will a S&W 15-22 accept another upper?
- Thread starter biggbiker
- Start date
AR-Getsome
Member
Yes, You may use another M&P 15-22 upper on your M&P 15-22. But if you are trying to use a AR15 upper or another manufacture's 22lr upper, The answer is no. The M&P 15-22 lower is wider that the standard AR15 upper. And the M&P 15-22 lower will not fit on an AR15 upper.
If you want to swap Upper or Lower complete assemblies from your S&W M&P 15-22 with AR-15 rifles you will not be able to do it.
On a lark I did try to see if I could interchange my S&W M&P 15-22 and my AR-15 Uppers and Lowers. NO WAY! It does look to be deceptively close, but it will not work. The pivot pin, and the takedown pin holes don't line up properly.
On a lark I did try to see if I could interchange my S&W M&P 15-22 and my AR-15 Uppers and Lowers. NO WAY! It does look to be deceptively close, but it will not work. The pivot pin, and the takedown pin holes don't line up properly.
CrazyFingers
Member
No it won't, and it's a good thing. I certainly hope you realize what would happen if you could put a standard 5.56 AR upper on a polymer 15-22 lower and then touched off a round.
Agreed, besides the pins and holes not lining up the buffer tube on the 15-22 is completely fake. On a real AR the buffer tube has a spring and a buffer that needs to be able to move to make room for, and rebound, the bolt carrier group. The bolt release is also in a different place, and the magazines and magazine wells are very different. How the magazine would line up to deliver the round to the upper would be a pretty big problem.
It is a shame, if they did line up and work then S&W might have opened up a new market for themselves. Instead the 15-22 while not compatible with the rest of the market for AR rifles is almost certainly less expensive to make. What they loose in compatibility, they gain in cost of production.
photoracer
Member
The 15-22 would have been of somewhat questionable legality if it would have fit. Still the 15-22 lower will not accept another type of style of mag either.
photoracer
Member
No they would have opened themselves up to legal action from the ATF if it would have fit. Then every 15-22 would have been classified as NFA and would have been banned by this time in several states to boot. S&W was not looking for that.
My AR is not an NFA weapon. My 15-22 is not an NFA weapon. I fail to see where making the 15-22 in a manner that is compatible with AR platform rifles would in any way make it an NFA weapon.
15-22 rifle barrel length is slightly longer than the 16" minimum that would make it a Short Barrel Rifle. So, not an NFA weapon.
15-22 rifles fire in semi-automatic mode. They do not fire in a 3 round burst, or fully automatic mode. So, not an NFA weapon.
While my 15-22 is capable of accepting a silencer it does not come from the factory with one. So, not an NFA weapon.
My AR Platform Rifle barrel length is slightly longer than the 16" minimum that would make it a Short Barrel Rifle. So, not an NFA weapon.
My AR Platform Rifle fires in semi-automatic mode. It does not fire in a 3 round burst, or fully automatic mode. So, not an NFA weapon.
While my AR Platform Rifle is capable of accepting a silencer it does not come from the factory with one. So, not an NFA weapon.
A 15-22 rifle and 15-22p as configured from the factory are not NFA weapons. Yes, if I were to put a 15-22p upper on a 15-22 lower that would immediately be an NFA violation, but that would not be a configuration intended by the manufacturer. So, unless I assemble the parts in a manner NOT intended by the manufacturer both the 15-22, and the 15-22p are not NFA weapons.
As it sits today I can buy the parts to build an AR platform handgun. I can also buy the parts to build an AR platform rifle. Neither of these configurations are illegal so long as the lower used for the handgun has never been used in a long gun configuration, or when purchased new was not declared to be a "Long Gun". A brand new stripped lower purchased as "other firearm" or "handgun" on the 4473 question 18 would suffice to meet the legal requirement to make an AR platform pistol so long as that lower was never assembled as a long gun. While it is relatively easy to buy short barreled uppers for AR's it only becomes illegal if you were to assemble one of those short barreled uppers on to a "long gun" lower without obtaining the tax stamp. Put that same short barreled upper on a new "Handgun" or "Other Firearm" lower and it is completely legal, no NFA Tax stamp needed. So, unless I assemble the parts in a manner NOT intended by the manufacturer both the AR Platform Rifle, and the AR Platform Handgun are not NFA weapons.
I live in Kentucky. I am not familiar with the laws in other states that might differentiate between a .22 caliber rim fire rifle and a .223 caliber center fire rifle. Some states have pretty crazy restrictions, so I guess it would be possible for there to be problems that I am not aware of. Remember however that .22 caliber uppers, .22 caliber bolts, and .22 caliber magazines are all available that can be used with traditional AR Platform Rifles. None of these are inherently NFA items unless the are Short Barrel Rifle configurations, fully automatic configurations, or come equipped with silencers.
CrazyFingers
Member
photoracer
Member
For instance in the People's Republic of Maryland, which I recently escaped from the 15-22 is a cash and carry firearm. An AR is a 7 day wait, plus it can't be anything but an HBAR.
If the 15-22 fit I could just buy an AR upper and I would instally be able to circumvent the law. But at least S&W not only made the pin separation different and the magwell different, they also made the buffer tube a fake, so no centerfire upper would work even if the pins fit. Now in the free country of West Virginia both are no problem but since I have 3 ARs I am not in a hurry to add another (maybe an AR-10).
None of this is NFA.
True, it appears that Maryland has joined the likes of California, New York, and perhaps others. Like I said I am not familiar with other states laws.
If you were still bound by the state laws of Maryland but already owned a stripped AR lower. Could you build a .22 caliber AR style rifle without waiting periods? If you chose to make such a rifle what features would you need to avoid. Perhaps a fixed versus adjustable stock? No flash hider? A smaller capacity magazine? Eliminate the pistol grip? If you met all of the possible restrictions but used an upper with a bolt, chamber, and barrel that were specific to the .22lr rimfire would that gun be legal?
If you already owned a lower that you had previously used as a lower on an AR-15 rifle could you buy a complete upper in .22lr, and just attach it and use it?
I have seen used AR platform rifles that have bolts, chambers, and barrels set up for the .22lr sitting on the shelf in pawn shops and gun shops. Would these rifles be subject to whatever restrictions apply to AR's or would they be rimfire .22's and "cash and carry" as you described in your post?
I am not trying to be difficult. I honestly don't know what the restrictions in other states are.
photoracer
Member
Well in MD if its not 5.56 or 7.62x39 you are OK. Only the evil rifles shoot those calibers in semi-auto. In addition to my 2 15-22s I also have a custom .22 AR upper that I built while in MD. Uppers are fine as are lowers that will be built into HBARs or AR pistols or AR-10s. Anything with the name Bushmaster on it is verbotten (due to the convoluted wording in the law and the "and clones" clause (which at the same time allows HBARs that are not Colts). Its weird let me tell you.
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