M&P 15 Sport as a first AR-15

[texas tiger]

I own a COLT H-Bar, but want an M&P 15 Sport. Price value the M&P line cannot be beat. They will put thousands of round down range, with the same out of the box accuracy as more expensive AR platforms. If you decide down the line to tinker with a M&P your are only limited by your wallet. As a retired Army Colonel, piston driven vs. gas, is generally about marketing. Keep them clean and both will never fail.
Shoot what you carry. Carry what you shoot.

 

[Super Blackhawk]

Colt 6920

You got some good but incomplete advice here. The Smith Sport is ok if you are never considering selling it for a decent price. Smith now has a new Sporter out with dust cover n forward assist. I think it was silly to eliminate them in the first place. Also know this... The Colt ARs are vigorously tested via magnetic particle texting.. Unlike ARs such as Smiths... Look into that. Before u decide... Believe me Colts will hold great resell value due to a number of manufacturing intangibles. If I knew what I now know today when buying my first Ar I'd definitely see the reduced price of he Colt as a mandate to buy it - the 6920 is worth every penny

 

[krimmie]

What makes magnetic particle testing necessary? I don't think any of my other guns have had that done, and they have all worked fine since the 1970's. The Sport is a excellent first AR, had mine for almost two years, and is a blast to shoot.

 

[cyphertext]

As a former firearms salesman the Sport is great for the occasional shooter. If you want to run a lot of ammo through it, you may want to consider a more advanced weapon. Colt, Ruger, Stag, Rock River all come to mind.

This is the biggest line of BS ever posted on this forum... The biggest difference between the Sport and the rest of the S&W line is that the Sport lacks the ejection port cover and the forward assist. The Sport comes with the same BCG as any other S&W, and the barrel is the same 4140 steel as most of the rest of the S&W line up.

Please share your data to show that the Sport is only made for the "occasional shooter".

 

[cyphertext]

You got some good but incomplete advice here. The Smith Sport is ok if you are never considering selling it for a decent price. Smith now has a new Sporter out with dust cover n forward assist. I think it was silly to eliminate them in the first place. Also know this... The Colt ARs are vigorously tested via magnetic particle texting.. Unlike ARs such as Smiths... Look into that. Before u decide... Believe me Colts will hold great resell value due to a number of manufacturing intangibles. If I knew what I now know today when buying my first Ar I'd definitely see the reduced price of he Colt as a mandate to buy it - the 6920 is worth every penny

Perhaps you should "look into" your own advice. The bolt in the Smith line are HPT and MPI.

And let's talk about that great "resale value".... Colts that sold for $1300 are now selling for $800, or a loss of 38%. However, my Sport has went from $700 to $550, or 21% decrease in the same amount of time.

As soon as Colts started showing up at Walmart, their "resale value" took a huge hit. A used Colt will cost more than a used Sport, but it cost more to begin with. The percentage difference between the cost of a used model vs the cost of a new one is about the same though.

 

[cyphertext]

well, after I got that $499 Sport deal the "what am I missing" bug kept chewing at me. So I was on gunbroker and a deal on a Magpul edition Colt LE6920 with the Krytek Highlander furniture for $782.... I have a sickness

Was that new? Buds is out of stock now, but they had the 6920s with the unusual Magpul furniture for $750 - $800 depending on the pattern. I almost bought one with the wildfire pattern for my son, but went with BCM instead.

 

[McE]

This is the biggest line of BS ever posted on this forum... The biggest difference between the Sport and the rest of the S&W line is that the Sport lacks the ejection port cover and the forward assist. The Sport comes with the same BCG as any other S&W, and the barrel is the same 4140 steel as most of the rest of the S&W line up.

Please share your data to show that the Sport is only made for the "occasional shooter".

Well, he was upfront about being a former salesman.
He mentioned it as if that means he's knowledgeable.
We should read that to mean that he's good at slinging the bs to sell more expensive things.

