M&P 15-22: My impressions

[mainegrw]

I have had my 15-22 for a short time now, and last night I gave her a good run in a plate competition. She did not disappoint. There were a handful of us there shooting 15-22s and most of us did well with them, I owe my losses to inexperience in competition, and the need for more practice. The thing that impressed me in observing the match was that I did not see a single FTF or FTE from any of the 15-22s there, including mine. These rifles ranged from completely stock (or nearly), like mine, to customized, and not a single issue with any of them from my observations. I did observe, however, several failures of a certain other major brand's popular 22 rifle (cough, Ruger, cough, cough), among others, reflecting my own experiences with them. I will disclose that I had one small problem with my rifle, a jam when trying to chamber a round. I believe that I was at fault for this, caused by not being careful when loading the mag. Swapping mags solved the issue, and I spent the rest of the night using more care loading my mags, completely mitigating this issue.

My ammo of choice for all of my 22s is CCI AR Tactical, and was the ammo I used last night. I seems to feed well through the 15-22, as it also does through my Victory, and produces fairly tight groups on paper. I could be wrong, but I think that CCI AR Tactical ammo may just be a bulk pack of Mini-Mags, as they seem to have the same velocities and bullet weights.

The bottom line is that I find the 15-22 to be a solid, well made and well performing rifle. It has solidified its place on my list best 22s under $1000 along with the Victory. I have looked at these rifles for years and always thought that they were a bit gimmicky, more of a toy than a practical rifle like a GSG, or Mossberg's Blaze 47. It is however clear that Smith and Wesson has put a lot of time and care into these guns, and they have won me over with a superior product.

Now, if only they could release a 15-22 with an alloy upper and lower...

 

[nippr]

I could be wrong, but I think that CCI AR Tactical ammo may just be a bulk pack of Mini-Mags, as they seem to have the same velocities and bullet weights.

Not minimags. Different bullet profile and slower speeds, 1200fps.

 

[cjt50]

AR Tactical ammo is basically CCI standard velocity copper washed pills going 1200fps.

different bullet shape.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I have two 15-22s including one that had no flash hider and looks dorky. It shoots great but I only feed it Federal Champion 36 gr JHP or CCI AR Tactical or Mini Mags.

Some of these guns may have defective parts or have a part break. S&W fixes this stuff. Biggest problem seems to be using "speed fillers" to load mags which may cause the ammo to not stack properly. I fill my mags one cartridge at a time and have no problems.

 

[perryhd]

I've had my 15-22 for two years. I shoot 500 to 1000 rds a month with no problems. After the first trip to the range I ordered a McFADDEN loader and never looked back.

 

[peterdeb]

I've had my 15-22 for two years. I shoot 500 to 1000 rds a month with no problems. After the first trip to the range I ordered a McFADDEN loader and never looked back.

YUUUUUUP! They stack em fine....

 

[dlidster]

. . . I have had my 15-22 for a short time now . . .

. . . (cough, Ruger, cough, cough) . . .

It's nice that you're happy with your new 15-22, but you might consider not displaying your own newness by mocking other brands. There are by far more accomplished steel shooters shooting 10/22 race guns in Steel Challenges than any other brand. And for good reason. They work.

I too, love my M&P 15-22. I shot it in a steel match this weekend. But I also love my seven (7) Ruger 10/22s. They are well-tuned and absolutely reliable.

 

[mainegrw]

It's nice that you're happy with your new 15-22, but you might consider not displaying your own newness by mocking other brands. There are by far more accomplished steel shooters shooting 10/22 race guns in Steel Challenges than any other brand. And for good reason. They work.

I too, love my M&P 15-22. I shot it in a steel match this weekend. But I also love my seven (7) Ruger 10/22s. They are well-tuned and absolutely reliable.

First off, I am not new to firearms or shooting sports, and have owned close to 100 different firearms in the course of my life (not all at one time), spanning many different calibers (both in bullet diameter and quality ), types, new, used, etc. Basically, I buy, sell, or trade somewhere between 10 and 20 firearms a year.

