AR-15 Rimfire?

[Aguila Blanca]

Does anyone make a .22 rimfire AR-15 upper (not complete rifles) with an integral A2-style carry handle? Preferably a 16" carbine length, but if 20" is all that's available, so be it.

[9x19]

I've not seen one, all I've seen are built on A3 (flat top) receivers.

[TrueBlue711]

If you're set on an integral carry handle, your best bet is to build one yourself. You can get all the parts needed pretty easy. I think the most cost effective route would be to buy a dedicated .22 upper from PSA (when in stock, preferably on a sale weekend) and an empty upper with carry handle and then just swap the uppers. If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, it'll be an easy job for any gunsmith.

[Scorch]

Or you could get a rimfire adapter for your 5.56 AR.
https://www.ammoland.com/2020/01/cmm...#axzz6GVPYJmw3

[zukiphile]

Originally Posted by Aguila Blanca

Does anyone make a .22 rimfire AR-15 upper (not complete rifles) with an integral A2-style carry handle?

I believe the answer is no. However, building one is so simple that even a lawyer could do it.

A2 upper receivers are on the expensive side, so I've never used one. I see two obstacles in completing this project that I do not ordinarily encounter. First, the clamshell vise block a lot of people use for AR assembly isn't made for flat top uppers, so you'll likely use something that clamps the barrel in the vise. Second, many barrels are nitride and I don't know whether a smith who would drill a front sight bases and barrel would drill a nitride barrel. There are set screw front sight bases, but the only clamp-on FSBs I've seen in a while are expensive JPE pieces.

I can direct you to people who have put together A2 configured 22lr rifles, if you like.

If you don't care what it looks like, I can give you a formula for an AR based iron sight rifle with pretty good sight radius. This is my 20 inch barreled rifle:

[smee78]

This is funny, I was just thinking about a dedicated 22 upper for my AR and now there is a thread. I was looking at the PSA upper but haven't made any decisions.

[LeverGunFan]

There are still some TacSol uppers available, and a carrying handle such as this one could be added to it....

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by LeverGunFan

There are still some TacSol uppers available, and a carrying handle such as this one could be added to it....

But that's not an integral carry handle. There's no shortage of flat-top rimfire uppers, but not much in the way of rimfire uppers with an integral carry handle.

[zukiphile]

This isn't a comment on Tacsol quality, which from the reports I've read is good. However, Tacsol is getting out of rimfire and their bolt and barrel pattern isn't interoperable with the common CMMG/RTB pattern. The ability to get spare parts is an important trait.

[LeverGunFan]

Originally Posted by zukiphile

This isn't a comment on Tacsol quality, which from the reports I've read is good. However, Tacsol is getting out of rimfire and their bolt and barrel pattern isn't interoperable with the common CMMG/RTB pattern. The ability to get spare parts is an important trait.

It's true that TacSol has dropped their AR-22 uppers and conversion kits. I have one of their AR-22 uppers so I contacted them a few weeks ago to ask if I should order a few common spare parts such as an extractor and firing pin. The tech said no, that they will continue to supply spare parts and if I had any problems with my upper to contact them. Not sure to what extent replacement parts will be supplied, but I'd expect the commonly needed small parts to be available. They do have a service kit of springs that can still be ordered for the AR-22 upper.