First, a little background:
I live in CA and thanks to our draconian gun laws, centerfire, semi-auto rifles equipped with a pistol grip (rifles like the AR/AK/FAL/etc.) must have a "fixed" 10 rd. mag that requires a tool to remove... the infamous "bullet button". As a result, ARs are essentially range toys here. However, rimfire rifles are specifically exempt from this requirement. As a result, a dedicated .22LR AR rifle is able to be equipped with a standard magazine release.
I've been thinking that buying/building a dedicated .22LR AR would be a fun and inexpensive way to practice things like reloads and manipulations while staying within the boundaries of California law (since I won't need to use a bullet button). I understand that I'm not going to get any useful practice with regards to recoil management, but I'd like to be able to practice things like reloads and clearing stoppages. Another upside is that I'd be able to shoot at the indoor pistol range where I work, something that I can't really do regularly with an AR chambered in 5.56.
I'd like to stay away from BCG conversion kits like those offered by CCMG for a couple of reasons:
1) I hear accuracy isn't great thanks to 1:7 twist rates being sub-optimal for .22LR
2) I'd like to avoid the potential legal hassle of having a centerfire upper with a rimfire BCG on a lower with a regular magazine release.
I've seen/sold/handled/shot both the TacSol and CMMG .22LR uppers and internet reviews of both are pretty good, but I thought I'd ask the folks at P-F.com for some input:
- Is this whole idea dumb?
- For those of you with first hand experience, is there a preference in .22LR uppers? Any brands besides CMMG and TacSol to be looking at?
- Things like the M&P 15-22 are on my radar, but I'd like something similar in size/weight to my existing 5.56 hunting/SHTFantasy gun. But, If the M&P is "better enough" than an AR upper, I'm all ears.
Thanks in advance!