I am going to purchase my first M&P rifle, Need suggestions

You have to give us a little more to work with, like features wanted, or price range...

That's what I'm asking ,I want suggestions on the best one

There is no "best one".... it depends on what you want. They have different configurations for different use.

But if you just want the "best", then you must mean most expensive. Get the VTAC II. That is the top of the line, so it is the best.

I was simply asking for help,I don't know what are the best features are,Thats why I was asking for help in deciding
Thanks for your input

Ok, let's try it this way...

How much money do you want to spend? What is your budget?

Ok,lets leave it at this,I was looking at the M&P15

Do you realize how many different models of the M&P 15 there are? With no info, you may as well be asking us "What Ford should I buy?"

You have to share a little more info for someone to be able to help you... I'm done, good luck.

Get yourself a DPMS oracle. Comes with more **** than a M&P. Haven't had a single malfunction since I've owned it. And it's cheaper.

Cyphertext was trying to help. It is hard to steer you towards the right model S&W AR if we do not know what you want feature wise.

Some people like carbine length direct impingement gas systems, some like mid length and others like rifle length.

Some want a barrel that has 1:8 twist with 5R rifling and others don't care about the twist or rifling.

Some want a carry handle, others want a flat top.

Some want all Magpul furniture, others don't care one way or another.

I would suggest doing some reading on AR's and find out what exactly you want on it. There are tons of different features that you can get. If you want just a economically priced, reliable AR that goes boom every time you pull the trigger, get the M&P 15 Sport. Tons of people have them and love them. If you have a specific purpose for the AR like shooting 3 gun matches, then look at one that will be better suited for that. My first "real" AR (I don't count my S&W 15-22 as a real AR) was the S&W VTAC II. I had a list of wants and it fulfilled the list the best.

So I think you might need to do some research and figure out what you want from an AR. We then will be able to better help you.

If only S&W would get into the AK game!

M&P AK?! Hell yea!

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Molon Labe!

Would an American made AK be mil-spec?

Thank you all for your information
I Think Ill just stick with my handguns

Lol....NO THANKS there are plenty of sub par US AKs

I wouldn't give up so quick. The guys on this forum have a lot of AR knowledge, just ask the questions after reading a few days of the different AR post on this forum and others.
I'm sure you wouldn't say " I want a pickup truck, tell me what to buy"? Give it some patience are read. Flat top, Scope, Irons, floating barrel.

Garbage In/Garbage Out

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/user/nutnfancy

He will tell you what you need. Seeing as you can't be bothered to decide by yourself.

[B]rand new forum member here. I must say the tone of some of the replies were ,Well never mind.

I was facing your decision four years ago. I was currently without an AR. I have owned a few that were heavy barrel target models one with a removable carry handle. I was looking for a lighter more compact rifle.

I went with the M&P OR (optical Ready) that has a rail milled into the upper and no sights. It has a 16 inch barrel in a 1 in 9 twist and the collapsible rear stock. The barrel is chrome lined. The accuracy with this rifle has exceeded my expectations by a large margin. I have EO Tech sight and a Nikon scope that I shoot it with.

It is the least picky .223 / 5.56 I have ever seen. It shoots Mil Spec ammo and commercial in bullet weights without a single one up to 68 grains that does not group very well. I have loaded bullets as light as 40 grains but I mostly shoot 52 grain match and 55 grain soft points. They all do well.

So far I have resisted the temptation to load her down with every option known to man. Thus it is still what I was looking for a light handy rifle that shoots very well and will cycle without a hitch as long as I clean her from time to time.

I think your looking in the right place. My M&P shoots better than many of my friends rifles at twice the price. S&W does not make a firearm that is not able to perform as advertised. Their prices are quite reasonable as long as you look around a little. Good luck with you decision. I use a scope quite often thus I prefer no iron sights. Geo. T. [/B

GeoT I just got back from my local gunshop and actually looked at the OR as well as the sport
I just want one to shoot for fun and no way interested in contest competition

See, that wasn't so hard. You want one for fun. Get a Sport, economically priced, all the features you need, nothing you don't. Spare mags and lots of ammo, everything else you'll figure out once you pull the trigger.