 

[cockymiles]

Imho buy the fn ar15 its the best deal going and better than the colt colt cuts cornners now that they been bought out

 

[wormraper]

Was that new? Buds is out of stock now, but they had the 6920s with the unusual Magpul furniture for $750 - $800 depending on the pattern. I almost bought one with the wildfire pattern for my son, but went with BCM instead.

yup, it was brand new from Sportsman Shooter. right now th Magpul ones are all sold out or selling for $900. Buds has been out of stock of the Magpul edition for months now. actually they're out of stock of EVERY 6920

 

[Rick_A]

Nothing wrong with the Sport. The dust cover and forward assist are largely unnecessary features.

The 'mil spec' features on higher spec guns don't necessarily mean better performance or longevity, and the chrome lined barrels are often less accurate. If you have to have something similar to what the military uses that may be desirable.

You do lose resale on the budget guns, but as they are so adaptable, I don't see the point in selling one off.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Was that new? Buds is out of stock now, but they had the 6920s with the unusual Magpul furniture for $750 - $800 depending on the pattern. I almost bought one with the wildfire pattern for my son, but went with BCM instead.

BCM is a great choice too.

All this talk about resale I find kinda funny. Just a couple thousand rounds of M855 will put a $700 hole in the wallet. And we're talking about potential loss on resale of a $500-$600 Sport? Please....

 

[cyphertext]

BCM is a great choice too.

All this talk about resale I find kinda funny. Just a couple thousand rounds of M855 will put a $700 hole in the wallet. And we're talking about potential loss on resale of a $500-$600 Sport? Please....

And I have never resold a gun in my life! Have every one of them that I have ever bought or been given.

 

[cyphertext]

Imho buy the fn ar15 its the best deal going and better than the colt colt cuts cornners now that they been bought out

I'm not aware of Colt cutting any corners... They don't include as many things in the LE6920 as they used to, like the carry handle, but the gun is still built to the same specs as far as I know.

Can't speak to the FN... when they announced that they were going to build AR's for the commercial market, there was a lot of talk that they couldn't be built to milspec due to TDP, blah blah blah... I wasn't in the market for one, so I didn't follow it. Don't know anyone who has one either.

But I would love to have one of these!
FNH USA - Distinct Advantage :: FN M249S

 

[GSR_Joe]

I think the M&P 15 Sport (and new Sport II) are both an excellent value for the price, but my personal opinion after owning mine for a few years is that they are really just a starter/entry AR. Mine is the original Sport with no dust cover or forward assist. I got mine for $699 with a Caldwell mag charger, foam padded hard case, 1 30rd P-mag and the MagPul flip up rear site. I like that it has a staked/chromed bolt carrier, I like MagPul mags and sites, I don't mind it not having a forward assist as I never train using one anyway, and the overall quality is decent. The sites were right on out of the box for mine, and it has been reliable and reasonably accurate for a 16" with 1:9 rifling. The 55 grain and 62 grain rounds are best out of this AR. It does not do as well with the heavier rounds. (My distance groups with M855 are better than my groups with 69 grain Winchester match and 77 grain Sierra Match in the M&P) If I were just looking for an entry/throw around budget 16" AR, which I was when I first bought it, the M&P Sport or Ruger's AR556 are two excellent choices. If your just going to take it to the range a bit and/or keep it handy for home defense, the M&P is great. In fact my M&P is now suited up soley for HD duties with a light, quad rail, grip, and a few Pmags each of M193 & Sierra BlitzKings. For competition or duty service though, there are much better options out there.

