M&P 15-22: thoughts?

[seabiscuit]

One of my buddies recently purchased an M&P 15-22, said he loves it. I've been thinking about getting one - or a full-up AR - for some time, since that's likely what I'll carry in the Air Force, and I want more training than the AF will give me.

Has anyone here tried it? Lots of problems in the early models with the extractor, but those seem to be worked out - at least, you can send it back to S&W and they'll fix it.

Same controls as an AR, bolt locks back, 25rd mags, flat top, quad rail. So I could mount the same accessories on my .22 as my .223/5.56 duty (or personal) rifle. Recoil will obviously be less than the .223, but not terribly less.

Suggestions?

[Jay Cunningham]

I think they're fantastic - I recently used one during portions of a class I taught:







All students got to use it on a walkback drill on a 6" steel plate. Fun little rifle and great training aid! Don't cheat and use it on drills with lateral target transitions or rapid strings of fire - the lack of recoil makes that cheating - but it's GTG for position rifle, presentation, etc.

[JHC]

We have one and it's a fantastic piece of gear. It runs well. Great for training on running an AR carbine on the cheap ammo wise. I've not seen better than 2-3" accuracy at 50 yds but that's not what it's about.

[Al T.]

Agree with Jay. Very nice for some drills and getting new shooters acclimated to the platform.

Mine is closing in on 3k, no issues. Ammo is a bit of a concern, the owners manual is pretty specific. I ran CCI MiniMags for the first K, CCI Blazer afterwards.

Here's a nifty suppressed M&P15-22:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZp5xe963w0

[Al T.]

I'd also suggest that you get some good training courses - IMHO, AF training (and .mil in general) is not optimal.

[jar]

The only thing I don't like about it is that it's much lighter than my 223 rifle. I'm planning to get a dedicated 22 upper for that reason.

[SecondsCount]

They are nice guns. My 13 year old son saved up his money and bought one almost a year ago.

It runs great on bulk ammo (Federal and Remington) and accuracy is better than I expected.

[DocGKR]

My kids love their new M&P15-22 with an old Aimpoint M2 mounted on it. No issues or malfunctions with the first several hundred rounds of 36 gr Win 333.

[Jay Cunningham]

Slightly OT question for suppressor gurus: could I mount my Gemtech HALO to my 15-22 successfully, or would the chance for baffle strikes go way up?

[seabiscuit]

I'd also suggest that you get some good training courses - IMHO, AF training (and .mil in general) is not optimal.

Agreed. 40 rounds at a static target from three positions during basic was entirely insufficient.

Thanks for all the great replies... now I'm gonna see if I can find one in town.

@jar - do you think mounting some accessories on it could fix the weight issue, or would it be too hard to get the right balance?

Jay, thanks for the pics and the drill advice. Probably gonna focus on controls, presentation, position, shooting on the move, maybe shooting at night too when I get a G2 up front.