M&P 15-22 For Inexpensive Training

Darkwood Arms

Darkwood Arms

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I just bought a new S&W M&P 15-22 yesterday and am very pleased with it. It is mostly plastic (polymer) but it very closely mimics my full size AR. It appears the stock, pistol grip, trigger and hammer are real AR-15 pieces so they could be interchanged with your favorite aftermarket pieces.

I had limited time to shoot it yesterday but put roughly 200 rounds of Federal bulk .22's and it ran with no jams of any kind. Recoil is very light and rapid fire antics were very easy, the gun stays right on target. I've heard these guns are pretty accurate as well and I plan to put a scope on it to test it at some point but right now will run it with the iron sights that came with it.

I see an advantage to shooting a gun like this that closely mimics our full size rifles, especially when the operating controls are the same as the full powered rifle. Being able to shoot more because of the cheap ammo will mean more range time with one of my favorite platforms. I also saw an AK-47 , MP 5 SD and several other AR-15 knock offs in .22. All we need now is a .22 cal FAL and M-14.

Oh, and I need more mags too.[wink]

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Glad to hear you like it. I'm looking to get my hands on one of these.

Any word of a 10rd magazine that replicates the size of the 25rd in your pic? I think the firearm looks goofy with that stubby 10rd.
 
Derek33 said:
Glad to hear you like it. I'm looking to get my hands on one of these.

Any word of a 10rd magazine that replicates the size of the 25rd in your pic? I think the firearm looks goofy with that stubby 10rd.
Click to expand...



The magazine in the photos is the 10 rd, mag. It is the same legnth as the 25 rounder but is pinned inside to keep the follower from going past where 10 rounds fit. Welcome to the Communistwealth.

Just a side note, The S&W Shootings Sports Center has M&P 15-22's for $455. and lots of magazines for $19.99 each.
 
Update; 2/13/10

I put another 250 - 300 rounds of American Eagle (Federal) .22's through the rifle with zero malfunctions of any kind. I tested some Winchester target .22's from Wal-Mart and they cycled fine but would not allways hold the bolt open on the last round. Did I mention before, this rifle is a blast!
 
I borrowed a friend of mine's M&P 15-22 to use at an appleseed in NE CT this past weekend. The gun was essentially new. After about 100 rounds the extractor flew out of the bolt. This seems to be a common problem. You may want to call S&W and see if they made changes, and if so, at what serial number.

Other than the catastrophic failure it was a really nice gun to shoot. The safety is just like an ARs, unlike the Colt ar style .22.
After the failure I went to my 10.5" LMT AR with a Spike's .22 conversion kit. Despite the fact that the my AR has a 3 lb trigger and the M&P had what seemed like a 10 lb trigger, I shot much more accurately with the S&W. I'm guessing the 1:7 twist on the AR wasn't helping me much.

Overall I think the gun is a nice compromise. Its certainly more accurate, and therefore more satisfying to shoot, than an AR with a conversion kit.
And its a lot less money than building a dedicated .22 AR with a TacSol or Spike's .22 upper.

Shoot, its even cheaper than just buying a TacSol or Spikes upper for use on your existing lower.
To me, thats the real competition, dedicated uppers.
I'm torn. I really liked the accuracy.
But I've got a $200 trigger in my "toy" AR lower along with a nice Vltor rifle modstock, an ambi mag release and a wilson combat bolt release tab. It would be nice to use these when I'm shooting .22 also. Decisions, decisions.

Don
 
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Someone shot one at the Pelham Appleseed. All I heard is that he started having problems and had to change guns.

Apparently they aren't made to withstand the abuse of 500+ rds/day.
 
I don't think thats necessarily the case. There are a couple of well documented problems with the guns that S&W has made right. Once you resolve those problems they run fine. Go to the S&W thread on rimfirecentral for more details.

