Overview

Costs

Item: Tippmann Arms M4-22 ELITE Bug Out – Hunter
Price: $719.95 USD
Vendor: https://resilient-arms.com/product/tippmann-arms-m4-22-elite-bug-out-hunter/

Item: Tippmann Arms OEM M4-22 Aluminum Ambidextrous Charging Handle
Price: $79.95 USD
Vendor: https://resilient-arms.com/product/tippmann-arms-oem-m4-22-red-aluminum-ambidextrous-charging-handle/

Item: Tippmann Arms M4-22 Low Pro 10 Round Magazine
Price: $24.95 USD
Vendor: https://resilient-arms.com/product/tippmann-armsm4-22-10-round-magazines-low-profile/

Item: Radian Weapons Talon Ambi-Safety
Price: $54.95 USD
Vendor: https://resilient-arms.com/product/radian-weapons-r0567-talon-45-90-ambi-safety-radian-gray-fits-mil-spec-ar-15-ar-10-platform-sig-mcx-mpx/

Item: TriggerTech Diamond AR-15 Single-Stage Trigger
Price: $304.99 USD
Vendor: https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/triggertech-diamond-ar-15-single-stage-trigger

Item: Bushnell RXS-100 1x25mm Reflex Sight
Price: $83.99 USD
Vendor: https://www.eurooptic.com/Bushnell-RXS-100-1x25mm-Reflex-Sight-w-Weaver-Mount-RXS100.aspx

Item: Bushnell Match Pro Rifle Scope 6-24×50 30mm FFP
Price: 289.99
Vendor: https://www.natchezss.com/bushnell-match-pro-rifle-scope-6-24×50-30mm-ffp-illum-deploy-mil-black

Item: Burris AR-P.E.P.R. Scope Mount w/Picatinny Top 30mm
Price: $74.99 USD
Vendor: https://www.natchezss.com/ar-pepr-scope-mount-30mm-w-pic-tops-bu410341

Item: Magpul PRS Lite Buttstock
Price: $100.99 USD
Vendor: https://www.natchezss.com/magpul-prs-lite-buttstock-for-ar-15-black

Item: MDT Forend Weight Kit
Price: $59.95 USD (pack of two)
Vendor: https://resilient-arms.com/product/mdt-sporting-goods-inc-107304blk-forend-weight-exterior-m-lok-mount-0-35-lbs-each-2-pack-black-steel/

Item: MLOK Arca Rail
Price: $31.79 USD
Vendor: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1VBWMHH

*Prices listed are as of purchase time. Prices subject to change at vendor discretion.
**Vendor(s) identified are only listed to show where I sourced the item(s) from.

Intent

The bold action rifle I had been using for NRL22 base class was not performing the way I wanted it to. So, after 6 months of messing with it, I decided to build a new one. This time, I was looking to try something new and go with the AR platform. There are several options out there for semi-auto 22lr ARs, but I had a very short list of requirements that it had to meet before I would dive in.

• Mostly, if not complete, mil-spec part compatibility
  • Of this, the ability to replace the trigger was paramount
• 18 inch barrel

End of list. Like I said, a very short list. NRL22 “base” class has a few requirements that you must meet. If you do not meet them, you will be put in “open” class. Open class is where you have free reign on modifications. This usually means the more you spend the better you score, if all shooters are equal. Base class reigns this in and makes it more beginner friendly. To qualify for base class:

• The combined MSRP of the rifle and optic must be $1,300 USD or less.
  • Any accessories (i.e., trigger, bags, scope mounts, etc.) are not included in this limit.
  • MSRP is based on the listed MSRP on the manufacturers website.
• Rifles must remain in their factory stock.
  • For those paying attention, you will notice that I have a buttstock on the parts list. Bear with me to the end (or just skip to “Other Comments”). This will be explained.
• Only authorized barrel replacements are with barrels originally sold in that chassis/stock.
  • This means that if you wear out your barrel, you can replace it but it needs to be with a factory barrel intended for use in that rifle, as originally sold.

Fairly short list to comply with. Don’t replace the stock, don’t replace the barrel, don’t go over $1300. Time to go shopping.

