A few weeks ago while browsing around online I happened upon a sale including an assortment of Police trade-in AR Pattern rifles, all of which were priced affordably and were all in Good Condition or better.

After taking some time to think it over and looking over my finances, I decided it was at long last time for me to get myself an AR. As previously stated, there was a wide variety of affordably priced police trade-in ARs to choose from online, from the authentic Colt LE6920 to various name brand M4geries. At first I was strongly considering going all in by getting a Colt, but it was among the most expensive of the lot, despite being in the worst condition cosmetically, so I decided to shop around a bit more, do some research, and find the one I liked the most. Ultimately, all of them had good reputations, as one ought to expect from weapons which were trusted by Law Enforcement, but the one that I kept coming back to was the Smith & Wesson M&P15.

I'm a big fan of Smith & Wesson, in fact, the majority of firearms that I own today were manufactured by them, so obviously I gravitated towards the M&P15. Not only was it the least expensive model they had, but it was among the best-looking, feature-rich models. One thing in particular that stood out about it most was the appearance, as despite the fact that it was labeled as an ordinary M&P15, I was familiar enough with the M&P15 to know that it wasn't a standard model. For those who don't know, M&P15s characteristically have an integral trigger guard, whereas the one that they were selling had a more common lower assembly with the trigger guard being a separate piece. So I decided to do some digging to find out exactly what model of M&P15 it was.


Still with me? Well, here it is... The model was the M&P15X, a now discontinued high end model with all the bells and whistles one might desire out of an off-the-shelf M4-pattern AR.

• Troy Aluminum Carbine-Length Quad-Rail Handguard
• Troy Aluminum Rear Folding Battle Sight
• Chrome Lined Bore, Chamber, Bolt Carrier, Firing Pin, and Gas Key
• 4140 Steel Barrel with a 1 in 9" Twist Rifling and Armornite Finish
• Cold Hammer-Forged 7075 T6 Aluminum upper and lower receiver
• 6-Position Collapsible Stock

The M&P15X was offered at an MSRP of $1379 with a street price closer to about $1100, which proved to be a bit too expensive for the average consumer, but sold fairly well with Law Enforcement. Unfortunately, the M&P15 was firmly established as a budget-friendly entry level AR, so despite multiple attempts by Smith & Wesson to compete with higher end ARs with a variety of different models over the past decade and a half, the only models to achieve mainstream success were the standard M&P15 and M&P15 Sport, which remains on the market today in the form of the M&P15 Sport II.

Once all was said and done, I only paid $658, which seems like a good deal overall.

Alright, so with all that info out of the way, let's get into my particular example of the rifle...





Much to my surprise, my M&P15X was shipped in a black plastic foam-lined clamshell case, which was a nice little bonus considering that there was no mention of it coming with a case in the description when my order was placed. It's not an official M&P branded case, but rather a retailer branded case, but still, nice.

It only came with a single magazine, an IMI Defense G2, which seems to be a high quality magazine. Fortunately, they're cheap, so I bought 5 more magazines at $10 apiece.

Not long after unboxing her, I remembered that I own a Smith & Wesson branded M9 Bayonet, so obviously I couldn't help but slap it on and take a picture!

FUN FACT: When I showed my mother a pic of the Rifle, her response was; "That thing looks like a killing machine!" I can't wait to hear back from her once she sees this pic!




The rifle itself was dry as a bone both inside and out, but in surprising good cosmetic condition. The rifle was described as being in "Good Condition" but I would personally rate this as Very Good. Yes, there's a bit of finish wear here and there, but for the most part it looks pretty darn good, better than I was expecting. There's some finish wear on the barrel, quad-rail hand guard, and a rather large scratch on the right side of the receiver, but personally I like to see some wear/tear on police trade-ins because it adds to their mystique.



Despite being bone dry throughout, the action feels surprisingly smooth, which I imagine is a result of the chome-lining as well as the nitride finish. The trigger pull is likewise surprisingly light as well as crisp, it just breaks clean under pressure. I've heard that MilSpec AR Triggers are pretty bad, with a gritty two-stage pull, not so with my M&P15X. The trigger is factory rated at 7lbs, but it feels lighter than that to me. Granted, I have no means of measuring the pull, so I'm just going by feel alone, but I have other guns with 7lb triggers and this definitely feels lighter.

Unsurprisingly, the aluminum quad-rail hand guard isn't very comfortable to hold, as it's basically covered in hot spots which dig into your fingers and palms. Granted, grips such as these aren't necessary intended to be held onto with bare hands, especially since they lend themselves so well to being fitted with a vertical or diagonal foregrip, but nevertheless, I feel it necessary to note that on its own, it's about as comfortable as gripping a cylindrical cheese grater, so I'll be shooting it while wearing gloves, at least.

