Hi. I haven't bought one yet but I'd like some honest actual owners opinion on finish, durability, reliability and accuracy.

It is a well made, basic AR15. Nothing terrible about it or fantastic. It will give you years of dependable service, just like any other name brand basic AR will.

I am planning on the Sport as well! Staying with a name brand you can not go wrong ! The Ruger AR556 is also good a little cheaper BUT I have read a few minor issue with it and I am sure some Sports will have a minor issue as well.BUT from all I read I favor the Sport and S&W warranty is lifetime and S&W has great Customer Service ! Do not expect a Sport AR as good as a 1500 $ AR if fit and finish. But it will be fine for bagging Zombies when they attack lol

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9mm Shield

I have had my M&P-15 Sport II for less than 6 months and feel it is a great deal for the price and I found it is blast to take to the range and punch holes in paper. It does not have the accuracy of a higher end AR but is more that accurate enough for my needs. This is my first AR and I have always been a bolt action rifle shooter but with the direction our government is heading I wanted to get a AR to add to my safe before they move to not allow us to purchase them. So me I was looking for a low coat AR that would not break the bank and the M&P-15 Sport II filled that bill perfectly. My only other advice is think hard are you good the M&P-15 configuration as far as fore grip etc. if you feel you want a different in which you would need to change gas block to change to a different fore grip I would advice save your dollars and get a higher end AR they way you want it.

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RJ Near

Yeah I was also looking at the RUGER 556 but then I read a review about the Bolt Carrier being cut out right where the firing pin is located. The review said that the pin holding it in place was known to bend because of no additional support site I disregarded the 556.

I have a higher end Colt that I really love but wanted another AR "just for fun" and the Sport II fits that perfectly. I put a Magpul ACS stock and Hogue rubber finger groove grip on it ($100 extra) and will leave it open sights.

We've (my wife, daughter, son, his GF, etc) put 1,000 or so rounds through it without problem. It serves the purpose which is to have fun ..... lots of it! For the cost I think it's an awesome gun.

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Pass it on.
Mark

Thanks for the heads up on the Ruger.. I may have missed that info,, I am 99% sure I will stay S&W

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9mm Shield

Had mine for a few months now. Paid $550 out the door. Love it. Hell, if I'd have paid $750+ I'd still love it. I have a few thousand rounds through it without a hiccup. None, zero, zilch.

I recently put a Bushnel 1-4x AR scope on it and have been having a blast, literally, in the 1-200 yard range. Absolutely love this rifle and don't think you can go wrong at all with it.

Build your own...you wont regret it.

I've had my Sport II for 4 months, about 900 rounds and not one issue. Changed the stock to Magpul CTR, Quad Rail Hand Guard, & Vertical Grip. Spot on accurate. Fit & Finish is great.

I reload for just about everything, its part of my hobby. The 5.56 is no exception. Needless to say, it took some doing for me to learn how to reload for this rifle. And a whole bunch of colorful words that I learned having spent over 37 years around the military. My S&W AR15 loves 62gr "penetrator" rounds (green tips) with the steel core. It will stack them in the bullseye at 100m everytime. Its a matter of finding the right ammo. The 55gr loads are OK, but not like the above. My rifle has a 1:9 twist rate. My experience is this M&P runs wet, ie. it loves oil. Do as the instruction manual suggests, clean her before you fire her or you will learn another valuable lesion, how to clear a jam. Something every user has to know, sooner or later! When you take her out for her "shake down cruise" take several types of ammo. Once you know what feed she likes, stick with it. Hope this helps.

The S&W Sport II is an excellent entry level AR -15 and don't be fooled it is as accurate as AR-15's cost much more and it's a blast to shoot.

I have both a S&W Sport II and a POF Puritan piston and I love both. The Sport is a basic, but quality, AR style rifle and the Puritan has a lot of the bells and whistles, match trigger, nitro coated bolt with a bearing instead of a cam. I could go on and on, but what it all comes down to is they shoot equally well. The Sport is about half the cost, so get one, you won't regret it.
I had an S&W MOE (early model) and traded it for my POF, but saw a Sport II on sale and took the plunge.

it is most likely more accurate than most shooters and reliable and price is right. Smith is a company that will stand behind their products also. I don't see any downside to buying one.

Took mine to range yesterday for second time. I have a Vortex Crossfire II on it and was able to hit a golf ball on top of a pop can at 50 yards. Then went to 100 yard range and did terrible with about 5" groupings at 100 yards. I still consider myself a new shooter and I ca guarantee you that the bad groupings at 100 yards was my fault. My buddy shot it and was hitting 1.5" groupings at same distance, his first time shooting my Sport. Total have shot about maybe 400 rounds no issues. We were at the range for 9 hours and I could have gone back next day.

1.5" out of a bone stock AR is about average. Practice, practice, practice and you can do it too. With match ammo, you night even get 1" at 100 yards. You never know until you try. "Aim small, miss small."


