If you asked someone what the defining characteristic of most .22lr conversion kits is you’d likely get, “malfunctions,” as the answer. Many such kits are notorious for not feeing properly, not extracting and ejection efficiently or failing to fire reliably. That was the reason that I was initially skeptical when I received the .22lr conversion kit from IROC Tactical that changes a typical AR-style .223/5.56mm rifle into .22lr. When I went to test it on the range, with two different AR-style rifles I expected to experience frustration and difficulty. Little did I know how wrong I was.
The IROC Tactical .22lr Conversion Kit comes with one magazine, on extended spring and the .22lr bolt. Converting your rifle is as easy as making sure it is unloaded and safe and then popping the rear takedown pin to hinge up the rear of the upper receiver and take out the bolt. Then you put in the IROC Tactical .22lr Conversion Kit bolt, put the upper receiver back, push in the pin and you’re ready to go. How easy is that?
The provided magazine holds 25 rounds of .22lr. Manufactured by Black Dog Machine LLC, the transparent magazine fits neatly into the mag well of your AR-style weapon and can be purchased for $20 each online. After all, who wants just one magazine to shoot with? Not only is it no fun to have to keep reloading a single magazine to enjoy shooting, but you can’t do any kind of good training with just one magazine. It takes more than that to do reload drills, malfunction drills, etc.
The two rifles I had to test the conversion kit with were my Battle Rifle BR15 and my Del-Ton Sport. I had a box of Federal .22lr ammo (500 rounds), a sunny day, the range to myself and plenty of paper targets, a few aluminum pie plates and about a half dozen empty Coke cans.
I installed the IROC Tactical .22lr Conversion Kit in the Del-Ton rifle first and loaded up the magazine with 25 rounds. I set up two paper targets, stapled up one pie plate and set out two cans. With the range and weapon thus prepared, I put on my eye and ear protection, chambered up the first round – noting that it chambered without any feed problems and happy about that – and took aim. I was only shooting from a distance of about 25 yards so I expected accuracy to be acceptable but I wasn’t sure what difference the different caliber would make as my 5.56mm weapon was zeroed for 100 yards AND the zero was done with 5.56mm ammo.
My first three-round group was nice and tight – less than ½” – and just a bit low. The second three-round group ended up mixed in the first and I had a six-shot ragged looking hole about ½” below the center of the target; my point of aim.
Moving to the second target, I fired four more three-shot groups: one at noon, one at three, one at six and one at nine. Each was tight; each measured less than ½”. I had seven rounds left in that first magazine and had satisfied myself that the conversion kit equipped weapon would shoot with sufficient accuracy that I could hit what I was shooting at (unless I messed up). I shot both cans, knocking them off their perches and then put the last five rounds through the pie plate. I should note that I did count my rounds (old habit I was taught in the police academy) and I was sure I had fired all 25 rounds but the bolt did not lock back. Some online research reveals that the bolt will sometimes lock back with some conversion kits and some magazines, but not others.
I put two more 25-round magazines through the converted Del-Ton rifle for a total of 75 rounds fired through that weapon. I had experienced no misfeeds, failures to feed, extraction or ejection failures. I wondered if such performance would be limited to the Del-Ton rifle and, having cleared it, switched the IROC Tactical .22lr Conversion Kit over into the Battle Rifle BR15.
Setting up some new targets I filled up the first magazine, loaded it into the weapon an proceeded to punch 25 .22lr holes into the targets. The groups from the Battle Rifle BR15 were just as tight as those from the Del-Ton Sport. My Del-Ton is equipped with an EOTech optic though, and the Battle Rifle has (at present) only open sights. Further, the Battle Rifle hadn’t even been zeroed with regular (5.56mm) ammo yet, so accuracy would prove interesting, at least where point of aim / point of impact was concerned. I needn’t have worried. The shot groups were, as I said, nice and tight. The group placement on the target was consistently low and left about an inch and a quarter. I made the proper adjustments to the sights and was presently shooting those nice tight groups into the x-ring.
I put three full magazines through the converted Battle Rifle with the same reliability results as the Del-Ton. I noted that with the Battle Rifle the bolt didn’t lock back on the empty magazine either.
At that point I had to call it a day on the IROC Tactical .22lr Conversion Kit. I had other firearms to test fire and a limited window of time on the range. I had put 150 rounds through converted rifles from two different manufacturers with identical reliability results and very similar accuracy results. I had to admit that my worries about .22lr conversion kits did not apply to this one.
Online the kit sells for $229.95. While that might seem high to some, I suggest looking around and seeing the prices for other conversion kits. $230 is more than reasonable and you do get your money back over time. .22lr is a lot cheaper to shoot than .223 or 5.56mm. When you look at the per round cost, the .22lr is a LOT lower and if you shoot a couple hundred rounds per year, the conversion kit pays for itself within the first or second year with ease.
For more info, check out the IROC Tactical .22lr Conversion Kit online.
Stay safe!
