Hey guys, I am looking to get a .22 lr conversion kit for my M&P15. I have noticed that CMMG gets very good reviews for their conversion bolts, but I also wonder If there are any other good choices. I know that Spikes Tactical makes a conversion kit, but have not really heard much about their performance. Any and all information and opinions are welcomed and appreciated!
Thanks!
Double post by mistake. I will add that it has eaten absolutely every type of ammo I’ve put through it.
I’ve had my CMMG conversion about two months. After 3000 rounds, no issues, very happy with it. I just wish it worked on full auto…
Check out the Spikes kit, Ive heard it eats abit better…
I have been happy with my Spike’s conversion.
I have had several Ciener units and they have always worked great; now they even can use excellent black dog magazines. That said, accuracy was always pretty poor, leading was a pain, so they are now gone. I bought a TacSol dedicated M4 upper for my rifle last month & I liked it so much a bought a new lower for it. Now I have a dedicated AR-22, go figure. Anyway, I think I am pretty typical in that I started w/ a conversion unit because they were cheap and then moved on to a dedicated .22 LR upper. You will probaly be happier w/ a upper in the long run.
+1 to what Iceberg said. After 10 years of fighting on and off with an M261 conversion I caved and built a dedicated .22LR. It’s been great, much more reliable and satisfying than my M261 ever was.
It would be nice to buy an upper, but I am not on any sort of a budget to do that…and the idea behind this conversion is not so much to be able to just shoot .22 lr out of an Ar15 rifle, but to be able to shoot the rifle I already have without beating my wallet to death, no matter what round I’m firing. I have too much money in outfitting on my gun to let it just sit idle for all but 2 or 3 days out of the month. I want to shoot her! So I guess the Spikes kit is getting good reviews as well?
I bought my conversion units for the same reason, lack of cash. The good news is that there is excellent secondary market for the kits when you are ready to move up to a dedicated upper.
CDNN has a deal running on CMMG .22 LR conversion units now ($189.99 w/ 2 mags).
Spikes makes great stuff. I know their upper is one of the best on the market. I’ve heard that thier conversion unit is considered the best, and appears to be the most expensive.
That said, I have always liked the Ciener unit and you can pick them up for under $150 and then buy some hi cap Black Dog mags for it.
Happy plinking!
I’ve got both a Spikes SD22 and the CMMG dedicated upper. Both are flawless.
I am pretty sure that I am not interested in a dedicated upper. I already have a good 'ol 10/22. I don’t really see any other need to shoot .22 out of an AR than to save money, which is the reason I want a conversion bolt. Again, my intentions are to be able to get out and shoot with all of the gear that is already on my M&P15, not add another gun, or upper, to the collection. I think I am leaning towards the CMMG kit at this point.
Spikes Vs. CMMG.
I decided on the Spikes Tactical Drop in kit. The Spikes is Nickel Plated, which makes cleaning a breeze. It also has 2 o-rings on the adapter that slides into the chamber. This keeps the dirty .22 gunk from blowing back into the upper receiver. I’ve been really happy with how it runs.
Accuracy, out of a 1:9 Twist Barrel, will make you want a dedicated .22 upper. My daughter ended up with mine on her .22 “Pinker.”
Spikes tactical .22 kit has the full auto kit that cost an extra $20 bucks.
Out of the Ciener, CMMG and Spike’s I went with the Spikes. I like the Nickle playing and the O-rings they use in their design. They also include an extra recoil spring which is a nice touch. Spike’s is the only one of the three to sell replacement parts for the kits.
CMMG has two kits actually. The regular one and CDNN sells a Stainless Steel version by CMMG which is nice as well. CMMG has there 3 CMMG magazine deal which is nice too.
I didn’t want to deal with Ciener if anything went wrong.
For those of you who did go with Spikes or CMMG, could you please specify which one you run and your results as far as reliability? Also, what ammo are you running? I hear that Federal bulk 40 gr work realy well. Accuracy is not a huge thing for me. I know that it will not be as good as my 5.56, but hey, Im running an un magnified EOTech, so it’s not like I’m going to be doing anything out past maybe 50 yds with this. Basically, I just want to get some feedback and figure out which unit runs the most reliably. If the CMMG kit gets my upper reciever dirtier, it’s no biggie if that is the most reliable unit. I do like the nickel finish on the Spikes though. At the price points that I’ve found, the CMMG matte finish is about $189 before shipping and the Spikes is about $200. I can’t help but think that the Spikes is more expensive only because of the extra spring and the gas tube plug that comes with it. Another consideration for me is availability. As far as I know, there are CMMG kits to be had that are ready to ship, and the Spikes unit has a 4-6 week waiting period. This is really a tough decision guys, I’m torn. If we can decide, as a group, which unit is more reliable then I’ll have my answer.
I have a Spike’s bolt in my dedicated upper. So far it’s been 100% with both Federal and Winchester bulk, but it didn’t like the one type of CCI I tried. So long as it runs well on Wally World Federal, I’m happy.
we have good luck with the TacSol uppers as well…