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Heres a little fun from the 4th of July (freedom right!)

Savannah @ 600yards - YouTube

Can you please provide the the review you read about this and the Ruger? I own a S&W Sport 1 and just recently purchased a Ruger AR-556. My Ruger is an excellent AR and all those that I know that own an AR-556 have had NO problems with theirs.
I will say this as well, IMO, S&W cut corners in building the Sport 2. Sure, it's an "OK" AR, but I would buy any other AR over it, any day of the week!
The Sport 1 is a darn good example of what and when S&W cared about when they built an AR-15. Too bad QC isn't like it used to be. SMH!

Had mine a little over 6 months and its my first AR and I love it..
For the money its an excellent weapon..
I installed some Magpul Features as well as a Vortex Red Dot..
I've run a little over 700 Rounds of brass as well as 400 rounds of steel through the gun without a single issue..
She is a keeper....

lonewolf172, I am patiently waiting to read this review that you read about on the Ruger AR-556 BCG.
I have entered/searched every possible word group on Google about this "so called" review you claim to have read.

Pull your BCG out of your Ruger... you will see that your firing pin is unshrouded. You will also see that your firing pin is getting buggered up because it is cocking the hammer, not the bolt carrier...

You have the rifle, you don't need to read a review to see that this happens with yours. Compare it to the one in your Sport and you will see the difference.

Yes, the Sport 1 is shrouded and the Ruger isn't. But, my Ruger firing pin IS NOT getting buggered up like you state!

You know, I keep forgetting I am on a S&W forum trying to defend my Ruger. That's worse than being on a Glock forum and telling them that Glock is no good. You better leave the country if you ever say that! Here too!
But, as I said before, the Sport 1 is built so much better than the Sport 2. S&W cared then and QC counted!

Then you haven't shot it much. This was an issue back in the day when Colt came up with this design to appease the gun control crowd to make it where the firearm could "not be made into an automatic"... Over time, your firing pin and/or the firing pin retaining pin will get beat up. How long will it be before it fails? Who knows... but nobody is using this design with an unshrouded firing pin and notched hammer anymore... except for Ruger. Maybe they got a deal on a bunch of old carriers that Colt was going to throw away!

Downsides of a Non-Shrouded Firing Pin?

Never even knew such a thing existed. What a bad design!


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I haven't looked at a Sport II in detail to be able to argue with you on the QC intelligently one way or the other when compared to the original Sport.

But I have looked at and followed the Ruger AR-556. They have had their fair share of QC issues as well... just go to the Ruger forums and read about the pins that fall out of the gas blocks. Or the "tool free" delta ring design that galls and requires a strap wrench to loosen. Add those issues with the non-shrouded firing pin and the unlined / untreated barrel for the same money... I'll pass.

cyphertext, you remind me of the Glock owners that think it's the best handgun since fire was invented. Except in your case, it's S&W.
I have owned more S&W firearms than any other make. But, I am not on a continuous basis defending them, like a Glock owner. All the above items you stated about the 556, I knew about. Except for the firing pin debacle you keep harping on. Are you insinuating that I must have bought a "lucky" 556?
My intentions when I bought my 556 were to buy a PSA Nickel Boron BCG and keep the factory BCG as a spare. Reason being, it's easier to clean.
BTW, I have almost 3-4K rounds through my 556. Can you please tell me when this "firing pin debacle" should be happening?

You are the one on a S&W site telling us how great the Ruger is. I gave you a link... google "unshrouded firing pin" and educate yourself. You will see that it is a well documented issue, from before 2010. And yes, you could get many rounds down range without a failure. But the potential for failure is there.

So, you replaced the BCG? If so, then you corrected the deficiency.


And you knew that Ruger had issues with pins falling out of the gas blocks but bought one anyway? And you knew that the delta ring was getting stuck, and many have broken the stuck delta ring trying to loosen it, yet you bought the rifle anyway? Most Ruger buyers that I know were simply uneducated...

Did you also know that Ruger barrels are over torqued from the factory? Have seen a couple posts where folks have damaged their upper trying to get the barrel nut off.

I suggest you go over to Rugerforum.net. You can see Ruger owners complaining about Ruger QC... for example

Ar 556 troubles. - Ruger Forum

The Ruger does has good reviews and a few flaws but what gun does not

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9mm Shield

IMO nothing wrong with bragging about another Co. gun.But I do agree about the firing pin. That is info I did not know!!! We all love guns nothing wrong with that. No need to down talk someone because they are happy with theirs! You either like a gun or youu do not Just my 2 cents with today's inflation worth about 1/4 cent

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9mm Shield

I'll have to agree, regardless of the manufacturer, they all have or have had problems. Some tend to be more prolific in that category than others.

Every manufacturer also has their loyal followers. Take the Chevy, Ford, and Dodge/Ram guys as an example. All three of those makes have their signature issue(s) but people will overlook those while talking about how bad the other two are.

