CMMG AR15 22 conversion kit

kit activates dust cover just like a standard AR-15 Bolt

For Christmas, I received a CMMG AR15 stainless 22 lr conversion kit (older version sans forward assist feature). Today, I took it to the range and put 300 rounds of Federal Bulk Pack ammo through it to see how it would hold up. Here are my initial thoughts on the kit:

Bolt installed, side view

I installed the kit in a home-built del-ton 16inch light carbine with an essential arms lower receiver. I also installed my Bill Springfield 4.5 lb trigger in this gun, which is awesome (review forthcoming link).

Installation is simple- just replace your factory AR-15 bolt with the CMMG conversion bolt. I went with the stainless kit, as I had heard people have had less issues getting them to run correctly. The offer my gift came from was a CDNN special that included the bolt and 1 10-round magazine for 149.99 with free shipping. That deal has since expired, but they do still have stainless kits with a high capacity magazine going for the same price (shipping might be 5 bucks now- you'll have to check).

For those who don't want the stainless, Botach tactical has the park'd version on sale for 99.95 here with no magazine. I've never ordered from botach, but I've heard some people have had problems with them, while others have had great service. You'll have to decide for yourself where to order from- but deals on this kits are readily available from a number of retailers. Anyway, The rifle received no special prep of any kind. it was cleaned last time I shot it, and that was it.

I threw some oil on the rails of the kit, and a little on the chamber area, and installed the CMMG bolt as per the instructions. As previously mentioned, The ammo used for this range outing was Wal-Mart Federal Bulk pack- 36 gr hp in the red box. Not the fancier champion blue box stuff- that isn't available locally by me. The first installation was a little tight, but thumb pressure was enough to push it into place.

bottom view of kit installed

In addition to the 1 gray CMMG 10 round magazine, I received 3 black dog machine magazines. The CMMG grey 10 rounders look like a straight bodied 20 round AR-15 magazine, where as the BDM look like a curved 20 rounder.

Off  I went to the range. In all 300 rounds fired, I had ZERO malfunctions. No failures to feed, fire, or extract. No jams of any kind.  After I had fired the 300 rounds, I replaced the CMMG bolt with the factory bolt and ran 5 rounds of 223 to clear out the gas system. The included instructions said to remove the bolt and clean thoroughly every 500 rounds, but I figured 300 was still a fair sum.

When I broke the rifle down and pulled the bolt- there was a fair amount of carbon build up inside. The kit wiped clean with just a rag (Yay for stainless!) and the fouling from the 22 ammo was also removed easily with a bit of hoppes 9 , some elbow grease, and a can of compressed air. Reinstalling was even easier than the initial installation, and the whole process took me less than 10 minutes to break down, clean, and put back together.

The fit and finish of the kit is very good. Operation is smooth, and there was no sluggish feeding throughout the entire course of fire.  Accuracy seemed good- It was a bit cold (20 degrees F) so my fingers were numb, but shooting  free hand I was able to ring the NRA rimfire steel easily at 25 and 50 yards. I may have to throw an optic on here and really see what the kit can do- but that will have to wait for better weather.

Here you can see a few close ups of the kit to see the machine work:

side of kit

side of kit, reverse

All in all, I'm a big fan. Time will tell as to the longevity, durability, and accuracy of the CMMG- but I suspect it will not disappoint. I do wish a few things were different, most of which seem to have been addressed in the newer version, the 22 evolution from CMMG- though it is much more expensive.

close up

The newer version incorporates functionality back into your bolt hold-open, as well as returning functionality to the forward assist. All of which would be nice if using this kit as an AR15 training unit. For a fun plinker however, they aren't really necessary.

I had no occasion to test live round extraction (aka I forgot to try it)- so I can't comment on the feature right now- though CMMG claims it has been improved in the new version.

