Wednesday, January 14, 2009

My kingdom for a horsie.

I'm sure all my good buddies attending SHOT are going to pay extra close attention to the new Colt/Umarex .22LR M4 and deliver a righteous, in-depth report, right? Because this thing would be the berries for training for those of us who have easy access to 50-yd pistol ranges but have to drive an hour to get to a rifle range. If it's groovy, I can think of several people who will be buying...

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will that fit my Rock River Arms AR15A2?

Tam said...

Good question. Let's see what our intrepid reporters have to say...

Guys? No pressure, here.

Anonymous said...

It's my second stop after Ruger tomorrow!

alath said...

This is one of those situations where math is illustrative because, you see, these rifles are actually free.

Here's how:

Using MidwayUSA prices for Aguila brand ammo (we're talking about range ammo, right?)

1000 rounds of .223 55gr FMJ = $444.99

1000 rounds of .22 LR High Velocity (just guessing, but it seems like .22 LR semiautos often feed better on the high velocity stuff) = $53.98

So, somewhere around your 1500th round fired on the range, the .22 LR AR becomes free.

How about that? Shoot more ammo, get a free rifle. We need more deals like this.

alath said...

Actually, bad guesstimate above. The rifle probably becomes free somewhere around the 1100th or 1200th round fired.

Tam said...

Jeez, with a .22 that's like five or six range sessions...

Anonymous said...

Our group has had good luck with Ciener (sp?) 22lr conversion kits for our 5.56 uppers. Accurate enough, 26 round mags are available and a full house 5.56x45 down range after some 22lr keeps residue down.

Only problem is the kit doesn't retain the bolt hold open so there is some muscle memory you can't train. Fair compromise for us since we keep all the tacticool accessories already in place so we're not outfitting another weapon.

I think I paid $150 or something for the kit and about $20 for each mag. I've heard the source is a PITA to work with, but a friend did the group order so I didn't feel that pain myself.

Anonymous said...

I want a .22lr upper for my home build AR, but every one I read about has downsides. This could be the one to buy. More info please.

Tam said...

I'm kinda curious about the backstory on a Colt/Umarex venture. Last I checked, Umarex/Walther was taking long, hot showers with Smith & Wesson...

Anonymous said...

Y'know.....when I first heard about this thing I didn't think much about it. Another 22 conversion, etc. etc. But, looking at the concept a bit more closely, and seeing the estimated pricing range, I think I'll put one on the wish list, depending, of course, what they look like. I'll find that out tomorrow at the Colt booth.

Then again, if it takes off like it might, I can see a lot of AR-clone makers jumping on the bandwagon. And, how far away are we from .22LR 3-gun matches with .410 for shotguns?

Anonymous said...

*cries because she has no sitter, ergo cannot attend*

Anonymous said...

Check your e-mail.

Anonymous said...

OMFG - for those of us in the UK who can only own semi's in .22 (or as shotguns) this is a seriously big moment... >:->

-Timtoo

Anonymous said...

I already have a Bushmaster Carbon 15 .22lr. It set me back $550. And then it went back to bushmaster and I was without for 8 months.

But the Black Dog Machine mags for the Oly system can be made to work with it, and it's pretty slick. A bit on the light side, but nothing sticking it on an Aluminum lower can't fix.

closed said...

Gunkid wants one.

It even comes with a fake can.

Frank W. James said...

All I can say is IT WASN'T AT THE RANGE TODAY. Check my blog for what I DID find. I'll look for at the Colt booth Tam.

All The Best,
Frank W. James

Anonymous said...

ArmsCor Squires-Bingham 1500 scares hell out of the mall ninjas, performs reliably, dresses up cheap and was $79.95 brand new when I bought one for my kid. Underneath the imitation plastic finish is a nicely turned lauan stock. Some fools stripped theirs to show off the wood, and spoiled the whole joke.

Universal comment: Hard to find mags. Wish I had more.

Tam said...

Even better than the Armscor, if you can find one, is the Italian-made Armi Jaeger AP-74, which looks identical to an M16A1. Controls all work the same, too, except the magazine, which has a dummy outer mag in the well with the real magwell up inside it.

Anonymous said...

Add one to those interested. I'd been thinking about turning one of my stripped lowers into a dedicated 22LR. This could make that unnecessary even if they use the infamous Colt non-standard pin sizes.

Anonymous said...

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=27008&mc_ID=3020