 

[McE]

I think the M&P 15 Sport (and new Sport II) are both an excellent value for the price, but my personal opinion after owning mine for a few years is that they are really just a starter/entry AR. Mine is the original Sport with no dust cover or forward assist. I got mine for $699 with a Caldwell mag charger, foam padded hard case, 1 30rd P-mag and the MagPul flip up rear site. I like that it has a staked/chromed bolt carrier, I like MagPul mags and sites, I don't mind it not having a forward assist as I never train using one anyway, and the overall quality is decent. The sites were right on out of the box for mine, and it has been reliable and reasonably accurate for a 16" with 1:9 rifling. The 55 grain and 62 grain rounds are best out of this AR. It does not do as well with the heavier rounds. (My distance groups with M855 are better than my groups with 69 grain Winchester match and 77 grain Sierra Match in the M&P) If I were just looking for an entry/throw around budget 16" AR, which I was when I first bought it, the M&P Sport or Ruger's AR556 are two excellent choices. If your just going to take it to the range a bit and/or keep it handy for home defense, the M&P is great. In fact my M&P is now suited up soley for HD duties with a light, quad rail, grip, and a few Pmags each of M193 & Sierra BlitzKings. For competition or duty service though, there are much better options out there.

In what ways are the 'better options' better? Genuinely curious.

 

[gmiller0737]

Since they have released The Sport 2 I may pick 1 up when they hit My Local Dealer I have been wanting a Carbine style AR to go along with My mid 80's Colt H-Bar

 

[cyphertext]

For competition or duty service though, there are much better options out there.

That is going to depend on what types of competition and what ammo you are using. Yes, if you are going to use 77 gr, the 1:9 twist may not perform well with that. My 1:8 twist barrel doesn't perform as well with 77 gr as it does with 62 gr. But most folks who buy a Sport aren't going to be shooting the higher cost ammo anyway.

 

[sgtsandman]

Cyphertext is right. It depends on the rifle. Sometimes even 70 and 75 grain is a problem too depending on the rifle and how the bullet is constructed. The best bet is to try some of the heavier weights but 50-62 is probably going to perform best. Maybe lighter will be ok too.

 

[rufuswd]

I got the Sport

I bought the Sport. Upgraded the trigger to 3 1/2# and changed the handle and still beat the Colt price. It shoots about an inch. Love that little black gun!

 

[Lewieke]

To mention this on an american forum is like swearing in church I guess. I am limited by budgets and arms regulations here in Europe. Prices for decent AR's are pretty high and regulations are getting stricter all time. This implies a serious risk because some smart politicians may ban ownership of this type of assault rifles. Therefore I bought a chinese copy, second hand, full option. The Norinco311 with bipod, hand guards, extra mags, basic scope, ... . For just 500 usd. It was like Santa Claus making his delivery when the postman rang at my door... .

 

[HalfStack]

OP, I bought my MP15 for the very same reason you have, fun at the range and for HD. The MP15's ain't no sub-par piece of machinery and mine has proven itself many times.

I found that it's very accurate with 62g rounds and I stocked up on 30/rnd boxes of ZQI 556 NATO 62g. For HD I have Federal Fusion 62g soft points.

 

[email4eric]

OP, I bought my MP15 for the very same reason you have, fun at the range and for HD. The MP15's ain't no sub-par piece of machinery and mine has proven itself many times.

I found that it's very accurate with 62g rounds and I stocked up on 30/rnd boxes of ZQI 556 NATO 62g. For HD I have Federal Fusion 62g soft points.

Nice, I just picked up 1200 rounds of that very ZQI for my Mid Magpul. Glad to hear another report of accuracy with that round. I think it's a good match for the 1/8 twist.

 

[wormraper]

one more quick question guys. I have like 15 Pmag's and am having a blast with my Sport (can't believe what a great deal this was at $499), but I was wanting to upgrade my furniture on the beast. I like the Magpul MOE gear that my Colt LE6920 came with (I got the Kryptek Highlander gear) and it fits my hands really well compared to the m&p 15 furniture. the only thing is, I know it's a carbine kit, but does the Sport take Mil spec or commerical fitted furniture? I noticed that the kits come in both so I figured I'd check here before dropping coin.

 

[McE]

Sport is Mil spec/carbine

 

[wormraper]

Sport is Mil spec/carbine

awesome possum. Thanks for the help, Mil-spec kit it is.