 High capacity magazines for those people who live in states that no longer have restrictions would probably make this kit even more epic, especially with quality 50 round drum mags now available.

close up of extractor

Though both CMMG and BDM magazines fed perfectly, the BDMs were much easier to insert and extract. I took a piece of emery paper to the CMMG mag in order to make it insert more easily.  I found the tabs were a touch oversized and there was still some flashing around the seems. A few minutes of rubbing did greatly improve the CMMG mag's fit to my receiver, and I suspect it will loosen up further with use.

close up, front of bolt

The only place where machining / welding was obvious was on the rear of the kit, shown below installed in the AR. This however, had no impact on function.

rear of bolt, installed in AR-15

All in all, these kits are a total BUY. I don't know if the park'd version is as reliable as the stainless, but I'm sure with a bit of break-in it would probably run fine. If you can spare the extra few bucks though, I would definitely go with the stainless. It looks great, cleans easy, and my kit ran perfect from the moment it was installed.

Comparing this to other complete 22 AR-15 style rifles on the market today (like the Colt or S&W) I prefer the drop in kit. Those other guns just didn't feel as well made to me. Here you have a cost effective option that allows you to shoot your AR-15 more cheaply without the cost of an entirely new gun. I have been seeing a lot of people who are going with dedicated uppers- which are probably very nice. However, the conversion bolt option allows you to keep the same optic/light/accessory setup you already have on your AR and shoot more affordable 22lr ammo, without having to pay for a whole new upper (which can rival the price of a new gun). CMMG had great foresight when they designed this kit to run on bulk pack ammo- as to me, even buying Mini-mags is a bit much for 22lr shooting.   If anyone has an AR15, and is trying to figure out a cheaper way to get it out to the range or in the field for some small game hunting- Look into a good 22lr conversion kit.

Oh Christmas

Below is a now somewhat dated gun owner's rendition on 'twas the night before Christmas' The earliest I remember seeing this was on glocktalk a few years ago, though I'm sure its been making the rounds since probably 2005. Anyway, enjoy some lighthearted fun.

Twas the night before Christmas,
cold, dark and foreboding,
I sat at the work bench,
quite busy reloading.

The empties from autumn were polished so clear
for primers and powder and bullets from Speer
and Hornady´s soft-points, and Nosler´s Partitions
(my bench Ain’t no place for brand
name omissions!).

All sat in their boxes, right next to the
press with dies from Pacific, and RCBS,
when all of a sudden there came such a jolt,
I grabbed for my Benelli and whipped out my Colt.

As I spilled Hodgdon's powder all over the shelf,
I scrambled for cover, just to protect myself.

From up on the rooftop, came hoofbeats and snorting
like the noise out of L'il Rock from Clinton's cavorting!

I eased off the safety to press-check my
auto with 230-talons I'll knock 'em all blotto.

Were these rogue federal agents sent by Schumer and Reno ?
Or a staggering Ted Kennedy, in bad need of vino?

My question was answered with a knock, and some sneezing,
"It's Santa, you moron, lemme in there, I'm freezing!"

I flipped off the dead-bolt and threw the door wide
to find St. Nick a shivering, Rudolph by his side.
He eyeballed my A.K. with a nod of approval
"You're all set," he said, "for dirtball removal."

"But this is no raid, we're not here to harm you
nor persecute, prosecute, nor even disarm you."
"Instead," said dear Santa, "I needed to borrow
your .357 'till day after tomorrow."

"It's okay," he assured me, with a hint of frustration,
"I'm enrolled in the National Rifle Association."

He showed me his card, 'twas a Life Member rating,
"I've had this since me and the missus were dating!"

"And you see, Dave, ol' buddy, I've gotten real nervous
since Feinstein was elected with a promise to serve us.


So henceforth as I'm out there, my presents a stackin',
I want to assure you, I'm legally packin'',
and my gift for you this year should give you a hoot
I've told the Supreme Court to give Brady the boot!

Now, Rudy and I must be on our way,"
he said as he climbed back in his sleigh.
With the reins in his hand and my Colt in his pocket,
he jingled the sleighbells and was off like a rocket.

With a pair of speedloaders and ammo to spare,
I knew he'd be safe, he was loaded for bear!

As he faded from view, I could still hear him calling
"From D.C., where 'P.C.' is already falling.
To bad guys in L.A. , Detroit and Atlanta ,
"I'm licensed to carry, don't go messin' with Santa!"

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone- I hope everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the holiday with those individuals who matter most to you.

Fiocchi 230gr JHP 45acp review

Recently, Caleb of Ammoforsale.com approached me about doing an ammo review. He was interested in spreading the word about ammoforsale's services, and I was interested in testing a new carry ammo.

