Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

[adam1122]

Gents,

Does anyone have a Smith & Wesson M&P Sport in 5.56 on here? I have found one for ultra cheap...even though the specs say its basically mil-spec M4 with 6 position butstock, melonite barrel coating, A2 front sight and folding MBUS from magpul.

Only thing it does not have are a forward assist and a bolt cover. Cost is $560 bucks!! What do you guys think? Good gun for a simple M4? Only thing I will do to it is add a midwest industries quad rail, surefire scout light, and an aimpoint pro. Total cost should be right around $1100 or less.

I dont think a forward assist is crucial since you can just take your finger and push the bolt forward in case your bolt doesn't go all the way into battery. And a dust cover is good for those who are shooting in dusty environments which this gun will not be used for.

Thoughts and suggestions appreciated!

 

[csmith441]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

They seem to be great rifles for the money. MY has three of them. Two consecutive numbers and one off a few numbers. He loves to buy consecutive numbers.

I talked a buddy of mine in to buying one of these after he shoot one of my dads the other day.

I personlly do not own them (yet). But I have ran several hundred rounds through the odd numbered rifle and it seems to be great. The twist loves heavy 223 rounds (68 grain Black Hills), but it shoots Wally World trash just fine. I have shoot it right next to my 3-gun Ar with an 18" WOA 1:8 twist barrel and it is pretty damn close to neck and neck out to 200yrds. That is as far as we have ran it out to.

IF your not going to be in Afganistan or rolling around in the dirt all day, then why do you really need a dust cover and forward assist.

I hope that helps out a little....

Also you can read up on what others here have said on the Sport....

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2955395#Post2955395

By the way where are you getting the cheap price from????

 

[adam1122]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

Thanks for the info....very helpful. I got the price from a place in tx called baileys house of guns.....Leo pricing. Only comes with one mag though. I plan on putting.a quad rail and either a vortex strike fire or Aimpoint pro optic on top and cowitness it. It's going to be my fun shoot the crap out of stuff blaster.....doesn't need to shoot anything better that a 2 in group and I'll be fine for a rifle that costs me around $1050 with optic.

Hopefully it runs pmags with no problem.

 

[csmith441]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

Thanks for the reply... That is a really good price on that gun.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SteelShot11</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hopefully it runs pmags with no problem. </div></div>

It runs pmags great. That is all I run on all my ARs.

 

[mtrmn]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

For the people out there who WANT an AR, any of the "lower tier" brands will be sufficient for their needs long as they function and are reasonably accurate. I've personally never seen an AR that wasn't REASONABLY accurate. I consider the SWs to be somewhat above "lower tier." I'd buy as many as I could afford at that price. Hell the majority of mine are (gasp)....Blackthorne builds-and they cost more than your quoted price. They will all do better than 2" with my handloads easily.

For those who truly NEED an AR (.mil and LEO etc) I would probably pass and look for something else unless it was just for a backup/plinking gun.

I personally have a very low cull factor and obviously am not one of those who NEEDS an AR. YMMV

 

[adam1122]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

Intersting - you consider S&W M&P's to be lower brand? Just curious but why is that...no chrome barrel even though it has been melonite dipped which is supposed to be similar?

I can understand the no fwd assist and ejection door cover being cheap to cut corners but I think an AR like this should perform just as well as one 3x its price and just as accurate if the barrel is good. Guess I will have to wait and see. Personally, I am used to Armalite and LWRC so this will be a big change. If it shoots like sh*t I will be returning it. The gun store I am buying it at has a 100yd outdoor range outside behind the store where I plan to shoot several mags through it and see how it does. I'll give yall my two cents once I have it in hands....might be 30 days or so.

Thanks for the input...$560 even with LEO pricing seems cheap to me too.

 

[kaotic504]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

i've handled one at a lgs recently. it's heavier than lets say a CMMG rifle w/ the m4 cuts, but that's b/c the profile of the barrel is heavier (the M&P15 Sport does not have the m4 cut but what civilian needs that anyway?) it has an integrated trigger guard, which i like and seems to be well built. it's has upgrades that my M&P15 OR (optics ready) did not have, like the new melonited and 1/8 twist barrels. it should do nicely. my M&P15OR w/ the 1/9 twist shot very well. i never shot for precision, but i do recall it easily doing under 2" at 100yrds. it's a great rifle for the company. i NEVER *knock on wood* had any issues w/ my M&P15.

