Florida Shooters Network

After some consideration, I purchased a new Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 yesterday. (Model 811033)
Today I got to play with it! Here’s my report.

Began by removing the bolt, wiping it down with a gun rag & reinstalling. Quick function test and all is good. Also dabbed a little orange paint on the front post.

Ammo used was Federal Champion 525-Round Value Pack, 36-grain copper plated hollow point.

Right off the bat I had a failure to feed, likely due to my loading the last cartridge incorrectly. (Topping off the magazine requires finesse.) However, when I drew and released the charging handle, the cartridge did not eject. I assumed that it had gone into battery. What I would later discover is that the cartridge was resting against the bolt and, when I worked the action, it allowed the cartridge to drop back into the trigger group. A minor design flaw, IMO.

Trigger pull is firm, but crisp and clean. I had about a dozen occasions where the trigger did not reset, requiring a flick from the rear to fire the next round. I was not able to duplicate this with the trigger group exposed. Perhaps a little debris got in there while that cartridge was rattling around inside there. I’ll give it a little brushing and keep an eye on it.
One more thing on the trigger… Nutnfancy says that the 15-22 will accept aftermarket AR trigger groups. I haven’t verified this, but what a great feature for AR aficionados!

Through all 500-odd shots I had two failure-to-fire. I caught both cartridges and both were dimpled. I did not notice much difference between the marks on the failed cartridges and those on fired ones, so I chock it up to the ammo. (See photos.)

I am not one to check “accuracy” and don’t shoot as well as most guns are capable of anyway. I found no problem staying on 8” targets at about 100’, even during rapid fire. So, for my purposes, it’s accurate enough.

Aside from the first failure-to-feed (likely my fault) and the trigger issues (also likely my fault) I had no malfunctions with this firearm. It operates well, feels solid and is great fun to shoot. It’s also insanely easy to field-strip for cleaning! One takedown pin, fold lower receiver down and the bolt slides right out! The takedown pin also stays attached so there’s no chance of losing it.

I had considered several “tactical 22s” before settling on the M&P 15-22. What I found was that it was better to spend the extra money to purchase a “functional copy” of an AR-15 than to save money on a cheap plinker with plastic covers. The Mossberg and Ruger offerings look cool from a distance, but the M&P 15-22 is cool up close & personal!

Interesting range report!

I bought one of these about a month ago and took it out once. Approx 250 rounds and not one single problem.

The one time I THOUGHT there was a problem was during the second shot of the first mag, it simply has so little recoil that I thought it didn't fire, but it did based on round count (haha)...

Hope you don't have some type of a lemon. Good luck!!

about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on!

I would love to see a range report with a slide fire stock

Congrats on the M&P. The idea of a .22 AR is a great one. About 2 years ago, i bought a couple of Ciener conversion kits for my son and I to use and cut down on range expenses. They worked good, but accuracy and carbon build up made me think further. I recently picked up a CMMG .22lr barrel and DPMS LoPro upper receiver (No forward assist or dust cover) from Brownells and set out to build a dedicated .22 upper. Minus the cost of the Ciener, I have about $250 in the upper.

I just broke mine.. Out and about, tripped up and broke the damn upper lugs off the receiver... The lugs are still in the lower receivers pins.. So much for the polymer strength, but it's been a blast! Shell be going off to S&W this week.

Pizzim wrote:I would love to see a range report with a slide fire stock

it will not work, there is nothing to recoil against

There are videos on youtube showing in in action but im with you rent, im thinking they had to tweek something to get it to rip with no recoil

G34man and I talked about it at the Miami shoot, cause I had the .22 conversion in my gun and wanted to know if it would work, I didn't try it, but I guess he had, maybe he'll drop in , what ammo on the youtube vid's, I don't know of anyone burning through CCI just to make a Slide fire work

Dick wrote:I just broke mine.. Out and about, tripped up and broke the damn upper lugs off the receiver... The lugs are still in the lower receivers pins.. So much for the polymer strength, but it's been a blast! Shell be going off to S&W this week.

Ahh, so it's another plastic copy...go figure. Have no fear S&W will take care of it as their CS is generally very good.