It's no different with firearms. Does S&W have its problems and problem children? Yep. But so does Ruger. I have products from both brands and like what I have. The ones I don't like, I got rid of and moved on.


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Maybe you should go back and read Disabled's posts...we have a history. Not to mention that he basically called the OP a liar.

emphasis mine

He likes his Ruger, and that is fine. And I agree that if someone is looking at a $600 rifle, then they should look at the Ruger as well. They may like the features of the Ruger over the Smith. But to say Ruger QC is above reproach... well, not so fast. You can't claim that a company has excellent QC and then state that you were aware of issues like pins that fall out or parts that get stuck... Maybe you can argue that they have good customer service that will fix the issue, but good QC would keep that type of thing from happening in the first place.

Agree... I have many firearms from different manufacturers. I even have a few ugly ducklings, such as the Keltec PF9 and the Sig P290RS. These don't have a large fan base, yet I am happy with them. They had a few problems early on in production, but those issues have been ironed out.

I might even suggest one of these to a perspective M&P Shield buyer... however, I would discuss the features and merits of the firearm vs. the Shield, not some argument about QC.

Anyway, we are off topic...

OP, go with the rifle you like. If you go with a major manufacturer, they will stand behind their product if you run into any of the issues that have been outlined on the web.

The Sport, and Sport II are excellent tools, and shooters! Take it to the range, take it hunting, shoot it, actually use it!

I laugh at these guys that have $2,000.00+ tied up in their pretty high-end AR's. All they do is post pictures of them, and stand around at the range, showing off how pretty they look! If they ever had to actually shoot it, they'd probably die!

I think cyphertext gets an enormous "bone-us erect-us" for anything he can say about my Ruger in a negative way. Why he dislikes it, I sure don't know. But, he forgets that my first AR ever bought was an S&W Sport 1.
BTW cyphertext, I read about shrouded and unshrouded BCG's some time ago. And, you want to know something else? I called primaryarms.com this AM and talked to a tech/rep. by the name of John (I am giving his name so you can call him to verify our conversation). We had a talk about shrouded vs un-shrouded. And do you know, he did not try to sell me a new BCG for my Ruger. His exact words were,"I can sell you one but it would be a Nickel Boron BCG. Reason being, they are so much easier to clean." I also told him I was being razzed by an anal S&W AR worshiper about how bad my 556 un-shrouded BCG was and his exact words were,"Just try to ignore him and keep feeding your 556 ammo. Your BCG will not fail like this person is claiming it will. But, if you ever want an extra BCG just call and ask for me. And your friend as well."
So, can you please tell me when my BCG is supposed to start failing?
cyphertext, was is your preferred name brand/make/spec'd/ BCG?

Nevermind... not worth the effort. Have a good day Disabled1.

There you go, all these posts, and not one bad comment. For the money, its a great deal, get one.

OP, I can't say much about the Sport 2 except that S&W offers a lifetime warranty on it.
Now, the Sport 1 (which I own) is one bad 5.56/.223 ammo eating machine. IMO, S&W cared when they made that AR! QC, machine work, the barrel, heck, everything about that rifle is darn near perfect! I have only had to send it back to S&W twice. There CS was great! And, the gunsmiths back then did a great job.
I just recently sent in a 686P-4" for a timing problem. When I got it back it was very dirty from them test firing it and not cleaning it.
Go to your LGS and shoot an assortment of AR's. Then, decide which one that fits YOUR needs, not SOMEONE else's.

I agree that's why I said no need to trash talk about someones guns and also meant a person because of their opinion! Point well taken Thanks!

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9mm Shield

I just bought one a month ago and love it. It has good ratings from lots of gun sites. I put a Magpul handle and a 4 sided picatinny rail grip to replace the cheaper plastic one up front. 5.56 version

I haven't had one issue with mine. All it eats now is my own reloads. Never had one failure to function the way it should.

Love mine. Build quality is excellent. Mine came with an A2 front sight and MBUS rear sight and they were accurate out of the box at 25 and 50 yards.

I’m new to the AR platform this year and have had very minimal opportunities to try my new Sport 2. Took it the other day to the local Sheriff’s range (they have deer hunting sight in programs) and a deputy spots and assists each shooter. I ran a couple rounds at 50 yds, we adjusted the front sight and did 3 more. Ended up with a 1” group touching the center ring. I was extremely happy with that accuracy for me; using the stock iron sights, leaning on a sand bag and considering my grandpa eyes.
So I have to say it’s ease of use and shoot make it a very accurate rifle out of the box.

All the AR's I have are Colt. Just my preference.

I have a 6920. My boy has a m&p sport. 99% of shooters could never know any difference. The Smith's trigger is better.

I have a PSA-15, myself, but I've only heard good things about the MP-15 Sport II, both are great for entry level ARs.
You can find many reviews on YouTube, The Sport II hold up to torture tests quite well and it an excellent rifle for its class.
I would have been perfectly happy getting a Sport II myself, it was more a matter of what was available at the time.