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As The Slow Rising Moon Cast Eerie Shadows Across The Freshly Harvested Hay Field, I Diligently Searched For The Marauders Who Were Wrecking Havoc On The Tender Vegetation. The Recent Rain Made The Field A Heavenly Playground For These Armor-plated Root Hogs, Better Known To You As Armadillos. My Brother-in-law’s Father Asked Us If We Would Help Him Control An Armed…or Is That… An Armored Invasion. The Numerous Stately Native Pecan Trees That Dotted The Hayfield Cast Dark Foreboding Shadows That Made It Exceedingly Difficult To Spot These Miniature-digging Machines. The Piercing Probe Of Our 2 Million Candlepower Red-lens Spotlight Carefully Revealed These Inner Sanctums. Armadillos Can Take A Lot Of Punishment, Partly Due To Their Tough Outer Shell. By Nature, Armadillos Are Constantly Searching And Digging For Food. These Powerful Animals Are All Muscle And Are Deceptively Fast When Necessary. I Would Compare Them To Badgers With Their Short And Powerful Legs And Muscular Construction. One Shot Was Not Going To Stop Them And Quick Follow Up Shots Were Necessary For Humane Kills. I Needed A Rimfire Rifle That Was Capable Of Fast Follow-ups. DPMS (Defense Procurement Manufacturing Services), Inc. Had Sent Me The Perfect Weapon, A DPMS A-22, An AR-15 Rimfire Rifle. I Also Knew That A Scope Would Be More Of A Hindrance And Decided To Mount A Reflex Sight. ATN (American Technologies Network) Corp. Sent Me Their Latest Reflex Sight, The Digital Ultra Sight. This Red Dot Sight Makes It Very Easy To Get On Target Rapidly And To Stay On Target Even When It Is Moving Rapidly.
Within A Few Minutes Of Searching We Had Located Our Quarry, A Large Adult Armadillo That Was So Intent On Tearing Up The Ground In Search Of Something To Eat, That He Didn’t Realize That Danger Was Now Just 50 Yards Away. I Quickly Slipped The A-22’s Safety Off And Carefully Placed The Digital Ultra Sight’s Cross Hair With Center Dot Directly Behind The Armadillo’s Shoulder. The Magazine Was Loaded With Ten Rounds Of CCI’s New .22LR 40 Grain Hollow Point Subsonic Ammo. This Ammo Was Exceedingly Quieter Than Conventional High Velocity Ammo, And Did Not Seem To Disturb Varmints To The Same Degree. As The Muffled Round Reached Its Intended Target, The Armadillo Jumped Three Feet Into The Air And Simultaneously Propelled Itself Forward As If Powered By A Jet Rocket. Although My Brother-in-law Robert Had Trouble Keeping The Spotlight On Him, I Had No Difficulty In Rapidly Placing Shots In His Vitals. Rapid Multiple Shots Dealt A Lethal Dose Of Lead To This Determined Intruder. I’m Not Sure How Many Times I Pulled The Trigger Since I Was Intently Focused On My Prey. As The Night Progressed, Armadillos Soon Realized That This Hay Field Was Off Limits And Looked For Green Pastures Elsewhere.
Although Ar-15 Enthusiasts Have Clamored For .22 Rimfire Conversions For Years, The Offerings Have Never Lived Up To Their Expectations. The Initial Offerings Were Simply Bolt-replacement Conversions. They Only Replaced The Bolt Carrier With A Blow-back Operated .22LR Insert And Used The Existing Upper Receiver And Barrel. Wrong…Wrong…Wrong!!! The First And Most Glaring Problem Concerned The Differences In The Bore Diameter Of The .223 And A .22LR (.224” Vs. .221”). Three Thousandths Of An Inch May Seem Minute To The Uneducated, But It Is Highly Significant, Especially When Taking Into Account The Different Twist Rates. The Proper Twist For A .22 Rimfire Is 1:16 Compared To The Slowest Rate Of The .223 Which Is 1:12. Twist Rates In .223 Can Vary From 1:7, 1:8, 1:9, And The Aforementioned. No Wonder Shooters Were Lucky To Hit The Broad Side Of A Barn With This Conversion! The Effects Of Firing A .22LR Round Down A .223 Barrel Are Numerous And None Of Them Are Good. The Larger Bore And Different Rate Of Twist Caused The .22 Bullet To Swage Down The Barrel. The Rimfire Bullet Never Really Engaged The Rifling; It Just Pushed Over The Lands. The Result Is That Lead From The Bullet Is Shaved Off And Deposited In The Grooves. This Caused Severe Leading That Was Difficult If Not Impossible To Remove. In Addition, Molten Lead, Almost Reaching The Melting Point, Infiltrated The AR-15 Gas System. This Caused A Partial Blocking Of The Gas System That Resulted In Malfunctioning Of The Rifle.