For what its worth, I also had problems with my AR. The difference is that I had spare parts and tools for my AR. the stock screw backed out and I lost the selector detent spring. Idiot me, I felt something getting sloppy and kept shooting.
It was my wife's first time shooting in any kind of organized event so I wanted her to be HAPPY. She got my Ruger 10/22 with the Volquhartsen trigger pack, shillen barrel and Tech Sights.

With 4 Ruger OEM mags and CCI standard velocity she did not have a single malfunction all day. No failures of any kind. NONE. Amazing. I guess the boys in Southport have it pretty well figured out after 40 years of making it. Cudos also to CCI for making some very reliable .22 ammo and not charging an arm and a leg for it. ($30/brick. Not Federal value pack cheap, but not Eley Tenex either.)
 
I put together a 22LR upper with a Spikes bolt & barrel with the intent of working it out at an Appleseed. I've already broken a firing pin - not going out without a backup 10-22. Some of the Black Dog Machine 10 round mags were getting hung up on round 10, when the follower would stick on the 10 round block, so those needed work. I'm hoping when the bugs get worked out I'll have something reliable, but I'm envying Ruger's years of product development.
 
I made a call to S&W service today to get the M&P 15/22. Once you are beyond the idiotic automated attendant you get a live person very quickly. I described the problem and he immediately offered to send a shipping label for return shipping at their expense. I confirmed that I would just be sending the bolt back and he said No, I will be sending the entire rifle back. That while it was there it would be brought up to the latest production specs. I thanked him and was off the phone in 5 minutes.

Talk about making lemonade out of lemons. The last time I had to send a gun back to S&W was in the early 90s when my 6906's firing pin jammed with it protruding about 1/8 off the breach face and it went full auto for about 10 rounds. (pretty frightening). I remembered that service was great, but a lot can happen in 20 years.

Don

p.s. re the ruger's reliability. The 10/22 is so stone reliable , it continually amazes me. If I could choose only one gun for an end of the world scenario it would be a select fire 10/22.
 
How old is yours?

If its newer, then your experience makes sense. I've been told they have made running changes to fix the bolt problems.

As far as service goes, Saturday, 3 days after I called S&W, I received a pre-paid fedex shipping label.
Included with the label was step by step instructions for shipping the gun, right down to the FedEx phone number I should call to arrange a pickup of the gun.

Everything made by man can fail. I'm frankly more impressed by how S&W is taking care of me so far than if the gun had never had a problem.
S&W has a well deserved reputation for excellent customer service.

Don
 
dcmdon said:
How old is yours?

If its newer, then your experience makes sense. I've been told they have made running changes to fix the bolt problems.

As far as service goes, Saturday, 3 days after I called S&W, I received a pre-paid fedex shipping label.
Included with the label was step by step instructions for shipping the gun, right down to the FedEx phone number I should call to arrange a pickup of the gun.

Everything made by man can fail. I'm frankly more impressed by how S&W is taking care of me so far than if the gun had never had a problem.
S&W has a well deserved reputation for excellent customer service.

Don
Click to expand...

Don,

I bought it new on Feb. 6 of this year. I'm not sure what the updated parts would look like. As far as customer service goes, I've dealt with S&W a couple of times before (for handgun stuff) and they were very good to me. This is a big plus with dealing with S&W. Good luck with your service.

Eric.
 
I have been eyeballing one and been drooling on it. it supposedly mimics the ar reasonably. I am wary about the extractor issues. i might give SW a call and find out what SNs of rifles the extractor problems won't be an issue.
 
squiddoc39 said:
I have been eyeballing one and been drooling on it. it supposedly mimics the ar reasonably. I am wary about the extractor issues. i might give SW a call and find out what SNs of rifles the extractor problems won't be an issue.
Click to expand...


i've had no issues with mine. not sure of the round count (i'd have to look)

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...mp-P-15-22-*Offical-Fondle-Report*?highlight=

it's a really fun gun. i still need a low power optic so i can plink more at 100 yards and see how it compares to my 10/22
 
I recently purchased one. Last week I took it out for the first time. I shot over 600 rounds on its first range trip I only had three jams, due to crappy ammo. The gun ran like a top with good ammo.
 

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