After a few emails back and forth, Caleb boxed up and sent me a box of Fiocchi's 230gr JHP blue box offering at my request, gratis. Now I want to be upfront here, I told Caleb that I would be happy to review the product and the service, but that free or not, I was going to be totally objective on what I thought. Thankfully, I don't have anything bad to say about the service at all.

From last email to Caleb to the arrival of ammo was 3 business days. The packaging of the ammo was secure and sturdy. That, coupled with speedy shipping, is a good thing.

I picked the fiocchi for a few reasons. As I have previously stated, carry ammo must satisfy several requirements for me to consider it.

it must be affordable
it must feed well in the weapon
it must be reliable
it must be adequately powered
it must expand on impact with soft targets

these 5 factors are the basis for all of my carry ammo decisions, often in that order.

A trip to my local wal-mart today showed that winchester 230gr JHP personal defense in the white box runs 29.47 per box before taxes, running about 32 dollars out the door for 50 rounds.

This ammo, from Ammoforsale runs 23 dollars per  box of 50- or a little less if you buy a few boxes. The same box of ammo is 26 bucks on midwayusa and there is no bulk discount. Now if you are ordering a single box, for me- shipping estimates run 11 dollars- making this ammo about as expensive as the Winchester offering. However, as soon as you order 2 or more boxes, the savings add up pretty quick. Ordering 4 boxes would save me a little over 5 bucks a box as opposed to buying  WWB personal defense at walmart, which is nearly enough for a free bonus box of ammo.  Not too shabby in my book. Checking around online also showed me that the price of the Fiocchi from Ammoforsale was pretty low, with the only other price as low found at luckygunner (which I assume is an affiliated online retailer). As such, the Fiocchi gets the nod as a definite affordable defensive round.

Next up, the ammo must feed well in my guns- it must demonstrate good reliability. To test this, I brought 3 guns with me to the range. My Springfield armory Mil-Spec (lightly modified 5 inch), my Colt LW Commander (lightly modified 4.25 inch) and my Citadel Officers sized 1911 (stock 3.5 inch). All three guns have their own quirks. The Citadel has a tight chamber, The Colt has always been a picky son of a gun, and the Mil-Spec . . .  well I guess the Mil-Spec doesn't have any quirks. That darn thing just shoots whatever I stuff in it.
To test, each gun was fired with one full magazine. The guns were prepped with the slide closed and a full magazine, and was then racked into battery and fired.

All three guns fed, cycled, ejected, and locked back perfectly on the fiocchi. Magazines in all guns were ACT-Mags, as they are my preferred carry magazines.  In all the ammo shot today  no hang-ups of any kind were noted. The guns received no special prep or treatment prior to testing. I'd venture a guess that this ammo is just well suited for use in 1911s.  After feeding and reliability, we come to power.  I couldn't think of a great way to measure power objectively, so I just went with a water penetration test. This allowed me to test 2 things at once- Penetration (or power) and the ability to expand in soft targets.  As far as recoil was concerned, I found the Fiocchi to be a touch softer shooting than Winchester whitebox personal defense in 230gr. I suspect that either Fiocchi is using a different powder, or loading to a slightly lower power factor.

Here is a set up of the table and testing jugs. Not the most scientific setup that has ever been devised, but a functional one. Again, all three guns (5inch, 4.25inch, and 3.5inch) were tested. Below is a photo of the jugs all lined up, ready to be fired.All jugs were shot at 5 yards.

First up- the 5inch Mil-Spec.

The round fully expanded, and penetrated the 2.5 gallon jug fully, and went into another 1 gallon jug behind it. The jacket of the bullet was fully shed, but man did that hollow point open up!

 I figured this was a promising sign, but wondered if the round would continue to expand with less and less barrel length.  So more jugs were brought out.





Next up was the Colt (4.25 inch).  Lets be realistic- many people who carry 1911 style guns, just find the 5 inch Government models a bit too big and heavy for regular day-to-day carry. Running an expansion test with only a 5inch gun would be disingenuous in my opinion.
Penetration was the same- 1 2.5 gallon jug and part way into a 1 gallon jug behind it. Expansion was again impressive, though not quite what the 5 inch gun did (as is to be expected). Again, the jacket was totally lost. The gun again fed, extracted, and locked back well with the fiocchi (and the commander is my most finicky gun).

