AR 15 - 22 cal conversion kits
What's the best .22 conversion kit for my Bushmaster?
Larry
Larry
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I've used a number of different .22 conversion kits for my AR-15 and M16 rifles over the years. Most of these are based on the Atchisson design. The first of these units was an orignal Atchisson and it used a 16 round magazine which was contained inside the shell of a standard 20 round AR-15/M16 magazine. These early units were produced by MAC (the sub machinegun folks) and marketed by a fellow named Charles Robison in Georgia and sold for $80 back in the mid 1970's. These were conversions were not cheap; a new Colt AR-15 retailed for less than $250 at this time. You won't find these early units for sale very often.
The second type is the Ceiner .22 conversion which is the same Atchisson device with some of Mr. Ceiner's product improvements. These are fine units, very reliable and easy to use. There are currently only 10 round magazines available, but I purchased a number of 30 rounds mags years ago and these work perfectly. There are two variations of the Ceiner kit; one for semi's and one for select fire. Although the semi kit will function in an M16 there may be cycling problems on full auto. The Ceiner M16 kit has an "anti-bounce" device and works fine on full automatic when using good quality .22 ammo (not promotional junk)
The next kit was a unit produced by Colt and these are very close to the old Atchisson units and came in a blister package with the unit, one magazine, a hold open device (plastic plug) and an instruction sheet. The Colt had an advantage in that it would work in either AR-15 or M16 rifles without any problems. The disadvantage was that Colt never offered a magazine other than a 10 round capacity and 10 shots does not last you very long in an AR-16 or M16! Ceiner used to produce his own 30 round magazines for the Colt conversions, but these magazines were sold out years ago. The factory Colt .22 conversion magazines are VERY hard to locate and ususally cost $30 or more when you can scrounge one up for sale.
The USAF used to have a special M16 conversion known as the M261 which used a ten shot .22 magazine iserted into a standard 30 round M16 magazine. These USAF units were produced by U.S. Armament Corp. and were much different that the Atchisson types-- the AF version used an actual gas action to function the the rifle. In my opinion these are far too complicated when compared to the Ceiner or Colt units. SARCO was selling off a large number of surplus USAF conversions some years back so you may encounter one for sale at gun shows. I feel that these are far beter as collectors items than for shooting. This is a brief over view of the subject. Since I already have a reputation for long winded postings I'll cut it off here.
Mark T. Christian0 -
Hey mark, nothing wrong with a little William Faulkneresque rambling....as long as your rambling is productive, which yours always is. I've heard that JA Ceiner is a genius, and like a lot of geniuses doesn't deal well with the public. Check
www.AR15.com
and there is a forum on there about different conversions. There are a lot of people going to a dedicated .22 upper now as you can get the proper barrel twist to handle .22LR. Anyhow, anybody know if JA is going to start making the 30 rounders if the AW ban sunsets next year? I want one but only if I can get more than 10 rounds at a time.0 -
Mark,I like reading your posts,do not worry about being long winded because it is not. 
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Mark,
Keep it up, there are a lot of people here who enjoy history.
Speaking of which, Mail Call will be on in 30 mins.
The negative I have heard about 22lr inserts is that they can clog up the gas tube. CZ makes a dedicated upper for app $350.00
mag0 -
Yep, they're available at J&G Sales last I heard. HTH
Love them Beavers
SUPPORT THE I.N.S. , THE COUNTRY THEY SAVE COULD BE YOUR OWN0 -
Check www.wilsoncombat.com
$139. Reputable company with good products.
It's listed under rifle accesories I think.
"He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one."
- Jesus Christ in Luke 22:360 -
I cannot believe I have caught Mr. Christensen in an error. His knowledge of all firearms matters is vast, while mine is by comparison half-vast. I may have a small advantage in that I have all the kits mentioned by Mr. Christensen, including the early Atchisson kit with the inserts fixed into regular magazine shells.
I agree the current Ciener kits are of better quality than the original Atchisson kits marketed by BroCaliber. Those early kits were so rough that they required a lot of tinkering to get them to work, and the chambers were very rough, inside and out. The kits with the anti-bounce weight will work in an M16 in full-auto mode.
However, contrary to what Mr. Christensen says, the Air Force conversion kit is not the M261. That is the Army kit, and uses 10-round inserts that are placed in regular M16 magazines. It is essentially the Atchisson kit, but slightly different (better in my opinion) in the recoil spring and bolt. It is a blow-back kit, not gas-operated. It will not work in an M16 in full-auto mode. The Army kit is a very high quality kit. I have one with the original Army manual. I bought mine from SARCO in the 1980s. I have never seen one at a gun show, but they are probably "out there" and could show up at the next show. Strangely, a year or two ago, Brownells was offering surplus magzine inserts for about $10, so I bought some more inserts. They are gone from the current catalog.
The Air Force kit, in my opinion, is the finest kit ever made. It does not have a model number as far as I know. Unlike all the others, the chamber insert is rifled. The quality is very high. It is gas-operated, and uses white nylon 10-round magazines shaped just like 30-round M16 magazines. It is the only kit that locks the bolt open on the last shot. It is the most reliable of all the kits. It will not work in an M16 in full-auto mode. All these kits are serial-numbered. I bought my first one from SARCO in the 1980s, and have bought another "on-line" from a fellow in Alaska. I also bought a bunch of magazines "on-line." I have never seen one at a gun show, but they are probably "out there" and could show up at the next show.
I believe the Ciener kit is the only one you will easily find now, unless you get lucky on one of the Colt, Army or Air Force kits. You will be happy with the Ciener. Colt kits come up all the time on that big auction site, but extra magazines are scarce, as they are for the Army and Air Force kits.0 -
Of course you are correct Judge (I've yet to catch you in an error-- although you've spotted several of mine!), the M261 is the Army conversion kit and I make no excuses for my careless typo on that. My opinion on the gas assisted USAF kit was based soley on my own experiences with the single kit I once owned and I'm sure that on the whole these units are more reliable than the example I had.
Mark T. Christian0 -
Thanks Judge for clearing it up. My kit is the Air Force
gas driven model with the 10 rd nylon mag body and rifled chamber insert. I paid $130 for one with two mags from a seller on ar15.com a year ago or so. More recently Sportsmans guide advertized the insert type Army mag which didn't work with my unit. You'd a thunk Army and Air Force units would take each others' mags.0
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