Thinking about buying a New S&W MP 15-22

[ontarget]

No experience with the M&P but was on the hunt for one when a friend offered me a TAC SOL upper on a SOG standard lower.
A dedicated AR 22lr is so much fun it should be against the law. Very hard on the ammo budget in these times.

 

[DTL]

A Tippman Arms M-4-22 is also another to consider, check it out on youtube. I own a 15-22 and really enjoy shooting with it, M-bus sights and a red dot.

 

[doubleh]

My efforts improved things considerably but it's still not completely where it should be. More tinkering and tweaking to do. It's not to the teeth grinding stage yet but is becoming seriously annoying.

 

[wmgeorge]

I bought one a couple months ago to feed my inner 14-year-old. I stuck on a Magpul buttstock and swapped out the sights for a low-mag scope; otherwise it's as-purchased since I like the A2 grip. Found a couple of spare 10-round mags online without effort, and I also sourced a discreet take-down case for transport.

View attachment 1002650

I suppose I'm approaching a $700 total investment with my higher retail price plus accessories, no buyer's remorse so far.

I haven't shot it a lot yet, just a couple boxes to zero the scope. No malfs so far using a couple different ammo brands (CCI and Remington Golden Bullet). Mags are easy to load once you get used to the technique.

One aspect I prefer on the 15-22 over my 10-22s is the ease of removing and replacing the bolt assembly for cleaning. I'm something of a fanatic about keeping actions free of fouling and getting to the bolt on a 10-22 is one chore that gets old quickly!

Dave what scope and ring set did you buy?

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Dave what did you put on yours for a scope and the ring size, height?

Nothing fancy. The scope is a cheap Barska fixed power with longer eye relief, and the integrated 1" mount was a relatively lightweight generic job I found on Amazon.

The scope is reasonably lightweight and clear but nothing special. I like the mount -- not QD, but solid. I don't have the rifle next to me, but most of the specs are probably covered someplace on this page:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YHTPHRF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Ascot500]

Dave, I would like to know more about the "discreet take-down case for transport"

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Dave, I would like to know more about the "discreet take-down case for transport"

Well, my ultra-discreet case was originally designed to carry a mandolin ("gig bag"):



Shown in it here is my CZ527 chassis rig with the stock folded. The 15-22 and other AR-ish rifles will fit by separating the upper and lower. I paid under $20 for this case about three years ago on eBay.

Another case I recently bought on Amazon is a padded nylon rectangular job. Not as discreet, but sometimes I want to carry more stuff to the range than will fit into the mandolin case. It doesn't specifically scream GUN due to its dimensions and generic appearance.

 

[Ignition Override]

doubleh:

Have other seasoned M&P .22 rifle owners recommended a very careful, gradual shortening of the >> recoil spring? <<

My friend (who owns four horses and bought a Kubota tractor to cut grass etc...) never wanted to bother looking up info on this, therefore he is 'stuck' using CCI Minimags.

 

[The Glockodile]

It's a PIA, with the wait and all...

...but S&W has been good to most people I've corresponded with re: problematic M&P15-22s.

They usually swap out the entire bolt assembly, best we could tell.

 

[doubleh]

doubleh:

Have other seasoned M&P .22 rifle owners recommended a very careful, gradual shortening of the >> recoil spring? <<

My friend (who owns four horses and bought a Kubota tractor to cut grass etc...) never wanted to bother looking up info on this, therefore he is 'stuck' using CCI Minimags.

I have removed three coils of the spring at this time. Next is to try another coil. Believe it or not, I am not above researching what others have done when I have a problem that does’t seem to have a fairly easy fix. I even have a source for a replacement spring bookmarked in case I go too far with the original.

your friend must have a lot of grass or more likely just wanted a tractor. I used to have a horse that kept 10 acres pretty short plus consumed quite a bit of hay. He finally went to the big pasture in the sky. I now have a Kubota tractor with a brush hog to keep the grass in check. It was much easier when the horse was taking care of it.

 

[wmgeorge]

The H&K416 I have ordered has an adjustment for different types of 22LR, no spring cutting required.

 

[trackskippy]

Im not understanding the spring cutting. Is your gun within the recall numbers?

My (new) gun cycles and shoots fine with everything Ive put in it. Most of what I shoot is CCI Blazers, but Ive shot Win SuperX, Mini Mags, CCI's Tactical, and a few others, even some old, random mix of 22's my dad had in a box, and never once had an issue with any of them.

If your gun is a problem, send it back to S&W, they will get it straightened out, eventually (they can be a bit of a PITA), and if they cant, they will give you a new gun.

 

[Choctaw]

I've put thousands of rounds through mine. It is a very fun and cheap shooter. The only issues are extraction problems when it gets dirty. Keep it clean and you really enjoy it.

Exactly. The day before my son's wedding we shot his 15-22 a lot. We probably put about 1,500 rounds through it that morning alone. There was one stovepipe so I did a quick cleaning and we were off to the races again. We had other guns out there but everyone kept going back to the 15-22.

 

[doubleh]

Im not understanding the spring cutting. Is your gun within the recall numbers?

No, it's very recent manufacture. The spring cutting is just an experiment. New spring is cheap if it is of no help.

If I can't fix the problem I will eventually call S&W for help. I'm not modifying anything but the spring. No grinding filing, stoning,etc, just parts changing which can be removed and replaced with the originals.

 

[Kp321]

I shoot every week with a group of up to 20 people, all of whom use the 15-22. Some of the rifles have close to 100,000 rounds through them with no problems except broken firing pins around 15,000 rounds. The Volquartsen pin seems to have solved this problem. When new, the ejector may need adjustment but the adjustment is good for life. My personal 15-22 has approximately 25,000 rounds through it and will function on any ammo I put through it. Except for a batch of bad ammo that was poorly primed, it has never failed. I am running a CMC trigger, not all aftermarket triggers will work, it takes a harder strike to set off a rimfire round. The McFadden mag loader is a necessity, it will easily load the magazines and keeps the rims staggered properly to avoid rim lock.

 

[wmgeorge]

Picked up my new HK 416 22 LR at Bass Pro shops yesterday. Checked it out and oiled today, very nice build job. Fired two test rounds in my back yard, two shots touching on the plywood backstop using Winchester HV bulk pack from BPS. Out to the range next week to sight in. BTW I found the trigger crisp and a little hard but with only 2 rounds it can only get better.