Why did S&W design this rifle this way?? Was the dust cover really THAT expensive? Is there an advantage in NOT having a dust cover on an M&P15 sport?? Otherwise the rifle looks great & the price is right, but I have reservations about NOT having a dust cover. Can any M&P15 Sport owners chime in with there opinions on how their rifles perform without one?? Thanks, Bill
Lack of Dust cover on M&P Sport???
- Thread starter C&R Bill
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shawn mccarver
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This comes up quite a bit. I have never yet seen a post where a purchaser, while using for sport or defense, had a malfunction associated with the dust cover. Same for the forward assist.
I cannot speak for S&W as to why they did it that way, but I suspect it had to do with "not competing with itself" in the sense that if a buyer wanted an M4 with a fantastic price, they wanted to make it different than the full-featured model, or else, the full-featured model would no longer sell. Who would buy the same model at a higher price.
Ruger did this with its AR556. It has a forward assist and dust cover, but the barrel is not chrome lined or treated with the melonite hardening process.
The bottom line is that I have more reservations about not having a hardened barrel than about not having a forward assist and dust cover, but that is just me.
With the Sport, you can buy "his" and "hers." The ideal Christmas gifts for the ill-prepared family.
I cannot speak for S&W as to why they did it that way, but I suspect it had to do with "not competing with itself" in the sense that if a buyer wanted an M4 with a fantastic price, they wanted to make it different than the full-featured model, or else, the full-featured model would no longer sell. Who would buy the same model at a higher price.
Ruger did this with its AR556. It has a forward assist and dust cover, but the barrel is not chrome lined or treated with the melonite hardening process.
The bottom line is that I have more reservations about not having a hardened barrel than about not having a forward assist and dust cover, but that is just me.
With the Sport, you can buy "his" and "hers." The ideal Christmas gifts for the ill-prepared family.
Pisgah
Member
If I were frequently infiltrating enemy positions by belly-crawling through swamps, I would want the cover. As it is, the lack of one on my DPMS Sportical bothers me not at all. In fact, the Sportical lacks the forward assist and the brass deflector, too -- and I don't miss any of that stuff. And if a rifle lacks a chrome lining or interior Melonite, you need not worry unless you shoot to the point your barrel practically glows red and starts to droop...
cyphertext
US Veteran
Cost was one factor... less machining necessary if there is not an ejection port cover. I'm sure model differentiation played a part as well. As far as performance without one, do you have any other semi automatic rifles? Do they have ejection port covers? Do they perform well without one?
My Sport has ridden on the back of a four wheeler, strapped to the roll bar on my Jeep, and in the bed of my truck while driving across pastures and trails in west Texas while hunting. My rifle will be covered with fine, red dust by the time I get to where I am going. It has never caused an issue with my rifle. It has never jammed or failed to fire because it got "dirty" from dust.
If you like the dust cover simply because it looks like the GI rifle our boys carry, by all means, get a rifle with one if that is what makes you happy. But from a pure performance standpoint, I don't think it is that critical.
lowriderfxr
SWCA Member
Think about BARs, Remington 7400s and model 4s etc. None have dust covers and work just fine.
Decipher
Member
The cost savings have been sighted as their first reason for not putting the dust cover and forward assist on it. There have been review of the rifle (look them up on YouTube) where they run the gun through all kinds of stuff and the rifle still runs just fine without the cover. I was surprised and sold. All my other rifles have covers.
Dave B.
Member
Unless you're crawling through the weeds and mud and dirt, why would you need the dust cover? The ease of manufacture by omitting the dust cover and forward assist is just a couple of reasons why S&W can offer the Sport at its low price point. It performs just as well as an AR with those things which puts it within easy reach of the average Joe, or Dave, however you want to look at it. Mine has performed flawlessly in normal operation.
Check out the YouTube Sport review by Nutnfancy. There's a lot of good information on this rifle there.
Check out the YouTube Sport review by Nutnfancy. There's a lot of good information on this rifle there.
Decipher
Member
Nutnfancy is a YouTube authority on all things gun related. Watch, subscribe, and learn!
JaPes
Member
M&P 15-Sport owner from back when they were issued with the 1:8 5R barrel and a chopped A2 rear sight. The omission of a dust cover and forward assist has not been detrimental to the operation of the rifle. Below are a couple videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwXhm45x3WM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YdpE6Lpw9E
The cost savings of the omission of the forward assist, dust cover, and the integral winter trigger guard come from less machining and less assembly time. May not be much per rifle but over an entire yearly production run, the savings add up.
If for any reason the omission of a dust cover and forward assist on your 15-Sport bother you, swap out the upper receiver for a full feature upper receiver. I've seen decent complete upper receivers (Foward Assist and Dust Cover already installed) for under $100. Swap over your barrel, barrel nut, BCG, charging handle. Voila, full featured AR.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwXhm45x3WM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YdpE6Lpw9E
The cost savings of the omission of the forward assist, dust cover, and the integral winter trigger guard come from less machining and less assembly time. May not be much per rifle but over an entire yearly production run, the savings add up.
