Another .22 AR15 Question.

[Steve Cole]

OK, so after another day of researching and taking in everyones advise, I think I am going to go for a 15-22.

They are relatively cheap to buy, customisable and from what people have said I will be able to compete with them if I decide to. I will have to come to terms about the polymer receiver. I suppose Glock use them and you never hear complaints about them

I really do appreciate all the advise, and hopefully this advise will also help others. In a perfect world where I have plenty of money and all the time in the world to shoot I would probably purchase a Lantac. Unfortunately I don't, so I think the M&P will be a great place to start! No doubt in a years time I will take the same rout as most shooters and get a Lantac, Kriss, Tippmann etc however right now there just isn't enough justification for me to spend double on my 1st .22

Big thanks once again for all being so welcoming, and for all the great advise!

Steve

[Blackstuff]

If you can get over the plastic (which is in fact a huge weight saving benefit for competition use), you won't regret it. They're easily the most reliable .22lr semi-auto I've ever owned or seen shot. (I've hand less than a handful of 5 failures to fire in well over 20,000rds and all of those were more than likely ammunition issues rather than the gun).

Please do some research into their particular quirks however as you can easily destroy the rifle working on it in the same way you would a metal AR. The three most obvious being;

1/ Always clamp the barrel NOT the receiver when removing a muzzle brake/device, especially the first time. (I would recommend only ever putting them on hand-tight once you've taken it off/loosened it the first time - they don't need to be on tool tight to cope with .22lr). If you crank on the muzzle device while clamping the receiver there is a chance you can spin the barrel in the polymer upper and effectively render it a paperweight.

2/ Be extremely careful when tightening the pistol grip screw, it goes directly into the polymer lower receiver and if you over tighten it you can strip the threads. This can be fixed with a helicoil but sometimes the whole thing has to go back to S&W in the US.

3/ The safety catch and rear takedown pin detents & springs are BOTH captured by the pistol grip, rather than one being captured by the back plate on a normal AR-15. You must ensure these are lined up properly when reattaching the pistol grip.

These are incredibly easy to do/not to do, but if you're new to rifles, or worse, are familiar with AR-15's, but not the 15-22, you can damage the gun.

[Steve Cole]

So after much research I thought the M&P would be the rout I would take, I made a few phone calls to dealers etc and found the one I wanted to buy, only to be told it was sold. No matter, there are still plenty out there. However after doing more thinking, debating etc I just can't help but think I would always wish I went for a Millspec AR such as the Lantac, Kriss or Tippmann.

From what I can gather the M&P is a perfect .22 AR. Nothing wrong with it at all, best mags, reliable, the list goes on. And as previously said if I was buying with my head its a no brainer. However I just know that I would pour money into it with an Aluminium hand guard, Trigger unit, Charging handle etc. And whilst I know that non of this is a necessity I already started to make a shopping list. When I added it all up, the truth is I am not far off what I have seen the Kriss advertised for. Then of course you go yeah but a Kriss is only a few hundred less than the Lantac. Which got me thinking....

I am better of waiting and saving the cash until I can justify a mil spec AR. I mean, the ranges are all closed, gun dealers are appointment only so why am I rushing? I think lockdown is just getting to me It doesn't help I have been given the OK by the boss to get a new toy and I am so impatient! however I am going to wait and just buy the gun I wanted from the start which is the Lantac.

[Airbrush]

If you’re impatient the Lantac is defo the best one to go for.

[Steve Cole]

I have heard they take " a while" I might see if I can place an order sooner rather than later. Knowing my look, a 2nd hand one will pop up

[walesdave]

Lots of good advice from people who know their stuff. It might be worth looking at some US rimfire forums where a lot of shooters want .22rf 'M4's as cheap trainers for their centrefire rifles - and want the rimfire to shoot and feel as much alike the centrefire version as possible.

One thing I don't like about a lot of .22 'tacticools' is where the magazine has a cut-out window to aid loading etc. It just makes the magazine look not quite right in my mind.

Something I wasn't keen about the Kriss is that it uses Ruger 10/22 barrels - nothing wrong with the 10/22 (I've had one for years) but again it struck me as not quite right that an 'M4' alike was using a barrel from a 10/22; along with the solid buffer which means you don't get the M4 'spring' with each shot again makes it a little less 'reaslistic' as an M4.

Good luck with the research!

[Steve Cole]

One thing I don't like about a lot of .22 'tacticools' is where the magazine has a cut-out window to aid loading etc. It just makes the magazine look not quite right in my mind.

So this is the only 1 thing that I don't like as much about the Lantac, the fact that it uses cut away mags. With that said from what I have read the S&W mags it uses are meant to be top draw and work faultlessly, especially with bolt hold open. They are also inexpensive to buy and readily available. So I suppose it is a small trade off for a mil spec .22

[Airbrush]

One thing I don't like about a lot of .22 'tacticools' is where the magazine has a cut-out window to aid loading etc. It just makes the magazine look not quite right in my mind.

So this is the only 1 thing that I don't like as much about the Lantac, the fact that it uses cut away mags. With that said from what I have read the S&W mags it uses are meant to be top draw and work faultlessly, especially with bolt hold open. They are also inexpensive to buy and readily available. So I suppose it is a small trade off for a mil spec .22

I don't get the hate for the 15 22 mags, if you want to look all ally posing in front of the mirror with your milspec AR just put a pmag in.

[bradaz11]

I have a 15/22, I love it, such a nice little gun. I don't get the hate for the polymer, you want your rifle to be as light as possible, but then go with a heavier body for no reason other than 'feel', yet you never touch it while actually using the gun. you hold the polymer pistol grip!
as for justifying the kriss because it already has an ali handguard, is it a handguard you like? is it comfy? if you decide to shorten your barrel to make it even more handy, then you'd probably want another handguard anyway, and unless you costa clamp, do you need the big long handguards on the kriss, or are they just more un-needed weight?
you can have a 15/22 with handguard, stupid big optics etc, and still be lighter than the kriss bare.

the only drawbak I can think of with the 15/22 is you are a bit limited with stocks.

[GeeRam]

I don't get the hate for the 15 22 mags, if you want to look all ally posing in front of the mirror with your milspec AR just put a pmag in.

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