Due To The Dismal Failure Of Bolt Conversions, It Was Finally Realized That Dedicated Upper Receivers Were The Only Solution To Firing .22 Rimfire Rounds In An AR-15. Several Companies Produced These Uppers And Although They Worked, They Were Prohibitively Expensive And Therefore Never Gained A Significant Following. DPMS (Defense Procurement Manufacturing Services) Inc. Changed All This When They Began Offering An Affordable And Dependable .22 Conversion Unit And Later A Complete Rifle (A-22). Randy Luth, CEO Of DPMS Realized That By Offering The A-22, A Complete .22 Rimfire Rifle, They Would Be Creating A New Market. Competitive Shooters, Who Wanted To Sharpen Their Skills Inexpensively, Purchased The Majority Of The .22 Rimfire Upper Receivers. Randy Realized That The Average Shooter Did Not Own An AR-15 Lower Receiver And It Would Be Necessary To Offer An Affordable Complete Rifle. The A-22 Is Not Only Affordable, But Also Extremely Accurate And Reliable.
This Diminutive Fast-handling Rifle Only Measured 34 Inches In Total Length. As I Have It Equipped, It Weighed 11 Pounds. I Know…I Couldn’t Believe This And Reweighed It Several Times With The Same Result. I Can Honestly Say That It Does Not Handle Nor Feel Like It Weighs Anywhere Near That Much. The Gun Itself Weighed 8 Pounds 6 Ounces. The A-22 Was Built On An Investment Cast Lower Receiver And Their Flat Top “Lo-Pro” Upper Receiver. The 16-inch Chrome Moly Barrel Was A Hefty One-inch In Diameter And Perfectly Balanced The Rifle. I Would Have Preferred A Stainless Steel Barrel (preferably Blackened) But I Realized That Would Have Increased The Cost. The Aluminum Free Floated Carbine Handguard Measured 7 ¼ Inches Long And Had Ten 4-inch Long Grooves, Which Helped To Give You A Better Grip. I Don’t Know Why They Didn’t Install A Sling Stud In The Handguard. The Rifle Came With A Black Nylon Sling, But No Way To Attach It To The Handguard. The Handguard Was Anodized With A Black Teflon Finish As Were The Rest Of The Aluminum Components, While The Steel Components Were Phosphated. The A-22 Also Came With The Standard Pistol Grip And A Trap Door Buttstock Equipped With A Military Sling Swivel. The Trap Door Compartment Was Designed To House The Included Cleaning Kit.
Keep In Mind That The A-22 Lower Receiver Can Be Used With Any Centerfire Upper Receiver. You Are Already Half Way To Having A Second Gun!
