Should My New M&P Sport II Look Like This?

Just bought my M&P 15 Sport II about a month ago. While waiting on ammo to be shipped to me from Palmetto State Armory I decided to break the rifle down and clean and inspect it per the manual.

This is my first AR so I was wondering if this is what it should look like?

I haven't even shot nor cleaned it yet, but to me it doesn't look right.

Spoke to customer service, which I am NOT a fan of (because of past history with them and other S&W I own) and they said to just clean it and shoot it, and that this is the way it should look.


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Pics not showing up for me

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Some of the pics I'm not seeing whay your pointing to. It may just be that it doesn't show very well through pics however, some of it look like it was just test fired for function. Mags were inserted obviously. Also the finish often times isn't even. It's happens due to the process by which it's applied. Along with that there may be just some wet/dry spots. Spots where a oily rag missed when being wiped down

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I see the tiny nick in the finish... touch it up and go on about life. Everything else looks normal. Clean it, lube it, shoot it.

How many rounds did you shoot? You can expect some brass
residue on the face of the bolt. Get a brass brush and clean it
out. As far as the marks on the left side of the upper receiver,
I wouldn't worry about it. It's just cosmetic. You should see the
marks on new Colt 6920's.

What you are seeing is perfectly normal, from factory test firing.

Looks dirtier than mine @ 900 rounds

I haven't shot any rounds through it yet.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I don't know what ammo S&W uses to test fire, but its nasty & leaves copper fouling. I had a similar issue with a new performance center shield. They told me they don't clean them after test fire.
You just need to clean your bolt carrier group well.
Also you have uneven finish application on your other pics, other places like Palmetto State Armory would have sold there lowers as a factory 2nd in that condition.
People will chime in and say that its just a tool & get over it.
But for me, I want my new guns to look new, until I scratch them, or fire rounds through them. I want a factory new, unfired gun to be exactly that!
If other people want to spend there hard earned money on a brand new gun that looks like it has 2k rounds thru it,, than more power to them!

It's not meant to be collectible or a safe queen. Looks like it was left a little dirty from the factory or maybe the seller ran a few rounds thru it. No big deal from what I can see. Go shoot and enjoy, repeat.

I agree with this 100%.... but the time to take that stance is when you are standing in front of the dealer, not once you have it at home. If you accept it from the dealer, fill out paperwork, and hand over cash then it is yours to live with.

PSA may have used it as a demo, had an employee bbq and used tracer rounds to fire up the grill, or maybe they had an Egyptian wedding reception out back. it does kinda look like the bolt had several more than usual rounds out of it, but it's kinda late in the game. The cosmetic stuff, it IS an AR. Wipe it down with oil, if you are worried about. More than anything, go shoot the thing.

Pic 1 - Clean bolt
Pic 6 - Dirty bolt

You said: "I haven't even shot nor cleaned it yet"

Im missing something?

__________________
Thank You
Wayne

@wayne2356

I have NOT shot it or cleaned it at all. Period!

Same bolt just different angle and flash with my Galaxy phone.

It is going to be dirtier than that after your first range session. IMHO. There looks to be a few finish issues on the gun but nothing that will effect the function. Looks like a sloppy cleaning job after test firing.

This is why I do not start filling out the paperwork on a gun transfer until I have inspected the gun I am transferring into my ownership. The time to deal with finish issues, blemishes or visible defects is before you transfer the gun.

Chalk it up to lesson learned and go shoot it and have fun.

From my experience, any new firearm I've ever bought has been dirty. I think (but I'm not sure) that all manufacturers test fire their products before sending then out, they sit on a rack or a shelf collecting dust, are handled numerous times before you bought it (these last two may not apply if they bring out one new in a box). There may be other things I'm missing or forgetting but they have all been dirty as hell when I bring it home, field strip it, and clean it for the fist time. I doesn't matter if it was a Kimber or a Taurus, one hasn't been any better than the other (aside from Taurus liking to pack their products with some sort of grease).

In short, what is posted up looks normal from what I've seen.

^^^^All that was typed here!^^^^
In pic #6 that gas key sure looks crooked! Also, S&W's QC sure has gone downhill since I have bought my Sport 1, 3 years ago.
If you looked it over, signed the papers, and accepted it like this, you are stuck with it! I sure would not have accepted it like that!
Some say it might not be a safe queen, shoot it........or, touch up the scratches. I say BS! If I am paying $500 + for a weapon that is supposed to be brand new, look brand new, and be clean, it da** well better be that way!
From some of the negative replies I am seeing here, I can just imagine what your own firearms look like. SMH!

After you give it a complete cleaning look it over again..
if it still is not to you liking contact SW and they will give you a shipping label to send it back so they can fix any issues you find..
Their turn around time is very fast...
They will take care of you...

True,, great point!

Just shoot it and enjoy it and clean it. Stop worrying about what you see in the pictures. If your new rifle does not do what it is designed to do, and that's shoot, then you should have S&W look at it. Otherwise , don't waste their time.
Jim

I thought that I was nit picky.

Appears to be a used or defective unit-I would let them have it back.

You should just clean and shoot it. That's the way it should look.

The guns are not works of art or fine collectibles. The only thing out of the ordinary are the couple small cosmetic blemishes. Wipe them with oil and they may dissappear. If not, I'd not worry.

Since the advent of the internet, inexpensive digital cameras and folks obsessed with perfection on regular production firearms, I've noticed all manor of tiny cosmetic inconsistencies in various firearms, especially on AR-15's...and I think those people are warped.

Every AR or AR upper I've purchased has signs of being test fired with what appears to be the filthiest ammunition imaginable.

