First AR15 S&W M&P 15 Sport II?

[Tooms]

I definitely want to buy a completed first rifle from a reputable manufacturer. Once I familiarize myself with my first AR then I am all for building a second one. I've been reading a lot on the following three guns to buy as my first AR.

Ruger AR556
S&W M&P 15 Sport II
Colt LE6920

At this point I've ruled out the Ruger. Mostly due to it being made up of more proprietary parts (**Update**: ThrottleTony pointed out only the SR556 has proprietary parts). The Colt and S&W both have really good reviews online. However, the S&W seems to be easier to come by at a price quite a bit lower than I've found the Colt. The Colt has actually been hard to find in stock. Is there anything I am missing with the S&W M&P 15 Sport II? When looking at other guns such as the Colts and BCMs that cost much more, I just wanted to bounce this off someone else to make sure the S&W is decent gun despite it being so much cheaper than others. I also like the fact the 2nd generation S&W has a dust cover and forward assist unlike the gen 1. Online Ive found it for $629 in stock and locally I've found it for $639.

 

[SSGSAD]

I am a S&W guy, all the way ..... if you get in the area, talk to Mark, at Bradis, he will shoot straight with you .....

 

[halfmileharry]

IF you're going to shoot a lot of rounds then get the Colt.
If you're just going to be a casual shooter then the S&W will be fine. The "II" series is more gun than the original Sport model.
Most manufacturers are making competent rifles these days.

 

[THE BIG SITT]

I'll be the guy who ignores what you say in your OP and inject my own knowledge. Buy a complete upper, buy a complete lower, and slap the two together.

You could get the Sport II: Champion Firearms | Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport II w/ Forward Assist & Dustcover 5.56mm 10202

So $630 for a bare bones AR



Or you could get this upper:

PSA 16" Mid-length Stainless 1:7 Freedom Upper - Without BCG or Charging Handle - 482726

Lower:

AR15 Complete MOE Plus Lower - Black - 7779445

BCG:

PSA 5.56 Premium HPT/MPI Full Auto Bolt Carrier Group - No Logo - 39339

And a basic $15 charging handle (PSA is out of stock right now)

That puts your total at $495, plus a rear sight and a mag, so add on another $60 or so. So $555 for a rifle with better furniture, a better gas system, and probably a better barrel.

 

[Tooms]

I'll be the guy who ignores what you say in your OP and inject my own knowledge. Buy a complete upper, buy a complete lower, and slap the two together.

You could get the Sport II: Champion Firearms | Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport II w/ Forward Assist & Dustcover 5.56mm 10202

So $630 for a bare bones AR



Or you could get this upper:

PSA 16" Mid-length Stainless 1:7 Freedom Upper - Without BCG or Charging Handle - 482726

Lower:

AR15 Complete MOE Plus Lower - Black - 7779445

BCG:

PSA 5.56 Premium HPT/MPI Full Auto Bolt Carrier Group - No Logo - 39339

And a basic $15 charging handle (PSA is out of stock right now)

That puts your total at $495, plus a rear sight and a mag, so add on another $60 or so. So $555 for a rifle with better furniture, a better gas system, and probably a better barrel.

Hmm, well buying a completed upper & lower is an interesting proposition as well. Thanks for the input.

 

[M67]

The smith will suit you fine and do very well.

No need to spend money on a dying horse

 

[1775usmarine]

The smith will suit you fine and do very well.

No need to spend money on a dying horse

I see what you did there very classy.

 

[shootersix]

my opinion

the ruger and the smith are equal in cost, the colt will be more(about 3 bills more)

both the smith and the colt are equal in parts and quality the only difference is the handguard, the smith uses the standard delta ring, the ruger uses a threaded delta ring, so before you start changing handguards on the ruger, you have to change the delta ring

both are entry level guns!

the colt has a chrome lined barrel, so longer life, easier to clean, corrosive ammo is ok
ruger and smith have chrome moly barrels so you wont get as long a life, BUT most of us will never shoot out a barrel anyway!

