Question on AR 15

[indysafe317]

Probably a stupid question, but figured this is the best place for an answer. Be easy on the sarcasm. )

I have an AR-15 which has a .22 conversion bolt and magazine adapter which was included. I was told I can just swap out the bolts and use the adapter to fire .22 rounds. I have seen other kits that also have a barrel conversion. Is that required or can you shoot .22 rounds through the normal barrel and if so is there a downside to this.

Thanks for any advice. Again, be easy on me.

 

[lazarus0213]

you can shoot regular .22lr through your .223/5.56 barrel. Some will argue its less than ideal but it does work well if you have the bolt conversion and magazines. I like to swap back to 5.56/.223 and shoot a few through the gun afterwards so as to clean out some of the junk the rimfire leaves behind

 

[netsecurity]

.223 barrels are .22 caliber.

 

[ckcollins2003]

With a .22 conversion kit, you simply swap out the bolts, use the .22 magazine, and have at it. Yes, it will run with the original .223/5.56 barrel. The downside is that the chamber is made for the 5.56/.223 round, and the .223/5.56 is actually a bigger diameter bullet than the .22 LR round. The .22 LR bullet is a .222 diameter bullet while the .223/5.56 uses a .224 diameter bullet.

I've shot thousands upon thousands of rounds using a .22LR conversion kit through the 5.56 barrel and chamber with no ill effects. Many people have. Some people just prefer a dedicated upper.

 

[__Doc_]

Isn't the only downside to using the 223 barrel with the 22LR bullet slight accuracy issues? When I say slight, I mean you wont be winning any bullseye competitions. It's perfectly fine for plinking/practice as far as I know.

 

[indysafe317]

Cool, thanks. good idea on shooting regular afterwards, didn't think of that. Thanks.

 

[indysafe317]

Isn't the only downside to using the 223 barrel with the 22LR bullet slight accuracy issues? When I say slight, I mean you wont be winning any bullseye competitions. It's perfectly fine for plinking/practice as far as I know.

That's what I was assuming, but wanting to make sure I would not damage the 223 barrel with the .22 round.

 

[DanVoils]

You will want to run. Couple of regular 223/556 rounds through it after shooting .22 to clear the gas tube out.

 

[nox]

223/556 barrels are a different twist rate than 22 barrels.

 

[ROLEXrifleman]

223/556 barrels are a different twist rate than 22 barrels.

Correct, most .22LR barrels are a 1:16 twist, while .223/556 are 1:7, 1:8, 1:9, 1:12. Much more aggressive than the .22LR

 

[indysafe317]

Correct, most .22LR barrels are a 1:16 twist, while .223/556 are 1:7, 1:8, 1:9, 1:12. Much more aggressive than the .22LR

Is it still ok to fire through it even if it is a different twist. I just don't want to damage the barrel. I know it won't be as accurate, just making sure it's safe.

 

[ROLEXrifleman]

Here is a cut and paste from a post I did here a while ago:

1) .22lr twist rates are not the same as .223! 22lr bullets stabilize in 1:16 inch twists and .223 barrels come in 1:7, 1:8, 1:9, 1:12. .22lr stabilizes in a less aggressive barrel because of the fact that it is not as high in velocity as .223 and general speaking the weight of the projectile is about half.
The craziest .22lr HV bullets shoot out at 1700fps.
The average 69gr .223 load comes out at a minimum of 3000fps

2) diameter. .22r are .223, .223 is .224
Every bit counts. that small amount of play will make a difference.

3) Copper vs. lead. .223 is copper jacketed. This protects the gas system in the AR upper from becoming fouled. Not to say that fouling of the gas system isnt possible it is less likely than compared with lead .22's or copper WASHED .22lr's. Don't be fooled, copper washed is not even close to copper jacketed.

