Somtimes I feel that the 15-22 gets a bad rap because it's polymer...

[Brett248Vista]

Déjà vu comments from the 1960's when the U.S. Air Force sent some "plastic" M-16 rifles to Vietnam for field testing against the Viet Cong & NVR.

Burt Rutan proved the reliability of composites in aircraft components decades ago. The OLD F-16 Fighter had a composite tail in the 1970's.

Now we have polymer upper & lower receivers from S&W.

Anyone except me remember the Remington Nylon 22 Rifle in the 1970's, that K-Mart use to give away for FREE every-time you purchased 5K rounds of Remington .22LR ammo?

Of course... I just sold mine

There were 10's of 10's of thousands of rounds through this rifle. Sold it for $150 no questions asked... And the bolt didn't ride on no fancy steel rails like the 15-22, nope, the bolt rode and wore directly on the nylon...

 

[Shock&Awe]

There were 10's of 10's of thousands of rounds through this rifle. Sold it for $150 no questions asked... And the bolt didn't ride on no fancy steel rails like the 15-22, nope, the bolt rode and wore directly on the nylon...

Mine had a brown nylon stock & 10 round clip, but your deal beats mine. While my Remington Nylon 22 Rifle was FREE from Remington, you basically got paid $150 for shooting it these past 30+ years!

30-40 years from now, I wonder if S&W Forum members will be posting about their OLD S&W M&P 15-22 rifles

 

[ladder13]

30-40 years from now, I wonder if S&W Forum members will be posting about their OLD S&W M&P 15-22 rifles

Guess it depends on the electorate.

 

[BELT_FED]

ask a 1911 own and they will tell you... " them poly guns wont last a week in real combat, kids!!" lol....

 

[Brett248Vista]

ask a 1911 own and they will tell you... " them poly guns wont last a week in real combat, kids!!" lol....

They also said a 9mm wouldn't do it's job, when the M9 replaced the 1911. People fear what they don't understand

 

[Shock&Awe]

ask a 1911 own and they will tell you... " them poly guns wont last a week in real combat, kids!!" lol....

I still have the M1911 that my Grandfather carried as a Lt. in Europe during the Great War in 1918. He may be gone, but his M1911 still kills it's share of paper enemies.

 

[mag318]

I bought a Colt/Umarex M4 when they first came out, because I liked the way it looked. This was before S&W came out with the M&P15-22. What a mistake, this was one of the worst rifles I've ever owned. Trying to take it down was a nightmare, I was shocked at how poorly designed it was. I like to be able to field strip my rifles for a thorough cleaning, something you can't do with the Colt. The first time to the range the safety fell out after about 50 rounds and the trigger was awful. To say I was disappointed is a huge understatement.
The M&P15-22 was a totally opposite experience, the rifle is a vastly superior design and takes down just like any centerfire AR. The trigger was great compared to the Colt and I never had a jam with it. This was an early version with Gen I magazines. When S&W came out with the A1 version with the factory installed flash hider I bought one because I thought it looked a little more complete. This rifle came with Gen II magazines and has been just as reliable as my earlier one. I went to the range yesterday with some friends and we put 550 rounds of Federal bulk thru it followed by another 250 of Federal 710s, not one single malfunction. We were firing as fast as we could and still could not get it to malfunction. I just posted a U-Tube video last night to show people what a reliable rifle this is. Smith & Wesson hit a home run with this series of rifles.

