I just order one, should be here in a week or two. I was wondering what brands and flavor of ammo would be recommended to break in?

With my Ruger Mark IV, I used CCI mini-mags to break in, but they are hard to find right now (and expensive).

Should it be a standard velocity or high velocity round?

I have:

• Federal Automatch 40gr 1200 fps lead,
• Aguila Super Extra High Velocity 40 gr 1255 copper plated,
• Winchester HP 36gr 1280 fps copper plated (which I have not tried at all yet),
• and a lot of Federal Range Pack 40gr 1200 fps lead (only used a bit in Mark IV and had a few failures).

Thanks!

i have a couple, i just load it up with whatever is ling around, shoots great. my newist is about two weeks old, shoot everything ,no problem. have fun...........

I chose to start out with Mini-Mags but found mine will eat anything.
I have had mine for several weeks now. I have shot Mini-Mags, Aguila, Blazer without any issue at first to break it in. I even shot some bulk Federal Target and Golden Bullets with zero issues. So far this thing eats anything. I love my S&W 15-22 and very happy with it. Good luck with yours.

CCI's and Blazer are my rimfire of choice for testing and I order monthly when they are in stock.
Shop products in Rimfire today | CCI Ammunition

Clean it, lube it, shoot it. If it's operating like it's supposed too it should eat everything you feed it. SV/HV/HP/RN, etc. Mine does. Even SS ammo will function mine properly.

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SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

Mine runs everything standard velocity and up. No break in required! Personally I prefer to shoot CCI standard or CCI Blazers, however I got some Remington Thunderbolts that are running very well in my .22’s (not something I’ve always been able to say).


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Whatever you can get the cheapest.
Working the action thousands
Of times while you are watching TV or somethjngnis chesp break-in.

ANY......22LR.

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S&W Accumulator

Thanks everyone! I was concerned that it would be picky, like some 22 pistols are.

Wow! It came in today! I took it apart a bit at the store. The bolt was clean, but seemed pretty dry. I didn't see any lubrication or protectant on it.

I'll read the book (yeah, I'm anal), give a quick cleaning and lube (gun shop suggested just wipe down with oil and then wipe off any excess), and start sighting it in and playing with it this weekend.

Open to any tips on cleaning after range time, though. Plan is to use bore brush with CLP for barrel, and then clean bolt area with nylon toothbrush and CLP.

I can't wait to try it out!

No need to scrub the bejesus out of the bore. A patch or two or a bore snake will do it. Use a .243 brass bore brush in the chamber to keep any carbon ring from building up. Just keep the bolt and all corresponding contact points clean and lubed. You can use a small brush and/or compressed air to clean out the trigger group if/when needed. Just be careful not to bend the extractor when cleaning.

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SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

I do have a bore snake for .22 that I can use to clean the barrel (Bore Boss, I think).

Interesting idea with compressed air. Never thought of doing that. Thanks!

I went to the range Saturday to break in a bit and try to setup the iron sights.

There was concern with the trigger on reset. With my friends M&P, there is a distinct click and feel, when the trigger resets. On mine, as I release the trigger, in a short distance, there is a small click and feel of the trigger, but it is not reset. Continuing the release, there is a louder and distinct click on the trigger and it is then reset. Seems rather odd to both of us.

Also, I didn't have some of the "good" ammo with me, but had some Federal Range Pack (I have some CCI SV on order, to use for break-in).

It worked fairly well, but out of 200 rounds there were probably three cases where the round didn't feed. Removing the magazine, the top round was not at the top of the feed lips, and was down a bit. No way the bolt could chamber it. This was in the middle of the mag, for a fully loaded mag. Not sure if it is the ammo, or just the new magazine.

Any insights on these? I was going to take the rifle to the gun store to see what they thought, before contacting S&W.

Geeez, don't be so picky/panicky!! No need to take it back, call S&W, or anything else. Regardless what semi-auto rimfire you have, how expensive it is, and/or what ammo you feed it, you are going to encounter some type of malfunction eventually. Just as long as it's not happening all the time, like every other shot or something. Give it some time to break-in and make sure you're loading the mags properly. If you drop a round in the 15-22 mag crooked it will not feed properly.

