.22 lr in Mini 14

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Snake45

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I have several of his pistol conversions and they work GREAT but after reading a writeup of his Mini14 unit that was so bad the author didn't even want to give actual group measurements, I decided it would be better all around to just turn a 10/22 into a Mini-14 lookalike/feelalike. Behold my "Micro-14":

102266-1.jpg
 

wwb

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I have a Ciener .22 LR conversion for the 1911, and it works flawlessly. The 1911 conversion is typically $200 new.... considerably less than the cost of buying a new .22 LR pistol (not counting cheap crap like the Jennings). I bought it used, but almost new for $150... hard to pass up.

The cost of this conversion, though, is almost the cost of buying a brand new 10/22 - and right in the price range of a gently used 10/22. If it was $30 - $50 cheaper, it would make sense, at least to my way of thinking. I'd rather have 2 rifles instead of one rifle and a conversion kit.

YMMV
 

Snake45

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That was my thinking too, WWB. I have well under $200 in my Micro-14, though I started with a $100 used rifle.
 

Snake45

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Richbaker":7ek3kwvs said:
Snake, what did you use for the gasblock on that? Looks good....
There's no "gasblock" on it. Just the factory barrel band, with the stock sawed off even with it. Changes the whole look of the thing, doesn't it? :wink:
 

Spike

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Snake45 said:
...Behold my "Micro-14":

102266-1.jpg

Snake, that's cooler than any "tacticool" 10/22 I've ever seen. ;)
Would you happen to have a writup-pictorial hiding around here? I'd love to see your process.

As for .22 conversions, I'm not much on them. For a couple bills, I can get a SS 10/22 to "match" my All Weather RR.
-S
 

Snake45

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Spike said:
Snake45 said:
...Behold my "Micro-14":

102266-1.jpg

Snake, that's cooler than any "tacticool" 10/22 I've ever seen. ;)
Would you happen to have a writup-pictorial hiding around here? I'd love to see your process.

-S
No writeup, no big deal. I bought the stock, painted flat black, at a gun show for $20. Shot it that way for a while, then stripped it, stained it Red Mahogany, and finished it with spray matte polyurethane (birch doesn't take oil finish well). Rear sight is an old Redfield peep I bought at a gun show, the handguard and flash hider are no-name gunshow parts (I reshaped and refinished the flash), and I filed a Williams front sight riser into an adapter for a genuine USGI M14 front sight. It shoots like any stock 10/22--will do 1.5" at 50 yards or a little better. It's a 1966 gun so has a very crisp trigger that I recently measured at an even 5 pounds, but it's so clean I've always thought it felt like 4. Neat little rifle that I'd be proud to walk any woods with (and I own several .22 rifles to choose from). It's gone from an unloved, unshot ugly duckling to one of my favorites.
 

mattsbox99

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One of my good friends runs a Ciener conversion in his AC556. It runs quite well, but like anything it needs to be kept clean and cheap bulk ammo will generally cause problems. His actually does quite well on Federal Automatch which is a bulk ammo, although CCI Mini Mag is the standard to which all others are judged in performance.
 

Snake45

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mattsbox99 said:
One of my good friends runs a Ciener conversion in his AC556. It runs quite well, but like anything it needs to be kept clean and cheap bulk ammo will generally cause problems. His actually does quite well on Federal Automatch which is a bulk ammo, although CCI Mini Mag is the standard to which all others are judged in performance.
What kind of groups does he get at 25 and 50 yards with the Ciener?
 

Snake45

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mattsbox99 said:
I really don't know, I've never asked. I'll find out though, with such a fast twist I can't imagine its going to be very good.
Cool! I look forward to hearing. And then I'll tell you how (poorly) .22LRs have shot in the several AR-15 barrels that I've tried them in. :wink:
 

Spike

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Snake45 said:
mattsbox99 said:
I really don't know, I've never asked. I'll find out though, with such a fast twist I can't imagine its going to be very good.
Cool! I look forward to hearing. And then I'll tell you how (poorly) .22LRs have shot in the several AR-15 barrels that I've tried them in. :wink:

Are you trying to say they shoot well, Snake? ;)

I dunno, same bullet diameter, isn't it? One'd have to ask, "Not very good" in the Casual Shooter sense, or in the USBR sense? I just don't care for conversions on principle. Purely a personal issue... I have others, like always counting in threes... Personal neurosis, I suppose.

I've saw a guy shooting an old CF bolt rifle once (don't know what caliber, but had to have been in the .22 family). He had a funny looking cartridge dummy that accepted .22LR's. Single shot. Seemed to be enjoying himself.

Then there was the guy with the M&P22 perpetrating a little spray & pray on a Shoot-n-See. He was running about a dozen-MOA, but grinning.

That's what it's all about. Good times.

-S
 

Snake45

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Spike said:
Snake45 said:
mattsbox99 said:
I really don't know, I've never asked. I'll find out though, with such a fast twist I can't imagine its going to be very good.
Cool! I look forward to hearing. And then I'll tell you how (poorly) .22LRs have shot in the several AR-15 barrels that I've tried them in. :wink:

Are you trying to say they shoot well, Snake? ;)

-S
Not really. At least, not compared to my "real" .22LRs.
 

mattsbox99

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He said it was just a shooter, that the accuracy wasn't particularly good. I don't think I've ever heard of one shooting very well. Remember this is a select fire gun, so its not exactly match grade anyway, with the fast twist that isn't designed for the very slow, light bullets they are just plinkers at best with the conversion. No different than a AR. The best solution for the ARs is to buy/build a dedicated upper, for the Minis/AC, just shoot a 10/22.
 

Snake45

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mattsbox99 said:
The best solution for the ARs is to buy/build a dedicated upper, for the Minis/AC, just shoot a 10/22.
Agree completely, which is exactly what I've done. :wink:
 

Richbaker

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Spike said:
Snake45 said:
mattsbox99 said:
I really don't know, I've never asked. I'll find out though, with such a fast twist I can't imagine its going to be very good.
Cool! I look forward to hearing. And then I'll tell you how (poorly) .22LRs have shot in the several AR-15 barrels that I've tried them in. :wink:

Are you trying to say they shoot well, Snake? ;)

I dunno, same bullet diameter, isn't it? One'd have to ask, "Not very good" in the Casual Shooter sense, or in the USBR sense? I just don't care for conversions on principle. Purely a personal issue... I have others, like always counting in threes... Personal neurosis, I suppose.
-S

Same bullet diameter, approximately. But the .223 barrel has a MUCH faster twist rate.... which can cause accuracy issues.
 
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