[Gnarlet]

I recently bought my first AR, a Stag Arms model 3. I've very quickly found out that 5.56x45/.223 ammo gets expensive quick (my family, and I put ~500 rounds though it in the first weekend,)

All I need to turn my AR into a .22lr is a new bolt and magazine correct? I don't need to buy a new barrel because the calibers are almost identical?

Something like this?

Stag Arms

( I realize I can probably get one somewhere else cheaper, and that it doesn't need to be stag arms branded)

 

[mhen]

Correct. Bolt assembly and magazine are all you need. CMMG seems to be the most commom maker of conversion kits, and they are what Rock River recommended to me, still don't have one so I can't speak to actual use of one though.

 

[BrewGuyTim]

I don't have the conversion, but I do have the .22lr CMMG AR. Shoots very well.

 

[pleasantguywhopacksAXD]

I run the lefty CMMG in my lefty STAG. It will run fine.
A caveat, you should run a milspec or jam free CMMG charging handle as the conversion bolt will nibble at a Ambi Badger Ordinance Tactical CH. It didn't my Armadynamics however. I just drop in my old STAG milspec when shooting the conversion.
You won't get the same accuracy of the dedicated upper but crap, for the cheap run and gun type AR practice it affords I can live with its 4 MOA performance. Be prepared to buy lots of 22 ammo. It is addictive. You will have to clean the gun more often with the gen 1 conversion. Gen 2 is out now and actually locks up like a true AR bolt. I would be interested to see how it affects cleaning and accuracy.

 

[Gnarlet]

Correct. Bolt assembly and magazine are all you need. CMMG seems to be the most commom maker of conversion kits, and they are what Rock River recommended to me, still don't have one so I can't speak to actual use of one though.

Thank you for the suggestion.

I run the lefty CMMG in my lefty STAG. It will run fine.
A caveat, you should run a milspec or jam free CMMG charging handle as the conversion bolt will nibble at a Ambi Badger Ordinance Tactical CH. It didn't my Armadynamics however. I just drop in my old STAG milspec when shooting the conversion.
You won't get the same accuracy of the dedicated upper but crap, for the cheap run and gun type AR practice it affords I can live with its 4 MOA performance. Be prepared to buy lots of 22 ammo. It is addictive. You will have to clean the gun more often with the gen 1 conversion. Gen 2 is out now and actually locks up like a true AR bolt. I would be interested to see how it affects cleaning and accuracy.

Awesome, thanks for the info. I'm not really looking for super acuracy or anything, I mostly just want to have fun.

Oh, trust me I know how addictive shooting .22 is, There are probably at LEAST 20,000 rounds though my Henry lever action over the last 7 years. I just wanted something to help me train a bit with my AR.

 

[pleasantguywhopacksAXD]

Thank you for the suggestion.



Awesome, thanks for the info. I'm not really looking for super acuracy or anything, I mostly just want to have fun.

Oh, trust me I know how addictive shooting .22 is, There are probably at LEAST 20,000 rounds though my Henry lever action over the last 7 years. I just wanted something to help me train a bit with my AR.

That is exactly why I did backflips and cartwheels when CMMG finaly came out with a lefty conversion. @30-33 cents a round .223/5.56 is insane to shoot regularly.

 

[John A.]

If you are not wanting/needing extreme accuracy, the 22 conversion kits are fun and challenging.

The most popular conversion is the JA Ceiner, but only because he has made them so long and there are so many out there.

I bought a ceiner kit years ago and it has thousands of rounds through it.

But he has been known to be an a$$ on more than one occasion, and there are plenty of Atchisson/Ceiner "copies" out there now.

Spikes, CMMG, Tactical Innovations, etc etc etc.

Out of the ones I mentioned above, I like the stainless steel bodied versions the best. Just for their ease of cleaning.

And yes, bolt and mag is all you need, but you'll need to fire a few 223 rounds through the gun every now and then to keep the gunk blown out of the gas tube/gas port.