if it were me, the order I'd buy would be
1-smith
2-ruger
3-build my own
4-psa
5-ruger
6-wait to find a smith
7-wait to find a ruger
8-build my own
9-any make other than a colt
10-colt

fyi I just built one for 539.00, and that includes a fail zero bcg(that was a 45.00 upgrade) with a melonite coated bbl and a free float handguard
lower-50.00 mag tactical
dpms lpk-89.99(I know it was high but I bought it right after sandy hook)
6 position stock kit-10.00 used
16 in 1/9 twist free float handguard-199.99 (on sale radical firearms, normally 239.99)
fail zero bcg 139.99 (could have bought a melonite coated for 95.00)

if you have any mechanical aptitude, you can assemble an ar lower! watch youtube, get a few hints and you can do it!, no special tools(you do need a stock wrench, but I'm sure somebody here on ingo would let you use one)

not to long ago cdnn had a kit for 429.99 it was everything BUT the lower(and it included a rifle case)
CDNN SPORTS - AR15 CARBINE RIFLE KIT 556 WITH QUADRAIL - EMAIL SPECIALS
add that to a 50.00 lower and BAM-480.00 ar 15!

now tax time is coming up, palmetto usually has some big tax sales!


good luck!

 

[seedubs1]

If you're actually going to use it or it may potentially be needed for personal defense, get the Colt. It's well worth the extra ~$200, and factoring in ammo cost.....well, that $200 is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of running an ar15. Well worth it. If you can still find LE-6920's for $850ish, they're a heck of a good deal, and you definitely get your moneys worth. The LE-6920 is THE mil-spec standard in AR15's. You're getting a go to war ready rifle with one.

If you're just going to plink, the Smith will be fine. Just understand, it's NOT a go to war rifle. It's a plinker. The Colt, you could drop of in Afghanistan.

But that's just out of the options you gave. Personally, I'd look into BCM, Spikes, DD, etc... All can be found for the same price as a LE-6920 if you shop for deals and take your time. They seem to have a bit better fit and finish than the Colt's these days.

 

[M67]

both the smith and the colt are equal in parts and quality the only difference is the handguard, the smith uses the standard delta ring, the ruger uses a threaded delta ring, so before you start changing handguards on the ruger, you have to change the delta ring

The M&Ps use what they call the Armornite coating, which is a nitride finish. So theoretically the barrel in the Smith will outlast the chrome line in the Colt.

Regardless though you're right, not many people will ever come close to shooting out an AR barrel

 

[Tooms]

Well, now I am curious. Would you say that PSA components would be of better quality than S&W M&P 15 Sport II? As The Big Sitt pointed out, those items are much cheaper than the complete S&W.

 

[Hjarnett]

I have the sport II great ar but a couple years ago I had a ar that was better you might look into a diamondback db-15 there made in Florida wish I never sold mine

 

[ireed3]

i currently have the db15 and i cant complain. after reading this thread im considering building myself a second rifle, but im wanting to try 308.

 

[halfmileharry]

Well, now I am curious. Would you say that PSA components would be of better quality than S&W M&P 15 Sport II? As The Big Sitt pointed out, those items are much cheaper than the complete S&W.

PSA seems to have variable quality parts. You'll still pay for the higher end quality parts. For plinking I would rate the PSA as "good enough" but that's NOT why I own my AR15s. I consider them competent self defense rifles.
I own multiple Colt rifles and they get used considerably. Never an issue with them.
I just put together a Spikes/Noveske/Green Mountain rifle that is a very good rifle but I have as much money in it as I do my NIB Colt LE6920s so no savings there.

 

[seedubs1]

As far as quality is concerned, I'd put it like this for ARs:

Ruger<Smith<PSA Premium<Colt<spikes<bcm<dd<larue, kac, noveske, etc...

I wouldn't mess with anything from PSA other than their Premium line. But that's just me...

Well, now I am curious. Would you say that PSA components would be of better quality than S&W M&P 15 Sport II? As The Big Sitt pointed out, those items are much cheaper than the complete S&W.

 

[sig1473]

If you order a PSA, you might get lucky and receive this:

 

[Tanfodude]

If you order a PSA, you might get lucky and receive this:

?

 

[Tooms]

I've made my decision. Will post pics later this week.

 

[sig1473]

?

You can't tell the FSB is canted??? Factory assembled upper from PSA. How it left and was shipped shows their lack of QC.

 

[Tooms]

You can't tell the FSB is canted??? Factory assembled upper from PSA. How it left and was shipped shows their lack of QC.

I think the problem is that the we don't have permission to see the photo you linked. When we go to the link it asks for a login.