Next, I guess I need to clarify: I agree with you that the Ruger 10/22 can be a good rifle with tuning and performance parts. My statements and observations were not aimed at performance 10/22s at all. You are quite correct, anyone with a modified and tuned rifle could easily out-shoot me with a stock 15-22 easily. What I disagree with is how the stock 10/22 performs straight out of the box, and generally in my experience it is not good. As I stated, my observations from the other night reflect my own experiences with the 10/22, of which I have owned a couple, both sporting more than a reasonable amount of FTFs and FTEs among other problems. This includes a brand new 10/22 that consistently failed to eject or load 7 out of 10 rounds per magazine right out of the box. Trying different ammo didn't work, and believe me, I tried anything and everything I could get my hands on. Adding a Volquartsen exact edge extractor, and a new trigger group brought the number down to 3 out of 10 on average, but no better than that. I ended up selling it not long after, rather than pay $80 to the ship it to Ruger for repair.

So, with personal experience like what I have described above, if I observe 3 or 4 other people, each with their own rifle of the exact same type, having the exact same problems, I am not allowed to form a negative opinion and share my observations? Personally, I don't see this a slamming another brand if I am reporting (not fabricating) my observations.

The point I am trying to make is that when I buy a firearm, and it does not matter what it is, I expect that it will work properly when I take it out of the box. I have never bought a firearm with the intention of stripping it to a bare frame or receiver, and completely rebuilding it to get to the level of performance it should have out of the box, and just so we're clear, in this case I'll set my measure of good out of box performance as getting through an entire magazine of ammo without issues - nice and low expectations.

So in that respect, does the 15-22 have the stock 10/22 beat? In my experience and observation: Yes.
Is the 15-22 as good as a completely modified and tuned 10/22 or one built by a custom shop? Obviously not.

To further my comparison on the two rifles:

- In my experience, the 15-22 has a cleaner, more crisp trigger pull than a stock 10/22 right out of the box. I also feel the same way about the S&W Victory in comparison to the Ruger 22/45.

I will however concede following:

- I am not as much of a fan of the 15-22's magazines, I do like the 10/22's Rotary mags a little bit better. This is based on my experiences with loading the 15-22 mags incorrectly and allowing the rim of the case above to get behind the rim of the case below. In that respect, Ruger's rotary magazine design is superior.

- I also concede that I am not a fan of the polymer receiver and stock. I really haven't been a fan of polymer guns in general, though my opinion is slowly changing in that respect, thanks in part to quality polymer guns like the 15-22, and those from quality manufacturers like S&W, Glock and Springfield. But in all honesty, I would like the gun better if it was available with an alloy frame and receiver.

To further my opinions about Ruger in General:

I believe that Ruger, at one time, did make 10/22s that were of good quality and reliability out of the box. I do not believe this to be the case with those made today, and I find it more of a let-down more than anything else. I firmly believe that they have cut a few corners in the manufacturing process because they know that a majority of owners are going to modify them anyway. From talking to my local gun dealers, it seems my feelings on this may not just be my own opinion anymore. This same feeling has been expressed about the 22/45, and to a lesser extent, the Mark Series Pistols as well.

Additionally, in my opinion, Ruger makes some of the best single-action revolvers around, and I love them. I also find I am quite partial to their DA revolvers as well, though I find them to not be quite as good quality as S&W; there's just something about Ruger's DA trigger pull I don't like. Ruger also has made, and still makes in fact, some pretty decent semi-auto pistols, and they are surprisingly affordable.

The bottom line here is that I like Ruger a lot.

To Conclude:

I have expressed an opinion based on my experiences and observations, and I feel that I have demonstrated that they are not without merit. I am not here to slam another company for the sake of being a Smith and Wesson fanboy as you insinuate. I will concede that the rather tongue-and-cheek method in which I expressed them may not have been proper, and for that, I apologize for offending you and anyone else taken aback by my statement. I am sincerely happy that all of your 10/22s serve you well, and I am sure that you had a fun and rewarding experience customizing and tuning them them to your liking. I, however, will stick with my 15-22, thanks.