If for any reason the omission of a dust cover and forward assist on your 15-Sport bother you, swap out the upper receiver for a full feature upper receiver. I've seen decent complete upper receivers (Foward Assist and Dust Cover already installed) for under $100. Swap over your barrel, barrel nut, BCG, charging handle. Voila, full featured AR.
I was a combat soldier in Vietnam and the dust cover on our M-16 was badly needed because of the fact we were sleeping on the ground in the jungle for 30 days at a time and we had all kinds of weather including monsoon rains. I can also say I never had to use the forward assist on my M-16 once while I was there.
I have a DPMS Sportical that comes without the dust cover or forward assist and quite frankly that doesn’t bother me at all because I don’t need them here. The rifle shoots 1 inch groups at 100 yards and was less than $600 when I bought it. It’s the same configuration as the S&W Sport so I wouldn’t worry about the dust cover on the Sport either.
I have a DPMS Sportical that comes without the dust cover or forward assist and quite frankly that doesn’t bother me at all because I don’t need them here. The rifle shoots 1 inch groups at 100 yards and was less than $600 when I bought it. It’s the same configuration as the S&W Sport so I wouldn’t worry about the dust cover on the Sport either.
Little Creek
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I agree with most if not all the above posts, that you do not need a forward assist and a dust cover unless you are a warfighter. Then I think only the dust cover is needed. The FA was the wrong answer to a problem with the system (carbine, ammo (powder) and lack of proper cleaning kit) 50 years ago. If you are LH, the FA actually gets in the way.
gunny4053
US Veteran
I might as well chime in with something similar to what I've opined before. From a cost saving perspective, if the machining and lack of dust cover saves just 2 dollars per rifle, over the course of a run of 50,000 rifles, that's $100,000 saved.
From a function standpoint, think about your rifle. When you shoot, the dust cover is open anyway. So, unless you're doing the low crawl, high crawl, combat rush through sand and mud, it serves no real purpose.
As to my personal Sports performance, I haven't been able to get it to malfunction yet, so only time will tell if the lack of dust cover and FA really matters.
From a function standpoint, think about your rifle. When you shoot, the dust cover is open anyway. So, unless you're doing the low crawl, high crawl, combat rush through sand and mud, it serves no real purpose.
As to my personal Sports performance, I haven't been able to get it to malfunction yet, so only time will tell if the lack of dust cover and FA really matters.
Rastoff
US Veteran
All my ARs have dust covers on them. I'm pretty sure I've never closed them. At least not on a regular basis. None of mine have ever malfunctioned.
Then again, I've never crawled through mud with them either.
Then again, I've never crawled through mud with them either.
Pinger5.56
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I was told that S&W did this because the original M16 rifle design did not have a DC or the FA. The FA was your thumb.
JaPes
Member
Nope. Cost cutting measures. Decrease the machining time, parts count, and assembly time over a years worth of production lets S&W offer the 15-Sport at a good price.
IMO, it's unfair to call the 15-Sport an "entry" level or "beginner" rifle. Those words have negative connotations to them. The 15-Sport was my 1st AR-15. I don't consider myself to be "entry level" or a beginner anymore, yet I still have mine. I think it's best to describe the 15-Sport as one of the better gateways to AR-15 enthusiasm.
sgtsandman
US Veteran
As far as I'm aware, the AR10/15 family is the only rifle that comes any kind of a dust cover outside of the built in one on the AK47/74 safety. Up until that point, covers were not deemed to be needed. Look at the bolt and lever action rifles used in past wars. Depending on how one looks at it the M1 Garand and Carbine might be considered to having a dust cover.
Mustang5L5
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With all the deals going on in the AR world, I ended up finding an assembled upper receiver for dirt cheap and just swapped it on. Just looks "conplete" with a FA and dust cover.
But now that I think of it, I've never closed it really, and never touched the FA.
My m&p15 has been changed around so much that the only original parts are the lower reciever and trigger group and original 1/8 barrel. Every other part went to another rifle I built.
The original upper receiver went to a dedicated .22lR build. Didn't need FA and no need for dust cover when plinking at range.
Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
But now that I think of it, I've never closed it really, and never touched the FA.
My m&p15 has been changed around so much that the only original parts are the lower reciever and trigger group and original 1/8 barrel. Every other part went to another rifle I built.
The original upper receiver went to a dedicated .22lR build. Didn't need FA and no need for dust cover when plinking at range.
Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk
JaPes
Member
The only stock bits left on my 15-Sport are:
- 1:8 5R Barrel
- Upper Receiver
- Lower Receiver
- Buffer Tube
- Buffer Spring
- Castle Nut
- End Plate
- Safety Lever
- Small lower parts (pins, springs, detents)
And you're right, with all the deals popping up you can find good parts to assemble an AR-15 on the cheap. Time to start accumulating a few more parts.
