Shooting impressions, S&W Sport II versus Springfield Saint.....

I had a rare opportunity recently to shoot and compare side by side the Smith & Wesson M&P Sport II and the Springfield Armory Saint B5, both in .223/5.56 caliber. After shooting both, I get to keep one and sell the other....

I had a S & W Sport II that I bought in 2016, liked it a lot, shot it quite a bit, but wound up letting my adult Nephew have it, so I needed a replacement. Rural King had both the M&P Sport and the Springfield Saint in stock, I examined both side by side, Wife was with me, she looked at both as well. I wound up putting the Smith & Wesson on layaway, Wife liked the Saint so much she went back a few days later and put it on layaway. She liked the feel of the slim fore end of the Saint, said it felt lighter and handier, it is lighter than the Smith & Wesson but only a few ounces.

Price on the Smith & Wesson was $649, Springfield Saint $769. With the Saint the selling point is you get upgraded "B5 Sytems" furniture, upgraded trigger, perhaps a better barrel....

Fast forward a month and now we have both in the house, feeling rich in AR-15's in the Post Apocalyptic Covid world. I zeroed the Saint, rifle shoots fine, I'm digging the ergonomics of the B5 Systems stock, but underwhelmed with the rear sight. Seems flimsy compared to the Magpul BUIS on the Smith & Wesson. Has two apertures, small and large, but just doesn't seem solid. Bigger problem, the fore end furniture does not keep the gas tube from burning your fingers, just a few rounds and you will not want your thumb on the fore end. Wife and I spent a few hours shooting it, and both felt more than a little dissapointed.

Zeroed the Smith & Wesson, now we're talking! Rear sight is much better, forend cool, and it "Seems" to be much more accurate. Just a few rounds into shooting and I'm hitting steel targets out to 200 yards with no problems. The difference is definately the rear sight.

Some pics.

Smith & Wesson M&P:



Springfield Saint B5:



Rear sight, Smith & Wesson:




Rear sight, Springfield Saint B5:



Fore end, Springfield B5 showing gas tube "Hot, ouch!":



Smith & Wesson fore end and gas tube "Cool, man....."



So, I'm keeping the Smith & Wesson and selling the Springfield. If I kept the Springfield, I'd replace the fore end and rear sight, and wind up with a rifle just like the Smith & Wesson. The rear sight on the Saint is a non-issue if you are going to put optics on the rifle and just use the rear sight as a backup, but I like iron sights for their simplicity. Zero and forget about them, always standing by to let you shoot true....

Springfield missed the boat with the B5 fore end, looks good but doesn't do what a fore end is supposed to do, keep the shooters hand away from the hot bits.

Is a bigger peep hole on the rear sight more beneficial than the smallish one on the S&W sport?

Congrats on the new AR. Is that Saint forend aluminum or plastic, and is it free floated? A metal forend that is in contact with the barrel / gas block can get hot fast.

I have those Magpul sights on a AR pistol, and they work well.

Larry

Socalgunner said:

Is a bigger peep hole on the rear sight more beneficial than the smallish one on the S&W sport?

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The larger aperture is used for 0-200 yards and night time shooting. The smaller aperture is used for 200+ yards.

The Saint's fore end is plastic, what gets hot and burns you is the gas tube, too close to the ventilation holes....

The S&W fore end doesn't have a heat shield either but it doesn't get hot. At least not with the way I shoot. It might during a mag dump. I was very pleased with the accuracy of mine.

Socalgunner said:

Is a bigger peep hole on the rear sight more beneficial than the smallish one on the S&W sport?

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If the flip-up Sport sight is the same as my Mid-MOE, the small peep hole flips out of the way for a larger one.

I would have kept the Saint.

I would keep the Saint and get another fore end and sights. Those guns may be difficult to obtain real soon.

Now that the Saint is going are you buying your wife her own Sport?
Jim

I don't know that we need two Sports, but she is looking at the Ruger 5.56 pretty hard......

canoeguy said:

I don't know that we need two Sports, but she is looking at the Ruger 5.56 pretty hard......

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Never owned a S&W Sport but bought a Ruger AR556 several years ago when they first came out. It was a well machined AR but could definitely tell the difference (grittier feeling?). When racking the BCG with the charging handle it felt rough when compared to my Rock River which was 'butter smooth'. Maybe the newer Rugers feel better than earlier ones? Also had to mortar the Ruger several times to eject a round since charging handle and BCG got stuck. I traded the Ruger eventually. My friend's Saint has a LOT smoother pull than the Ruger ever did. But, that's just my experience, yours may vary. Good luck with your purchase...any brand AR is tough to find.