Last up was the Officers sized 1911 (3.5 inch). This one had me worried. Often times finding rounds that will open reliably in 45acp out such a short barrel can be difficult. Compound that with the shorter guns often being a bit pickier on ammo, and you see many people just give up the fight and carry ball in the compact guns. I however, am an optimistic fellow, and thought the 3.5 should have its day in the sun as well.

The 3.5 inch officers' sized 1911 did not disappoint! The Fiocchi JHP opened up and penetrated a 2.5 gallon jug, and a 1 gallon jug behind it- almost making it out of the 1 gallon jug. I think this is because despite the JHP opening (and again shedding its jacket) it didn't open as much as it did with the 4.25in and 5in guns- allowing it to penetrate just a bit further.

Above are all 3 rounds shown with their respective guns for comparison. if you look closely, you can see the slight decline in expansion from one gun to the next, but all in all, I was pretty impressed with the expansion of these rounds.

As far as accuracy is concerned, I fired a 5 group at 10 yards to see the ammo grouped. Results below:

I pulled one round like an idiot, but the other 4 grouped nicely. POI and POA were about identical at 10 yards, as I use a 6 o'clock hold.

The only drawback I found (and its not necessarily a drawback for everybody) is the brass.

Fiocchi uses small primer 45acp brass. In above photo you can see the fiocchi (on the left) compared to a few rounds of standard Federal ball ammo (gold primer). Like I said, not necessarily a bad thing- but for me this means that the fiocchi is a single use brass item. I just never have enough small primer 45acp brass to mess with my reloading setups. If you aren't a reloader, don't mind loading sp brass, or just don't mind losing a box of brass every now and again, its a moot point.

Overall, I give the Fiocchi a definite buy, as I think it performed very well for the price. I also give ammoforsale.com a thumbs up. The service and communication was very good, and the product was delivered as expected. If anyone needs a  reasonably priced 45acp defensive round, I'd definitely say to check these out. Their performance in a variety of guns and reliable expansion makes them a winner.

Could use some help completing a survey

Alright everyone, A fellow grad student is doing a data collection and we are crunched for recruitment options. I have nothing to offer you guys for participating, but I am grateful to anyone who takes a minute to help out. The data collection is on video games. If you are a gamer, and wouldn't mind helping out- please fill out the survey at the bottom of this post. it helps a cool dude get his research done. In addition your help also:
Advances gaming research
only takes about 10-15 minutes
is entirely anonymous
is entirely voluntary
and is just an online survey link

redirecting to survey...

Its not spam, no information will be used for redistribution of ANYTHING.

Big Final Today

I have a big final exam today for one of my classes. In order to motivate myself, and any readers who might need a pick me up, I bring you 2 of the greatest motivational songs / compilations ever to grace youtube.





Get fired up.

Citadel and Remora update- 120 days later

Ah the siren call of the 1911. Does it ever really go away? No. I'll save you the suspense. It doesn't.  With just over 500 rounds through my most recent 1911 purchase, I thought now might be a good time to do a small 'state of the union' on the gun and its carry setup. As a quick recap, the citadel has digested a plethora of ammunition- from lead to FMJ, from RN to SWC,  LRNFP to deep cavity hollow points- you name it, I tried it, and the citadel has eaten them all without a hitch.  That's getting a bit ahead of where I wanted to start though. Lets back up and talk about the carry setup first.

all ready to go.

At the end of July, I purchased a Remora holster for my Citadel Officer's sized 1911.  Now, 4.5 months later, I have a bit more to say.  Long story short- My opinion on the holster has only improved. My holster box isn't as big as a lot of guys who carry, but I have had everything from custom leather to cheap nylon- and my Remora just seems to keep getting more and more use. (remora homepage)

The holster seems pretty durable, and is just really darn comfortable. I carry mine almost exclusively over my appendix- and despite the weight of the citadel, never really adjust the holster (despite some pretty vigorous activity). I like it so much in fact, I just ordered another Remora this week for a full sized 1911 with sweat shield and reinforced mouth. I'll write it up after I get it in.