As others said, clean it thoroughly, especially the chamber, lube it, and enjoy.

The most common problem I've seen with those guns in the castle nut coming loose on the extension tube (buffer tube). You may want to check that for tightness and stake it deeper if it is lightly staked.

There's nothing there worth fretting about.

If it was a Ruger they'd probably replace the gun (or half of it in parts), but S&W's CS people have a little more common sense and I respect that.

I don't own a cosmetically perfect gun, not even those classic guns "made like they used to" everyone laments about.

What leads you to believe it is defective?

I see brass on the bolt as well. Looks test fired to me. Load it up and test fire some more..

If it were a Ruger, it would look NOTHING like this "PEA OH ES" this guy got suckered into buying! I know, I just recently bought a Ruger AR-556. It had that nasty thick lube on some parts, but other than that, it was clean! And, on the OP's Sport, it has a lot of burrs and machine marks that could have been cleaned up a little bit better had S&W's QC didn't suck so much! This must be why S&W Sport 2 AR's are so cheap in price; they cut corners so much!
I see these replies some members are giving and I am SMH! Some of you act the same or worse than Glock pistol worshipers, but, you are a S&W Glock A Holic! Yeah, I own a S&W Sport 1, but when I bought it new almost 3 years ago, I checked it over at my FFL and it was darn near perfect!
Say what you want about me, I really don't care. But, this guy got a "IMO" used Sport 2!
OP, lesson learned. The only thing you can do now is suck it up and carry on. But, if it were me, I would be burning the S&W phone line up trying to get it back to them to "FINISH" the job they started when building your AR!

The Ruger is not in any way better. The guns that come painted look terrible.

Being a fan is one thing, but let's not get carried away. I'd call them comparable.

Hey, it is what it is. They put lipstick on the OP's AR pig to make it look good.
And, I am NO fan of the Sport 2. I am a fan of the Sport 1. That's an AR built in the time when S&W actually CARED!

And, my mind must be extremely warped then! I expect my firearms to be new if it is being sold to me new! NO marks, blemishes, scratches, etc. If you buy a new car or truck, will you want it scratched, dirty, or any other blemishes on it? Will you take it home and say,"Ah well, it's going to happen one day anyway, it's better now than later. Um, no, but HELL NO!

Firearms come dirty. They don't clean them after test firing. They slap on the packing grease and send them out the door... even Ruger. My brand new Ruger American .308 had a dirty barrel and residue on the bolt face. Clearly has been shot at the factory. Ruger claims to pressure test each barrel and bolt on the AR-556... they will get dirty in that process.

My Ruger American also has spots on the barrel where it is worn... but I bought the display model from Walmart, and for less than $200, I ain't complaining!

I don't see any machine marks in the pics. I do see some wear on the bolt carrier... which is normal. Moving metal on metal parts are going to show a little wear and a shiny spot. That will happen on test firing, as well as working the action.

I do see some spots where it appears that the finish is either uneven or worn. OP, was this a display gun, or was it in the box with the seal broken in front of you? The marks on the upper look like they could have come from being in a rack, or rubbing up against something. The area on the lower looks like many ARs... clean it and apply a little oil or CLP to the area. If that doesn't take care of it, contact S&W again.

@cyphertext

I bought it from an internet dealer. It was sealed.

Ok, well in that case... call them back and tell them that you are unhappy with it. Hopefully, they will make it right for you.

Mine came that way too. Its from the factory test fire. Barrel was filthy, just clean it and move on.

We buy S&W Sports because they are inexpensive. You can't expect the fit and finish to be as good as on a rifle costing three times as much.

The telling photo is image #3. The amount of brass on the bolt is indicative of less than five rounds fired and is insignificant. The roughness of the bolt will remove brass from the next round in the magazine just like rubbing it on sandpaper. I have a high end M&P15 and the bottom of the bolt is polished and still shows a bit of brass whenever shot.

I can feel your anxiety from here, and from where I sit I complete understand. I bought a M&P15 PSX from a gun show last September and found almost EXACTLY the same fouling, though, mine looked dry where yours looks wet. I thought "Hey, a new gun shouldn't look like a hundred rounds went down its throat last week... hmmmmmm".

I have so far 800 rounds through mine without a single hiccup, and out of curiosity last time I went to the range I opened it up, "immaculated" the bolt, re-assembled and fired twice. After those two rounds my bolt face, ejector claw, feed ramp, and a couple of lugs in the lock, all had the brass you show. when I saw your pics I thought you had found pics of my gun.

Perhaps what you are seeing should encourage you, more than anything. It says that someone took the time (even on a busy, busy production line) to slow it down, fit and finish, and operate your potentially dangerous machinery - if for no other reason than to ensure that it would function correctly without any major malfunctions when you took it from the store to the range in an excitedly flustered escapade (don't laugh, it happens). I for one find fault only in the fact that it didn't come out of that scenario looking like a Henry Goldenboy...

No sir, IMHO you got a perfectly fine rifle that shows even in our fast paced world, some places still care that stuff still works correctly.

As stated above, go put some holes in the wind, and smile about it. >B-)

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Here, a grain of salt.

Your pictures of the bolt face and chamber show typical brass imprints from proof firing and function testing. The brass on the bottom of the carrier is from the carrier rubbing on the cartridges in the magazine during function firing.

Not really a big deal, you're supposed to clean a new rifle before firing anyway.

Remember that the manufacturers get about 40% of MSRP when they sell the item to the distributor.

You should be happy they test fired it. At least you know it works.

In a word, Yes.