TheHebs' M&P 15 Sport Build and Pic Thread

[TheHebs]

(This thread is/will be perpetually under construction as I will be updating with pics and progress )

I was bitten by the gun bug a few months ago when I shot a gun for the first time in my life. I bought a Walther PPQ 9mm a week later and immediately began looking at rifles. The 15 sport was highly recommended by multiple friends who are into the hobby. At the time (months ago), I was finding the Sport's for 600-630 shipped on gunbroker and gunsamerica. I decided to wait for a deal on black friday which ended up being a horrible mistake because they have almost become extinct since the election. After quite a bit of hunting, I finally found an M&P 15 Sport for a reasonable price ($650 shipped).

Here is my build spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...UlpvNFU1Z2hTVmc&single=true&gid=0&output=html

I am still debating 7.62x39 vs 5.45. The main reason for the 2nd upper is just to have a backup rifle/upper and 2nd ammo option that is relatively cheaper than 223/556. The 5.45 is much cheaper, but is roughly the same round as 223, whereas 7.62 is hardly cheaper than 223, but is a larger round. Decisions, decisions...

Here are a few pics of her as a virgin:

I plan on ordering the rest of the accessories for the sport this week so stay tuned

 

[oneyeopn]

Ryan....man you have thought this through.
If I may recommend a change or two.
Lyman's punch set is phenomenal, I have it and use it all the time.
You will need an AR combination Barrel, buffer tube wrench at some point.
You will want a set of gunsmithing screwdrivers, they may look like regular screwdrivers but they are not
I have a New Frontier Poly lower that I used on my Homebuilt and would not be afraid to purchase another one, thumbs up!
I really like the idea of adjustable gas blocks for both rifles, another thumbs up!!
B.A.D. Levers, I was undecided about them but now that I have used them for a few months I am all for them as well as ambi-mag release buttons.
One thing to mention, the New Frontier Lower has a composite fire control group in it, I havent had any issues with it but I was unable to polish or smooth it out. Plus the composite hammer and trigger did concern me enough that I bought an inexpensive DPMS trigger group and put them in using the pins that came with the New Frontier lower. I also replaced the composite take down pins with steel ones, but that was just my way of thinking and I would not tell anyone that either item was necessary to do.

 

[Milky]

Gotta love that PPQ (I had to jump through hoops to get one in California). We have the same pistol and rifle. Both have been great for me!

Have fun!

 

[TheHebs]

Ryan....man you have thought this through.
If I may recommend a change or two.
Lyman's punch set is phenomenal, I have it and use it all the time.
You will need an AR combination Barrel, buffer tube wrench at some point.
You will want a set of gunsmithing screwdrivers, they may look like regular screwdrivers but they are not
I have a New Frontier Poly lower that I used on my Homebuilt and would not be afraid to purchase another one, thumbs up!
I really like the idea of adjustable gas blocks for both rifles, another thumbs up!!
B.A.D. Levers, I was undecided about them but now that I have used them for a few months I am all for them as well as ambi-mag release buttons.
One thing to mention, the New Frontier Lower has a composite fire control group in it, I havent had any issues with it but I was unable to polish or smooth it out. Plus the composite hammer and trigger did concern me enough that I bought an inexpensive DPMS trigger group and put them in using the pins that came with the New Frontier lower. I also replaced the composite take down pins with steel ones, but that was just my way of thinking and I would not tell anyone that either item was necessary to do.

Do you know if the DPMS wrench handles the buffer tube? I know it handles the barrel.

I will add the screwdrivers to my tools list and maybe ask for them for xmas. I will also check out the lyman punch set. I want to invest in a good one for all my firearms.

I also planned on getting a spare lower parts kit as backups, but might go ahead and upgrade the tripper group if/when i get that poly lower.

 

[TheHebs]

Gotta love that PPQ (I had to jump through hoops to get one in California). We have the same pistol and rifle. Both have been great for me!

Have fun!