4) chamber maintenance. You have no idea how many times I have had people complaining at the range because of issues with their AR's after shooting .22lr.
You can not shoot any large amount of .22lr through your AR upper and then imediaitly switch to .223. You are just asking for trouble. Since AR conversions use a chamber sleeve that fits into the .223 chamber and then load .22lr ammo into that sleeve you get residue, carbon and other dirt that gets into the chamber after several rounds of .22lr fire. If you imediatly remove the conversion kit and load .223 you MAY have issues chambering and extracting fired rounds. Also because of the fouled chamber you run the risk of increasing chamber pressure which is not a good thing. If a conversion is to be used I cant stress enough that a fantastic cleaning job be performed prior to shooting .223 out of that upper.

Many people have shot .22lr out of their .223 AR uppers with no issues. The above information isn't to be taken as conversions suck or don't work or are not worth it. It is simply to inform you of teh CONS they pose. The biggest CON in my opinion is accuracy. While accurate enough for plinking, AR conversions do not bring the level of accuracy to the table that I like or that a dedicated .22lr rifle or .22lr dedicated upper have. This accuracy insnt seen at indoor ranges at 25 yards but instead at longer ranges in excess of 50 yards. To the average or recreational shooter a .22lr conversion will do just fine as long as teh proper maintenance is kept. For the shooter looking for pin-point accuracy........ save your $

 

[SSGSAD]

Isn't the only downside to using the 223 barrel with the 22LR bullet slight accuracy issues? When I say slight, I mean you wont be winning any bullseye competitions. It's perfectly fine for plinking/practice as far as I know.

We used to QUALIFY, with the .22 conversion, in the INARNG, because of BUDGET constraints..... ( at 25 yards).....

 

[indysafe317]

Here is a cut and paste from a post I did here a while ago:

1) .22lr twist rates are not the same as .223! 22lr bullets stabilize in 1:16 inch twists and .223 barrels come in 1:7, 1:8, 1:9, 1:12. .22lr stabilizes in a less aggressive barrel because of the fact that it is not as high in velocity as .223 and general speaking the weight of the projectile is about half.
The craziest .22lr HV bullets shoot out at 1700fps.
The average 69gr .223 load comes out at a minimum of 3000fps

2) diameter. .22r are .223, .223 is .224
Every bit counts. that small amount of play will make a difference.

3) Copper vs. lead. .223 is copper jacketed. This protects the gas system in the AR upper from becoming fouled. Not to say that fouling of the gas system isnt possible it is less likely than compared with lead .22's or copper WASHED .22lr's. Don't be fooled, copper washed is not even close to copper jacketed.

4) chamber maintenance. You have no idea how many times I have had people complaining at the range because of issues with their AR's after shooting .22lr.
You can not shoot any large amount of .22lr through your AR upper and then imediaitly switch to .223. You are just asking for trouble. Since AR conversions use a chamber sleeve that fits into the .223 chamber and then load .22lr ammo into that sleeve you get residue, carbon and other dirt that gets into the chamber after several rounds of .22lr fire. If you imediatly remove the conversion kit and load .223 you MAY have issues chambering and extracting fired rounds. Also because of the fouled chamber you run the risk of increasing chamber pressure which is not a good thing. If a conversion is to be used I cant stress enough that a fantastic cleaning job be performed prior to shooting .223 out of that upper.

Many people have shot .22lr out of their .223 AR uppers with no issues. The above information isn't to be taken as conversions suck or don't work or are not worth it. It is simply to inform you of teh CONS they pose. The biggest CON in my opinion is accuracy. While accurate enough for plinking, AR conversions do not bring the level of accuracy to the table that I like or that a dedicated .22lr rifle or .22lr dedicated upper have. This accuracy insnt seen at indoor ranges at 25 yards but instead at longer ranges in excess of 50 yards. To the average or recreational shooter a .22lr conversion will do just fine as long as teh proper maintenance is kept. For the shooter looking for pin-point accuracy........ save your $

Thank's, that's the detail I was looking for. That answers my question and concerns. I appreciate all the responses.