Symbol on M&P15 Sport - What does it mean?

kjwhitehead · Mar 7, 2013

There is a symbol on the right side of my M&P15 Sport that looks like an embossed Capital A and I am wondering what it is for. It is just under the picatinny rail near the charging handle above where the forward assist would typically be. I am thinking it might be an indicator for where the end of a scope should be or perhaps an alignment mark for the Magpul rear sight.

gm272gs · Mar 7, 2013

kjwhitehead said:
There is a symbol on the right side of my M&P15 Sport that looks like an embossed Capital A and I am wondering what it is for. It is just under the picatinny rail near the charging handle above where the forward assist would typically be. I am thinking it might be an indicator for where the end of a scope should be or perhaps an alignment mark for the Magpul rear sight.

It is the Forge Code for the upper receiver.
"A" is Anchor Harvey Aluminum.

gm272gs · Mar 7, 2013

VARIOUS FORGE CODES (for AR15 upper receivers):

A (splintered) = Anchor Harvey Aluminum

AF = Alcoa Forge

C AF = Colt Alco Forge

C MB = Colt / Mueller Brass

Cardinal (stylized) = Cardinal Forge

CH = Colt Harvey Aluminum

CK = Colt / Kaiser Aluminum

Circle/Crosshairs w/"AR" = ArmaLite

CM = Colt / Martin Marietta

D (stylized) = Diemaco

DK = Diemaco / Kaiser Aluminum

E = Emco

EK = EMCO/Kaiser

E MB = EMCO/Mueller Brass

F keyhole = FNMI / Cerro Forge

FA = FNMI / Anchor Harvey

FK = FNMI / Kaiser Aluminum

FM = FN/Martin Marietta

FMB = FNMI / Mueller Brass

Keyhole = Cerro Forge

L = Lewis Machine & Tool

LK = LAR / Kaiser Aluminum

LM = LAR / Martin Marietta

M (under diamond) = Mueller Industries

PA = Capco / Anchor Harvey

PM = Capco / Martin Marietta

Like most manufacturers, Smith&Wesson doesn't make their own receivers. Anchor Harvey makes upper receivers for Smith&Wesson, Colt, Noveske, Spikes Tactical, Armalite, etc. (to name a few!)

cyphertext · Mar 7, 2013

gm272gs said:
Like most manufacturers, Smith&Wesson doesn't make their own receivers. Anchor Harvey makes upper receivers for Smith&Wesson, Colt, Noveske, Spikes Tactical, Armalite, etc. (to name a few!)

Actually, S&W did make their own receiver for the Sport....but it appears that at some point in time, they started to farm them out, probably to keep up with demand. Their marketing guy even bragged that they made them in house. We had a thread about it a while back. Guys that had the early Sports did not have a forge marking on them. Then we started seeing uppers from Anchor Harvey....

I bought mine about this time last year and it also has the Anchor Harvey marking.

Dikinalaska · Mar 7, 2013

Ya mine has no markings in that area.

oneyeopn · Mar 7, 2013

Mine doesnt have an outside forging mark either, I remember the thread cause I was trying to figure out where the mark was and when we all figured out that I didnt have a mark we knew then that some of us had in house upper receivers.....

Kodiakco · Mar 7, 2013

My OR has the keyhole (Cerro Forge).

Sent from my DROIDX

gm272gs · Mar 7, 2013

I had no idea that Smith&Wesson produced them in-house in the beginning. Thanks, guys! I learned something, and that makes today a good day.

don5 · Mar 7, 2013

And again I learned something new here today! Thanks gm272 for the info as well as everyone else. I will have to check the sport during the day to see if it has any marks.

cddanjr · Mar 8, 2013

My M&P15 with direct impingment gas block has an "A" but my other M&P15 with gas piston has a square cast in it?

Didnt see that symbol on the graciously provided list.

Chuck

GMC man · Mar 9, 2013

Both my sport bought about a year ago and my 300 bought in January have the A on them.

gpagpa · Mar 9, 2013

I thought that was an arrow pointing to the placement of the rear sight.

MichiganScott · Mar 9, 2013

Sounds like S&W may be getting them from several sources. My 15A is unmarked and my wife's plain 15 has a Cerro Forge upper. Hers is an early one before S&W ramped up in-house production.

august242 · Mar 9, 2013

It is rather interesting that you posted this, as I was looking at my M&P 15T rifle today and noticed the small, horizontally split, capital letter " A " and was wondering what it denoted.

Very informative to read the responses here on this thread.

So as member "gm272gs" said, the letter "A" stands for "Anchor Harvey Aluminum". Interesting.

And I mistakenly presumed that it might have been a sight designation mark or some type of measurement indicator.

Good deal.

I learn something new each and every day.

Thanks for posting this.

Take care,

august242

august242 · Mar 9, 2013

Same here.

I thought the exact same thing.

gm272gs · Mar 9, 2013

august242 said:
It is rather interesting that you posted this, as I was looking at my M&P 15T rifle today and noticed the small, horizontally split, capital letter " A " and was wondering what it denoted.

Very informative to read the responses here on this thread.

So as member "gm272gs" said, the letter "A" stands for "Anchor Harvey Aluminum". Interesting.

And I mistakenly presumed that it might have been a sight designation mark or some type of measurement indicator.

Good deal.

I learn something new each and every day.

Thanks for posting this.

Take care,

august242

august242 said:
Same here.

I thought the exact same thing.

Are you answering yourself, Sybil?

rtquig · Mar 9, 2013

I have 2 Sports, one bought September 2012, and the other December 2011, neither have the marking on them.

TDI Brad · Mar 9, 2013

Just checked my 15A has the A marking on it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mkk41 · Mar 9, 2013

gm272gs said:
I had no idea that Smith&Wesson produced them in-house in the beginning. Thanks, guys! I learned something, and that makes today a good day.

I had always heard that Stag made the early runs of S&W ARs.

don5 · Mar 9, 2013

My sport doesn't have any marking on the right side but my 15OR has an A on the right side. My son uses the sport so he is smiling!

Thats just not right, I can't catch a break.......

Symbol on M&P15 Sport - What does it mean?

Member

Member

US Veteran

Member

US Veteran

Member

Member

Member

Member

US Veteran

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

US Veteran

Member

Similar threads