Upon initial inspection, everything looks good. No signs of excessive wear, but it was very dry and very dirty inside, evidently it hadn't been cleaned/lubed in some time because it was all caked up with carbon fouling in all the nooks and crannies. However, with some paper towels, Frog Lube CLP, and a bit of elbow grease, she cleaned up nicely.






Overall, I'm very pleased with my purchase, and satisfied by my choice of an AR pattern rifle. While I was at the gun shop, I purchased 200 rounds of Remington UMC 55gr .223, hopefully I'll be able to take it out shooting soon, but I'm not holding my breath. Sadly, my favorite outdoor range adopted some extremely heavy-handed fudd rules which would make firing this rifle there impossible, so I'll have to find a new one, and with my life being as hectic as it has been lately, I barely have time to think let alone start poking around looking for good ranges near me. For now, I'm happy just to have it in my possession.

Attached Images

	M&P15X_Unboxed.jpg (95.2 KB, 373 views)
	M&P15X_Lower.jpg (62.3 KB, 371 views)
	M&P15X_Inside_Lower.jpg (61.9 KB, 376 views)
	M&P15X_Bolt.jpg (92.9 KB, 374 views)
	M&P15+M9.jpg (80.7 KB, 377 views)

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

I think you have a good one there. Lube it up according to the manual and have fun shooting it.

Your range does not allow basic AR carbines? Where is this? Hope you got all that crud removed. Quads can eat your hands at times.

"Unsurprisingly, the aluminum quad-rail hand guard isn't very comfortable to hold, as it's basically covered in hot spots which dig into your fingers and palms. Granted, grips such as these aren't necessary intended to be held onto with bare hands .................."

Actually, they are intended to be held bare-handed unless otherwise indicated which I have never observed, heard, read, etc. Can get toasty if doing sequential mag dumps.

It's not that ARs are specifically banned, they simply have rules which pretty much make bringing one along a complete waste of time. For example, you're not allowed to load more than 6 rounds into a magazine at a time and you cannot do rapid-fire drills either, you have to wait at least one whole second between shots, there are others as well, but it's an extremely long list that basically takes all the fun out of shooting practically anything there and renders any semblance of training impossible.
As for where it's located, that's the best part... It's out in the sticks, surrounded by hills, ergo there's no logical reason for their rules because the bullets can't go anywhere but into the dirt.

I always assumed that quad-rails were designed specifically for the purpose of attaching superior aftermarket peripheral foregrips, especially since they have a tendency to heat up quickly under sustained fire. I've never seen anyone shoot an AR with a quad-rail bare handed, if nothing else, they always wear a glove on their support hand.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

That bayonet isn't going to work to well dangling on the barrel instead of the flash hider.

I know, I just clipped it on for laughs.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Im not familiar with ar's much but seems to me you got a great deal!

Thanks for the reply. It's a shame regarding the range. Funny, even in the military (Navy/Army) or govt. civilian, I rarely saw gloves used short of ropes / concertina, etc. I will say though from what I saw on the tube, internet, etc, issues gloves were much more (perhaps regularly) after I retired. Prior to, "men were men".

Hey glad to hear you got a good one!

I used to belong to a range but moved out into the sticks, now my range is the sticks.

I just make sure my bullets are stopped by a dirt backstop.

Forte, Nice basic looking carbine. Everything you need and nothing you don't. I have been using the heat resistant polymer ladder rail covers for years to tame the bite of the cheese grater rails. The ladder covers don't add any bulk to the rails, they protect your hand from the sharp edges and also protect the rails from inadvertent damage. I got mine from a vendor on Ebay. If interested PM me and I'll send you a link.

Attached Images

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The basic function(s) of the quad rail were to free float the barrel for those with accuracy pretensions and to allow the easy installation of all manner of "stuff" many think is essential. My favorite pic of one of those also had a RR hood ornament and a '55 Chevy spotlight attached.

I was gonna do a long sermon on quad rails. Instead, I'll keep it simple: the best rail of that type I've ever encountered was the factory rail on the Ruger piston gun. Round profile of reasonable diameter (with the supplied covers on), came with rubber covers, extras available so you could trim to fit. Wonderful item but you couldn't bolt the kitchen sink to it.

The funny thing is, this particular quad-rail isn't free-floating, so if that is their major purpose, then this one fails right out the gate.

