New rifle... S&W M&P 15-22... simply awesome!!

[MCMXI]

I ordered one of these Magpul models a few months back and got it today and wish I'd ordered one much sooner.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...57786_757784_757784_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y

I mounted a Vortex Spitfire 1X prism scope, removed the flash hider and screwed on one of my AAC ELEMENT2 suppressors which will stay on this rifle indefinitely. I shot 100 GEMTECH subsonic rounds followed by 50 Remington GBs with zero issues. The GEMTECH is crazy quiet and the Remington is hearing safe but a crack can be heard in the distance. This package is so much fun and a great training tool. I was having so much fun that I forgot to attach the rail covers.

 

[MCMXI]

I forgot to add that the barrel and suppressor don't get much more than slightly warm during a mag dump.... amazing. Accuracy at 50 yards seems to be good but I plan on mounting a 1.5-5x scope to do more testing. I also need to order more magazines. Overall all I can say is AWESOME job S&W!!!

One more photo...

 

[Coyote3855]

I have a basic S&W 15/22 sans Magpul and suppressor. Put a Nikon 4x scope on it. I like it a great deal. Was able to find 2 more magazines a couple years ago. I guess they are more readily available now, not so at the time. Great little rifle and a good partner to my 5.56 S&W 15.

 

[MCMXI]

Yep, the magazines seem to be available now. I want some 10-round versions for ground squirrel control at my place since that 25-round magazine gets in the way. I created a YouTube account and uploaded the video linked to in my first post. It should be easier to view now in case anyone's interested. (Added in edit: I deleted the video and link since the video has no audio and the whole point of the video was to show how quiet the rifle/suppressor/ammo are. See new video link below in post #15.).

 

[nipprdog]

Welcome to the club!



They are fun rifles.

I also need to order more magazines.

Make sure you order 1 or 2 of the short 10 rounders for bench work.

 

[Armed 24/7]

You can also get the Slide Fire stock to work with them. You just need the CMC 3.5# trigger, slide fire's reverse muzzle brake, and the stock. 25 rounds in about 2 seconds with almost no recoil is Very Fun.

 

[bikemutt]

I've been thinking about adding the Spitfire to my 15-22, well, now I know...

 

[doubleh]

I have a son-in-law that will argue with you about how great they are. His is one of the first to show on dealers shelves and the dealer warned him they were ammo finicky. He said he never found any ammo that worked , just jam, jam, jam. He just sat in the corner after awhile and that's where it stays.

I suppose that S&W has corrected the early problems because I see lots of posts from people that have them and are happy with them.

 

[bullseyebob47]

thats why you never buy when it first comes out. im sure s&w would take a look at it. or just leave it in the corner. my brother in law bought one and i personally shot 1,000 of all sorts of cheap dirty bulk 22 with no malfunctions. i would buy one if i could find 6 cent/round on shelves.

and i must brag on my sig 522, 3 malfunctions when new. 10,000 bulk rounds later 0 malfunctions. we in the new age where 22 rifles are 100%. i sold my old tec jam master 10/22.

 

[303 hunter]

I had one a couple years ago, and wish I'd kept it; great fun to play with!

 

[MCMXI]

You can also get the Slide Fire stock to work with them. You just need the CMC 3.5# trigger, slide fire's reverse muzzle break,and the stock. 25 rounds in about 2 seconds with almost no recoil is Very Fun.

That does sound like fun!! I have an 07 manufacturers license so will have to look into the possibility of making a full auto version at some point.

I suppose that S&W has corrected the early problems because I see lots of posts from people that have them and are happy with them.

I shot another 150 rounds last night consisting of 100 GEMTECH and 50 Remington GB with zero issues. The bolt locks back on empty with no feeding issues at all ... just great fun. So that's 300 rounds total now with no problems at all and no cleaning yet. I have CCI and 10X Eley ammunition to try as well. I mounted a 3.5-10X Leupold Mark 4 scope for accuracy testing at 50 yards. I shot a couple of 10-round groups and a 5-round group. One of the ten round tests put 8 rounds into a hole under 1" so there's hope. I'll post a target or two over the weekend.

 

[cpt-t]

My Son and I bought 2 of these several years ago. And ours are extremley accurate, very fast to shoot, and just great to carry around. We don`t shoot our 22LR`s as much as we use to. Because of the ammo problem. But when I do, I am usually carrying my S&W M&P 15-22. I hunt with mine, informal target shoot with it , and use it at the 22 Action Shoots. My Son and I get to go to sometime. We have yet to have any problems with either of our rifles.
ken

 

[Dave P]

Great plinking rifle. I always like to shoot CCI standards - no noise at all. Subsonic.

