May 25, 2013

New Rifle - Rock Island Armory Mig 22

I’ve picked up a few rifles over that last couple of months. One of which, is the nicest little AR style, tactical .22s I have ever seen. Made by Rock Island Armory (RIA), in the Philippines, this is an incredibly well made rifle. The receiver is milled from a solid chunk of aluminum then anodized black while the barrel is made of ordinance steel and parkarized. The solid steel shroud was turned to leave a very smooth finish on it. RIA boasts that none of the pieces on their Mig 22 are cast or stamped out. Instead; they are all machined. The 15-round magazine for example, is made from 1/8” thick aluminum. It’s hefty and stout; like the rifle itself. The machining quality is clearly evident upon disassembly and cleaning of the rifle. I was amazed when I took it apart after my first trip to the range; this rifle’s internals are as beautiful as its external features. Speaking of the range; it performed beautifully. My buddy, Hoopsie, and I knocked bull after bull out of targets at the 50yd and 100 yard range. The trigger travel is quite short, and incredibly smooth. This is the only rifle I own which has a match-grade, free-floating barrel (rifled with a 1 in 16” twist) and from what I read, this largely accounts for the accuracy I enjoyed at the range. 

 RIA also, makes a target version of this rifle which has a longer picatiny rail for mounting larger scopes and features a folding bipod and leaner stock. It is equally sharp looking, yet I prefer the solid M-16 style stock which my Mig 22 has. 





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