M&P 15 Sport performance

C

cyphertext

US Veteran
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Messages
4,671
Reaction score
3,823
Location
Wylie, TX
Some of you may be following a thread on another forum where a guy that runs carbine classes has purchased a M&P 15 Sport and a Colt 6920 and is testing them head to head. For those of you who are not on the other forum, but are interested, I thought I would share some of his data and findings here.

He has just sighted in the Sport and here are his groupings.


100 yards 5 shot groups in inches Sport 095
Lake Charles, La

Win q3131 1.91
Fed 50 gr jhp 1.631
AE 50 gr tipped Varmint 1.031
Black hills new 69 gr match king hp 2.097
Win 45 gr varmint hp 2.303
Wolf 62 gr fmj 1.707
Fed 62 gr otm 1.645
Speer 63 gr jsp 2.188

Avg of 8............... 1.814

Fed m196 tracer 4.4839

"The accuracy testing is being done with a Leupold VXIII 3.5-10x 50 in a Burris mount." I am surprised at some of these groupings, especially the Black Hills match ammo.
 
Register to hide this ad
Cyphertext. Thank you for posting this. Those are pretty large groupings, I am totally blown away except for the tracer. It didnt shoot well out of my rifle either. Has he given the groupings for the Colt and how do they compare? Thanks again, very useful knowledge. A larger powered scope would allow him to draw a finer bead I must say. My accuracy improved tremendously when I went from the 3-9 to the 4-16
 
cyphertext said:
Some of you may be following a thread on another forum where a guy that runs carbine classes has purchased a M&P 15 Sport and a Colt 6920 and is testing them head to head. For those of you who are not on the other forum, but are interested, I thought I would share some of his data and findings here.
Click to expand...

Just another F.Y.I. the main subject of the other forum is a certain Austrian polymer framed semi-auto pistol.

If any of you 15-Sport owners want to see what life is like outside of this nice playground here, go there. You'll see the B.S. cyphertext & tangofoxtrot try to counter.
 
JaPes said:
Just another F.Y.I. the main subject of the other forum is a certain Austrian polymer framed semi-auto pistol.

If any of you 15-Sport owners want to see what life is like outside of this nice playground here, go there. You'll see the B.S. cyphertext & tangofoxtrot try to counter.
Click to expand...

JaPes, why do I continually allow myself to be drug into the fray over there?

For those interested, the actual data starts on page 6 of the post...
 
Last edited:
I respect you three guys tremendously and wanted to subscribe to the thread so I registered over there. Being the fact that I tend to be overly vocal in my praise for the Sport and tend to upset people I told Cyphertext that I would probably just sit back in the corner with my mouth shut. But I am really wondering why he was so quick to post the Sports Stats and not the Colt, could there be a coverup in the making. Is this gonna be another "fast and furious" without anyone getting killed. I also have to question the shooting ability of whomever was pulling the trigger, my groups arent that big, plus he is using some ammo that is not recommended for any AR type, with very light bullet weights.
 
Last edited:
I don't think there is a coverup, but shooting on different days with different environmental variables does cast a shade of doubt on the validity of the test. However, he isn't really testing these for accuracy against each other. It is more a test of reliability in a hard use environment, such as high round count training courses.

I do eagerly await the results from the Colt. I expect to see similar results if the same ammo is used. I was surprised by some of the ammo choices as well. But I will be quick to call BS if the Colt comes in as sub MOA.
 
cyphertext said:
JaPes, why do I continually allow myself to be drug into the fray over there?
Click to expand...

...because even though you know you shouldn't do it, sometimes it is funny to poke fun at the folks who ride the short bus.

I try my best not to jump into the fray. It gets annoying debating the real world merits of the 15-Sport with people who've never held one, fired one, or owned one.
 
I don't believe the accuracy potential between the two rifles will be sufficiently different to matter. I am surprised by the Black Hills 69 gr though. Q3131 IIRC is pretty much M193 GI ammo which is not exactly known for having spectacular accuracy (better than M855 however).

Then again, many also argue the validity of 5-shot groups in a semi-auto battle rifle versus a 10-shot group.
 
Maybe the guy can't shoot for sh*t!!! Really. Mine will shoot betterthan that with federals AR223 52gr ammo. Some poeple simply are not great bench shooters.
 
hardluk1 said:
Maybe the guy can't shoot for sh*t!!! Really. Mine will shoot betterthan that with federals AR223 52gr ammo. Some poeple simply are not great bench shooters.
Click to expand...

Whether or not the guy can or can't shoot from a bench is irrelevant. What is relevant is that it's the same shooter, using the same environment, using the same ammo between the two rifles.

So if he sucks, he'll suck equally between the two and we can draw inferences from the results. :D

So far the Sport is more accurate out of the box... go over there... the numbers don't lie.

+1 for the 1:8 5R Melonite Barrel

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!
 
Colt data posted...

100 yards 5 shot groups in inches Colt 6920 883
Lake Charles, La

Win q3131 2.337
Fed 50 gr jhp 3.817
AE 50 gr tipped Varmint 1.448
Black hills new 69 gr match king hp 2.166
Win 45 gr varmint hp 8.311
Wolf 62 gr fmj 3.016
Fed 62 gr otm 4.238
Speer 63 gr jsp 3.680

Avg of 8............... 3.627 +- .6
avg of 5 55 grains or heavier..... 3.084 +- .8

Fed m196 tracer 4.619

Sorry I was late posting this....chose to spend the rest of my day with my wife, instead of arguing on the internet.
 
Last edited:
Just saying, my Sport will print less than 1 " @ 100 yds with a hand load of 25.5 gr H335, a CCI #400 primer and 52 gr Hornady AMAX bullet. Also under 1 " @ 100 yds with 24.5 gr H335, CCI #400 primer and a 55 gr FMJBT from Midway USA.