 

[basicblur]

Congrats - you'll probably enjoy the heck out of it!

I have a couple of them - one is set up as a poor man's 3-Gun rig, with a Nikon P22 scope and a Burris Fastfire III with Burris Picatinny Protector mounted on a Weaver Offset Rail Adapter. I enjoy the heck outta shooting the 3-Gun rig (and using the offset red dot). Got 'em covered for both long range (for a 22) and short range with that one.

I usually use my Silencerco SS Sparrow on the M&P since it doesn't have a first round pop on rifles - I save the Element 2 for the pistols.

The M&P 22 AR did go through some changes from the earlier models, so any bad tales you hear may be from early adapters. I think the older models had blue springs, etc. (although the blue springs may be the newer version), and I think S&W was upgrading them for free.

My M&P eats everything I feed it except Winchester 555 / 333 / 222. It has a FTF on about 5% of those rounds, but that particular round has the flattest profile nose of any 22 round I have. I'm hoping with a little break in, it will eliminate the 5% FTF rate, but I don't use that round in the gun very often.

I'm late to the 22 game, as I had no desire to own one until the last few years and the explosion of reasonably priced 22AR's, 1911's, etc. I also have the Beretta ARX160.

I started a thread the other day to let anyone interested in a 22 Tavor that they might want to contact IWI and let them know they were interested.
Boy, did the haters come out on that thread! Darn if the folks that chimed in on that thread didn't denigrate about all 22 AR's, etc!

I like having the 22 version of my big dawgs, as it provides cheap, quiet, lightweight fun and familiarization with the bigger versions of the same guns.

I had contacted IWI a while back, and again about a week ago. They claim they've already been contacted by Walther about making a 22 version of the Tavor, but I told them they need to handle it like Beretta (apparently) did, and have input into the design / production. My ARX100 is much truer to the original than my Colt M4 Carbine (made by Walther) is.

BTW - my ARX160 got dropped in my lap by Grab A Gun for $343.96 (that included shipping) - I just couldn't turn that down!

Now if IWI would contract with Walther to make a 22 Tavor (so it will take the same magazines as my ARX160 and Colt M4 Carbine) and I could afford to wait for deals like that ARX160...

 

[MCMXI]

I uploaded a new video with audio this time to give some idea as to the sound when shooting subsonic ammunition (GEMTECH) with a suppressor attached (AAC ELEMENT2).

http://youtu.be/i8BLnxcAEEI

I had to hold my phone up against a tree and the rifle against the phone to take the video and was shooting at an IPSC steel target 70 yards away. You'll notice that the rifle runs through all 25 rounds without any problems. You can hear the trigger resetting and the hits on steel too.


Here's another photo showing a 3.5-10X scope attached.



Accuracy testing last night was a little disappointing. I hoped that the Eley 10X would shoot well but it wasn't particularly impressive. The bullets are very waxy and I was getting quite a lot more gas in the face with those. I've now shot over 500 rounds through this 15-22 without a single issue . I've tried GEMTECH, Remington GB, Eley 10X and CC Stingers and everything works perfectly. The GEMTECH seems to be the most accurate at this point. The Remington and CCI are most definitely supersonic. Here's a couple of 10-round groups at 50 yards using the GEMTECH stuff. I haven't cleaned the rifle yet and have shot four brands so the rifle probably needs a good clean. The first group (left) was shot around the 150 mark and the second (right) around the 500 mark. To be honest I'm not sure what to expect from this rifle but maybe with some cleaning it'll do a little better. I bought it as a low cost trainer for centerfire AR15s so will most likely put the 1X Vortex back on once I've done a bit more accuracy testing.

 

[MCMXI]

I usually use my Silencerco SS Sparrow on the M&P since it doesn't have a first round pop on rifles - I save the Element 2 for the pistols.

I haven't noticed a first round pop with the ELEMENT2, either on this rifle or a Walther pistol. Can you hear a pop in the video above?

 

[ljnowell]

I uploaded a new video with audio this time to give some idea as to the sound when shooting subsonic ammunition (GEMTECH) with a suppressor attached (AAC ELEMENT2).

http://youtu.be/i8BLnxcAEEI

I had to hold my phone up against a tree and the rifle against the phone to take the video and was shooting at an IPSC steel target 70 yards away. You'll notice that the rifle runs through all 25 rounds without any problems. You can hear the trigger resetting and the hits on steel too.


Here's another photo showing a 3.5-10X scope attached.



