M&P 15 Sport as a first AR-15

[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.