M&P Sport II - Barrel gets Hot. Normal?

Pyromike

Pyromike

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Finally took the plunge and picked up my first AR. Went with the M&P Sport II. Son and I took it out for some plinking. We shot 3 - 30 round mags of Hornady .223 ammo (55 grain).

It wasn't fast fire. Just normal target shooting. My concern is the barrel got EXTREMELY hot. We shot the 90 rounds in about 15 minutes. Hot enough that the front hand guard was very warm to the touch.

Is this normal? I did my searches here and didn't find any other info with this problem. I completely stripped it down and gave it a good cleaning prior to shooting. Cleaned it when we got home.

Any advice and help is greatly appreciated.
 
Yes. Normal. Isn't a problem, the heat shields under the handguards are there for that purpose.
 
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cyphertext said:
The Sport 2 does not have heat shields.
Click to expand...

That stinks. NO wonder.

To the original poster - get some better handguards. You can probably score some for free or next to nothing. A lot of folks take them off and replace with rails and such.

You want some that look like the attached picture.
 

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Thanks for the help. Since I am new to the AR scene I have lots to learn. Looks like I'll be doing some searching unless someone has something for sale.
 
Pyromike said:
Finally took the plunge and picked up my first AR. Went with the M&P Sport II. Son and I took it out for some plinking. We shot 3 - 30 round mags of Hornady .223 ammo (55 grain).

It wasn't fast fire. Just normal target shooting. My concern is the barrel got EXTREMELY hot. We shot the 90 rounds in about 15 minutes. Hot enough that the front hand guard was very warm to the touch.

Is this normal? I did my searches here and didn't find any other info with this problem. I completely stripped it down and gave it a good cleaning prior to shooting. Cleaned it when we got home.

Any advice and help is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Mike first WELCOME from another new Sport owner! I had the same question a couple weeks ago, Man the sucker gets hot lol
You already have your answer from the above posts, I may change the hand guard if I find a good deal . I have been feeding my Sport alot so it is eating extra cash lol
For extra mags check out Mag Warehouse! I got a 6 pack of 30 rounder for 49$ shipped!
 
Radco said:
Mike first WELCOME from another new Sport owner! I had the same question a couple weeks ago, Man the sucker gets hot lol
You already have your answer from the above posts, I may change the hand guard if I find a good deal . I have been feeding my Sport alot so it is eating extra cash lol
For extra mags check out Mag Warehouse! I got a 6 pack of 30 rounder for 49$ shipped!
Click to expand...
When the barrel gets hot like that it means to go buy a better AR-15, a Ruger AR-556! :D
About the magazines, I too got in on that deal as well. But, here is a great deal as well; 30 round PMAGS for $9! At checkout enter the code 9PMAG
MAGPUL PMAG 30rd NON-Window GEN M2 - Black. DSG Arms - Defense Solutions Group, inc.
 
that's one shot , every 10 seconds (if evenly spaced) for 15 minutes, yes the barrel is going to get hot. Its normal .
The faster the shooting the hotter the barrel gets.
 
gwpercle said:
that's one shot , every 10 seconds (if evenly spaced) for 15 minutes, yes the barrel is going to get hot. Its normal .
The faster the shooting the hotter the barrel gets.
Click to expand...

That included the time it took to change out the mags and switch shooters.

We have plenty of pmags and ammo. I know; you can never have enough. Just like firearms!
I am a huge Ruger fan and did consider the 556 but this deal came along and I couldn't turn it down. I'll use this as a training tool and someday probably sell it (or my son will take it) and I'll invest in another.

Thanks.
 
gwpercle said:
that's one shot , every 10 seconds (if evenly spaced) for 15 minutes, yes the barrel is going to get hot. Its normal .
The faster the shooting the hotter the barrel gets.
Click to expand...

Pyromike said:
That included the time it took to change out the mags and switch shooters.

We have plenty of pmags and ammo. I know; you can never have enough. Just like firearms!
I am a huge Ruger fan and did consider the 556 but this deal came along and I couldn't turn it down. I'll use this as a training tool and someday probably sell it (or my son will take it) and I'll invest in another.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Can't say that I'd call that rate "normal target shooting". That just a bit slower than a mag dump.

Remember what destroys barrels is heat. I've turned down several decent looking used AR's over the years simply because you have no idea what sort of abuse the bore has received without a bore scope.
 
I broke down and put a extended 13" Keymod rail on mine so very little of the barrel is left exposed..
After a 100 rounds or so the barrel can get very hot...
:mad: And as stated I have the scars as well ...



 
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As others have already said, the rate of fire you mentioned and the number of rounds, that is completely normal.

Any firearm I have, if I ran that many rounds through it in 15 minutes would get pretty darn hot. You can feel the barrel start to warm up after about 5 rounds during slow fire, even with a bull barrel.

That is part of the reason precision shooters limit their number of shot strings to no more than four or five. Often times, the group will start to open up if the barrel isn't allowed to cool.

Running a hot barrel also shortens the barrel life due to increased wear.
 
Is this normal?
Click to expand...

Yes. 90 rounds in 15 minutes will really warm a barrel up. This is not unique to the S&W M&P-15, any .223 rifle fired at that rate will get hot, whether it is an AR, a Mini-14 or even my new Savage Axis bolt gun.

If you are going to normally shoot at that rate, you may want to invest in a set of handguards that have a thermal liner. You can get an M4 length set of insulated handguards for about $20 (plus shipping): CDNN SPORTS - AR15 M4 HANDGUARD CARBINE INSULATED COLT - GUN PARTS
 
I actually received a 2nd degree burn on the back of my hand when I accidentally touched the front sight of my AR. That was after a couple of 30 round mags. Not really rapid fire either. But it was a very hot July day.
 
Get a pair of gloves like Mechanix Tacticals and wear it on your off hand. This is what I do on hot day because I typically wrap my hand around the rail when firing off hand. It will protect your hands from burns and also help you get a firm grip on the rail.
 
You think your AR gets hot try dumping a 75rnd drum mag through an AK. The smoke pouring off the furniture is rather unnerving. :eek:

WVSig said:
Get a pair of gloves like Mechanix Tacticals and wear it on your off hand. This is what I do on hot day because I typically wrap my hand around the rail when firing off hand. It will protect your hands from burns and also help you get a firm grip on the rail.
Click to expand...

+1, burnt myself accidentally one too many times so always wear gloves now. Mechanixx are OK, but after trying many brands I've settled on PIG tactical gloves, really good fit hardly effects your dexterity at all and they have conductive fingertips so you can still use your smartphone with them on.
 
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hdwhit said:
Yes. 90 rounds in 15 minutes will really warm a barrel up. This is not unique to the S&W M&P-15, any .223 rifle fired at that rate will get hot, whether it is an AR, a Mini-14 or even my new Savage Axis bolt gun.

If you are going to normally shoot at that rate, you may want to invest in a set of handguards that have a thermal liner. You can get an M4 length set of insulated handguards for about $20 (plus shipping): CDNN SPORTS - AR15 M4 HANDGUARD CARBINE INSULATED COLT - GUN PARTS
Click to expand...

Thanks, HDWHIT! Just ordered. Will also use a glove on off hand.
 
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