My Perspective

Tippmann Arms M4-22 ELITE Bug Out – Hunter

When I was researching what platform to build on, several options were available to choose from, but most had something that didn’t meet a requirement. The two closest matches were the Smith and Wesson M&P 15-22 and the Tippmann M4-22. Both had 16 in barrels, and both offered enhanced models with 18 inch barrels. What put me over the top and deciding to go with the Tippmann, was that the Tippmann comes with a folding stock. Honestly, that was it. With a folding stock, I had the perfect spot for it in my safe. Without a folding stock, I would need to rearrange everything to find a spot. Tippman with the folding stock it is.

Tippmann Arms OEM M4-22 Aluminum Ambidextrous Charging Handle

Some stages of NRL22 require off-hand manipulation so this was just a nice to have. Not much to say here. Works just like any other ambi charging handle, just designed for the Tippmann’s shorter bolt throw.

Tippmann Arms M4-22 Low Pro 10 Round Magazine

The Tippmann magazines have an interesting design, featuring an outer shell that slides over the body, protecting the internals and rounds. When closed, it has the same contour as an AR15 magazine. Pressing a recessed button on the side of the body allows you to pull the shell down and access the spring compression levers, helping you to easily load rounds. I opted for 10 round magazines because some stages of NRL22 require magazine changes. No point in having a larger bulkier magazine that can get caught on things if you don’t need the round count. They do offer 25 round magazines and I will probably pick a few of those up for stages that do not require magazine changes.

Radian Weapons Talon Ambi-Safety

Again, another item nice to have for specific stages of NRL22. This nice-to-have though, has the added benefit of acting as a thumb rest, as it can be configured for 45 degree through. This provides a nice, repeatable position for the trigger hand.

TriggerTech Diamond AR-15 Single-Stage Trigger

If you read my https://www.perspectiveshootingsports.com/building-a-multi-purpose-shtf-rifle-on-a-budget/, you know that I am a huge fan of TriggerTech. The Diamon Trigger takes it to a whole new level. Allowing for and adjustable pull weight of 1.5 to 4 pounds, you can guess where I set it. Darn near right at 1.5 pounds. It is an amazing trigger and everyone that I have had pull it, wants to know what it is. Just like the prior TriggerTech trigger, this was a flat trigger. They do offer curved ones as well, but flat is my preference.

Bushnell RXS-100 1x25mm Reflex Sight

This one is a bit embarrassing. Prior attempts at NRL22 demonstrated that I have trouble finding the target. In all honesty, I could just zoom the scope out more and get a wider field of view to find the target faster. But, I wanted to see a bigger target and still find it fast. So, I had a idea. What if I mounted a red-dot to the top of the scope mount. That way, I can leave the scope zoomed in, and just use the red-dot for target acquisition. We will see how that works at the next match.

Bushnell Match Pro Rifle Scope 6-24×50 30mm FFP

Because I had a cost constraint (rifle + scope had to be less than $1300), and the rifle MSRP was $759.95, that left me $540.05 worth of MSRP to play with for a scope. I went so far as to put together a spreadsheet of all the scopes I could come up with in that price range, and compared features. In the end, I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, but I did get close enough with what was in the budget.

That close enough, was the Bushnell Match Pro illuminated. First focal plane, good eye relief, good magnification, 10 yard parallax. All things I was looking for. Only thing missing from my desired list was a zero stop. For the curious, below is the spreadsheet I put together.

Burris AR-P.E.P.R. Scope Mount w/Picatinny Top 30mm

Knowing I needed a mounting mechanism for the red dot mentioned above, I began looking for options other than the expensive, though very high quality, Vortex Diving Boards. I came across the Burris AR P.E.P.R. mount and immediately added to card. It checked all the boxes and I needed a scope mount anyways.

MLOK Arca Rail

I needed an arca rail to mount and easily adjust the location of mounted accessories. While there are tons of options on the market, I wasn’t looking to break the bank with something that didn’t affect the functioning of the platform. Off to Amazon I went. I found an arca rail that looked like it would work find, and it did. Mounted nicely and it did it’s job.