The Trigger Pull Was A Heavy 6 To 6 ½ Pounds With Typical AR-15 Creep. Although Not Bad, This Trigger Was Not Conducive To Top Performance And Accuracy. To Remedy This Problem, I Immediately Sent The A-22 Off To JP Enterprises, Inc For One Of Their Great Single Stage Triggers. As Most Of You Already Know, I Can’t Live With A Heavy Trigger. John Paul, President Of JP Enterprises Does Some Amazing Innovative Work On AR-15s. Along With His Trigger, John Said That We Also Needed To Use Their Speed Hammer. Reduced Trigger Pull Equated To Reduced Hammer Velocity That Can Cause Ignition Problems With Rimfire Ammo. JP’s Low Mass Hammer Increased Hammer Velocity, Reduced Lock Time By 50%, And Still Gave Reliable Ignition. In Addition, John Recommended Installing His Oversize Anti-walk Trigger Pins That Eliminate The Camming Effect Caused By Undersized Pins. It Also Eliminated The Need For The J Spring For Hammer Pin Retention. Stainless Steel E Clips Insured That The Pins Didn’t Drift. The Trigger Pull Weight Was Now Only 3 ½ Pounds With No Discernable Creep Or Overtravel. I Added A DPMS Panther Tactical Palm Grip To Perfectly Fit My Big Hands. The Palm Shelf Can Be Adjusted To Fit Small As Well As Large Hands. A Badger Ordnance Tactical Latch Was A Necessity When Used With A Scope-mounted AR-15. The Latch On The Standard Charging Handle Was Too Small And Difficult To Grasp. An RB Precision Tactical Magazine Release Was Also Added Because It Was Faster And Easier To Use. Its Larger Head Made It Easier To Depress, Plus It Extended Out Further Than The Stock One. AR-15s Are Way Too Short To Accommodate My Long Length Of Pull And The A-22 Was No Exception. I Increased Stock Length When I Added A DPMS Buttstock Extender And An Adjustable Butt Plate From Sierra Precision Rifles. I Replaced The Stock Rear Sling Swivel With A KNS Precision Quick Release Sling Swivel And I Drilled And Tapped The Handguard For The Forward Sling Swivel. A CQB Tactical Sling Made This Rifle Easy To Carry And Quick To Use. This Was Similar To The Slings Used By Our Combat Troops. Due To The Low Profile Of The Upper Receiver It Was Necessary To Attach A B-Square Riser Block To The Picatinny Rail. The Nikon 5.5 X 15.5 X 44 Monarch Scope Was Secured To It Via Leupold QRW One-inch Rings.
Nikon 5.5 X 15.5 X 44mm Monarch Scope
The Nikon Scopes Carried On The Fine Tradition Established Decades Ago With Nikon’s Remarkable Line Of Cameras And Lenses. Their Ultra ClearCoat® Optical System Consisted Of Lenses Precisely Ground And Polished, Each Coated With Multiple Layers Of Nikon’s Proprietary Anti-reflective Coatings. The Result Was A Remarkable 95 % Light Transmission. The Scope Was Equipped With A European Style Fast Focus Eyepiece And An Adjustable Objective Capable Of Focusing From 50 Yards To Infinity. As To Be Expected, The Nitrogen Filled And O-ring Sealed Scope Was 100% Waterproof, Fogproof, And Shockproof. The Target Style Turrets Had ¼ MOA Audible Click Windage And Elevation Adjustments And 40 MOA Internal Adjustments. Eye Relief Was Adequate At 3.0 To 3.2 Inches. The Scope Measured 13.4 Inches Long And Weighed 18.4 Ounces. The Monarch Scope Was Remarkably Clear With Excellent Resolution From Edge To Edge. It Performed Admirably In Low Light Situations And Enabled The User To Resolve A Great Amount Of Detail. The Scope Was Comparable To More Expensive Scopes That I Have Examined In The Past.
ATN Ultra Digital Red Dot Sight
An Additional B-Square Riser Block Was Purchased So That The ATN Ultra Digital Sight Was Mounted At A Comfortable Height. For The Last Five Years American Technologies Network (ATN) Corporation Has Been A Manufacturer Of Optical Devices Consisting Of Night Vision Optics And Specialized Day-time Optics. Twenty Years Of Being In Manufacturing Has Given Them The Ability To Grind Their Own Lenses, Produce And Assembly All Of The Metal Components, As Well As Make Their Own Molds. Their R & D And Engineering Facilities Were Located In The US And Their Manufacturing Plants Were Located In Odessa, Ukraine. This Combination Of Technology And Labor Had Allowed ATN To Offer Quality Products At Affordable Prices. I Had To Admit That I Was Skeptical Of “Russian Made” Products At First, But My Reservations Were Quelled When I Began Using ATN’s Ultra Digital Sight.
