M&P 15 Sport, first impressions

C

chris in va

New member
I loaded about 400 rounds of 223 the past couple days and finally got a chance to sling them downrange today.

All brass is range pick-up...the usual prep/trim done. No factory ammo put through it, and don't intend to unless I'm desperate.

As this is my first AR, I don't know how to compare with any other model except for the one loaned to me during a match (and the one time we shot an M16 while in the Air Force).

The rifle comes lubed with a thin oil on everything so I didn't feel the need to clean and lube the first time out. Must have been enough because I had zero malfunctions after 300 rounds of mixed slow fire/sighting in and fast plinking. Somewhat of a surprise as I figured at least one or two of my reloads would be out of spec in some way considering the brass source.

I had no problems hitting a man-sized target at 330 yards with this gun once it was zeroed. Is it accurate? I won't know until a scope gets mounted on it but for general range use it was quite reasonable.

Recoil was a bit more than expected. Might be due to the lack of a compensator, or the carbine length gas system. I'd rate it slightly less than my Saiga's recoil, just with a lot less muzzle jump of course. I was using 24.5gr of H335 which is mid charge grains and brass was getting thrown about 6' at the 2 o'clock position in a nice neat pile.

The handguard heats up quick! One 20rd mag will make you consider gloves or a VFG. I suspect it's just a single shielded guard, won't know until I pull it off.

Overall I really like this rifle and really don't think any of the 'deleted features' are a negative in any way, and actually think it's more of an efficiency approach to the AR platform. Time will tell of course, can't really make an assessment after 300 rounds.

The *one* gripe I have is the buttstock plate. It has some serious checkering on it, and around the 200 mark I was starting to get sore from the sharp edges. The gun store didn't have a rubber pad in stock so I'll have to figure something else out (duct tape!:p).

Anyone have some specific questions I'll do my best to answer them.
 
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I think that the recoil may be a function of a carbine length gas system on a sixteen inch barrel. More dwell time after the bullet passes the gas port. When I was doing my research before I bought the Sport (my first AR, also) I couldn't understand why the majority of the 16 inch rifles come with carbine length gas systems, but that seems to be the most common configuration with all manufacturers.

Haven't noticed the handguard heating up excessively, but I'm only putting 100 rounds or less through it each session. Gotta love a rifle that you can put 300+ rounds through in one session without breaking the bank.
 
Don't know anything about compensators. I wonder if a heavier buffer would help?

I'm a pistol and shotgun shooter. My only other rifle is a 30-30 lever action. Compared to my pump shotguns and 30-30, the AR recoil is mild and it has virtually no muzzle rise. If I put 100 rounds through my shotguns in one session my shoulder would be black and blue. So far my AR has not put any marks or bruises on my shoulder, so I figure I'm good to go. I might consider a recoil pad if I start shooting 200+ rounds in a session.
 
The handguard heats up quick! One 20rd mag will make you consider gloves or a VFG. I suspect it's just a single shielded guard, won't know until I pull it off.
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My Sport model has no shields. This is one of the cost cutting measures.
I replaced mine for $15.
 
Put another 300 through it today, only one jam and it was my fault. The case wasn't crimped right and caused the shoulder to bulge a bit. Everything else ran flawlessly...so right around the 700 mark so far.:cool:

What surprises me is the lack of carbon fouling that everyone gripes about. The only place I could find that had any sort of buildup was the cone shaped piece inside the bolt, and maybe a bit around the face. Otherwise everything was just as wet with oil as when I lubed it the other night.

I will also point out the trigger is quite crisp on this rifle, even compared to my CZ or really anything else I've had. It feels like a heavier SA pull on the Sig 220 I had.

There's a steel plate someone set up at the 330 yard mark at my range. Once I got the factory iron sights zeroed, it is no problem hitting that thing most of the time.
 
I suspect that the gas port on the M&P15 Sport is probably slightly oversized to allow function with a wide range of .223/5.56x45 ammo. Ejecting at about 2 o'clock is symptomatic of a rifle that is slightly overgassed; but if it is working for you, I wouldn't sweat it too much.

What surprises me is the lack of carbon fouling that everyone gripes about. The only place I could find that had any sort of buildup was the cone shaped piece inside the bolt, and maybe a bit around the face. Otherwise everything was just as wet with oil as when I lubed it the other night.
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Yes, I find that if you keep them wet, there isn't much carbon build up and what is there wipes off very easily (except for the tail of the bolt). It is only when you run them hard enough to bake off the lube that you start getting the rock-like carbon build up in places besides the tail.
 
That's good to know, thanks. I read countless threads about AR's before getting mine and know enough to run it 'wet' which seems to work well.
 
No heat shield on the handguard

I remembered this post and since I only slow fired first time out with my Sport, I did not feel the handguard heat up. But I had to check my handguard and there is no aluminum heat shield. Easy fix. I replaced it with the used one from my M&P 15 OR. I did order magpul stock, MOE handguard, PMags and hogue grips in OD green to dress it up.

Sorry, back to the post.

After the first time I took it to the range, broke it down to clean it. The bolt was fairly clean that came off with easy brushing. There was some carbon inside the bolt carrier that I had to scrape off. That's about the same carbon build up from my OR.
 
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