 

[adam1122]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

Thanks for the info....I've decided to buy it. For $560 the price cant be beat.

 

[Arbiter]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

Our price on the Sport is typically $649, and we sell several of them a day. I've yet to see anyone return one broken or with serious issue. One person had some failure-to-feed issues that were due to a complete lack of lubrication, but other than that it's been about what you'd expect. If you can live without the exact look of the classic M4 configuration, then the Sport is by far the best buy on the market these days.

 

[Doug Deaton]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

I just taught a 5-Day patrol rifle course in which students fired approximately 1,000 rounds. There were two S&W M&P Sport models in the class. Both of them were literally new-in-the-box at the beginning of the class.

One of them ran flawlessly and literally never had a single malfunction except for those which were induced for training purposes. The other one suffered extreme malfunctions (failure to extract, failure to feed, double-feeds, etc.). All efforts by trained armorer's to fix the problems failed. After approximately 400 rounds, the bolt looked like it had been pulled out of a 10-year old rifle that had been run very hard. The student had to use another rifle to finish the course and he sent his M&P Sport back to Smith and Wesson for diagnostics and repair.

That's a sample of two, with both weapons offering radically different performance.

The lack of a forward assist is not concerning to me but for a duty weapon that will be used in an outdoor environment or transported in a rifle rack, I would still prefer to have a dust cover. I would not hesitate to try a S&W M&P AR-type rifle for serious use but would probably choose a model with the dust cover. Obviously, YMMV and I don't know about your your mission requirements.

 

[adam1122]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

I just said F*ck it and bought one without ever actually holding a sport model although I have held other M&P models. So, I plan on putting a midwest industries quad rail and a aimpoint pro or vortex strikefire on top. Plan on running Pmags with it.

All this for a total (without the mags) for $875 with tax if I got with the vortex optic. Not a bad deal at all for a brand name AR.

Just plan on using to keep my M4 skills up to qualification levels and shooting some swine.

I should get it in about a month and will post a range report.

 

[kimberseries1]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SteelShot11</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I just said F*ck it and bought one without ever actually holding a sport model although I have held other M&P models. So, I plan on putting a midwest industries quad rail and a aimpoint pro or vortex strikefire on top. Plan on running Pmags with it.

All this for a total (without the mags) for $875 with tax if I got with the vortex optic. Not a bad deal at all for a brand name AR.

Just plan on using to keep my M4 skills up to qualification levels and shooting some swine.

I should get it in about a month and will post a range report. </div></div>

no need for aimpoint on that one, buy ammo instead.... Vortex are great, the Strikefire is perfect for the money (I've seen for $155 locally). Some people like the Sparc, but I'd prolly get tunnel vision from extended use.

Put a battle ready red-dot on a battle ready gun. Vortex have a lifetime warranty, and great customer service, you won't be dissapointed.

 

[adam1122]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

Thats my plan, I have no need for an Aimpoint on this gun. It would be a waste of money. It would be better spent on ammo, pmags, quad rail and maybe a light/laser.


With. 1:8 barrel what kind of ammo do y'all think might work best if I am target shooting and or hunting swine at less than 350 yards at max range?

 

[strojo]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

Probably the best VALUE out there, as long as you're ok with the tradeoffs they made to get the price that low.

 

[silver78]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

I saw one at the range a few weeks ago. The owner loved it. Seems like a good value to me.

 

[adam1122]

Re: Need opinions on S&W M&P Sport 5.56

Great to hear....an AR is an AR right unless it's made out of total crap which I know this one is not. I will save the $350 and they can keep a dust cover and fwd assist that I will never use since I actually got trained on how to use the rifle.

For those that dont know....instead of using a fwd assist on either an ar-10 (if it does not have one) or ar-15. Should the bolt not go into full battery just take your index finger and push the bolt forward...works every time unless you have a double feed.

Cant wait to get my hands on this thing.