Your round count with no issues?

[AlwaysArmed]

If you don't mind, please post your estimated round count through your M&P 15. If this thread keeps going, maybe we can see how well this value rifle holds up against other AR 15s that cost much more money.
Thanks,
AA

 

[AlwaysArmed]

Two S&W M&P 15 Sport II.
About 150 rounds each. No issues. Close inspection of bolt after each range session during cleaning.
AA

 

[indie_rocker]

About 500 rounds through my 15 Sport II. A couple fail to feed in the first 50 rounds. Whatever burrs or boogers worked themselves out. Very accurate and reliable since.

 

[JaPes]

I think I had near 4K before I sold my 15-Sport Gen1. I didn't sell it off because it was problematic. At the time I had multiples of everything, and someone was willing to pay me what I had into it.

 

[WR Moore]

The OP is a bit confusing with the addition of the "value" term. Are you referring to the entire line or the Sport model, which is a different item lacking several features of the actual M&P15? It appears from the answers above it's being interpreted as the Sport model.

There are various threads comparing the M&P15 with other products. I can-and did- name several "name" brands that didn't stand up under the harsh usage we subjected them to. The M&P15 did.

 

[AlwaysArmed]

The OP is a bit confusing with the addition of the "value" term. Are you referring to the entire line or the Sport model, which is a different item lacking several features of the actual M&P15? It appears from the answers above it's being interpreted as the Sport model.

There are various threads comparing the M&P15 with other products. I can-and did- name several "name" brands that didn't stand up under the harsh usage we subjected them to. The M&P15 did.

Good answer. Any S&W M&P 15. Just add the model number. I'd personally like to see the point of failure and the round count. Like bolt failure at xxx rounds.
AA

 

[Rastoff]

I don't currently own a S&W AR. However, I do have some that I built. So, here are my numbers for reference:
AR #1 - 3,086
AR #2 - 253
AR #3 - 1,076
Total = 4,415

All of these have never experienced a failure.

I could add a Tavor X95 with 1,412 rounds and a Mini-14 with 680. Neither of them have failed either.

I suspect that you will find numbers like this and higher from anyone who owns any kind of AR. The S&W M&P-15 is not unique and has exactly the same design as any of 100 other manufacturers. It's the design that's good, not the maker.

Yes, more expensive guns have premium parts that are more precisely built. That's usually why they cost more. But functionality was defined long ago and has been copied over and over.

 

[Grayfox]

About 600 rounds through my Sport 2 OR with no function problems at all. I am a little disappointed with accuracy. Around 3" at 100 yards seems to be the best it can do.
I'm wondering if a replacement trigger might help?

 

[JaPes]

I'll just leave this here.

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/

I've been through every phase here on this forum, from newbie, to paranoid about every spec, part, cleaning etc. Barrel and bolt are wear items. 6K-10K rounds barrel lifespan. I've seen people obsess over barrel life. Once I built my own, I realized that obsessing over barrel life is pointless. It barrel, gas block, gas tube, and bolt can all be replaced easily.

 

[vonn]

Shoot it until accuracy begins to suffer and then fix it. Kept clean and lubed The round count will be good for all but extreme users. Read JaPes post from lucky gunner.

 

[noro]

Always,

Here's my experience. Bought the MP15 Sport2, and a Ruger AR556 within
a month of each other in 2017. Shot both equally into 2018 (1500 rounds thru each - documented) Always used Federal value pak from Walmart at an inside range.

Around 1500 rounds the Sport started to jam all the time. Called S&W and they sent a ticket to return it. It was returned in 4 weeks with a new
bolt carrier group. Nowhere did they say what was wrong. I persisted and found out one of the gas key screws had sheared, and was causing a massive gas leak so that the rifle was not getting enough gas to function reliably. S&W said that yes, it happens but only once in 600,000 cases.
Mine was the one in 600.000 (quoting S&W) I noticed the new BCG was
staked differtly than the original. The new one was staked on the side of the gas key screws rather than the top. Sammy Gonzales (S&W mp pro)
worked on this rifle personally.

Meantime, Ruger AR556 just chugged along. 2000 rounds - no problems at all. Took the Sport and caught up to round count as Ruger. Sport now has 2000 rounds thru it (500 with new BCG) with no problems.

Both rifles functioning fine at 2000 rounds each in almost 2 yrs. All I can say is this. S&W stands behind the Sport and will do whatever to put it in
firing condition for you. Is it better, the same or less, than the Ruger?
Cant say. S&W repaired the rifle, shared their findings, and returned at no cost at all to me.

Am I happy with it? Yes. very much. Perhaps I just got a fluke (as S&W
says) but after the repair and 2000 total rounds, no problems. You can check out
my post about it (MP sport 15 short stroking) when I originally posted about the problem here.

 

[WR Moore]

As a short addendum to the post by JaPes, NO AR maker produces all the parts. In addition, there are several major parts that have only a limited number of manufacturers. Receiver forgings being an example, but, at least per an American Rifleman article several years ago, this also includes the bolt carrier. Add other various parts and you soon see that outside the premium makers who charge prices more in line with an automobile, everyone is buying from the same sources.