Nice! I did lots of research before purchasing both of these firearms and from what I have read and have been told, both of them are excellent firearms if cost, simplicity, and reliability are factors.

 

[TheHebs]

(I updated the first post with a couple more pics of my virgin 15 sport.)

I got some goodies in the mail. I bought the UTG Deluxe Covert Homeland Security Case from Amazon. It seems really nice for $55 shipped. Many of the reviews stated that the Deluxe was perfect for an AR and that the Elite version was almost too big. However, I kinda wish I had gone with the Elite because it is an inch or 2 taller, and would have allowed me to put my DPMS wrench in the handgun mag spots. I guess I will just have to purchase a roll up armorers tool kit pouch that I can strap into the second rifle location in the rifle compartment.

I also got my yankee hill wrench, dpms wrench, and vise blocks, and a couple of gen2 windowed pmags. I went with those specific mags because they supposedly work flawlessly with 5.45, if I ever decide to go that rout (leaning towards 7.62 at the moment though). You'll also notice the yankee hill free float end cap. I went ahead and bought it as filler to hit a free shipping deal on orders over $100 from the place I ordered some of the tools from.

 

[TheHebs]

You guys might also be curious about the 1911 in the pictures above... When I bought the PPQ, I mentioned it to my grandfather in law. I told him that I was trying to get my wife (his grand daughter) to the range that night to teach her how to use the PPQ and about guns and safety in general. He mentioned that he had some old guns that were given to him and had been in his closet for about 30 years. He asked if I would take them to the range and make sure they worked. I said sure, so he scurried off to the back of his apartment and shortly returned with a grocery sack of what sounded like a bunch of handguns and loose rounds clanking around inside.

I reached into the grocery sack and pulled out at a Nickel Series 70 Colt Government Model 1911. I quickly said "WOW Grandad... this isn't a gun you keep in a grocery sack full of loose ammuniation... this is a safe queen..." He explained that his uncle had left it to him when he passed away in 1980 and it has been sitting in the grocery sack ever since.

I gladly took it and tore it down and cleaned, lubed, and polished it for him. I took it to the range and sent a couple hundred rounds through it for him as well. This weekend I plan on enjoying it one last time before cleaning it again and giving it back to him, in a case I bought him

He said he would will it to my wife and I since I showed so much interest/care for it. I will gladly accept it, but I would probably never purchase a shiny gun like this... It is a PITA to keep clean! If/when I own it, it will remain a safe queen

Before cleaning/polishing:

After:

 

[oneyeopn]

what a great pistol!! and to have someone that appreciates it get a hold of it is great rather than someone in a family who hates guns and just gets rid of them. Congratulations. I cannot tell if the DPMS wrench from the pic handles the buffer tube. It depends on that semi-circle that is kinda covered up. I bought an "Oh Shoot" kit from JoeBobOutfitters.com that has all the little pins and springs that you may need for the lower, except the fire control group and then I bought a Bolt repair kit from the same company. they were reasonably priced and enable me to repair almost anything. You may watch the forum, someone may replace their trigger with an aftermarket unit and you can pick up their original inexpensively. They work great in the New Frontier. The Lyman punches are for all guns and I use them on all of my guns. Anything we can do to help with your project just ask and good luck!!
p.s. in the for sale area of the forum is a great gunsmithing hammer for sale. It is called a "shoo boy" I bought one for myself and my Dad, great hammers with replaceable faces made by a member of the Main Forum.
p.s.s. I have a lever action Rossi, polished brass frame/SS octagonal barrel, I cant even take it out of its bag without it getting scratched so I understand PITA but I wouldnt trade for it, I load 45lc for it and everytime I shoot it I then spend at least an hour polishing it. LOL

 

[oneyeopn]

Nope the DPMS AR wrench doesnt have the buffer tube end!

 

[TheHebs]

I finally got a chance to mount my vise. It seems to be pretty good quality for $36 shipped (see build sheet for details). It didnt come with mounting hardware so I had to buy 4 - 3/8" X 3.5" bolts, nuts, washers, etc... to mount it to my work bench.