Other Comments

With the rifle assembled and a basic functions test passed, it was time to head to the range to zero and gather muzzle velocity. Once at the range, I put 100 rounds of CCI Standard Velocity through the rifle before I gathered chronograph data. The rifle worked great. I used a Magpul bipod I had laying around and a junky rear bag while in the prone. No issues whatsoever. During this time I was able to get zeroed with the scope and test the magazines. Everything functioned flawlessly, including the magazines which I was concerned about being the point of failure based on my experience with the CMMG Bravo Magazines.

After the 100 rounds, it was time to do ammo testing. As I had already warmed up with CCI SV, I continued with that, then tried (against my better judgement) CCI Green Tag, SK Standard Plus, and SK Long Range Match. This time, CCI Green Tag impressed me. Well, impressed me more than my prior experience with it. Below are the results from the testing. All data gathered via a Garmin Xero C1 Pro.

If you see the velocities and think the seem lower than you would expect, you aren’t wrong, if you are talking about a bolt action. With a semi-auto rifle, part of the gasses are used to cycle the bolt. These gasses would normally be used to fully propel the projectile with a bolt action, which is why they have higher muzzle velocities with the same barrel length.

You may notice that there are two tests of the CCI Green Tag. I was surprised at the results, based on prior experience, and had to test again to see if it was a fluke. In a perfect world, I would have done more than 10 rounds of each ammo type, but I was limited by why I had on hand.

SK Long Range Match, once again, destroyed the competition. Lowest SD, lowest spread, highest velocity. Very impressed. CCI Standard velocity continues to impress with its cost to performance ratio and will remain as my primary training/plinking round.

From there, it was time for the NRL22 match. It was held 04/12/2024 and we got some pretty nice weather. Still cool but the sun was out and very little wind. The rifle, as built, performed very well. It consistently hit where I was aiming. We will not talk about scores because my issue was not the rifle, it was where I was aiming. I need to work on getting a good BC to plug in to my ballistic calculator.

Having a semi-auto was very nice. It saved me a couple extra seconds on each stage. One other things that save me time was the use of the red dot mounted to the Burris P.E.P.R mount. Very easy to acquire targets and and then drop my head to the scope. This will be a staple of any future builds, until I get more practice with target acquisition.

UPDATE: A week after the match, it was announced that the rules for the NRL22 2025 season were going to be changing. The new rules included a statement that triggers could no longer be replaced on “base class” rifles. Oh, and the 2025 season starts in May of 2024. Yeah… so, after that bit of fun, I competed in the May NRL22 match in “open” class. No way was I going to use a milspec trigger in a precision competition. I continued to perform well so I decided to upgrade the rifle further and stick with Open class, even though I was significantly out expensed. I was having fun, and that is what mattered the most.

Magpul PRS Lite Buttstock

Now that I was in Open class, I could replace the factory buttstock. it wasn’t a bad buttstock, but it wasn’t precision. I have a Magpul PRS buttstock on my 6.5 Creedmoor rifle and love it, though it is heavy for a lighter weight .22. So, I opted for the PRS Lite, which is just shy of 33% lighter than the PRS one. With the PRS lite you lose the ability for tool-less adjustability of the length of pull and cheek riser height, but fit, feel, and durability are all the same.

However, it was still heavier than the buttstock that came with the rifle so I was now heavy on the back-end.

MDT Forend Weight Kit

In comes the weight kits. There are several options out there for weight kits but honestly, I just thought the MDT ones came at a good price. Pretty much the only reason I went with them over another company. I purchased 2 weight kits, each containing to weights, and they easily attached to the MLOC slots on the front of the file. It worked well and balanced it out perfectly.

From there, now that I was hooked on NRL22, I was off to find accessories like bags. Stay tuned for what I ended up with.

Conclusion

No issues at all with the platform and can only sing praises about the overall build. Especially the trigger. If you have not yet pulled a TriggerTech Diamond trigger, you need to. Absolutely amazing. I definitely recommend taking a look at any of the Tippmann Arms lineup. They have several options to choose from and I could not be happier with the quality of the rifle and its compliance with milspec.