The ATN Digital Ultra Sight Allowed You To Keep Both Eyes Open Which Made It Much Easier To Focus On And Follow A Moving Target. This Heads-up Shooting Style Afforded A Wide Field Of View And Its Noncritical Eye Positioning Enabled You To Fire Even When Out Of Position. Its Patented Revolutionary MultiAim® Reticle Was Digitally Controlled And Featured Five Different Reticle Configurations (dot, Post, Post With Dot, Open Cross Hair, And Cross Hair With Dot). Digital Controls Allowed You To Adjust The Reticle Brightness Plus It Was Capable Of Remembering The Last Reticle Used And The Brightness Setting. It Also Had A Low Battery Indicator To Warn You When The Lithium Battery Needed Replacing. ATN Stated That Patented Technology Kept The Point Of Impact From Shifting When Changing From Reticle To Another. I Tested And Found That This Statement Was Accurate. It Was Certainly Handy To Have Five Different Reticles To Use; Each Had It Own Particular Use. This Was By Far The Fastest Sight That I Had Ever Used. Void Of Moving Parts, It Was Found To Be Very Reliable, Rugged, And Had An Efficient Electrical Design That Promoted Long Battery Life. Two Simple Thumbnuts Installed The Digital Ultra Sight On Any Standard Weaver Base. In Addition, This Fun And Affordable Red Dot Sight Came With A Two-year Warranty.
The A-22 Was Operated By A Blowback Mechanism Commonly Used In Most Semi-auto Rimfire Rifles. I Had Wanted To Own A AR-15 Style .22 Rimfire For Longer Than I Would Like To Admit, But Was Always Hesitant To Buy One Because They Were Cheap Foreign Copies. Before The A-22 Was Marketed, I Had A Chance To Review A Quality Offering By Another American Company. Unfortunately, The Company Went Bankrupt Before I Could Write About It. I Was Heart Broken To Say The Least. Sorrow Turned To Joy When I Heard That DPMS Was Now Producing A Rimfire Version. DPMS Was Well Known To Me For Producing AR-15s On The Cutting Edge Of Technology.
DPMS Had A Reputation For Accuracy And Reliability And I Wanted To See If The New Rimfire Version Would Live Up To DPMS’s Reputation. The Fit Between The Upper And Lower Receiver Was Tight And Perfectly Aligned. There Was Absolutely No Play Between The Two And It Took Some Effort To Remove Or Replace The Rear Takedown Pin. Exactly What You Should Look For When You Purchase An AR-15. As You May Or May Not Be Aware, A Tight Fit Is Conducive To Improved Accuracy. I Was Equally Impressed With The Look And Feel Of This Rimfire. The Midnight Black Appearance Of The A-22 Reminded Me Of A Covert Tactical Weapon Used By Special Ops. Cool…to Say The Least!
I Subjected It To Every Conceivable Condition That I Could Think Of And It Never Failed Me. In The End, I Had Fired Over 5,000 Rounds With Approximately Two-dozen Different Types Of Ammo. The Magazine Held 10 Rounds And Appeared To Be A Copy Of The Original Colt Rimfire Magazine. The Ammunition Ranged From The Cheap Wal-Mart Varieties To The Most Expensive Match And The A-22 Voraciously Digested Each And Every One As If Its Life Depended Upon It. Yes, There Was Ammo That It Didn’t Like As Well Or Shoot As Well, But It Did Not Discriminate Against It When Called Upon To Fire. I Did Not Fire Any Hyper Velocity Rounds Because Past Experiences Had Shown Functioning And Reliability Problems In Semi-auto Rifles.
I Did Observe Three Minor Problems That I Would Like Addressed In The Future. First, The Handguard Should Be Drilled And Tapped And A Sling Stud Installed. I Realized That This Is A Minor Quip, But It Was A Significant Loss To Those Who Wanted To Use A Sling Or Bipod. Second, Unlike Its Centerfire Brethren, The Bolt Did Not Have A Hold Open Device After The Last Shot Is Fired Nor Can It Be Locked Back Manually. I Heard That DPMS Is Already Working On This And It May Be A Reality By Press Time. The Third And The Only Annoying Problem Was That When The Charging Handle Was Pulled Back And Released There Was Not Enough Spring Tension To Allow The Handle To Engage The Locking Notch On The Receiver. Therefore, You Had To Manually Push It Forward Until It Engaged The Notch. As Would Be Expected, DPMS Is Already Addressing This Issue.