 

[Jswiney9]

I bought a Colt/Umarex M4 when they first came out, because I liked the way it looked. This was before S&W came out with the M&P15-22. What a mistake, this was one of the worst rifles I've ever owned. Trying to take it down was a nightmare, I was shocked at how poorly designed it was. I like to be able to field strip my rifles for a thorough cleaning, something you can't do with the Colt. The first time to the range the safety fell out after about 50 rounds and the trigger was awful. To say I was disappointed is a huge understatement.
The M&P15-22 was a totally opposite experience, the rifle is a vastly superior design and takes down just like any centerfire AR. The trigger was great compared to the Colt and I never had a jam with it. This was an early version with Gen I magazines. When S&W came out with the A1 version with the factory installed flash hider I bought one because I thought it looked a little more complete. This rifle came with Gen II magazines and has been just as reliable as my earlier one. I went to the range yesterday with some friends and we put 550 rounds of Federal bulk thru it followed by another 250 of Federal 710s, not one single malfunction. We were firing as fast as we could and still could not get it to malfunction. I just posted a U-Tube video last night to show people what a reliable rifle this is. Smith & Wesson hit a home run with this series of rifles.

too bad not as many people feel the same way. Every time i change my mind and go to buy one there is one sitting in the shop having problems. im glad tha you are having fun with yours though.

 

[Brett248Vista]

I feel the same way as Mag does.. The only reason mine went back was for the broken mag release. They changed the springs while it was there for the mag release but I never had any firing issues from day 1.

*shrugs*

 

[~tc~]

Went shooting again today.

I am beginning to see there are 2 problems with this rifle:
- too much rail space for accessories
- everyone wants to talk to you about it and shoot it

 

[kilo6echo]

I remember seeing a post where someone chopped down there handguard to the standard 7 inch. It looked pretty good.

 

[DasFriek]

Went shooting again today.

I am beginning to see there are 2 problems with this rifle:
- too much rail space for accessories
- everyone wants to talk to you about it and shoot it

Thats no lie, I keep mine cased while i shoot my other guns so i wont be bugged and slowed down with all my fun.
But once it comes out all the questions begin!

Ive been shooting my new CZ Ultra Lux 98% of the time lately as ive been on an accuracy kick. But i pulled the 15-22 out to sight the scope in after a swap and it felt so weird compared to shooting a bolt action.
The 15-22 really does have some recoil mainly from the bolt tho.
For a semi auto .22 you wont find a more fun gun than the 15-22

 

[cazador505]

Went shooting again today.

I am beginning to see there are 2 problems with this rifle:
- too much rail space for accessories
- everyone wants to talk to you about it and shoot it

This is true. I usually take mine out to a piece of BLM land were shooting is legal and there is no one around but I went to an in-town range this weekend for lack of gas money and as soon as I got to the counter and uncased my 15-22 all the folks with centerfire ARs lined up to look and ask questions. It must have broke some hearts to have them see me buy a box of federal bulk for twelve something. With my thrifty accessories I told them I couldn't have more than 700 bucks in my rifle.There was a city cop giving a clas on handguns who also had a 15-22 and he was ripping on the others for the cost of there ARs. He said he got his for home defense. I love it because how light and inexpensive it is. Take my young boys out to take rabbits and they love the light feel and recoil.

 

[HalfSwiss]

"12 something" Federal bulk is a memory in my neck of the woods. Try "19 something".

 

[Shock&Awe]

So I'm flying down the Interstate at a tad above the posted speed limit, when a Trooper pulls me over.

I hand him my papers, he pauses and then asks me if I have any weapons in my vehicle.

I respond, "Just my Polymer Crayola Gun in the back".

The Trooper hands me back my papers, does NOT issue me a speeding ticket, and states "Slow it down a bit and have a safe day"

So this Trooper must either be a fellow member of THIS forum, or he's clueless as to what a "Polymer Crayola Gun" is !!!

If this Trooper is a forum member, please PM me.

 

[Jswiney9]

So I'm flying down the Interstate at a tad above the posted speed limit, when a Trooper pulls me over.

I hand him my papers, he pauses and then asks me if I have any weapons in my vehicle.

I respond, "Just my Polymer Crayola Gun in the back".

The Trooper hands me back my papers, does NOT issue me a speeding ticket, and states "Slow it down a bit and have a safe day"

So this Trooper must either be a fellow member of THIS forum, or he's clueless as to what a "Polymer Crayola Gun" is !!!