Accuracy testing last night was a little disappointing. I hoped that the Eley 10X would shoot well but it wasn't particularly impressive. The bullets are very waxy and I was getting quite a lot more gas in the face with those. I've now shot over 500 rounds through this 15-22 without a single issue . I've tried GEMTECH, Remington GB, Eley 10X and CC Stingers and everything works perfectly. The GEMTECH seems to be the most accurate at this point. The Remington and CCI are most definitely supersonic. Here's a couple of 10-round groups at 50 yards using the GEMTECH stuff. I haven't cleaned the rifle yet and have shot four brands so the rifle probably needs a good clean. The first group (left) was shot around the 150 mark and the second (right) around the 500 mark. To be honest I'm not sure what to expect from this rifle but maybe with some cleaning it'll do a little better. I bought it as a low cost trainer for centerfire AR15s so will most likely put the 1X Vortex back on once I've done a bit more accuracy testing.

Have you tried Norma Tac-22? It's not cheap but it is super accurate. I use it for bullseye shooting with 22s.

 

[MCMXI]

Have you tried Norma Tac-22? It's not cheap but it is super accurate. I use it for bullseye shooting with 22s.

No I haven't ... but I'll look into it. I probably should do some testing without the suppressor attached to see if it's hurting accuracy. I'm not expecting a tack driver out of this thing but it would be nice to keep the rounds inside 1" at 50 yards. I was shooting at an 8" gong at 100 yards last night, and with a 1.5 mil holdover I was able to hit every time (30+ rounds) and the bullets seem to be landing inside a 4" zone so this rifle will make a great AR15 trainer.

 

[basicblur]

I haven't noticed a first round pop with the ELEMENT2, either on this rifle or a Walther pistol.

You probably won't - the first round pop to which I referred is with my Silencerco SS Sparrow.

The Element 2 has no pop.
The SS Sparrow has a first round pop on my SIG 1911 22, but not on my rifles.

Apparently the extra barrel length allows the pressure to drop a bit before it hits the end of the barrel, thus no first round pop with the SS Sparrow when on rifles.

 

[nipprdog]

Forgot to mention, lots of good info can be found here;

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-15-22/

 

[basicblur]

Just for the heckuvit, you might ought to try some bulk ammo to see how it does (you never know).

I usually shoot:
1. Federal Value Pack (I like the plated round for less crud in the silencer).
2. Federal AutoMatch.
3. Winchester 555 (very flat nose profile - FTF about 5% of the time in my S&W 22AR).
4. CCI Standard Velocity (when I want to go really quiet).

I sure would like to get my hands on some of the Federal Suppressor black box 22 - Palmetto is the only darn place I've ever seen it in stock, and they were way too high.
It seems to Federal's equivalent of CCI Standard Velocity, but with a plated bullet, which I'd rather have for less silencer cleanup.

BTW - I did the "silicone dip" on a new White Sparrow the other night. Hopefully it will help with cleanup down the road.

I pulled my old SS Sparrow (Black) and Element 2 apart the other night - I'm guessing they both have well over 1,000 rounds thru each of them, but I don't know the mix of plated vs. lead rounds.

Based on what I saw, I probably won't crack open my cleaned / lubed Sparrows again for at least 2,000 rounds. The Element 2 had more powder residue in it, but I don't know if that's due to the design or possibly having more lead rounds thru it?

The new Sparrow has been silicone dipped and I've coated the threads with anti-seize grease. As soon as my ultrasonic cleaner arrives, I plan on cleaning / silicone coating the old Sparrow and Element 2.

 

[gotigers]

I love mine. I have the standard 15-22 with a threaded barrel. I put magpul furniture on it. I have a Weaver 1-3x and a Warlock II suppressor.

Without the can i shoot steel challenge. I squirrel hunt with the can. It is the best 22lr rifle i've owned.

I have shot ferderal automatch, federal bulk 550 walmart box, most CCI loads, most winchester loads and a lot of aguila without issue. I have stayed away from Remington.

 

[Chuck R.]

Agreed, it's an awesome little rifle. One of the few semi 22s I've owned that literally eats everything.

Makes a great AR trainer.




Chuck

 

[aubie515]

I am concerned that the mags expose the ammunition in say muddy or dirty environments. Anyone in the desert or have run their MP 15-22 in bad weather conditions tell me if the mag concern is valid?

Does any aftermarket companies offer mags that do not expose the ammunition to the elements?

 

[dekibg]

I highly doubt that there are solid magazines as you described. Most 22lr magazines have that button exposed to help with loading