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SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

I’m not too concerned about the feeding, and it could very well be that I didn’t load them well (I’m more used to loading pistol mags). But, I am concerned about the trigger feel. It is considerably different than the two other M&P 15-22s that I have shot (from friends, with in modified triggers).

It was for that reason that I want to inquire at the gun store (which has a gunsmith)…to see if worth pursuing with S&W, or whether it needs time to break in. My friend, who is very experienced with rifles and with this M&P also thought the trigger was unusual.

You pull the trigger and the gun fires. The action cycles. You release the trigger and it re-sets. Pull the trigger again and it fires, again. It's working. It's a basic stock AR trigger group. Knock out the 2 pins, drop the parts out (trigger & Spring, hammer & spring, & disconnector and look them over if you want. Put it back together and see if it's any better. Sounds to me like it's doing what it's supposed to do, though.

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SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

One thing about 15-22, you should keep it clean. I do a thorough cleaning about every other trip to the range. Otherwise, you'll get feeding and ejection problems. It's not a Ruger 10.22 that you can shoot and forget.

But if it is clean, it runs on any high velocity ammo I've fed it.

Good advice on loading 15-22 magazines. A number of posts in the past have addressed this. Don't hold the button all the way down and drop them in. Pull down on the button and load one at a time. The bullets will look "crooked" in the magazine but that is how it is supposed to be. Took mine to the range today. After 7 years it runs flawlessly!

Breaking in an OTC .22 is the equivalent of breaking in a Yugo or non-powered push mower..

Took it to the gun store, and one of the gunsmiths to a quick look and said that the reset is definitely odd. They want too take a closer look and will let me know whether I just need to keep breaking it in, if there is something they can do, or if it should go to S&W.

They looked closer and said the trigger is functioning correctly. The owner mentioned that some triggers are very crisp and some are gritty and rough, especially with inexpensive 22s (they deal mostly with custom built ARs).

They suggested to continue to break it in, and if it persists to cause me concern, I could call S&W and see if they will do anything, or I can have them replace the trigger with a nicer one.

That was enough info to satisfy me. Being my first rifle, and never having experienced that type of trigger performance in pistols I shoot, I was concerned that there may have been a defect in the trigger.

Looks like it is what it is, and I need to just break it in and see how I like it. Making changes in the future, if I want a better feel, or want to improve the trigger performance.

Just having them check it quickly, was enough to give me peace of mind.

I'm hoping to, someday, learn how to fully takedown and better understand all the internals, so that I could check this out myself. Right now, I'm at the "field strip" level with rifles.

I'm sure this is old hat to those who have experience with numerous AR style rifles.

Appreciate the comments and suggestions folks!

IMHO, any machine is a collection of parts...

Nearly all of them tend to improve with said parts
working together as a team.

Now, why would that be... cause, ANY manufacturer
cannot spend hours with each and every rifle coming
off the line.

And I do NOT want to spend a premium for a factory
to go for perfection.

They make a product that works fine, nearly always,
and produce it.

I personally do not believe that S&W let anyone down,
but there may always be the occasional unit that they
need to fix.

I am satisfied with the 15-22, but certainly know that
the rimfire round is by design not perfect.

I have had trash bulk bullets shoot 100's of rounds
perfect, and also CCI's goof up. It's not the magazines,
but seemingly perhaps flawed loading from what I have
seen.

So, my opinion is to... let it AND you just go shoot
the thing and get to know one another.

The lack of perfection of the .22LR Will make you
a better gun owner on many levels.

Just a quick update on breaking in the M&P 15-22...

I ran 200 rounds of CCI standard velocity, while I was also adjusting the sights and practicing shooting standing at 25 yards. I had picked up two more magazines and was alternating, with about 50 rounds per mag.

I had one double feed, and then later on, two stove pipes.

After that, I ran about 100 Federal Range Pack rounds. No issues seen this time (before I had failure to feed - round not at top of mag).

