Changing the barrel on a M&P 15 Sport

[Chinook1717]

not at present. I'm still waiting to put the cash together to get the optics.

 

[cyphertext]

not at present. I'm still waiting to put the cash together to get the optics.

Ok, stop.... go shoot it... alot. You should not make any changes to the firearm until you have put at least 500 rounds down range and you know what you like and what you don't like about it.

Once you get the optic, go shoot it again. You may find that you don't even need to remove the front sight post. I probably have the least modified Sport on the board... I added a red dot and replaced the rear Magpul sight with a Matech folding sight. That front sight post is still there and makes absolutely no difference when I use the red dot.

 

[McE]

Turns out I need to change barrels to swap uppers. Anyone got a barrel wrench recommendation?

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Can the barrel be changed and if so any suggestions on a comp barrel??

Yes it does look like a great deal but why am I going to take a $550.00 AR and then spend $200 to swap the barrel??

Love to see the learning curve.
Well done.

 

[crracer_712]

I started this post due to the fact I wanted to put optics on my AR but didn't want the A2 post 'in the way'. I thought I would have to swap barrels to do this hence the name of the post. Not I found our from you great folks that all I needed to do was swap out my gas block and I would be good to go. But why take a base line gun (I think we can all agree that this is what the M&P sport is) and put new grip, bolt, charging handle, rails, stock, barrel and the like when we could have bought the parts for less than we have in the stock gun and all the upgrades. As far as having a different barrel and have a different gun, why not get another lower to go with that barrel and you will be on your way to a second AR. Sorry you can never have too many AR's. Anyone agree??

If you swap out all those parts for less than the price of the Sport, I wouldn't consider it an 'upgrade', it'd probably be a downgrade.

 

[Chinook1717]

How could it be less??? I'm talking about paying $550 for the rifle then another $2,000 to "upgrade" all the parts, when I could have bought all the parts for around $1500 and built the AR. So I want to keep the $550 AR as cheap as possible.

 

[MichiganScott]

If you want to keep it cheap, mount the optic of your choice and replace the trigger. You now have a $550 gun with less than $300 worth of accessories. My guess is that many orders of magnitude more AR's are left stock than are fully pimped out. Not all of us are mall ninjas.

 

[trixter]

If you want to keep it cheap, mount the optic of your choice and replace the trigger. You now have a $550 gun with less than $300 worth of accessories. My guess is that many orders of magnitude more AR's are left stock than are fully pimped out. Not all of us are mall ninjas.

I don't think you have to replace the whole trigger, just change springs. I put the 3.5 lb trigger spring kit from JP and achieved what I wanted.

 

[McE]

You can't just swap out with any ol gas block, it has to be one that accommodates the handguard retainer, if you're keeping the stock handguard setup.

 

[Chinook1717]

It was purchased at a gun range with that issue in mind McE.

 

[JWH321]

The way this usually works is that you will buy a red-dot sight. Then you need spacer/risers so you buy them. Then you want a tru scope that can double as an astronomical observation device so you buy one of those. Then you buy more risers. Then you find that its a huge pain in the tail to be changing them and you get the brilliant idea that you can just buy another upper, so you do that and put the scope on one and the red-dot on the other. Then you find that changing the lower all the time is a pain in the tail so you buy another lower and put that on whichever upper is currently bottomless. Then you find you prefer one lower over the other so you set about making them equal. But while you're doing that, you decide that you'll try the latest whiz-bang trigger and you love it so you have to buy two of those. Then you find that with the new trigger you need a....... Eventually, your spare parts box will have enough parts to make a whole rifle if you just buy a cheap upper receiver which just happens to be on sale. Now you have three rifles. But the one you just built from parts needs a better trigger to be just like the others. There is a better trigger on sale, too......

Good luck. You're gonna need it.

I'd tell you more but I have to look through the web sights now because I need another riser to go on my new upper receiver that I.....

 

[SCBoy]

LOL!! Ain't it the truth?