Snarlbuckle
07-05-2010, 02:37 AM
A recent "stimulus package" resulted in "stimulating my economy". And by that I mean I recently picked up a gently used Smith and Wesson M+P 15-22! I had the chance today to put it through its paces, and now it's time to tell you guys all about it.
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/swmp22.jpg
The M+P 15-22 is a .22lr version of the Smith and Wesson M+P 15 (essentially an AR-15). All of the controls and handling surfaces are identical to the .223 version. However, this is no conversion kit. instead of a bolt carrier assembly, there is a proprietary .22lr bolt. There is no gas tube and there are no locking lugs. It has a recoil action, not gas operation. The only thing delaying the breech from opening too early seems to be the mass of the bolt itself. Luckily .22lr is a fairly low pressure round with minimal recoil, so I haven't had any problems yet. The upper and lower receivers closely resemble that of an AR-15, but they are made of 'polymers' and are not interchangeable with other AR uppers and lowers. All of the polymer makes the gun really light. The Fire Control Group however is authentic, though the trigger pull is a bit heavy (5-6lbs.) Some say that the stock is interchangeable too, but the buffer tube is permanent so I'm not sure what stocks would fit.
A bit of research told me that it is a fairly accurate rifle, so I decided to test that theory out for myself. I mounted an old 3-9x40mm pellet gun scope and a harris bipod from walmart on to the gun for initial accuracy testing. That is one of the beauties of this gun, it is covered in rails, so you can mount all the tacticool stuff you want on there and test it out before it touches your real AR-15.
For ammo, I had a 550 round box of high velocity remington 36gr jacketed hollowpoints. I also had a couple 50 round boxes of 40gr high velocity Federal Premium lead round nose. I'm not used to bullets that are so light, so I suspected that wind would ruin my accuracy.
It was a hot, muggy day with almost no wind at all. It felt miserable, but the bullets sure liked it. I started by sighting in the rifle at 50 yards. After a bit of fine tuning, it was making a ragged hole. Considering that the bullets are so small, I was impressed that they were so close together. I threw a few rounds toward the dirt at 100 yards just to see if the bullets were staying level with my crosshairs, and the results were consistent puffs of dirt right where I wanted them.
This seemed too easy, so I decided to go for something a little harder...
Do you see that little black spot down and a little left of my crosshairs in the picture? That's a steel plate the size of a sheet of paper about 300 yards away and the scope is set to 9 power. I wasn't sure the .22lr bullets would even hit it, but I gave it a shot. *pop* ... *puff* There was a small puff of dirt almost at the very bottom of my field of view. A few more shots confirmed the location, so I angled up to compensate. *puff* *poof* *puff*. I know it's not scientific, but I could see the puffs of dirt as I fired and I kept adjusting until they disappeared into the steel plate. I couldn't confirm that the shots were actually hitting the plate, but every time I moved over to the side a puff of dirt would appear along with me. I switched from the lighter hollowpoints to the heavier and probably more stable lead round nose ammo. This time, I heard a slight plink after the shot! That was good enough for me. As far as I can tell, this used rifle was consitently hitting a head sized target at 300 yards with about 10 feet of bullet drop!
Guys, if you want a very capable AR to play with while saving a boat load of money on ammo, this is it! The gun is more accurate than you'll ever need, even with the cheapest ammo I could get my hands on. It's controls are exactly like that of a real AR-15, and you can mount all of your can openers and other tacticool gadgets on there just for giggles.
EDIT: What better way to spend Independence Day than to exercise the freedoms we've been given?
http://230grain.com/images/rsrh/swmp22.jpg
The M+P 15-22 is a .22lr version of the Smith and Wesson M+P 15 (essentially an AR-15). All of the controls and handling surfaces are identical to the .223 version. However, this is no conversion kit. instead of a bolt carrier assembly, there is a proprietary .22lr bolt. There is no gas tube and there are no locking lugs. It has a recoil action, not gas operation. The only thing delaying the breech from opening too early seems to be the mass of the bolt itself. Luckily .22lr is a fairly low pressure round with minimal recoil, so I haven't had any problems yet. The upper and lower receivers closely resemble that of an AR-15, but they are made of 'polymers' and are not interchangeable with other AR uppers and lowers. All of the polymer makes the gun really light. The Fire Control Group however is authentic, though the trigger pull is a bit heavy (5-6lbs.) Some say that the stock is interchangeable too, but the buffer tube is permanent so I'm not sure what stocks would fit.
A bit of research told me that it is a fairly accurate rifle, so I decided to test that theory out for myself. I mounted an old 3-9x40mm pellet gun scope and a harris bipod from walmart on to the gun for initial accuracy testing. That is one of the beauties of this gun, it is covered in rails, so you can mount all the tacticool stuff you want on there and test it out before it touches your real AR-15.
For ammo, I had a 550 round box of high velocity remington 36gr jacketed hollowpoints. I also had a couple 50 round boxes of 40gr high velocity Federal Premium lead round nose. I'm not used to bullets that are so light, so I suspected that wind would ruin my accuracy.
It was a hot, muggy day with almost no wind at all. It felt miserable, but the bullets sure liked it. I started by sighting in the rifle at 50 yards. After a bit of fine tuning, it was making a ragged hole. Considering that the bullets are so small, I was impressed that they were so close together. I threw a few rounds toward the dirt at 100 yards just to see if the bullets were staying level with my crosshairs, and the results were consistent puffs of dirt right where I wanted them.
This seemed too easy, so I decided to go for something a little harder...
Do you see that little black spot down and a little left of my crosshairs in the picture? That's a steel plate the size of a sheet of paper about 300 yards away and the scope is set to 9 power. I wasn't sure the .22lr bullets would even hit it, but I gave it a shot. *pop* ... *puff* There was a small puff of dirt almost at the very bottom of my field of view. A few more shots confirmed the location, so I angled up to compensate. *puff* *poof* *puff*. I know it's not scientific, but I could see the puffs of dirt as I fired and I kept adjusting until they disappeared into the steel plate. I couldn't confirm that the shots were actually hitting the plate, but every time I moved over to the side a puff of dirt would appear along with me. I switched from the lighter hollowpoints to the heavier and probably more stable lead round nose ammo. This time, I heard a slight plink after the shot! That was good enough for me. As far as I can tell, this used rifle was consitently hitting a head sized target at 300 yards with about 10 feet of bullet drop!
Guys, if you want a very capable AR to play with while saving a boat load of money on ammo, this is it! The gun is more accurate than you'll ever need, even with the cheapest ammo I could get my hands on. It's controls are exactly like that of a real AR-15, and you can mount all of your can openers and other tacticool gadgets on there just for giggles.
EDIT: What better way to spend Independence Day than to exercise the freedoms we've been given?