I received the b.a.d. lever, mbus front sight, and jp adjustable gasblock today. My yankee hill specter length ffqr comes tomorrow, so stay tuned for more pics

 

[TheHebs]

I finally got the sport to the range last weekend. My friends and I got there with only 45 minutes to shoot all my firearms, so I only got to put a few magazines through it and they were relatively rushed.

This is my first time to ever fire a rifle in my life, so dont laugh... too hard. I shot the right target first at 25 yards, and then realized how horrible I was, so I shortened the range to 15 yards for the left target.

Like I said above, this is my first time to ever fire a rifle, much less iron sights... Apparently I need to aim up My buddy said that it is probably sighted in for 50 yards so I just need to mentally adjust for shorter distances.

 

[TheHebs]

I received my yankee hill rail and punch set the other day and I finally got a chance to put it all on.

The gas block pins were a bit stubborn, but I used my trusty ping pong paddle, a bar clamp, a magnet, a fat punch, and a big *** hammer. I beat it like Michael Jackson, and they eventually came out.

 

[TheHebs]

Here are pics of the fully assembled rifle as it stands currently:

 

[oneyeopn]

That looks sweet...it came together very nicely. Congrats on a job well done

 

[TheHebs]

I was a good boy this year so Santa hooked me up I will be ordering the rest of the parts for my 5.45x39 upper build as soon as I can find them... This whole post election + CT shooting ban-talk has really put a damper on my wishlist...

I purchased the 5.45 barrel and bolt from Ballistics Advantage (see build sheet for details). I left them a voicemail and they called me back a couple days later and the guy took my order over the phone. He was extremely nice and super knowledgeable about custom builds, 5.45 in particular. They included a wolf hammer spring in the order, and even included a 5.45 info sheet which I scanned as a PDF: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6radj0S_qvndUN2YjBBaHNNcjQ

 

[oneyeopn]

There was a point that 5.45x39 was an inexpensive round and they may still be, but they are not available where I live and because they are a military round I expect the prices to be going through the roof like everything else. I hope the rifle shoots well for you but I have no experience with it this round. I just did some quick readings on the ballistics, I hope you can find ammo, I guess reloading components and dies are all but impossible to find.

 

[NotObvious]

5.45 is still available but all the kiddies with ak74 pistols have picked it all apart. It's no longer the ultra cheap ammo it used to be.

Looks like a fun build and let's hope you get to keep it forever.

 

[TheHebs]

It has definitely become more scarce than it was before the election and CT shooting, but I managed to get in on a backorder deal on sportsmans guide for 14 cents per round so I grabbed a tin. It is scheduled to deliver mid-Jan. I will grab another 1080 round tin or 2 once available, but this first tin should keep me shooting for a while and allow me to sit on the (more expensive and higher demanded) 223. It is also a misnomer that 5.45 is only milsurp. Wolf and tula recently starting making factory 5.45x39, its just not as cheap as the milsurp. It was running about 20-22 cents per round and even though that is hardly cheaper than wolf 223, the wolf 5.45 is actually somewhat more available than (reasonably priced) 223 right now.

My plan is to also get a 7.62x39 barrel and bolt to interchange with the 5.45 using the second receiver components. Basically, I will have a second project upper, and then I will to keep my 15 sport assembled at all times as my trusty rifle.

 

[TheHebs]

I updated post #13 with fully assembled pics.

 

[TheHebs]

To back up my 5.45 decision, today I preordered another 2 tins (2160 rounds) of 5.45x39 milsurp for 13 cents per round and it has an ETA of mid January.

On a side note, I also got in on a preorder for 10x gen 2 windowed pmags which supposedly work flawlessly with 5.45... It will be nice to be able to share magazines between my 2 cartridge options.

I also ordered a new frontier lower receiver... It took me 10 tries and 30 minutes due to their website being slammed by people trying to order... I am speculating that they are out of stock by morning.

"Times they are a'changin'..." - Bob Dylan