Although I Fired Over Two-dozen Brands Of Rimfire Ammunition, I Limited My Benchrest Testing To Ten Brands Of Ammunition. This Comprehensive Test Included Standard, Target, As Well As Match Grade Ammo. Like Most Of You, My Every Day Ammo Is Cheap “off-the-shelf” Ammo. I Fire An Average Of 500 Rounds In My Usual Rimfire Session. When I Go Hunting, I Normally Use Only Top-notch Target Or Match Grade Ammunition. After All, We Owe It To Our Quarry And Ourselves To Make A Clean And Humane Kill. Although, I Have Found That Some Standard Ammo Shoots Quite Well. The Best Approach Is To Purchase A Wide Variety Of Ammo And See What Your Gun Likes Best. Since Most Rimfire Shooting Is Generally 50 Yards Or Less, I Limited My Testing To 50 Yards. Testing Consisted Of 10 Five-shot Groups For Each Ammo Used. An Oehler Model 35P Chronograph Was Used To Record Velocity Readings.
The First Ammo That I Tested Was The Wichester Power Point (Figure 1). This 40-grain Bullet With Its Wide And Deep Hollow Point Had Devastating Stopping Power On Small Game Coupled With Good Accuracy. It Recorded The Highest Average Velocity (1,268fps) Of All Ammo. Standard Deviation Was 17fps. SCN’s Rimfire Guru Frank Tirrell Has Pointed Out The Importance Of Standard Deviation In Rimfires Many Times In The Past. Little Variation From The Mean Velocity (small Standard Deviation) Will Result In Smaller More Consistent Groupings. As You Will Observe, My Data Certainly Bears This Out. The Winchester Power Point Recorded The Largest Average Five Shot Group Size (average Of 10 Groups) Of .74” At 50 Yards. I Think Any Gun That Shoots 1” At 50 Yards Is Certainly Acceptable For Hunting.
I Next Tested Two Subsonic Loads (both 40gr Hollow Points), CCI & Eley. I Have Been Extremely Impressed With The Quietness Of These Rounds And Now I Wanted To See If They Would Shoot As Well. The Average Velocity Of All 10 Five-shot Groups Was 1,019fps For The CCI Ammo And 981fps For The Eley Subsonic Ammo. The Standard Deviations Recorded Were 17fps For CCI And 23fps For Eley. The CCI Subsonic Ammo Had An Average Five-shot Group Size Of .59” While The Eley Subsonic Recorded .62” At 50 Yards. These Subsonic Loads Have Turned Out To Be Among My Favorite Hunting Ammo. Not Only Are They Extremely Accurate, But Also They Replace That Sharp Rimfire “crack” With A Muffled “suppressor-like” Sound.
I Then Tested Lapua Standard Club That Is Their Affordable Entry Level .22 Rimfire Ammunition. This 40gr Solid Recorded An Overall Average Velocity Of 990fps And Had A 19fps Standard Deviation. The Overall Average Five-shot Group Was A Remarkable .47”. I Must Admit That I Was Extremely Surprised To Find That A Standard Grade Ammo Exhibited The Second Smallest Group Size.
I Proceeded To Test Remington & Wolf Target Ammo. The Remington 40gr Solids Are Actually Made By Eley, An English Firm Well Known For Producing Some Of The Best Rimfire Ammunition In The World. Although Wolf Is A Russian Company, Its Rimfire Ammunition Is Made In Germany. The Wolf Target Ammo Is Also A 40gr Solid. The Remington And Wolf Ammo Had Overall Average Velocities Of 1,053fps & 965fps, Respectively. The Remington Target Ammo Had A Standard Deviation Of 11fps, While The Wolf Target Ammo’s Standard Deviation Was 20fps. A Remarkable .48” Overall Five-shot Group Size Was Obtained With The Remington Target Ammo (tied For The Third Smallest Group), While The Wolf Target Ammo Was Only Able To Muster A .72” Group (2nd Largest).
