Mostly Platonic Love. Mostly… (Smith and Wesson M&P 15-22)
I wanted to start off my GunNoob reviews with a gun I felt very comfortable writing about. I have personally owned two of these plastic marvels and have shot a few belonging to others. Introduced in 2009 in both rifle and pistol configurations, the Smith and Wesson M&P 15-22 Rifle (that’s a mouthful) is a wonderful platform that can be used for three distinct purposes. 1) to introduce rifles to new shooters 2) to train with instead of a full-sized AR, and 3) hunting small varmint. I use mine regularly for the first two (as i don’t hunt) and have over 5000 rounds through my rifles.
The M&P 15-22 looks, feels and functions almost identically to a standard AR-15 although it is predominantly made of plastic, thus far lighter. Here in Georgia, they come with a collapsible stock, 25-round magazine and a threaded barrel. They have a standard picatinny top-rail and for-end quad-rail and can take most any AR-15 accessories including grips, stocks, scopes, foward grips, lasers, lights, etc… A number of companies make other accessories for this platform like upgraded triggers, ambi-safeties and charging handles. The threaded models can also accept a suppressor, which in my opinion takes this gun up to level 11. Additionally, the magazines (both the 10 and 25 rounders) have a loading assist button which makes filling the mags a breeze compared to the 25 round mags of the 10/22.
Although .22 lr rounds are a bit scarce at the moment, they are still less expensive than their bigger .223/5.56 brothers. Additionally, they kick less and are quieter to shoot making this a great beginners gun. The 15-22 also has a fully operational bolt hold-open on last round and bolt release, allowing for better training simulation. Mine have operated almost flawlessly, to be discussed in further, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend one to any shooter, new or otherwise.
Ease to Breakdown
This gun breaks down just like any AR-15. It has two pins (retained) in the lower receive that allow the upper to be removed. The charging handle and bolt slide out for cleaning. Reverse the process and its all back together. No tools required: 5 out of 5 hats.
Maintenance
Once apart, thoroughly clean the bolt and the chamber of the rifle with some cleaner then run a boresnake through the barrel. Wipe down the trigger group with a q-tip soaked in cleaner and then reassemble. All that being said, it is a .22 rifle and the ammo runs dirty so its a good thing that this gun is easy to breakdown. 4.5 out of 5 hats.
Reliability
Let me begin with a “Your Milage May Vary” statement. Like many .22 rifles, the reliability of this weapon is 90% up to the ammo that you are running through it and 10% up to how clean you keep it. The rental rifle at my range chews through lead nosed ammo as long as the gun is regularly maintained but bogs down when shot dirty. I choose to run only copper jacketed ammo through mine (helps keep my suppressor happy) and I get very few failures. I once ran over 1000 rounds (federal bulk pack) through my rifle in an afternoon with only 1 failure to extract. This platform is exceptionally reliable for a .22 rifle when fed the right diet and maintained in a decent manner. 4 out of 5 hats.
Safety
This is an AR-15 in both form and function. It comes with a standard single-sided safety (which I chose to swap out for an ambidexterous model). That’s it, but that’s all I’d want on a platform that is supposed to simulate an AR-15. I do like the fact that the bolt holds open after the last round (this is a feature unavailable with most .22 conversion kits or other dedicated .22 AR platforms.) I would consider this a safety issue as you will know when the magazine is empty. Maybe I’m reaching here, but I do find this feature very important for training purposes. 4 out of 5.
Poor Technique
The 15-22 is a light weight, easy to use rifle that shoots (relatively) cheap ammo. It even has a decent trigger (which can be further upgraded). It is damn near impossible to shoot this gun poorly. Have I mentioned that it’s a ton of fun to shoot??? 5 out of 5.
Starter Kit
The rifle comes in a cardboard box with one magazine (10 or 25 round depending on your local laws) and a gun lock. That’s it folks. If you are willing to shell out some extra coin, you can pick up a Magpul MOE version which comes with MBUS sights, MOE stock, and MOE grip. The flip-up sights alone make this model a bargain worth looking for. 3 out of 5.
Accessories/Upgrades
This is an AR-15 in every way. It will accept 99.9% of the available AR-15 accessories. Everything from slings, to scopes, to well, you name it. You can even pick up a slide-fire stock and a suppressor for it if you want to put an endless smile on your face without denting your wallet too badly. The mod’s I have given to my MOE version include Lucid HD7 Red Dot, Magpul sling, Battle Arms ambi safety, Norgon ambi-bolt release, Plinker Tactical ambi- charging handle and a Huntertown Arms suppressor. (If you notice, there is a lot of lefty gear on my gun. I’m right handed but shoot about 25% lefty for practice). If Mr. Noob would allow, I would give this 7 hats, but as it stands; 5 out of 5 hats.
Final Word
I love this rifle. You know; in a mostly platonic manner. Mostly… To be honest, there isn’t a gun that I’ve shot that I would recommend more. With an MSRP starting at $520 (but a street price of much less), this is a gun that everyone should own. It has been reliable, easy to maintain, cheap to feed and most importantly, fun to shoot. Yes, it’s a semi-auto .22lr and I know I’ll catch flack from Mr. Noob for saying so, but I don’t think there is a better fun-to-gun value out there. True, a 10/22 would be a more traditionalist’s choice for a starter .22 rifle, but this guns striking similarity to a standard AR-15 allows it to fulfill more than just one role in a shooters aresenal. A final average score of 4.5 out of 5.
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