S&W M&P15 SPORT

[EssOne]

Can anyone give me a good reason why this rifle wouldn't be a perfectly adequate starter or home defense/hunting gun? That is, aside from not being a Noveske, LMT, BCM, LaRue, etc, and having scads of accessories hanging from it. I personally think Smith and Wesson did a smart thing here by sacrificing the dust cover, forward assist, chrome lined barrel, and 1:7 twist to get a reliable rifle into the marketplace for a good price. What do y'all think?

 

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=F1SW811036

 

EssOne

Edited April 28, 2015 by EssOne

[monkeylizard]

The only problem I have with that one is that it's cheaper at KY Gun Co. :) I've seen it as low as $509 cash price at KY Gun Co. but that's rock bottom that I've ever seen anywhere. Just make sure you're getting model# 811036. There are some variants on the Sport for commie state compliance like bullet buttons and 10-rd mags. Your link and mine both go to 811036 models.

 

http://www.kygunco.com/smith-and-wesson-mp15-sport-556mm-nato-30-round-37242

 

It's a great starter rifle. Smith used to put 5R barrels in them, but I'm pretty sure they stopped that.

Edited April 28, 2015 by monkeylizard

[peejman]

Perfectly serviceable. 

 

It's possible to build your own for a little less if you shop various sales (and they go together like legos), but if you want a complete rifle they're hard to beat. 

[Omega]

Can anyone give me a good reason why this rifle wouldn't be a perfectly adequate starter or home defense/hunting gun? That is, aside from not being a Noveske, LMT, BCM, LaRue, etc, and having scads of accessories hanging from it. I personally think Smith and Wesson did a smart thing here by sacrificing the dust cover, forward assist, chrome lined barrel, and 1:7 twist to get a reliable rifle into the marketplace for a good price. What do y'all think?

 

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=F1SW811036

 

EssOne

I have a standard M&P 15 and there is nothing wrong with it.  At the time I got it, at the height of the AR rush, it was hands down the cheapest AR you could get and it was over $800.  Now you can get the same for less but I have learned that the new sport model has had some changes which may or not  change your mind:

 

  [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnjz1XIqFcw[/media]

[EssOne]

Yes I watched the video and noted his complaints that Smith and Wesson dropped the Melonite barrel treatment, 5R rifling, and 1:7 rate of twist and therefore cheapened the rifle. He's probably right, but I don't see where dropping these things has anything to do with reliability or serviceability for home defense or hunting.  No more so than dropping the dust cover and bolt forward assist affected those things. It would mean more to me if it wasn't for the fact that Del-Ton and others have done a land office business in supplying unlined barrels to the shooting community for a number of years, gazillions of them supplied with the 1:9 rate of twist. So this wouldn't be a deal breaker for me in terms of the serviceability of the rifle. The old ones were a better value, but that doesn't mean the new ones aren't good values anyway. Izzat too far off base?

Edited April 28, 2015 by EssOne

[Omega]

Yes I watched the video and noted his complaints that Smith and Wesson dropped the Melonite barrel treatment, 5R rifling, and 1:7 rate of twist and therefore cheapened the rifle. He's probably right, but I don't see where dropping these things has anything to do with reliability or serviceability for home defense or hunting.  No more so than dropping the dust cover and bolt forward assist affected those things. It would mean more to me if it wasn't for the fact that Del-Ton and others have done a land office business in supplying unlined barrels to the shooting community for a number of years, gazillions of them supplied with the 1:9 rate of twist. So this wouldn't be a deal breaker for me in terms of the serviceability of the rifle. The old ones were a better value, but that doesn't mean the new ones aren't good values anyway. Izzat too far off base?

Nope, you are on the money.  As long as you are fully aware of what you are getting and it meets your needs then you should be just fine with it.  As I have stated before, I am not a brand whore, I have a some cheaper ARs, an M&P, a PSA, a DPMS and home build with multiple brand parts as well as a Spikes and they all perform just fine.  I prefer the faster twist barrels due to wanting to use a heavier boolit, but 1:9 is not overly slow if you stay with jacketed bullets or lighter cast boolits.