If this Trooper is a forum member, please PM me.

why would a trooper randomly ask you if you have weapons in your vehicle? if i told a trooper that i had a polymer crayola gun in my vehicle i would get searched...... you got lucky, most of them dont joke about weapons

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

too bad not as many people feel the same way. Every time i change my mind and go to buy one there is one sitting in the shop having problems. im glad tha you are having fun with yours though.

15-22 Owner polling results, while not scientific or anything, are kinda interesting. The ratios have pretty much stayed the same during the week.

Here's my 2 cents on 15-22 Owner polling so far. .

Contrary to popular opinion that most folks come to a Forum with problems..... Of 110 who responded to the poll, only 19 initially came to the Forum with rifle problems. Though, perhaps a large percentage who only come to gripe don't stick around long on the Forum and maybe they are not adequately represented in the poll. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of those polled did not seek this forum due to a problem with their rifle.

Contrary to many opinion that just a few 15-22 have problems out of hundreds of thousands sold... the poll suggests something quite a bit different. Of 91 who responded that their rifles had no problems when they came to the Forum, 20 polled that their rifle later developed problems. That's a pretty big number for a sampling of 15-22 happy campers for 22% to later develop problems within such a short period of time the rifle has been on the market. Of course that number can only grow larger as weeks pass and more problems may arise. I tend to think this number may have some validity because there was a similar poll here months ago that was showing about the same 25%. That's a startling number if close to accurate.

 

[HalfSwiss]

ChattanoogaPhil,

Didn't you mean to put your comment in the poll thread, not this polymer thread?

There are quite a few variables to deal with in the poll since it is not taking a random sample. Typically, those who have problems will make a point to say something about those problems whereas those who don't have problems tend to not comment.

Also, the way the questions are worded can have an impact. For example, asking if someone came to the forum because they had problems doesn't make a difference between operator error and rifle malfunction.

However, I will have to go along with the point that there appears to be a higher problem rate than should reasonably be expected for a S&W product. I've got one of the older silver spring rifles that has not had any problems, but the seed of doubt is there as to if it will go South on me sometime in the future. And, I don't let people stand to the right of it when it's being shot - don't want a "high velocity ejector" hitting someone.

 

[srgvaz]

It seems like when I see folks comparing the 15-22 to another .22 tactical rifle platform, I hear a lot of, "It's all plastic and light", or "It feels like a toy".

To me I like the light weight design. I like having kick on a .22 rifle, for me it is part of the fun. People also forget that there are are several well made polymer based handguns out there too.

I think a $500. piece of plastic with ALL the problems it's had gave it the bad rep. If everybody bought a plastic gun from a WELL known manufacture and thousands of them started to FTF / FTE, and blow extractors---- Would you buy one too???

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

ChattanoogaPhil,

Didn't you mean to put your comment in the poll thread, not this polymer thread?

I meant to post it here and leave the poll thread a poll instead of a discussion.


There are quite a few variables to deal with in the poll since it is not taking a random sample. Typically, those who have problems will make a point to say something about those problems whereas those who don't have problems tend to not comment.
Also, the way the questions are worded can have an impact. For example, asking if someone came to the forum because they had problems doesn't make a difference between operator error and rifle malfunction.

That's why I made an A&B. Both A&B start from the same point = Forum members with 15-22 having no problems. By combining the results of A&B, you get a ratio of how many rifles were initially operting well that went on to experience problems. Not sure how to get a more objective measure than that within the confines of this Forum.


However, I will have to go along with the point that there appears to be a higher problem rate than should reasonably be expected for a S&W product. I've got one of the older silver spring rifles that has not had any problems, but the seed of doubt is there as to if it will go South on me sometime in the future. And, I don't let people stand to the right of it when it's being shot - don't want a "high velocity ejector" hitting someone.

Yeah, I got a silver spring (isn't that a Stevie Nicks song title ) Been very reliable (though sub par shooter) for 17k rounds until OOB and following ejection issues. Probably send it back to S&W.

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