I purchased a new S&W M&P 15R upper (5.45x39) a few weeks ago. Completed a build with this upper using a Spikes Tactical lower. It turned out very nicely I think. Before I get into the issue with this upper let me state that I am a loyal S&W owner and big fan of their products of which I own 6 handguns along with this upper. So this is in no way a "bash" against S&W. I am also a very experienced AR shooter and have built "assembled" several rifles over the years.
The first time out with the rifle (upper and complete rifle thoroughly cleaned and lubed) a round (Russian span can ammo) steel cased jammed in the breech and the bolt was locked up tight and would not budge. This was after about 70 rounds (no issues to that point). I took the rifle home and removed the upper after first trying every trick (including mortaring) the rifle to get the bolt to unlock. NO GO…I worked on it for a couple hours at my bench and came to the conclusion that taking the barrel off was the only way to "fix" this problem. But since its a brand new upper I decided to ship it back to S&W. Which I did and they picked up shipping it back on their dime, very good. OK, we all know things happen when you own as many firearms as I do, its part of the "joys" of ownership from time to time. The upper came back to me in about 10 days. With the upper was no paper work stating what repairs were done to the upper......nothing, zero on the order sheet..... I contacted Paul by e mail at S&W who I had been corresponding with earlier and who handled the return of the upper. I asked him to please find out what repairs or parts if any were replaced.
My first e mail:
Hi Paul
I received my S&W M&P15R (5.45x39) upper today that I had sent in. The enclosed order sheet did not have any explanation of what repairs were made to the upper. Can you let me know specifically what work was performed?
Had no response for 5 days so I e mailed him again:
Hi Paul,
Have you been able to get any info on this issue for me? I have been reading other reports on the S&W and AR15 forums (I am a member and moderator) of other owners with similar problems with the S&W M&P15R and I am concerned about this and what steps can be done/tried to prevent bolt lockup. Can you please get back to me on this issue.
Thanks for your help
Paul got back to me that day, his response:
We have made changes to the design to help with this, yours was gone through. The 5.45 caliber does not have a good grade of ammo to pick from for optimal functioning.
My response to his e mail:
Paul,
Thanks for the response but I need more details please. I am a very experienced AR shooter in general and I understand that steel cased ammo may be part of the issue but almost everyone including myself who buys this AR or upper in 5.45x39 buys it to shoot the less expensive ammo. That's the whole point of the 5.45x39 caliber as you know. Please let me know what exact repairs or modification were made to my individual upper. A lot of owners of the 5.45x39 rifles or uppers are concerned about this and want to know what S&W is doing concerning this issue. Please give me as much detail as possible.
Pauls e mail response:
We changed out the barrel to correct the issue.
My response to this e mail:
Paul,
I do not believe the barrel was changed out. I had replaced the OEM flash hidder on this barrel and the barrel has the same useage marks (scuffs) on the barrel. The barrel sent back to me also had excess fouling from the 70 rounds of Russian Steel case ammo I fired in the upper before this issue happened. This barrel was not replaced IMO.
Please call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx to discuss this issue.
Thanks
So, where to go form here....I guess I will move up the management ladder a rung or two and see if I can get some answers, which is all I am looking for here. I just want a safe rifle. I have several others AR's but I wanted the 5.45x39 caliber option. These rifles/upper in 5.45x39 where made to use the inexpensive steel cased ammo and that's how S&W advertised these rifles. Some other M&P15r owners on the AR15.com site have had this same issue it seems and also are looking for S&W to come clean about this issue. I do have to say I am a bit perplexed at this point but I will just keep going forward looking for a legit and helpful response on this issue. I don't think thats asking to much.