That being said, it's sort of growing on me... The more I handle it, the more I like it. Yeah, it's uncomfortable to hold, but at the same time, it's not like it's painful or anything, and it's certainly easy to get a firm grip on, obviously it's durable, I presume that it disperses heat well with all the notches cut into it, plus I could attach all sorts of doodads onto it if I were so inclined, so it has its benefits.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

If it's not free floating, one of the Mag-Pul MOE handguards might work well and also avoid the cheese/hand grater effect. They also make rail sections of various lengths so you can put what rails you might actually need, where they need to be.

BTW, I presume your club was started long ago by bullseye shooters or fellow travelers. I once belonged to a couple of those, but they weren't paying attention and got outvoted at a few business meetings and they got left in the dust. Just before I moved to my present state I shot at the IPSC Sectional Championship at one of those ranges and overheard a couple of the old guard fussing about how the club had been ruined. We had more paying participants there that day than they'd had in several consecutive years.

Quads are great for accessorizing when stepping out for the evening.

As I recall in one of your previous threads, you were considering getting an AR as a boat defense rifle.

A free-float handguard may be just the ticket.

Get it?

I'm hilarious!

I think you got a good deal, that rifle is hardly broken-in. They’re all used after you fire the first shot.

Yea I was looking at the finish on the face of the hammer and the rails on the BCG that ride in the upper, that rifle definitely looks low mileage, especially given the fact that there's no oil in there!

Nice purchase.

Some Birchwood-Casey Aluma Black will take care of those scratches.

I like the scratches, they give it character and add to its mystique.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Character and mystique?

The thing probably got scratched moving it on and off the rack at the police station, I doubt it saw much field use.

Anyway, we are looking forward to the results of a field test when you get the chance.

I do hope you're happy with your decision to get an AR.

Oh and BTW, the .40 S&W is alive and well around here.

Plus, they belong on a "working gun".

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The best I can with what I got

Oh I'm just saying his rifle probably didn't see much field use judging by its excellent condition.

But who knows.

My rifle had a tiny blemish from the factory and they just anodized over it, didn't see that until I got it home and almost had a cow!

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I know, but I like to pretend that any wear occured as a result of field use.

I'm also aware that .40 S&W is alive and well, I'm just making fun of people who insist that it's dying/dead, hence why my signature lists it as being alive until present day.
It's actually my favorite duty cartridge. My username is actually supposed to be something of an exaggerated homophone/double entendre.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Oh.

We both have a great sense of humor.

I like your rifle, clean & oil it up and let us know how it runs.

Congrats. I bought a M&P 15T about five years ago. It has the quad rail and when I picked it up from the box, my first thought was it not an ideal grip for bare hands. Fortunately, there were three rail covers included. Mine has the 1:8, 5R barrel. I’m thinking the hand guard is free floating.

Shoot yours and give us a range report.

Frank in Phoenix

Upon familiarizing myself further with my M&P15X after a recent seep cleaning, I discovered a bit of an oddity. Despite the fact that all the spec sheets I had read stating that the M&P15X had a chrome-lined bolt carrier group, my partner example does not. It's just nitrided, no chrome-lining anywhere within.

So I contacted Smith & Wesson about it, and through them I learned the following...

My rifle was produced in 2015 and by that point they no longer were chrome-lining the BCG, so that one particular detail that I listed in the OP wasn't correct about my model. It still has a chrome-lined barrel, chamber, and firing pin, but the BCG is merely Armornite® treated.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Since our ARs were high mileage, I noticed that the hard chrome in the bolt carrier bolt bore generally showed wear. Now, the claim for such coatings is that they get a bond to the base metal at the molecular level so one would assume that even if it isn't real noticeable, it's still doing it's job. Dunno if it's really necessary.

This is picky, but just for your fund of knowledge, the term BCG means the carrier, bolt, bolt rings, cam pin, firing pin and all the other component parts. The bolt carrier is just that.

BTW, the vast majority of AR "manufacturers" don't produce all the major parts. During a Patrol Rifle Instructor school, we were told that NONE of them produce all the parts. Given the assortment of springs, pins, gas rings, bolts/screws and what not, this makes sense.

Nice pickup! The M&P15's are great AR's at a great price. I had a M&P Sport that was awesome, so much so that a good friend of mine now has it. If that handguard gets to be too much, the suggestion to replace it with one from Magpul is very good. They look good, feel good, and would drop a little weight off the front end. The one you have probably has a couple screws on each side holding the halves together. Remove those, pull back on the Delta ring and the handguards should come right off. Hope you get some trigger time soon.

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SFC, US Army, Retired