Good Luck and good shooting.

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SFC, US Army, Retired

I'm with gunny4053. Since you are looking for a piece to have some fun with, go with the Sport. Get familiar with the platform and decide from there if you want more or are happy with what you have.

Ok, so you have narrowed it down a little more and now we know what you want it for and a price range...

Between those two models, the differences are...

1. The OR has a forward assist and ejection port cover, the Sport does not. This does not matter one bit for range and sporting use, and is debatable for other uses... however, if you want your rifle to look like GI Joe's, the Sport is out (without modification).

2. The Sport comes with sights, the OR does not. You can shoot the Sport right out of the box, the OR requires you to purchase sights or some type of optic. If you plan to add a scope and shoot from the bench, you may prefer the OR, since it does not have the fixed front sight tower, but with a 4x magnification or higher you won't see the front sight in the scope.

3. The hand guards in the OR have heat shields, the Sport does not.

4. The OR has a chrome lined barrel, the Sport has a salt nitride bath treated barrel. Bottom line, both have treatment to protect from corrosion and increased barrel life over a non-treated barrel.

5. The Sport has a fixed, enlarged trigger guard that is integral to the lower, the OR has the standard, hinged straight guard that can be changed.

Both have collapsible stock, railed receiver, 1:9 twist barrels made from the same type of steel...

Out of those two, which one would I go with? The cheaper one... but include money for sights, unless you are going to use optics only. Anything, outside of adding the ejection port cover and forward assist to the Sport, can be easily changed to your liking.

In the scheme of things, the extra 400 or 500 you spend on the gun is minimal compared to the ammo youll burn through. Ill never buy the sport because i want he dust cover. FA i dont care, just seems unnatursl without dust cover

Why does it seem unnatural without a ejection port cover? How many other semi auto firearms do you have that have one?

It's funny that you say this. On my VTAC II I have a dust cover and I never use it. Not a whole lotta dust in the Midwest. And I have only used my forward assist once. ( I pulled back the BCG slightly to make sure that there was a round in the barrel, Used the FA to bring it back to battery. )

Get a Sport, be done with it.

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Still carrying my S&W 642

I have noticed the trend has been to heavy over accessorized unrealistic foolishness.
Lights, lasers , scopes , the list goes on.
Go look at the availability in your price range and shoulder the weapon.
See what it feels like.
The last AR type I got SR 5.56 had 3 plus pounds of junk hung on it.
Now it has an electronic Eotech knock off scope and that is it.
The weapon is still heavier than my ols SP 1 Colt.
If you want a 10 pound gun get an HK 91 and make the weight be worth it.
All in all if you can not get on target you will not make the shot.
Time and balance matter.
PS

Nothing fits me better than my 99 .300 Savage.

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Have a blessed day ,
Bull

I'm primarily a revolver person also as far as S&Ws. Like you I wanted a good AR just for range use but wanted a quality firearm. I first bought an AR assembled from revived milsurp M16 parts with a new barrel on an AR15 lower receiver so it was legal. Not a very quality firearm due to the new parts. I sold that and bought a M&P Sport. There is a world of difference between something assembled and an AR designed so as to function as one unit. For range and fun use you won't miss the ejection port cover or forward assist (if the bolt won't close on a round forcing the round in the chamber can result in another problem, IMO. Just eject the bad round and chamber another).

Regardless of the money the Sport is a reliable and accurate gun. Keep using the iron sights it comes with until you decide if you want optics or a different iron sight option.

I've only made two changes to my Sport in 3 years. I changed the original rear sight for an adjustable A2 style sight and put on handguards with built in heat shields. Otherwise it looks the same, has stayed lightweight and fun to shoot.

Consider getting one with a free float handguard like a quad rail or Keymod. This will allow you to have a folding front sight and chose from an array of different grips, lights, sling mounts and other things.

