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Brandes Magnum Rimfire .22 Magnum AR-15 Upper Receivers
Ray-Vin Brandes Magnum Rimfire 22 Magnum AR-15 Uppers
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.22 Magnum AR-15?

Every so often we receive a message about .22 Magnum AR-15 rifles or .22 magnum AR-15 conversion kits. like always I perform the obligatory research to see if there’s anything new. While there’s often rumors of someone developing a .22 Mag AR or conversion rarely does anything come to market or last if it does. There’s probably a bunch of reasons for this. For starters the value of .22lr AR’s is cheap .22lr ammo, about 7 cents per round.  Alternatively typically for a box of .22 magnum ammo you would expect to pay $10-$17 per box of 50 or 22-34 cents per round. While not expensive you’re still flinging quarters downrange instead of pennies with .22lr. Another reason is 22 mag is a niche market. There is very little interest from the shooting public.

22 Magnum vs 17HMR Ammo

22 Magnum vs 17HMR Ammo

Typically the shooter interested in a .22 magnum AR-15 would actually prefer an AR-15 chambered in the superior .17 HMR. This leads to my final thought, design, and engineering. The .22lr AR conversions were proven by Colt and Ciener decades ago. The basic designs of those have been evolving ever since. At this point .22 WMR and even .17 HMR is being built and tested by folks with a passion for the calibers rather than a big manufacturer looking to devote an engineering team to a new product with little interest. Who knows maybe one day this will change but right now shooters are content with their AR-15’s chambered in the .223/5.56, handgun calibers and of course the beloved dirt cheap .22lr rimfire cartridge.

Brandes Magnum Rimfire .22 Magnum AR-15 Upper Receivers

Note: The Brandes .22 magnum AR uppers are no longer being manufactured.

Let me be clear. I have no first-hand experience with the Brandes Magnum Rimfire aka BMR uppers. All I know I learned from their website. I have duplicated the information below.

Ray-Vin Brandes Magnum Rimfire 22 Magnum AR-15 Uppers Barrel Feed Ramp

Ray-Vin Brandes Magnum Rimfire 22 Magnum AR-15 Uppers Barrel Feed Ramp

It appears that the BMR utilizes a unique side charging upper. The charging handle and ejection port are two separate cutouts as opposed to the single cutout on an AR upper like a Fulton Armory Side Charger. The BMR blowback design uses a custom bolt and recoil system. Like a Milspec AR-15 the proper buffer and spring are buttstock dependent. See the bottom of this page to view the correct Brandes buffers. The barrel has an extended feed ramp for use with Black Dog .22 Magnum AR magazines.

If you own the BMR Send us a message.

Ray-Vin Brandes Magnum Rimfire 22 Magnum AR-15 Uppers - Manufacturers Information

All the below information is taken directly from the Ray-Vin website.

Brandes Magnum Rimfire 22 Magnum AR 15 Uppers Features
  • Right or Left hand
  • 16-1/4″ or 18″ Stainless Steel fluted barrel
  • Anodized aircraft aluminum upper
  • Case hardened bolt
  • Hardened S7 firing pin
  • Case hardened ejector
  • Case hardened feed ramp
  • Free float hand guard
  • 1/2-28 x .450 muzzle thread
  • Two 14-round Black Dog magazines
  • Accepts all AR free float handguards
  • Accepts all flat top sight systems
Brandes Magnum Rimfire 22 Magnum AR 15 Uppers Include
  • Fully assembled upper
  • Including bolt
  • Muzzle thread protector
  • Two 14 round magazines
  • A1/A2 buffer
  • Car buffer
  • Buffer spring
  • Travel limiter
  • Parts list
  • Instructions

BMR Notes, a lesson in blow-back actions.

Performance: The BMR is a blow-back action. This type of action involves a balance of many factors such as cartridge power, case geometry and bolt mass. In the AR system, the bolt, the buffer and half of the spring weight constitute the bolt mass. Altering the mass of the buffer allows for tuning the action for a particular cartridge.

BMR 22WMR uppers function quite reliably using ammo with 40gr or heavier bullets.

Bullets lighter than 40gr, especially 30gr, will probably require some adjustment for satisfactory results.


It has come to our attention that CMC triggers do not perform with our upper system. Light strikes is the problem reported with CMC triggers. The CMC trigger is engineered to work with AR-15 rifles firing 5.56 Nato or .223 Remington cartridges, and is not intended to work with other cartridges. The fine folks at CMC have told me they will replace the hammer spring with a stronger one at no charge.
If you are ordering a CMC trigger for our upper, call in the order and request a stronger hammer spring. While this may reduce light strikes, there is no guarantee either from CMC or Ray-Vin. We test our uppers using mil-spec triggers and hammers.


.22 Magnum AR-15 Buffers

.22 Magnum Full Length Buttstock A2 Buffer Configuration

Full Length Buttstock A2 Buffer Configuration – .22 Magnum

In the above configurations, the topmost is standard with the CAR recoil spring for 22WMR and 17HMR ammo. The lower configuration uses the standard A2 buffer with a travel limiter. Use this configuration if you experience case head doming or excessive un-burned powder in the action. The travel limiter is necessary to prevent the bolt handle from bottoming in the receiver slot.

.22 Magnum Carbine Length Buttstock A4 Buffer Configuration

Carbine Length Buttstock A4 Buffer Configuration – .22 Magnum

Similar to the A2 configurations, the uppermost is standard and the lower should be used if you experience case head deforming or excessive powder in the action.