MadRussian
Army Veteran
I have been looking for a 22lr upper for my AR for a few months now and was considering the ones made by
, Tactical Solutions and Spikes. I was hearing mixed results about Velocity and didn't like some things about them. And the TacSol and Spikes uppers were out of my price range running at about $550. I also looked at CZ V-22 but that one could only be had used around my price range but it didn't look completely like an AR upper (not forward assist, charging handle was different, etc). Then I came across this one.
FIRST OPINION:
I came across ATI's (importers of the GSG-5) new upper about two weeks ago and everything seemed like what I wanted. The price was right at about $350 out the door at First Defense and it looked just like an M4 upper, as you can see. The only thing was that I was taking a risk buying an untested and unreviewed upper.
THE UPPER:
When I opened the box I was fairly impressed with the upper – it looked good. The receiver is plastic, steel barrel and plastic hand guards. It has an aluminum front sight with an allen screw in the bayonet lug that doesn't work. The upper went on my YHM lower well, but the pins didn't want to go in at first, the holes in the upper where too tight. I used my pocket knife to taper the holes just a little and then a plastic mallet to get the pins to go in. After a few times of moving the pins in and out it became a little easier.
The magazine that it came with was a 10 round Black Dog which has the follower that works as a bolt-hold-open after the last round. These mags are known to work well and are fairly universal for 22lr AR Uppers.
THE INTERNALS:
The internals came covered in factory oil goo which I didn't remove, I just added some Miltec1 to it and got it ready to shoot. The bolt and carrier seem similar to the ones in Spikes and TacSol. After shooting it and cleaning it I noticed that the rails on the assembly could use a little file and sand paper work to polish it up a little; they are a bit rough. So are some parts of the bolt but it doesn't seem to affect the function.
BREAK IN:
The manual states that there is a 100-150 round break in period. It also tells to use .22lr high velocity “quality factory ammo.” When I shot it the break in seemed to be more along the lines of 250 rounds, but after a few FTEs (failure to eject) the rifle ran fine. The FTEs where all the same, the casings got pulled out of the chamber and would get stuck in front of the bolt not allowing the new round to chamber. I used several different types of ammo. There where no failures to feed if the round ejected cleanly and no failures to fire. Here is the break down for the testing and the ammo I used:
Remington 22 Thunderbolt / 50 shots / 5 FTE (two in one mag)
Aguila / 50 shots / 1 FTE
Federal / 50 shots / 3 FTE
CCI / 50 shots / 2 FTE
Winchester Wildcat / 50 shots / 1 FTE
The Remington seemed to have the most FTEs so I decided that it might have been because that was the first ammo I used in the break in/test period. I ran 10 more mags though the upper totaling to 100 shots fired. I'll be honest, there was one FTF, but that was 100% ammo. There was a spec of lead on the casing so the round wouldn't chamber. I put another round in the mag and kept going. The cheapest ammo I could find – $9.98 for a box of 350 at WalMart ran with no problems.
ACCURACY TEST:
The rifle was shot at a 15 yard range. The upper didn't come with a rear sight so I put my YHM rear sight off my standard upper. The rear BUIS (back us iron sight) isn't drop adjustable, only windage so even though I had the front sight post screwed in all the way the bullets where hitting below my POA (point of aim). And because my BUIS was from a different rifle and I didn't want to screw up my zero I didn't adjust it for the .22lr upper (I have another BUIS for the .22lr upper). In the picture you can see the POA, POI and the group, the groups where about dime to nickel size with one or two pulls. The shooting was done from an improvised awkward sitting supported position. The Aguila wasn't used for the accuracy test because I shot all 50 rounds in the test/break in part. This stuff smells bad when fired and when the chamber is so close to my face I don't plan on shooting it again.
CONCLUSION:
I think that is a great choice for anyone who is looking for a .22lr AR Upper for $200 less then a Spikes or TacSol. This upper exceeded my expectations and performed well. I would recommend it to anyone who would like it. The upper was ordered by First Defense in Uxbridge, MA for me on Saturday, shipped on Monday and I picked it up on Thursday. It's a really nice shop with friendly and knowledgeable workers, worth checking out. Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll help out.
PROS:
Price!
Not picky on ammo
Front sight – easy to remove/bayonet log doesn't work
Uses Black Dog mags
Runs great after broken in
Mass Compliant version available
Working dust cover/mock forward assist
CONS:
No rear BUIS
Bolt group could use a little file/polish work
NUTRAL
Flat Top model only
Standard hand guard model only (I'd prefer plastic rails like the S&W AR15-22 to the ones now on it)
DISCLAMER:
I am not affiliate with First Defense Firearms or ATI. I am just another member of the forum doing this to help pass along the word and my personal opinions on a good product. Everyone's results with the shop and the upper may vary and any problems/concerns should be directed to the shop and manufacturer respectively and not to me.
COMMING SOON:
I will keep track of this upper and update this page when I reach a few thousand rounds fired.
