I’m in the market for a AR .22 need the controls to function like a regular AR and lightweight is good being a very small 8yo is gonna be shooting it.
Any suggestions on ones to look at and or avoid?
They are expensive but https://www.tacticalsol.com/ar-22-complete-rifles/
For semi-auto 22 rifles, it's only a 10/22 (Ruger or variant) or S&W 15-22
I’m thinking the S&W 15-22 will be the best option. I definitely wanna stay with the AR platform and given the weight it ideal.
Any spare parts I should keep on hand for the 15-22?
Any spare parts I should keep on hand for the 15-22?
When I bought my 15-22, it was one of the early ones without a muzzle break. Now I think an AR with a plain barrel sticking out looks silly. I found a piece of plastic called "Nylatron", it's very dense like Delrin mixed with graphite and used to make rollers and such, it has a nice dark grey natural color. I took the best line drawing I could find for a WWII German Tiger tank break and scaled it down. It took me a whole weekend to make on the metal lathe and milling machine, but it sure was fun. I didn't think I'd have any luck threading so I drilled and tapped for a setscrew in the bottom. The plastic machines like butter! It's about 1 3/4 wide and 3 3/4 long, and when you fire you can see the gas venting out the sides. While this was a short term "Can I make this" project, I was very surprised that it survived the first shot. I made it close to 10 years ago and have put countless rounds through it and it's still going strong. When I take it out to the range they reaction is always "That ridiculous, that's just stupid..... I want one". Of course, that was the whole point, just to have fun. It does a great job, you can't hardly feel any recoil!
One warning though... if you do remove the barrel nut (on the 15-22)... make sure you secure the BARREL before attempting to take off the flash hider. The barrel is only held stationary by two polymer tabs that are made of the same material as the rail, receiver, etc. If you crank on the flash hider and only secure the rail or receiver... you will break the tabs and the barrel will rotate in the receiver. You can secure it by wrenching down on the barrel nut tight enough... but it's best to just not break the tabs in the first place!
Just a note to keep in mind!