S&W M&P 15-22 or Ruger SR-22?

[EcHo]

Hey all,

Later in the spring I am going to be purchasing some kind of a .22 AR-style rifle. I believe I have narrowed my selection down to either the S&W M&P 15-22 or Ruger SR-22 (unless one of you knows of a better .22 AR style rifle). Have any of you used either, or preferably both, of these rifles? They seem to be priced within $100 of each other, so unless there is some overriding reason to go with one over the other I am having difficulty deciding which is "better".

I am a college student on a college student budget, so buying a real centerfire AR and the ammo for it is out of the budget for a while. I'd also like to improve my shooting abilities with a .22 before going up to more expensive ammo.

Thanks

 

[firecontrol123]

I purchased my S&W 15 -22 last month and have fired 200 round of CCI mini mags, 300 rounds of American Eagle and around 200 rounds of Winchester Wildcats with only one FTE with the Winchester Wildcats. For a .22 rifle it doesn't get any better than that. The A-2 sights are not bad, but my red dot scope is better. I paid $449.00+tax at Northshore Firearms in Middleton.

 

[bhmax16]

I've not heard much positive feed back on the S&W (their 556 version yes, but not the 22). I've read about a lot of issues with FTF, FTE, etc...although we all know this is often always a problem with semi-auto 22s. I LOVE S&W and feel they give you some of the best bang for your buck with firearms manufactured today, so I'm certainly not against them and the products they make...however...my vote would go to the Ruger though I think Sig recently came out with a model as well (though some complain it feels "cheap")...however...I love my 556 so perhaps I'm bias

 

[punx45]

dont know if you considered it, but a ruger 10/22 with a pistol grip stock and tech sights would be a good AR substitute too. not sure where the prices are at with the models you mentioned, but for this you would be looking at around $350 all together. plus this way you can build on it if money is short. spend $200 now for the 10/22 and you have a rifle to shoot to get started, then add a stock and sights later.

 

[SecondAmdFirst]

Have you considered the SIG522LR? It's a gas piston and I hear it works quite nicely. Supposedly runs cleaner and is less prone to fouling.