I haven't used the mag carrier as much as I did initially, just because I've been making a serious effort to thin out my bat belt a bit. However, whenever I did use it, it performed well also.  You can see the wear on the holster and the grips of the gun from the amount of carry I put them through. This has become my far and away most carried setup- which is saying something for me. I was a chronic 'tinkerer' when it came to carry- always changing guns or holsters. Now- that seems to have settled down markedly.

As for the remora for the LCP- no complaints there either. That setup is predominately carried by my mother in her pocket. As an FYI- if your pockets are a shape which isn't too dissimilar to the remora holster shape, you might have good luck with it as a pocket holster as well as an IWB setup. However- remember to remove the holster from your pocket before you try to reholster the firearm.


As for the performance of the citadel, well- that has also been very good. I was at the range yesterday and got to run a box of reloads and a magazine of federal hydra-shocks through it. That range visit is what actually prompted this post. To be honest, buying the Citadel and the Remora were both a bit a leap of faith. Both were fairly new companies that hadn't had a lot of buzz around them. I lucked out on both counts. The gun has run like a top, and the holster has been comfy and easy to work with.

All is not perfect however. The citadel is described as having a 'brushed nickel' finish. Notice in the below photo my citadel next to my Colt LW commander for comparison (taken this summer)

note the tarnish by the grip safety

Well that tarnish has spread a good bit, and has turned fairly black. This isn't really a big deal- but it doesn't look all that attractive.

think it is silly to worry about keeping a carry gun pristine? I agree.

I know it sounds vain- but I do like to keep my guns clean and presentable.  I also believe that such a new gun should be able to be kept somewhat 'clean' looking. Maybe I'll try some silver cleaner and see if that can shine it up a bit.

All in all- no regrets on either purchase.  The citadel feeds most anything I feed it and is reliable with all magazines I have for it (ACT and Metalform). Heck, even the full sized mags I have tried in it run well.  I am still thinking about switching out the grips- and that might be happening sooner than later. With the new american classic Amigo hitting the US market soon, I think the Citadel Officers sized / RIA CS 45s are going to have some serious competition for a budget minded compact 1911.

I may actually switch out some parts on my Citadel with some Amigo offerings once they become available.  If you are looking for an Officers sized 45 on a budget and generally lack patience- look into a Citadel or RIA CS. However, if you are not in a rush, wait till the first quarter of next year and Check out the Amigo- I suspect it might be a heck of a gun (if my ACII is any comparison).

Ruminations on Glocks

I think it is a fair statement to say that Gaston Glock devised one of the most prolific handgun designs of the 20th century. Among the variations on that design, probably most near and dear to my heart is my glock model 23.

It was my first centerfire handgun purchase, and has been nothing but 'boringly dependable' the entire time I've owned it. As mentioned in my other posts, mine is a gen 2 glock 23 manufactured in 1997. It was a police trade-in I bought from one of my (now retired) preferred gun dealers.

I have no idea what the round count is on it now, nor what it saw with its prior owner. Its probably pushing 3k+ of my own ammo through it at this point, as I know I did a couple thousand of Rainer plated bullets before I got my 40 SW mold to cast my own, in addition to the other lead bullets I've fed it. In addition, it has seen an assortment of funky hollowpoint reloaded ammo, factory ammo, and re-manufactured stuff down the pipe as well.

Though the gun does lead up a bit (especially with factory cast bullets, not nearly as much with the home cast stuff- I think the lube and the hardness are the key), I have never found it prohibitive to clean. nor have I ever found it picky in its preferences.

I shoot my glock fairly well, though not as well as my 1911s. I do concede that my glocks carry more comfortably for me, despite the fact that I don't carry them all that often. The naturally rounded outline and striker-fired design keep the external characteristics smooth and free of edges which poke and prod.

At the price of used glock trade ins (Under 400 bucks for most models here) its a tough gun to not like. They shoot every time, and shoot well. Heck the g22's on summitgunbroker are 315. Real tough to pass up at that price.

A lot of people consider the 40sw a compromise caliber, and the g23 is a compromise of size between the full and subcompact models. It could be argued that the g23 then doesn't really excel at any one thing as a result of all that compromising. However it just isn't the case. The gun is light yet shootable, compact yet maintains a respectable capacity, and powerful while being comfortable.

I guess compromise isn't always a bad thing.

Circles of awesome

Link

fun little time waster.