Also I have read before that with a Colt you have a chance of getting agood one or a bad one for accuracy.
 
JaPes said:
Just another F.Y.I. the main subject of the other forum is a certain Austrian polymer framed semi-auto pistol.

If any of you 15-Sport owners want to see what life is like outside of this nice playground here, go there. You'll see the B.S. cyphertext & tangofoxtrot try to counter.
Click to expand...

JaPes is corrrect! Here people are nice ,curtious, and helpful. On that side of the fence the exact opposite. Well anyway, I don't trust that data from those tests. I'd feel a lot better if someone on this side of the fence like Cyphertext, JaPes, or Oneyeopn did the testing. At least I know it would done fairly and honestly. The other guys hate the fact the Sport model ever came out .....Gun Snobs.

So what do you say guys can anyone here conduct the same tests?
 
Hello guys! Thank you for your interest in our little comparison. Some items that we would like you to note include:

1. We shoot in the environment we are in. Environmental conditions are monitored and recorded and this helps us calculate the +/- error data that we report with the numbers. For example, the wind gradually shifted from ENE to NE and got a bit more gusty during the course of our initial accuracy tests. This, in part, is why the error numbers for the Colt data are higher than the error numbers for the Sport data.

2. Sample size, BC data, SD data, and other statistical figures will affect the error numbers, too.

3. Diferent rifles like diferent ammo. Page 21 of the Colt manual says, " Colt recommends that after you read and understand this manual, you go to the range and fire different ammunition which is appropriate to the caliber of your firearm. Once you find the ammunition which functions best, keep using it."

So we will continue to try different commercial ammunition in the carbines until we identify a couple of loads each shoots well. If anyone wants to shoot these rifles, contact us and we will make arrangements. Ditto if anyone wishes to see a particular load fired from these rifles.
 
Mr. Courtney,

I will never complain about your tests. You:

  • Paid for both rifles.
  • Paid for all the ammo.
  • Own & maintain the facility.
  • Are taking the time to do this.
  • Are gracious enough to share the results.
  • Have the experience & trigger time on various AR's.

I think that folks over "there" don't appreciate this. Until I have the ability to fork over a couple grand to help defray the cost of the test and have the luxury of time to be present for the testing, I'm just a very appreciative guest in your house.

Thank you for being a more than gracious and accommodating host.
 
TangoFoxtrot said:
I'd feel a lot better if someone on this side of the fence like Cyphertext, JaPes, or Oneyeopn did the testing. At least I know it would done fairly and honestly.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the compliment.

I've monitored that thread over "there". Mr. Courtney has no personal stake in this race. If I recall correctly, he saw the 15-Sport v.s. Colt 6920 debate go in circles, and decided to do something about it.

Mr Courtney, please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you own a range & training center. You run classes and have encountered more AR's with different roll marks than I will ever have a chance to handle.

I don't question Mr. Courtney's motives or integrity in this test.

TangoFoxtrot said:
So what do you say guys can anyone here conduct the same tests?
Click to expand...

I wish I could. If by some chance I happen into a sum of money large enough to make me truly free, I'd be happy to do it.

I don't have the funds, time, or place to be able to do this.
 
Hey Matthew, welcome aboard. Obviously, the bias is slanted a little different here than other forums... :D

I think you can throw out the lightweight, varmint ammo. Neither rifle is built for that stuff. I would start with the 55 grain, military ball ammo varieties and go up from there. The 75 grain Hornady TAP FPD seems to be a popular choice for self defense, so that may be a good one to add.
 
oneyeopn said:
I respect you three guys tremendously and wanted to subscribe to the thread so I registered over there. Being the fact that I tend to be overly vocal in my praise for the Sport and tend to upset people I told Cyphertext that I would probably just sit back in the corner with my mouth shut. But I am really wondering why he was so quick to post the Sports Stats and not the Colt, could there be a coverup in the making. Is this gonna be another "fast and furious" without anyone getting killed. I also have to question the shooting ability of whomever was pulling the trigger, my groups arent that big, plus he is using some ammo that is not recommended for any AR type, with very light bullet weights.
Click to expand...

I'm bit uneasy as well and have some of the same concerns. You'll learn first hand about the kids playing on the other side of the tracks, those boys play rough and are narrow minded with the AR platform. You'll find it hard to keep silent over there. :D...So I'll just sit this one out and observe. ;)
 
Last edited:
Mr Courtney.
I too want to thank you for coming over here. I also am following your testing procedures. I noticed that both rifles seem to shoot the 50 grain to what I consider way better than expected standards. I believe you should add some 55gr bullets to your test, being it is the most common bullet sold for the AR platform. If you wanted to add some heavier bullets you could but I think you have this all thought out very well. Most of us here belong to more than one forum and some of my peers belong to quite a few of them. After being derided in other forums for purchasing what is considered not a "real" AR I tend to stay here. I dont have to defend my decision to purchase the Sport over one of its more expensive brethren. You are also very correct when you stated that free floating the Sport barrel will produce Sub-MOA groups. Thank you for coming over and you are welcome anytime that you want to share your results with us.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
New S&W M&P 15 Sport II 69gr Loads
Replies
7
Views
2K
Shotguncoach
Shotguncoach
C
New M&P 15-22 Sport Owner - My Experience So Far
Replies
3
Views
2K
cjt50
cjt50
M
Range Report: New Upper for my M&P 15 Sport
Replies
10
Views
1K
scooter123
S
C
M&P 15 Sport range review - over due
Replies
1
Views
5K
Heavyweapons
H

Latest posts

Back
Top