.22lr dedicated CMMG upper accuracy question - Updated

The accuracy I get with any ammo is less than desirable. The best groups I can get at 50 yards is probably 3" or so. I'm not sure if I should be getting better than this with a semi-auto upper?

Is anyone getting real tight groups out of the dedicated CMMG .22 upper?

1.2" with CCI Mini Mags
.807 with Eley
Both at 50 yards
Dave N

I'm getting around 2" with Bulk Federal Walmart 550 packs - I've kind of given up using other loads; as the Federal 36g feed flawlessly.

Winchester runs better in mine than Federal. I get about 1.5" with Winchester bulk 36 gr. from Walmart.

Morning Wern314

2" groups without using ultra expensive 22 ammo is probably about right based on my experience with my CMMG.

I get anywhere from 1-1/4" to a little over 2" at 50 yards. Using CCI standard it is usually closer to the 2" at 50 yards & using green tag around 1-1/2" to sometimes 1-1/4".

Every now & then I can get a 1" group with green tag but that isn't norm.

Still beats the heck out of my S&W 15-22 as that thing is closer to 4'' groups at 50 yards.

On the other hand my 10-22 usually does well under 1" at the same 50 yards.

My .22 AR uppers from CMMG and another company not to be named, are not target grade, but I do not expect them to be. I get about what others are expressing here, about 1" to 2" depending on ammo. BUT, in all fairness I get similar results with other semi-auto .22's that I have. My Rugers will shoot just a tad better, my Marlin 60 a bit more so but not that much. Ammo is the key and each rifle has its favorites. I have had a CMMG .22 upper shoot some very nice tight groups with certain ammo. It wasn't expensive ammo at all, just found the right one for that barrel.

One of the problems with a .22 AR is the way it has to feed. In a target grade rifle it would be desirable to have the least possible angle on the path the cartridge has to take to get from the magazine up into the chamber. If you stop and think about this, the bullet tip gets a little ding in it when its flying around inside the action making this trip, hitting things along the way. This ding in the bullet tip will, as any one could see, cause the bullet not to travel as straight as a perfectly shaped tip would. This is one of the factors that makes some ammo work better in some rifles. Some lead bullets are softer and ding easier thus making them less accurate due to the damage. Some rifles, like the Marlin 60, have a feed mechanism that lifts up the entire round so it has less chance to get the bullet tip deformed and that helps those rifles be a bit more accurate, especially with certain ammo.

There are many other factors, such as the type of cambering, tolerances and other variables in the manufacturing process that affect accuracy. With the .22 AR you stuck with the basic design of the AR rifle which limits what you can do with the feeding angles. The other thing with the CMMG is that we are looking at a rifle that was made to be mass produced at an attractive price. That factor limits how much fine hand work and fitting that can be done. If one really wants a target grade rifle there are folks, like Compass Lake that will build you one. You will pay $1,000 or more for it and you will not have all the nice AR features to go with it. Life is a series of compromises as they say.

Now, the good news is...(cross my fingers here) that CMMG MAY.....may....build a more accurate version of their .22 uppers. It will cost a bit more, I think John said about $150...but don't hold me or them to that price...and I think that pricing would make a great middle ground: Reasonable price with improved accuracy, sounds like a great compromise to me. I love to see and shoot one of these uppers sometime soon and be able to report back on it. Until something like that happens, I can only explain what we do know.

I put one of mine in a rest this weekend and used CCI Blazers resulting in groups between just under 3/4" to 5/4" at 25yrs.

Well how do we tell if we have a crown issue or not? My CMMG isn't the most accurate thing I own but isn't as bad as my S&W 15-22.


What can we expect as far as groups go at 50 yards (no wind) solid rest with under 1/32" sight movement through a dryfire cycle?

I'm not that pleased with my CMMG 50 yard groups but they aren't like shotgun pattering either.

First 2-3 shots on cold barrel do qualify as shotgun pattering though.

Just what are we looking for on the crown issue????? Or serial number range of the problem uppers??

Ideally our worse case scenario is 4 MOA or 2in at 50yrds, now this is assuming good marksmanship, new ammo, setup and environmental conditions.

Your barrel could probably see some improvement, how old is it?

I would advise a person to try different ammo in their rifle before blaming the crown. My one CMMG would make a dime size group at 25 yards with Blazer or CCI Std.Velocity ammo. For me that is a good shooting standard grade .22 rifle. If I put Federal Bulk Walmart ammo it in, it opened up to 1" to 1-1/2" groups at the same range. This neither surprised or disappointed me as my Ruger and other .22's will do exactly the same if I use that ammo in them. So, if you are concerned about your groups, really seriously try different ammo and find what it likes. The best barrel in the world can't perform well if the ammo isn't right.

Afternoon forever4

I'm not sure how old it is, I bought it new about 2-1/2 months ago but have no idea how long the vendor had it before he shipped it out.

It is the complete gun so the serial number should help to date it's birth date.

Doesn't seem to be ammo related as I have tried many different brands. If it will only shoot good with one ammo brand/type then there is something wrong. My 10-22 will shoot 1/2 the group size at the same yardage same ammo & isn't ammo sensitive.
My thinking is if it (the CMMG) will only group with a certain 22 brand/type then the gun should have been shipped with an included card stating the ONLY brand/type that it works with.

It (the CMMG) pretty well shoots to 4 moa or a bit better. Problem seems to be not very consistent & definitely not repeatable. I have seen as small as 1" 50 yard groups but few & far between & very random. More like 1-1/2" to 2" with some in the 1-1/4".
If I include the first 2-3 shots on a cold barrel into the group then it shoots more like 6-7 moa.

Just not consistent as my other 22 guns (well except my very poor grouping 15-22).

It just seems to me it should shoot better groups than an AK-47 does.

Now I'm wondering if the barrel crown is what is causing the problem.

Look at the crown for consistant edge and bevel.
If it looks uneven, there is probably an issue.
Dave N

So after the post by CMMG about a batch of barrels with a crown issue I emailed them about my accuracy problems and attached some photos of my crown. They replied saying that they would send a shipping label and would fix it for me. After shipping my dedicated upper to them I received it back 10 days later which I was more than impressed with. They re-machined a target crown and the new crown looks great but all aside it was the accuracy which I was most concerned with so I was anxious to test it out. I took it to the range a couple of days ago and after only a few rounds down range I could see what a difference the new crown had made. I was shooting much better groups with the re-machined crown and this was the kind of accuracy and consistency I had hoped for all along. I am a true believer in the quality of CMMG's products and the devotion they show towards their customers . I would also like to say that the customer service I received from CMMG was second to none. They were fast in getting my upper fixed and back into my hands. They stand by their products and the quality that goes into them. A big thumbs up to CMMG.

Here are some images of my shot groups on 3" targets with the re-machine target crown.


Below is a before (left) and after (right) photo of the crown

Mine looks like the pic on the left but even more oblong. Accuracy issues were suspect with my mid length dedicated 222 upper, this confirms it. Message sent to CMMG, I am not worried I am sure they will take care of it!!

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