The critical issue becomes quality control on those parts. That's generally the responsibility of whoever is putting their name on the assembly. The folks who make firearms to a price point (not S&W) may be less fussy about part tolerances and may omit features they decide aren't really important for many/most end users. Let's also not omit the snob appeal of certain brands. Price does not always produce a level of quality matching the cost.

And, as pointed out above, there are certain wear parts subject to periodic replacement due to the design and ones (barrel) that are going to need occasional replacement depending upon use. Just like brakes and tires on your car.

Typical wear items on extensive use: barrel, plated last longer; bolt (cracked lugs, crack where the cam pin goes through), bolt buffer, cam pin, firing pin retaining pin and springs. Most all of which fall into the category of parts with common sourcing.

 

[noro]

With respect to WR Moore, (a noted poster here) no one buys
a weapon to do periodic replacement. The poster asked for a round count and issues. IMHO with the warranties provided,
the S&W MP15 Sport2 should last the original owner's lifetime.

Will it? I don't know. Certainly, you can customize the platform,
replace parts on a periodic basis, but does this give the results the
OP inquired about? My stock S&W MP Sport2 went 1500 rounds
in 2yrs before a major problem. Is mine the exception?

Sure, I could have fixed it myself with aftermarket parts. but why when I have a lifetime warranty? As long as we don't have a major upheaval in society, or a zombie apocaplyse, S&W stands behind their products. In my case, sure, I could have bought an aftermarket BCG and restored the rifle to a functional state at a cost to me of roughly 80 to 120, and ignored S&W. It took 4 weeks for my rifle to be repaired at no cost at all to me. Why not take advantage of the warranty should problems arise?

 

[cyphertext]

With respect to WR Moore, (a noted poster here) no one buys
a weapon to do periodic replacement. The poster asked for a round count and issues. IMHO with the warranties provided,
the S&W MP15 Sport2 should last the original owner's lifetime.

Will it? I don't know. Certainly, you can customize the platform,
replace parts on a periodic basis, but does this give the results the
OP inquired about? My stock S&W MP Sport2 went 1500 rounds
in 2yrs before a major problem. Is mine the exception?

Sure, I could have fixed it myself with aftermarket parts. but why when I have a lifetime warranty? As long as we don't have a major upheaval in society, or a zombie apocaplyse, S&W stands behind their products. In my case, sure, I could have bought an aftermarket BCG and restored the rifle to a functional state at a cost to me of roughly 80 to 120, and ignored S&W. It took 4 weeks for my rifle to be repaired at no cost at all to me. Why not take advantage of the warranty should problems arise?

Do you buy a car to do periodic replacement of parts? No, but it is a necessary evil of ownership. Parts wear... but the parts that wear are easily replaced to keep the firearm functional, much like wear items on a car. That is the point that Japes and WR Moore are making.

I don't see where anyone suggested that you not use your S&W warranty, if you desire. Yes, you could have purchased a new BCG to get your rifle up and running the same day... Or wait 4 weeks to get it back from S&W. Either way is acceptable, just depends on what you have more of, time or money.

 

[noro]

Cypertext,

I understand what you're saying and the need for "periodic" replacement
parts as the need comes up. However the op asked about performance
and round count, and I gave him my story, which might not be typical.

My take is this: if you have a problem with a S&W MP15, S&W will fully
take care of you IF you want them to. The platform can be fixed by the
owner by throwing inexpensive (for the most part) parts at it should
problems arise. Owners call As you said, your time or your money.
IMHO it would be foolish to throw parts at the problem at your cost
when the factory will warranty the repair and shipping for free.

 

[sgtsandman]

I feel bad for firearm manufacturers. The only other industry expected to perform at a near perfect level is the aircraft industry. It’s a wonder either are still in business.


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[shep854]

At about 2 1/2 years into my Sport 2, I’ve put over 1000 trouble-free rounds of both brass and steel cased ammo through it.
A major factor in barrel life if how fast you run rounds through a gun. A rifle that is fired relatively slowly and deliberately without overheating should be able to sustain a higher round count than one that endures multiple mag dumps, as done to ‘torture-tested’ guns.

 

[shep854]

I plan to expend nearly 300 rounds of Monarch steel-case (which is a rather ‘warm’ load) later this week. Some of the fire will be fairly rapid—I want to see how well the OEM handguards handle heat.
I’ll check back in afterwards. I don’t expect any problems, though.

 

[hugger-4641]

A lot is going to depend on how fast you actually cycle the weapon. If I am actually trying to keep rounds on target, I can empty a thirty round mag in 2 to 3 seconds, which works out to a rate of about 200 to 300rds/min. This is pretty slow compared to some pro's who can pump out 500 to 600rnds/min.
At my rate of fire, I can cycle three to four mags before I start noticing the heat on my hand guard. I'm not going to do a melt down test and see how far I can push it, but I suspect the barrel and hand guard could withstand my rate of fire for several more mag dumps and maybe even indefinitely.

 

[Univibe]

I feel bad for firearm manufacturers. The only other industry expected to perform at a near perfect level is the aircraft industry. It’s a wonder either are still in business.


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I don't. New firearms are the least reliable consumer products you can buy. Can you imagine washing machines, Microwave ovens, and cars failing at the same rate right out of the box? Gunmakers get away with an appallingly high rate of failure, and sellers usually refuse to stand behind what they sell. It's a scandal that the NRA does nothing about, save to take in ad money.