Training - is a .22 upper a good idea?

[fnslpmark112]

For those of you that have a .22 upper, are you happy with it for training purposes? Do you feel it has make you a better shot and more familiar with your gun?

I am looking at a $550 Tactical Solutions upper. I know it will save me money. I would like to use it for CQB type drills and snap shooting. I don't know if it will simulate this realistically enough.

Any opinions?

[chris914]

I have a Spike's 22 upper that I use for some training. I mainly use it for trigger time since it is set up similar to my primary carbine. You can use the 22 upper with good effect on some drills but others you should stay away from. Anything with recoil management is a non-starter. Trigger control and marksmanship are the big ones that you can work on. Additionally, you can work on your transitions to the handgun from the carbine. That is my 2 cents.

[bkb0000]

I have a Spike's 22 upper that I use for some training. I mainly use it for trigger time since it is set up similar to my primary carbine. You can use the 22 upper with good effect on some drills but others you should stay away from. Anything with recoil management is a non-starter. Trigger control and marksmanship are the big ones that you can work on. Additionally, you can work on your transitions to the handgun from the carbine. That is my 2 cents.

+1 to all this... i can see .22 being a benefit for just laying out prone supported and working on marksmanship... 25m shooting with KD-simulating targets, like they do at applesead. but, as my man chris said above, nothing that requires recoil control- so pretty much any unsupported shooting.

in the spirit of transparency, as it relates to your question specifically, i have exactly ZERO rounds-fired experience with .22 conversions/uppers. but i don't even shoot low-pressure .223, for the same reason.

[Irish]

For that price go buy a S&W M&P .22 for $100 less. http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin...ion&key=811033

[sewvacman]

I have found that I get more trigger time which equates to shooting more accurately with my standard ar for considerably less money. It's good for some things - not for others. Accuracy, transition and reload drills are mainly what I use it for. It does carry over for me.

FWIW I highly recommend the M&P 15-22.

[leatherneck0331]

The first time I used .22 thru an M16/M4 was a conversion kit and that was for getting us use to the OEG.If you're gonna buy an upper ask yourself what YOU want to get out of it.Like some of the others stated getting use to an offhand pos or some other practicality.And honing certain combat shooting skills is one that it does help in.Have fun and let us know how it worked out.

[buggsb]

The Tac-Sol .22 upper is one of the best training investments I've made and it has paid for itself several times over already. It is setup identical to my primary upper (actually, I ended up building an identical lower as well to avoid having to swap back and forth).

I personally like it much better than either a conversion unit or the complete .22 guns from Colt or S&W. The only difference between it and my primary is the weight of the BCG. I have intentionally installed a different color furniture on the .22 specifically so I don't grab it by mistake when I need the real thing.

I find that most training drills can be accomplished with the .22. As for "recoil management", I understand the points above, but from a practical standpoint it's not like there is a whole bunch of recoil to "manage" in a 5.56 anyway. I do like to run a couple drills with the 5.56 at the end of a training session when possible though just to end with the proper "feel".

[Alaskapopo]

As for recoil managment. I found the .22 upper to have about the same recoil as a .223 upper with a good muzzle brake. I use my Spikes 22 build for practicing drills inside 50 yards.
Pat

[Cobra66]

I am very happy with my dedicated .22LR AR build! If I do my part I will shoot clovers at 25 yards with good ammo and obviously has the exact same feel and weight as a center-fire AR. Recoil seems to be less but similar if you are using a good grip, the biggest difference between the two is the noise generated which is a little surprising the first 2-3 shots of 5.56. It has allowed me to shoot far more rounds this year alone than I ever could have shooting my center-fire guns and for practicing grouping and positions, there really is little difference. It also allows me to shoot reactive targets at my range which I would not be able to shoot with a center-fire rifle. Oh, and the feeling of blowing through 300 rounds in a session and knowing you only spent $10 is very nice.

The only real complaint I have with all the dedicated systems I have seen is that they do not have a bolt catch, last shot hold open, or forward assist as does a center-fire AR. This makes doing mag changes and malfunction drills different and thus you loose the training value here. Also most dedicated ARs have problems ejecting live rounds, I was able to overcome this by modifying the chamber and firing pin angle.

CMMG is expected to release a bolt hold open device that can be retrofitted to CMMG, Spikes, and Tac SOL uppers. Their newer "evolution" uppers are also supposed to have solved the live round extraction issues. Obviously they are feeling the heat from the Colt and Smith rimfire ARs. I'm eagerly looking forward to the CMMG bolt hold open, but by the time all is done, I will have put about $800 into the gun excluding optics.

These things considered, the Smith and Wesson offers a lot over a dedicated rifle at a cost that is far less.

[orionz06]

I really enjoy mine. Transition and movement drills are where it shines.