If you don't know anything about ARs, I'd spend some time at a range talking to guys about their ARs. Much better to get a idea of what you want.

I have not kept up with what S&W makes in the way of AR's but I will give you my 2 cents about AR's in general.

1. Barrel weight/thickness. For a general purpose or Combat style short AR----it is ridiculous for an AR or any 223 to weigh almost as much as a 308, hence, the thin barrels are best or the semi thin barrels like on the commandos (see the cut for the 203) is ok. RRA made an elite ops that was a neat gun but it had a thick barrel---gun was heavy so to me it was a waist of the rest of the components.

2. Flat-top. This is the way to go. You can put the holographics or a scope real easy and makes the AR a much better machine. I only hate it that so many maker leave that old style high front sight on it.---so.

3. Front sight block. What I would desire is to have a gas block with the picatinny slots that are even with the receiver picatinny so you can utilize flip up back-up iron sights. Put the sights on the gun and have them if your scope or holographic goes bad. Unfortunately--finding a model with the appropriate gas block and NOT the old 16 style triangle high front sight may be a chore. I saw where Wyndum had a short AR with an appropriate gas block---but I have not noticed anyone else with such gas block except RRA--- but--- RRA will not use the skinny light barrel.

4. Gas impingement. This piston hoopla is ---I believe---just unnecessary. If you get piston type----it will be particular to THAT MAKE. If your need repair and "xyz" company is gone or out of parts or they cost as much as the original purchase price of the whole rifle---well, you get the picture. Standard AR gas system will always be easier to fix or replace---and it works just fine.

IMHO.

Good Luck.

I have faith that eventually someone over here will get it right.

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Molon Labe!

No as long as they keep looking at a financial Hipoint

Sometimes it comes down to what's available, get it at a good price and modify it...

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Mike Wenzel
Oklahoma City

An M&P 15 Sport would be a nice entry AR without a dust cover or FA but I would look at Delton or Core offerings before commiting. Another consideration is that most AR owners find themselves swapping out parts (ie. BCG, charging handle, trigger, etc.) and furniture (ie. grip, handguards, stock,) so figure that into the price if you buy an AR off the rack and are considering making any immediate upgrades. My suggestion is to determine what you want and build/assemble one to your specifications. There are always some great sales to be found on AR parts and kits around the holidays.

IMO this is ^ is why the Sport makes sense also. Except for the bolt carrier group (BCG), S&W used inexpensive but serviceable parts for those that Chuckles mentions above. These are the parts that are easy to change out and people change them. However, the core parts, barrel, upper receiver, lower receiver, are all high quality parts and where S&W put the money. If you're new to ARs you probably don't know what grip or foreend or sighting system you prefer. You can shoot the Sport out of the box without having to spend any additional money for sights, grips etc. And I suggest that is what someone new to ARs do-shoot it, get to know the rifle and how ARs function. Then, after some time you'll find the parts you want to change. Maybe you find you don't like the standard milspec A2 grip that comes on the Sport. Fine, you're only changing out a $5 part not a $40 or $50 part on a rifle that starts with a more expensive grip.

In my case I changed the rear sight for a more adjustable one and changed the handguards for ones that look the same, but have heatshields. The handguards seem to be one of the first parts replaced on any AR. I found my replacements used for $10 at a LGS.

I think a VTAC will be my next purchase after another AK. I just think the dust cover looks funny missing, ive heard that you dont really even need it in the US. Either way, i want it. The FA ive probably used sometimes, but it couldve also been solved by using the charging handle so the FA isnt a dealbreaker. Dust cover is.

I ordered my sport today should have it monday
Thank you all for your help I appreciate it greatly

Congrats... Enjoy.

GO WITH THE SPORT CANT GO WRONG THEN BUILD FROM THERE

It's well past Monday, did you get it yet?

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Rod
M&P 22A, 40c, 15A, 15-22

It's called doing your home work. Sounds like your running to the gunshop today. Don't buy on impluse like me, I would have gotten a competition model with long barrel. Take a breath relax.

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Fear is the thief of dreams.