M&P 15-22 or Colt M4 Carbine .22
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DownRange&Upwind
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Those particular Colts are HORRIBLE. for one thing the bolt catch is litteraly JUST FOR LOOKS! It comes off the gun when you tear it apart for cleaning. Its just a lil tab that serves as eye candy so to speak. From what I have heard the Umarex colt 22( made by a airsoft company, that has the colt named stamped on its frame) is a unreliable gun. The only thing I DO like about that gun over my M&P 15 22 is that is has a foreward assist, granted its not needed, but If S&W was going for the full AR look/functionality that feature should have been incorporated into the 15 22's design.
I read an article I found online about the problems the Colt .22 has, I would post its link, but due to site rules I cant as we not allowed to link to another gun site. But It had pictures of the actual receivers laying in 2 pieces. Just be aware that the Colt M4 22 rifle is actually made by UMAREX,an Airsoft company. The quality of these rifles are very questionable and in some cases people have ended up with receivers that were completely cracked in half.
I read an article I found online about the problems the Colt .22 has, I would post its link, but due to site rules I cant as we not allowed to link to another gun site. But It had pictures of the actual receivers laying in 2 pieces. Just be aware that the Colt M4 22 rifle is actually made by UMAREX,an Airsoft company. The quality of these rifles are very questionable and in some cases people have ended up with receivers that were completely cracked in half.
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What are trying to do, start a war on the S&W forum...
! This has been such a heated debate, you are likely to get a lot of varied/passionate responses. I really don't understand why so many people get so worked up over this issue, but it is what it is... I hesitate even writing this response, but figured a balanced/objective response would be helpful to you.I can tell you that I've owned both, I'm a big S&W fan, but I now only own the Colt/Umerex rifle. Both have some positives and negatives, as far as features/function, but for me, I stayed with the Colt. I'm not going to get into the list of problems that I had with the S&W, and I understand they have made some improvements to the platform. I will say that I liked the idea of the S&W bolt being an actual working piece, similar to my ARs, but I had issues with my bolt. As someone mentioned, the bolt catch on the Colt is just decoration, but if you read the manual, you will know how to avoid any problems with it; mine is still in place. My Colt has been 100% reliable (except for one type of Remington ammo), it's accurate, and fun. The S&W was also fun, when it worked.
I'm sure if you do a search on the internet, you will find a whole bunch of threads describing horror stories with their S&W, and Colt/Umerex .22 AR variant rifles. These guns were made at a low price point, and both have some issues related to that dynamic. They are just inexpensive plinkers, not something you are going to take to Iraq... I do like the overall 'feel' of the Colt, better than I liked the overall feel of the S&W. The Colt feels/handles more like my other ARs, but, of course, there is the issue of the bolt operation being different than an AR...
I wish both companies just did it right, and put out a higher end version of a .22 AR, but that's just my opinion... You may also want to check out Sig's version of this rifle, as well as Ruger's (based on their very solid 10-22 platform).
Good luck with your decision.
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HermanH
Member
The way I viewed the 15-22 in general terms, is what I learned from the "Weapons of Law Enforcement" magazine when they did a report on it a few months back.
It was meant as an understudy rifle to it's bigger brother. It's primary selling point where to allow LEO to train on a "similar" AR platform as much as possible, using a .22LR cartridge as it is so much less expensive to shoot than the .223/5.56 cartridge. But operational familiarity is the key selling point, followed by low cost to operate.
From the get go, the 15-22 is 1/2 the price of it's brother and with (just roughing the estimates here) $500 in .22LR, you can surely get a lot of range time with an estimated 10,000 rounds @ $25 per brick of 500. Herein is the problem with the average Colt AR15 in .22LR - the thing simply costs more than the S&W 15-22 and that cuts into how much ammo you can buy. On average, I believe the Colt version is at least $300 more, which translated to some 6,000 rounds of ammo based on my previous numbers/estimates. Quite frankly, I'd rather have the ammo.
I would have preferred a slightly heavier rifle to move it closer to the feel/heft of an actual AR. Oddly, this rifle is my very first "composite" firearm I've owned.
Good luck with the decision. I will say the Colt looks pretty damn real IMO and I'm sure it shoots just as straight.
It was meant as an understudy rifle to it's bigger brother. It's primary selling point where to allow LEO to train on a "similar" AR platform as much as possible, using a .22LR cartridge as it is so much less expensive to shoot than the .223/5.56 cartridge. But operational familiarity is the key selling point, followed by low cost to operate.
From the get go, the 15-22 is 1/2 the price of it's brother and with (just roughing the estimates here) $500 in .22LR, you can surely get a lot of range time with an estimated 10,000 rounds @ $25 per brick of 500. Herein is the problem with the average Colt AR15 in .22LR - the thing simply costs more than the S&W 15-22 and that cuts into how much ammo you can buy. On average, I believe the Colt version is at least $300 more, which translated to some 6,000 rounds of ammo based on my previous numbers/estimates. Quite frankly, I'd rather have the ammo.
I would have preferred a slightly heavier rifle to move it closer to the feel/heft of an actual AR. Oddly, this rifle is my very first "composite" firearm I've owned.
Good luck with the decision. I will say the Colt looks pretty damn real IMO and I'm sure it shoots just as straight.
stratdragon92
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I think CMMG has their own .22 AR version. It actually has a lower reciever that will accept 5.56 uppers. I kinda wish this had been out when I bought my 15-22.
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