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Chris Rhines
06-14-2012, 06:54 AM
Okay, I'm about ready to wrap my TacSol AR-22 upper around a tree. For the last two range sessions, I've been unable to fire three consecutive rounds out of this POS without a malfunction. I've had dead triggers, failures to feed, failures to eject, light strikes, the whole panoply of unreliability, with many different brands of ammo and several different (otherwise dependable) lowers.

So, I'm going to box the AR-22 up and ship it back to TacSol. In the meantime, I need something to practice indoors with. What do you guys like for .22LR AR clones or conversions? I'm open to almost anything at this point.

Nordic Components AR-22s are out of the running, unless someone has a line on a used one for sale. They're supposed to be awesome, but I'm getting itchy and I want to pick up a replacement this weekend...

Thanks,
Chris

Al T.
06-14-2012, 07:28 AM
Chris, I'm sold on the S&W M&P15-22. FWIW, I'm closing in on 5k rounds down range with zero issues.

orionz06
06-14-2012, 07:31 AM
What are the problems with the TacSol? They can be finicky but once running they are amazing. I am only selling mine because for other reasons.

What trigger?

John Ralston
06-14-2012, 10:45 AM
The hammer can have a big affect on the Tac-Sol Reliability.

Mine works 100% on one Lower, but is F$%&^*% frustrating on another. No break in was necessary, but it started life on the 100% Lower.

orionz06
06-14-2012, 10:46 AM
The hammer needs to be rounded. The hammer spring has a greater effect, I believe.

John Hearne
06-14-2012, 10:58 AM
My limited experience is that AR conversions run great from the start or require a lot of tweaking to run. The only good news is that once they're running, they tend to keep running.

Chris Rhines
06-14-2012, 11:26 AM
What are the problems with the TacSol? They can be finicky but once running they are amazing. I am only selling mine because for other reasons.

What trigger?

Malfunctions - I've had three main types, sorted by frequency.
1.) Dead Trigger/Hammer Follow. The hammer follows the bolt carrier forward after firing. It appears that the bolt carrier is getting far enough back to strip and feed a round from the magazine, but not far enough to get the hammer hook to catch on the trigger.
2.) Light strikes. Self-explanatory. I have inspected the firing pin, and it does not appear to be damaged or worn.
3.) Failures to eject. The empty case ends up either wedged between the bolt and the breechface at 90 degrees, or else is spun 180 degrees and jammed over the ejector.

I've used a couple of different triggers - a Geiselle S3G, a JP trigger kit both with and without the reduced-power hammer spring, and a stock GI trigger with an un-notched hammer. None seemed to work any better than the other.

-C

orionz06
06-14-2012, 12:00 PM
Ever try cutting the action spring on the bolt? Should do the trick.

Chris Rhines
06-14-2012, 12:11 PM
Ever try cutting the action spring on the bolt? Should do the trick.

Hmmm. No, I haven't tried cutting the action spring. How much would you take off for a start, or should I just take a Dremel tool and cut-off wheel with me to the range?

Thanks,
Chris

orionz06
06-14-2012, 12:14 PM
Maybe 2-3 coils at a time. Take a pair of wire snips.

I find this (http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=2&f=282&t=168048)link to encompass everything quite well. I would start with tuning the spring with 1 trigger only, whichever is rounded and has a decent hammer spring.

Little Creek
06-14-2012, 12:18 PM
Chris, I'm sold on the S&W M&P15-22. FWIW, I'm closing in on 5k rounds down range with zero issues.

Me too!. I have a S&W M&P15-22 and I love it. It will literally go over 1,000 rounds without cleaning.

MikeyC
06-14-2012, 06:25 PM
I have a CMMG dedicated 22 upper that works quite well. it does need to be fed a steady diet of good .22, and it keeps on rolling. If I try to run bulk Winchester or Remington ammo through it, then it will hang up at some point every time. Other that that it's runs like a top.

Chris Rhines
06-17-2012, 08:30 AM
Status update - AAAAARRGH!

...

There, I feel better.

Got a new extractor and spring from TacSol, thanks guys. I installed them and headed to the range, and while the new extractor helped a bit, I was still getting either a light strike or a dead trigger every 4-5 shots. I pulled the bolt and trimmed about 3 coils off the recoil spring, no change. 3 more coils, still no change. Removed the buffer and spring, no change.

I'm gonna give this thing one more try, with a known-good stock AR lower. If that doesn't show results, it's headed back to TacSol and/or the For Sale forums.

Still thinking about an M&P15-22.

Thanks for everyone's help so far.

-C

orionz06
06-17-2012, 10:26 AM
Use a normal hammer/trigger spring to get it to work, then worry about the other triggers.

Chris Rhines
06-17-2012, 04:36 PM
Another status update - it was either the lower or the trigger group in the lower. I stuck the TacSol upper on my defensive carbine lower, an old Eagle Arms with a JP trigger group and a full-power AR hammer spring. This afternoon at the range it ran flawlessly through 200 rounds of mixed Winchester M-22, Remington Golden Bullet bulk, and old, nasty, corroded Federal HV bulk ammo.

Life is good again. Thanks!

-C