Also, I will be buying an ACOG Replica (read: knock off). They are said to stand up to recoil now so it should be OK with a .22lr round. Should work and look pretty good on the upper. There will be a review once I get it.
HTML:
VelocityFIRST OPINION:
I came across ATI's (importers of the GSG-5) new upper about two weeks ago and everything seemed like what I wanted. The price was right at about $350 out the door at First Defense and it looked just like an M4 upper, as you can see. The only thing was that I was taking a risk buying an untested and unreviewed upper.
THE UPPER:
When I opened the box I was fairly impressed with the upper – it looked good. The receiver is plastic, steel barrel and plastic hand guards. It has an aluminum front sight with an allen screw in the bayonet lug that doesn't work. The upper went on my YHM lower well, but the pins didn't want to go in at first, the holes in the upper where too tight. I used my pocket knife to taper the holes just a little and then a plastic mallet to get the pins to go in. After a few times of moving the pins in and out it became a little easier.
The magazine that it came with was a 10 round Black Dog which has the follower that works as a bolt-hold-open after the last round. These mags are known to work well and are fairly universal for 22lr AR Uppers.
THE INTERNALS:
The internals came covered in factory oil goo which I didn't remove, I just added some Miltec1 to it and got it ready to shoot. The bolt and carrier seem similar to the ones in Spikes and TacSol. After shooting it and cleaning it I noticed that the rails on the assembly could use a little file and sand paper work to polish it up a little; they are a bit rough. So are some parts of the bolt but it doesn't seem to affect the function.
BREAK IN:
The manual states that there is a 100-150 round break in period. It also tells to use .22lr high velocity “quality factory ammo.” When I shot it the break in seemed to be more along the lines of 250 rounds, but after a few FTEs (failure to eject) the rifle ran fine. The FTEs where all the same, the casings got pulled out of the chamber and would get stuck in front of the bolt not allowing the new round to chamber. I used several different types of ammo. There where no failures to feed if the round ejected cleanly and no failures to fire. Here is the break down for the testing and the ammo I used:
Remington 22 Thunderbolt / 50 shots / 5 FTE (two in one mag)
Aguila / 50 shots / 1 FTE
Federal / 50 shots / 3 FTE
CCI / 50 shots / 2 FTE
Winchester Wildcat / 50 shots / 1 FTE
The Remington seemed to have the most FTEs so I decided that it might have been because that was the first ammo I used in the break in/test period. I ran 10 more mags though the upper totaling to 100 shots fired. I'll be honest, there was one FTF, but that was 100% ammo. There was a spec of lead on the casing so the round wouldn't chamber. I put another round in the mag and kept going. The cheapest ammo I could find – $9.98 for a box of 350 at WalMart ran with no problems.
ACCURACY TEST:
The rifle was shot at a 15 yard range. The upper didn't come with a rear sight so I put my YHM rear sight off my standard upper. The rear BUIS (back us iron sight) isn't drop adjustable, only windage so even though I had the front sight post screwed in all the way the bullets where hitting below my POA (point of aim). And because my BUIS was from a different rifle and I didn't want to screw up my zero I didn't adjust it for the .22lr upper (I have another BUIS for the .22lr upper). In the picture you can see the POA, POI and the group, the groups where about dime to nickel size with one or two pulls. The shooting was done from an improvised awkward sitting supported position. The Aguila wasn't used for the accuracy test because I shot all 50 rounds in the test/break in part. This stuff smells bad when fired and when the chamber is so close to my face I don't plan on shooting it again.
CONCLUSION:
I think that is a great choice for anyone who is looking for a .22lr AR Upper for $200 less then a Spikes or TacSol. This upper exceeded my expectations and performed well. I would recommend it to anyone who would like it. The upper was ordered by First Defense in Uxbridge, MA for me on Saturday, shipped on Monday and I picked it up on Thursday. It's a really nice shop with friendly and knowledgeable workers, worth checking out. Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll help out.
PROS:
Price!
Not picky on ammo
Front sight – easy to remove/bayonet log doesn't work
Uses Black Dog mags
Runs great after broken in
Mass Compliant version available
Working dust cover/mock forward assist
CONS:
No rear BUIS
Bolt group could use a little file/polish work
NUTRAL
Flat Top model only
Standard hand guard model only (I'd prefer plastic rails like the S&W AR15-22 to the ones now on it)
DISCLAMER:
I am not affiliate with First Defense Firearms or ATI. I am just another member of the forum doing this to help pass along the word and my personal opinions on a good product. Everyone's results with the shop and the upper may vary and any problems/concerns should be directed to the shop and manufacturer respectively and not to me.
COMMING SOON:
I will keep track of this upper and update this page when I reach a few thousand rounds fired.
Also, I will be buying an ACOG Replica (read: knock off). They are said to stand up to recoil now so it should be OK with a .22lr round. Should work and look pretty good on the upper. There will be a review once I get it.
