Review: Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22

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    38special

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    15   0   0
    Jan 16, 2008
    2,618
    38
    Mooresville
    So I finally gave in and decided on the Smith and Wesson M&P 15-22. I've been wanting a "tacticool" .22 for a while now, and I thought I was pretty set on the Sig 522, but I wasn't crazy about it in person. So, I went with the M&P15-22.

    This is what it looked like right out of the box.

    1522_1.jpg


    1522_2.jpg


    I really like the look and feel of this gun. It's made almost entirely of hard polymer rather than metal, which initially I thought would make it feel cheap.

    Nope. This gun feels solid, lightweight and of good quality. I'm happy with the overall balance of it. The mag is see-through and I'd rather it be full but it's a small compromise. This uses a proprietary magazine so you can't use easier-to-find .22 AR mags which is the only downside I've seen so far.

    I've not owned any AR guns, so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I was impressed with it out of the box. The sights are pretty good and work very well out of the box, but I'll probably put some sort of optics on it in the future. I like how easy the sights are to remove, making it a flat-top and easy to mount an optic.

    It functions very much like an AR, with a working AR-style charging handle, 6-point adjustable butt-stock, and mag release. The notable difference is the lack of a cover where the shells eject (not sure what that's called).

    I'm by no means a professional, especially with open-sights, but I found this gun nice and accurate right out of the box.

    target_1522.jpg


    The grouping could probably be better, though it's more likely due to my shooting skill and not the gun. I feel like this gun is capable of very nice groupings and the recoil is nearly nonexistent, making follow-up shots easy.

    I didn't have a lot of time to cycle a large amount of ammo through it, but I decided to try a couple different kinds to get a good feel for the gun.

    First magazine was full of Federal walmart bulk pack. It shot flawlessly without a single problem. Next, I shot some Remington Golden Bullet bulk pack though it. Out of 25 rounds, I had 2 Failure to fire. Based on past experience with this ammo (and looking at the bullets), this is likely the ammo's fault and not the guns. Both bullets were duds. I am not impressed with Remington bulk packs and will likely not purchase them again after I shoot through this box. Next, I fired a mag of CCI mini-mags with no problems whatsoever, just as I expected.

    Overall, I'm very happy with this gun. I'll be going out to get more Federal bulk packs to shoot away the time! This is actually one of the very good features of this gun, IMO. Sure, lots of guns cycle CCI well - it's good ammo. But it's also much more expensive. This gun shoots Federal bulk pack perfectly, and this ammo is cheaper and widely available.

    I'll update this as I get more chances to shoot this great gun!

     
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