Before I retired, my employers had been buying the M&P15s through S&W law enforcement sales reps. They had 1-9 chrome lined barrels and were of excellent quality. Don't recall what we were paying, but much less than for Colts and they ran right with the Colts in an abusive environment.


Now, it could well be that there is a demand for 1-7 barrels in certain circles and that has resulted in a model to satisfy the demand. I'm not real sure why there would be such a demand (other than to satisfy mil-spec wannabees) as most LE work doesn't demand a capability to handle long, heavy match grade bullets. It could well be that some procurement types are simply doing a cut & paste from Colt specs, or fan boys are trying to exclude non-Colt sources by the barrel specs.

If the model doesn't appear on the S&W website, it could be a special request production run and excess to the contract. Assuming the upper is actually by S&W.

BTW, hard chrome barrel lining adds about $40 retail to a barrel price. Depending upon source and quality, the carry handle can add up to $200 retail.