.

[Jeep297]

Choice: Spike dedicated .22 upper, 16" walther barrel.

What I want to know is:

1. what made you choose one over the other? I heard a lot of good reviews about them.
2. what were your experiences with either/both prior to purchase? I had no experience prior to purchase
3. what were your initial impressions? I love it! It's been amazing so far.
4. what, if any, break-in issues did you have? No issues yet
5. what, if any, initial tinkering did you have to do to get it to work? none
6. what's your current round count up to? A little over 1300
7. how many malfunctions have you had to date and has the frequency increased or decreased? I've had 2 malfunctions so far. One in the first mag and one at the end of the day. This was probably due to how dirty it was since I went through 600 rounds that day.
8. what is your current impression of your purchase? I could not be happier. It's now my wife's and I just bought another for myself
9. do you wish you had bought a different make/model now that you've been shooting it for awhile? nope
10. what ammo has been the *best* (most reliable and accurate) in your upper? I've only shot Federal bulk packs and CCI minimag so far but it seems to love the bulk packs.

.

Here's a pic of my wife with her target. She was having so much fun that she decided to shoot out the orange in the middle.

[Stan_TheGunNut]

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


What I want to know is:

1. what made you choose one over the other?
2. what were your experiences with either/both prior to purchase?
3. what were your initial impressions?
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?
6. what's your current round count up to?
7. how many malfunctions have you had to date and has the frequency increased or decreased?
8. what is your current impression of your purchase?
9. do you wish you had bought a different make/model now that you've been shooting it for awhile?
10. what ammo has been the *best* (most reliable and accurate) in your upper?

1) I purchased a Spikes based on some good reviews of them.

2) This was my first purchase from Spikes. It took around a month to get the upper. From talking with them, this was due to a parts availability issue with the rail. I had ordered a custom barrel length and expected it to take a little longer. I was able to communicate with one of their employees via email, and was kept aware of what the status of my upper was. I also spoke on the phone with one of their employees on a couple of occasions. Overall, my experience with them has been positive.

3) When I opened the box yesterday, my initial impressions were positive. A closer inspection gave me some pause though. I specifically ordered the upper to use with a silencer. To my eye, it looked like the bore was off center. This turned out to not be the case though. I shot it today with my silencer and had no issue in that regard. The only thing I'm dissatisfied with is that where the barrel was cut down and threaded, there is bare steel. It's not finished like the rest of the barrel. I'll probably do something to it because I dont' want any rust.

4) I managed to take it to the range for an hour or so today. The only ammo I had on hand was some Remington Golden Bullets, and some Federal (the variety of which I don't remember). The Federal would not cycle the gun at all, not once. After a few magazines, the Remington Golden Bullets functioned flawlessly. I only put perhaps 200 rounds thru the rifle (a guess...I don't normally keep a round count). The gun was shot as it came out of the box. I had not cleaned or lubed it.

5) I just shot it, and with Remington Golden Bullets, it seems to work fine.

6-10) Maybe 200 rounds give or take and so far I'm pleased. It's still too new to really answer the other questions.

[militarymoron]

answers in bold

What I want to know is:

1. what made you choose one over the other?
   Spike's ST-22. The others weren't out at the time, except for Tacsol, which was other people were having problems with at that time.
2. what were your experiences with either/both prior to purchase?
   full story on my website here http://www.militarymorons.com/weapon...s2.html#spikes
3. what were your initial impressions?
   see above link.
4. what, if any, break-in issues did you have?
   see above link
5. what, if any, initial tinkering did you have to do to get it to work?
   first barrel did not feed - had to smooth out feedramp and entrance to chamber. accuracy was unacceptable. spikes switched it out and upgraded to a lothar walther barrel, which performed very well (See link). i cut the recoil spring down by 1/2".
6. what's your current round count up to?
   around 5k-6k
7. how many malfunctions have you had to date and has the frequency increased or decreased?
   not counting initial problems with first barrel, it now malfunctions only with federal bulk pack. CCI mini mags work 99% of the time but american eagle 38gr have been flawless.
8. what is your current impression of your purchase?
   best purchase of the year - fun and inexpensive to shoot
9. do you wish you had bought a different make/model now that you've been shooting it for awhile?
   nope - happy with it and no reason to change
10. what ammo has been the *best* (most reliable and accurate) in your upper?
    38 gr american eagle followed by CCI mini mags

[superman07]

What I want to know is:

1. what made you choose one over the other?
Picked up a Spikes based upon reccomendations at TOS.
2. what were your experiences with either/both prior to purchase?
None before purchase.
3. what were your initial impressions?
Good, build quality was fine.
4. what, if any, break-in issues did you have?
Ran on a old DPMS lower but not on a dedicated spikes 22lr lower. Adjusted the hammer spring and went with a lighter JP Unit.
5. what, if any, initial tinkering did you have to do to get it to work?
Lightened the hammer spring. Stag spring was too tight.
6. what's your current round count up to?
Lost count, several thousand based upon number of 550 boxes retired.
7. how many malfunctions have you had to date and has the frequency increased or decreased?
Almost completely stopped. Every now and again Ill get a case stuck in the upper and a simple clear works it out. Usually when firing quickly.
8. what is your current impression of your purchase?
very positive, however I keep up with spikes to see what new adjustments to make. Interested in this one piece guide rod.
9. do you wish you had bought a different make/model now that you've been shooting it for awhile?
no not at this point.
10. what ammo has been the *best* (most reliable and accurate) in your upper?
Winchester and Federal.

[davidk]

I bought a Spike's dedicated upper. I found it to be ammo sensitive, but once I found what it likes (Federal 550 bulk) its been flawless

[davidk]

I bought a Spike's dedicated upper. I found it to be ammo sensitive, but once I found what it likes (Federal 550 bulk) its been flawless. After finding the right ammo, I put 500 rounds through it in an afternoon--twice actually. Great fun knowing ammo is so cheap