The Last Group Of Ammo Tested Consisted Of Four Match Grade Rounds, Eley Match EPS, Federal Gold Match UM1, Lapua Midas L, And Eley Tenex Ultimate EPS. All Of The Above Mentioned Rounds Were 40gr Solids And Considered To Be Some Of The Finest .22 Rimfire Ammunition Available In The World. As To Be Expected, All These Rounds Had Low Standard Deviations. The Eley Match EPS Ammo Had An Average Velocity Of 1,045fps And A Standard Deviation Of 10fps. Ten Five-shot Groups Averaged .53” (5th Smallest) At 50 Yards. With A Recorded Average Velocity Of 1,131fps And A Standard Deviation Of 12fps, Federal Gold Match UM1 Was The Second Fastest Ammo. It Also Fired A .51” Group, Making It The Fourth Best Shooting Ammo. Lapua Midas L Topped The Competition By Firing An Outstanding .40” Group. Average Velocity And Standard Deviation Were 1,032fps And 13fps, Respectively. The Final Ammo Tested, Eley Tenex Ultimate EPS, Tied For The Third Best Group With An Average Size Of .48”. The Average Velocity Recorded Was 1,049fps And The Standard Deviation Was 14fps.
The Above Benchrest Results Clearly Demonstrated That The DPMS A-22 Semi-automatic Was Capable Of Remarkable Accuracy And Dependability. Accuracy, I Might Add, I Would Only Expect To Find On A Custom-built Rimfire Rifle. I Fired 500 Shots During The Benchrest Test With A Resulting Overall Average Five-shot Group Size Of .63”. As This Figure Clearly Demonstrated, The A-22 Was A Consistent Shooter Digesting All Ammo Placed In Front Of It. I Freely Admit That The DPMS A-22 Gave Me The Most Fun And Enjoyment Of Any Gun That I Have Tested. I Spent Countless Hours On The Meandering Waters Of The Yegua Shooting Any Turtle Or Snake Unfortunate Enough To Be Within Range. Any Stick Floating By Was Soon Pulverized Into Wood Chips. The Hours Of Pleasure That The A-22 Bestowed Upon Me Were Worth The A-22’s Modest Price Tag Alone.
Dane Hobbs
Contact:
DPMS, Inc.
13983 Industry Ave.
Becker, MN 55308
Phone: (800) 578-3767
Fax: (320) 258-4449
Www.dpmsinc.com
ATN Corp.
20 S. Linden St., Suite 1B
S. San Francisco, CA 94080
Phone: (800) 910-2862
Fax: (650) 875-0129
Www.atncorp.com
J.P. Enterprises, Inc.
7605 North 128th St.
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Phone: (800) 528-9886
Fax: (651) 426-2472
Www.jprifles.com
Nikon
1300 Walt Whitman Rd.
Melville, NY 11747-3064
Phone: (800) 645-6687
Www.nikonusa.com
Brownells, Inc.
200 South Front St.
Montezuma, IA 50171
Phone: (800) 741-0015
Fax: (800) 264-3068
Www.brownells.com
I Would Like To Thank The Following Companies For Their Generous Ammunition Donations:
Eley Ammo (Wholesale Only)
Zander’s Sporting Goods
7525 State Rt. 154
Baldwin, IL 62217-9706
Phone: (800) 851-4373
Www.gzanders.com
Lapua Ammo
Kaltron-Pettibone
1241 Ellis St.
Bensenville, IL 60106
Phone: (630) 350-1116
Fax: (630) 350-1606
Www.vihtavuori-lapua.com
Remington Arms Co., Inc.
870 Remington Dr.
Madison, NC 27025-0700
Phone: (800) 243-9700
Www.remington.com
Winchester Ammunition
427 N. Shamrock St.
East Alton, IL 62024
Www.winchester.com
Wolf Performance Ammunition
2201 E. Winston Rd., Suite K
Anaheim, CA 92806
Phone: (888) 757-9653
Www.ssiintl.com
CCI
Lewiston, ID 83501
Www.cci-ammunition.com
Federal Cartridge Co.
900 Ehlen Dr.
Anoka, MN 55303-7503
Phone: (800) 322-2342
Www.federalcartridge.com
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