new Sport 15 mislabled: 1/9 v. 1/8 5R = not happy

ChattanoogaPhil said:
Have we officially gone full circle in this thread? :p :D
Click to expand...

I was at the store with my friend. She's a hot 38 year old woman who's into motorcycles, cars, guns, and keeping bikini fit year round. Anyways we went to the LGS to take a look at a M&P 15 Sport. We took a look at a rifle right out of the box. The barrel was stamped 1:9 but the barrel wrap sticker had a 1:8 5R label. I pointed this out to my friend, but she just wanted the rifle.

It wasn't until later on in the day, while were relaxing in a hot tub sipping on mimosas, did she start wondering whether or not she got a good deal or not. It totally ruined my afternoon. I had to hop out of the hot tub and just get away from her.

Now we're full circle and then some. :D
 
uncledoggle said:
Everything but Ginger and Mary Ann has been debated here so far, but I'm still wondering what S&W had to say. ;)
Click to expand...

Well I have to correct this right now.

1496744_10151935814553285_300783615_n_zps940ab8ac.jpg


We know what S&W said. Now Ginger and Mary Ann has been brought up. The thread is now complete.
 
uncledoggle said:
Some broken hearts never mend.
Some dreams will never end.
Some barrels always lie.
And this freaking horse needs to die.
Click to expand...

He's a poet, his feet show it, they're Longfellows. :rolleyes:

By the way, Mary Ann lives just up the road a few miles from here. :D

Now, to the OP, what are you hearing from S&W? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
I have two Sports

I bought the first one in 2013 and it had the 1/8r barrel. Great rifle.
I bought another one last year and it had the 1/9 barrel. Great
rifle.

At the distances of over a 100 yards I have shot them while hunting, I have not seen a speck of difference in the two. The rifles look just as good as the day I took them out of the box.

I have no qualms when I grab either one when I go to the ranch. I do not have optics on them, just an offset flashlight mounted for when I have to be out walking at night.

I have run 40-75 grain .223/5.56 rounds thru them and they give the same accuracy.

Only thing I wish S&W would do is put a lightweight barrel on them. My next rifle will be a Del-ton Sport. Only reason is because it has the lightweight pencil barrel. It does have the forward assist and dust cover, but the light barrel is what I want. Same price as a S&W Sport.

Hmmm. I could change my mind and get another S&W Sport, but I think it will go with the lighter barrel Del-ton in the end.


:D
 
What will the 1-8" do that the 1-9 will not do. I do not have an AR but am thinking about the Sport. I want to shoot 55gr rounds mostly, but if it stabilizes the heavier rounds as well as the 55's then what's the big deal?
 
There isn't a huge difference between the two. The point of this thread is that the rifle bought by the OP was marked as having one barrel twist but the barrel was marked as having another.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
poordevil said:
What will the 1-8" do that the 1-9 will not do. I do not have an AR but am thinking about the Sport. I want to shoot 55gr rounds mostly, but if it stabilizes the heavier rounds as well as the 55's then what's the big deal?
Click to expand...
As has been stated previously, it depends on the level of accuracy you're going for.

If you want to put bullet after bullet through the same hole, you'll need to match the load and bullet mass to the rifling and length of your rifle. Of course if that's true, the AR is probably not the right gun either. However, if you're like most of us and 2MOA (2" at 100 yards) groups are good enough, the 1:8 will serve you just as well as the 1:9 twist. The gun will shoot better than that, but when you add the human factor, groups open up a little.
 
OP here - sorry for the delay with an update

I called S&W but they were closed for the holidays, so I emailed them and got this:

From: Smith & Wesson [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2014 9:32 AM
To: Chas Howard
Subject: Automatic reply: Sport 15 SKU 811038

We will be closed through January 1st for the holiday season. Please contact us again after the new year and we will be more than happy to help you with your request.

Sincerely,

The Smith & Wesson Team

I wrongly thought they'd contact me after they returned to work - wrong. So I sent it again:

From:Chas Howard
Subject:RE: Sport 15 SKU 811038

So I've realized that I actually needed to re-send this. Please see my 12/30/14 email below.

Thanks.

And got this:

From: SW Level 1 [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2015 1:20 PM
To: Chas Howard
Subject: RE: RE: Sport 15 SKU 811038 (LTK1117701319034X)


Reference number: LTK1117701319034X Please use this ticket number in any correspondence with us.
Subject: RE: Sport 15 SKU 811038

Dear Customer,

The sport barrel has changed to a SAAMI 6-groove, 1:9 twist rifling and meets the same acceptance standards as the original 5R 1:8 twist rifling.

The 1:9 twist and groove pattern, which has been extensively tested by agencies and departments throughout the United States, is used on all M&P15 Sport models, as well as our law enforcement M&P15 models.

The change was effective December 2012. We are unable to change out barrels.

Smith & Wesson values all of its consumers and are happy to have assisted you to the best of our ability today. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further assistance.

Sincerely,

Rob

So I'm writing them back ('level 2' I suppose?) mentioning:
  • I sure as **** hopes it "meets the same acceptance standards"
  • I don't care what other agencies have tested or use this barrel
  • S&W is "unable to change out barrels"???
  • Never addressed their mistake

I'll be polite and report back.
 
I'm not posting this as the gospel truth, simply sharing something I read a year or so ago regarding the change in barrels.
It seems to have originated as a result of demand for the Sport in as much as it was/is such a good value. I can't remember the exact number but the article stated S&W was X amount of units behind in production to meet demand. The 5r barrel, produced by Thompson Center, was supposedly a bottleneck in production due to the required machining process so they switched to the 1:9. The article also purport that they still maintain the Melonite treatment but call it something else as a result of Glock having proprietary ownership of the word but not the process.
Again, not gospel, just sharing something I read that sounds reasonable if not factual.
 
That sounds perfectly reasonable. If I were making a product and a vendor couldn't keep supplying one of the pieces, I'd be looking to find a replacement.
 
If they don't make the 1:8 5R barrel then how come my VTAC II supposedly has one (I will now have to go downstairs and look at the barrel). It was purchased with in the past year.
 
Don't confuse a 1:8 regular barrel with a 1:8 5R barrel. They are different. As I understand it, the 5R has a progressive twist. This means it twists faster toward the muzzle. The over all aggregate is equivalent to a 1:8 though it's slower in some parts and faster in others.

I don't know if they still make it or not. I'm just commenting on the fact that a 5R is different from a regular 1:8 twist.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

sigp220.45
Anyone have a Beretta 8000 Cougar? Update - went back for the rifle.
Replies
18
Views
1K
Abbynormal
Abbynormal
M
  • Locked
**SOLD** Colt 1917 New Service Revolver
Replies
0
Views
736
mdmorrissey
M
sandog
At Last, a K frame .22 Again
Replies
13
Views
2K
Green Frog
Green Frog
N
New to me 66-8 with family photo!
Replies
2
Views
975
Nframe_is_no1
N
Truckman
My new 97 year old carry gun...
Replies
18
Views
1K
Eddie Southgate
Eddie Southgate

Latest posts

Back
Top