I did spend more attention to loading the magazine carefully.

The trigger seems a little better, but still pretty rough. I didn't even try to check the reset, which was previously very odd (click/bump, then further release gave a larger click and real reset).

Plan is to keep putting rounds through it and see if the trigger feels better over time.

I may try some of the Aguila Super Extra rounds I have, and I finally found some CCI mini-mags and have ordered them.

Do you work the action dry or with lubricant?

The Ruger 10/22 fans recommend polishing the bolt and the underside of the slide cover. Would polishing the action be an effective alternative to working the action?

Is hyper-velocity ammo safe to use in the 15-22?

And would its recoil better simulate the .223/5.56 than standard or high velocity ammo?

Althiugh both are .22 semi-auto rimfires, the Ruger 10-22 and M&P 15-22 are two different kinds of animals. Polishing the action parts on a 10-22, along with the inside of the upper does help smooth up the function of the action. On a 15-22, not so much. You're better off keeping the 15-22 clean and PROPERLY lubed.

HV ammo is just fine in a 15-22. It won't hurt a thing. But still not even close to the (albeit mild) recoil of 5.56/.223 centerfire ammo.

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SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

Another update on ammo and break-in...

Tried out the M&P 15-22 at a Steel Challenge event. Had a blast, and learned quite a bit from shooting and talking to others, who were giving me tips.

I was using the stock rifle with iron sights and was really happy about accuracy. I was slow, pausing at each target to ensure I heard the hit, but as I build confidence, I'm sure I'll get smoother and not wait for the hit. It took a bit to get used to getting a quick site picture (initially, I didn't have the butt up high enough, near my cheek), and I have a lot more things to work on, but I was really happy (and surprised how I did). I really expected to get a "D" everywhere, but ended up with a "C" on four stages and a "D" on three (outer limits, which I don't do much, 5 to go, and pendulum - the expected tougher stages, to me at least). Not I have a baseline to work off of, for each event.


On the first stage, I tried the CCI Standard Velocity rounds and had two double feeds. Switched to the Aguila Super Extra and had not issues the rest of the match.

I have some CCI mini-mags on order, and will try them out. It looks like I need high velocity ammo with that rifle, at least for competition.

I'll have to try the Federal Range pack ammo (not during matches) more to see if it works reliably.

I tried CCI SV in my Ruger Mark IV, the day before, and had some jams as well. Mini mags, Federal Automatch, Aguila, all seem to work fine on that pistol.

I have the same type of trigger reset with my 15-22 and it doesn't bother me. Mine does seem to be picky with ammo. I can't shoot hollow points in mine without a FTF. I shoot round nose 40 gr with no problems. Standard or high velocity work equally well.

I'd just shoot it with whatever ammo I had lying around.

The 15-22 is my most used rifle by a long shot. It runs 100% on any ammo I put in the magazine including Armscor SV, the nastiest 22 ammo on the planet.
I have replaced the stock trigger with a CMC 3.5 # drop in unit. 15-22’s won’t fire reliably with some aftermarket triggers and especially the light pull spring kits that work well in center fire ARs.

It doesn’t really “bother” me, but is noticeable, when I try to hold and then release until reset. Different than two others I have tried.

CCI mini mags work well so far - trying to use those for matches.
Had a few double feeds and stove pipes with CCI standard velocity per 100 or so.
Aguila Super Extra work pretty well, only a failure every 200 rounds or so.
Federal range pack has a failure every 50-100 initially, but after having shot 2000-3000 rounds of different types, it does seem to be getting better.

Not as reliable with ammo, as my Mark IV though.

That really great for you. It’s nice when one has confidence on the ammo. Did you have that performance from the get go, after a break in, or after the trigger swap?

A double feed is a magazine issue.

I'll bet you're having extraction problems. 15-22 is picky on ammo. Run high velocity, clean frequently, scrub the chamber, generous lube with light oil such as CLP.

You're reading too much online. Like any .22, buy the cheapest Hi Vel stuff you can find, and plug away Brother!