[mikegideon]

Yes I watched the video and noted his complaints that Smith and Wesson dropped the Melonite barrel treatment, 5R rifling, and 1:7 rate of twist and therefore cheapened the rifle. He's probably right, but I don't see where dropping these things has anything to do with reliability or serviceability for home defense or hunting.  No more so than dropping the dust cover and bolt forward assist affected those things. It would mean more to me if it wasn't for the fact that Del-Ton and others have done a land office business in supplying unlined barrels to the shooting community for a number of years, gazillions of them supplied with the 1:9 rate of twist. So this wouldn't be a deal breaker for me in terms of the serviceability of the rifle. The old ones were a better value, but that doesn't mean the new ones aren't good values anyway. Izzat too far off base?

 

I haven't looked at the current specs, but a plain ole chrome moly barrel will outlast most folks. Can't argue with the price. Don't forget to look at the low end Ruger as well. 

[Oh Shoot]

Yes I watched the video and noted his complaints that Smith and Wesson dropped the Melonite barrel treatment, 5R rifling, and 1:7 rate of twist and therefore cheapened the rifle...

 

Didn't watch the vid, but that barrel was 1:8. The real mystery was how S&W's best barrel ever got on their cheapest AR in the first place.

 

- OS

[EssOne]

Didn't watch the vid, but that barrel was 1:8. The real mystery was how S&W's best barrel ever got on their cheapest AR in the first place.

 

- OS

Probably for the same reason steakhouses serve great big steaks when they first open, but once their customer base is secure, they take the great big out of them.

[gregintenn]

I always thought I'd like one, but when I was looking for an AR, I never found one for sale. Now I have a pile of AR's (not sure how that happened), and I don't guess I need another.

 

Short of putting one together yourself, I doubt you'd do much better for the price than the S&W Sport.

[btq96r]

I'm not understanding the logic of why the dust cover isn't on there.  It's not an expensive part or anything.

[EssOne]

No but the cost of time and labor to install it is. Pennies add up.

[mikegideon]

Didn't watch the vid, but that barrel was 1:8. The real mystery was how S&W's best barrel ever got on their cheapest AR in the first place.

 

- OS

 

Like most AR "manufacturers", I figure they bought those barrels somewhere, probably a huge order for a helluva price. Did we ever find out who made the barrels? Could have been a good feature set from a cheap manufacturer, or could have been great barrels to boost the sales of the Sport. Either way, the guns worked real well.

[mikegideon]

No but the cost of time and labor to install it is. Pennies add up.

 

Between that and the forward assist, it's a small handful of parts. Both may be the most tedious steps in assembling the rifle. 

[Omega]

Between that and the forward assist, it's a small handful of parts. Both may be the most tedious steps in assembling the rifle.

Not sure about the M&P sport but others I have seen can't even take a forward assist or cover since they are not designed to have one installed. These parts have little to no use in a non military role and even then I have never used the forward assist in combat and the dust cover never kept the sand out.

[mikegideon]

Not sure about the M&P sport but others I have seen can't even take a forward assist or cover since they are not designed to have one installed. These parts have little to no use in a non military role and even then I have never used the forward assist in combat and the dust cover never kept the sand out.

 

The sport is slick sided. No way to install the parts. Never been to combat, but I have used the forward assist, and like the dust cover. I have them on all my AR's. To each his own, I guess.

[Fourtyfive]

Everything's fine but for home defense try not to shoot it in the house hallway without ear protection .... :)

[Omega]

The sport is slick sided. No way to install the parts. Never been to combat, but I have used the forward assist, and like the dust cover. I have them on all my AR's. To each his own, I guess.

Yea, I have them both on all my ARs too. All the slicks I seen where more expensive than the standard version so I didn't go for them. Same goes for the other mods I have seen, such as the one that does away with the charging handle, some of which I like but not enough to pay the premium price.

[deafdogdief]

Maybe I'm wrong, but it looks like a pencil barrel. Be careful if you're out plinking and really put a lot of rounds through it quickly.

[Oh Shoot]

Maybe I'm wrong, but it looks like a pencil barrel.

 

No, full profile "straight" barrel or whatever the official term is for it.

 

- OS

Edited April 30, 2015 by Oh Shoot