M&P Sport Review
AR-15

M&P15 Sport II Review & Torture Test: Smith & Wesson AR15

Posted On March 13, 2014 at 2:59 am by / 20 Comments

Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport II Review


The Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport II is a low cost, entry-level AR15 built to the same high quality you can expect from Smith & Wesson. The M&P 15 Sport AR15 II is an excellent choice for your first AR15 – or if you just want an AR-15 that you don’t have to spend a ton of money on.

 

Made with the same quality standards and lifetime warranty from Smith & Wesson, this is one fantastic AR15 for under $1000 bucks. You just can’t beat the price of this gun! When AR15s can go for upwards of $1500 bucks, Smith & Wesson builds a fantastic gun for a lot less cash.

This gun comes standard with a 30 round magazine, a flip up rear sight, and now with both a forward assist AND a dust cover.

Let’s take a look at some of the features and unique qualities that are unique to the M&P Sport 15 II AR15.

M&P15 Sport II Feature #1: Now with a Forward Assist!

A forward assist is located on the right hand side of most AR-15 platforms and is used to push the bolt forward in case of a malfunction with the gun. For instance, if the AR15 cycles, but doesn’t lock forward properly, a shooter can use the forward assist on an AR15 to lock the bolt forward.

You can either hit the forward assist with the palm of your hand, or push it forward with your thumb.

When designing the original M&P Sport 15, Smith & Wesson made a good choice in removing the forward assist for a couple of reasons. First, the M&P Sport 15 is designed as an entry-level AR15, not an AR-15 that will ever be issued to soldiers on the front line of any battlefield.

When using a forward assist, there is a potential for an inexperienced shooter to use the forward assist to jam the bolt forward when it is not the right response to a jam. A forward assist on any AR15 could cause the cartridge to get super stuck in the rifle, which would require a cleaning rod to extract (from the end of the barrel.)

If the cartridge is stuck in place at the wrong time, or in the wrong way, the pressure buildup inside of the chamber could be so immense that it could cause a life-threatening catastrophic failure when you snap off the round.

Now, the Smith & Wesson M&P Sport II comes standard with the forward assist – AND Smith managed to keep a fantastic price on this gun!

M&P15 Sport II Feature #2: Now with a Dust Cover

On an AR15, a dust cover is a piece of metal that can be manually closed to prevent dirt, grime, mud, and other debris from entering the bolt carrier group and chamber. When the dust cover is closed, it will automatically open when a round is fired through the AR15, which will then allow the shell to be extracted.

The original Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport engineers made another good call when not adding a dust cover to their Smith & Wesson Sport AR15. Most AR15 shooters have little or no need for a dust cover because they’re firing from safe and clean enviroments. Again, the Sport 15 is not the type of AR15 you take to war – it’s the type of AR15 that’s mostly used at shooting ranges, hunting, etc.

Smith & Wesson listened to customer feedback on the dust cover and decided to add this feature back into their design on the Smith & Wesson M&P Sport II models. The dust cover is an important part of maintaining reliability and functionality on a standard AR15.

Outside of most situations, the dust cover is hardly used, and isn’t needed when not in a dirty and grimy combat situation – but it’s the kind of thing you WANT to have in case you DO need it.

 

 

M&P15 Sport II Feature #3: Affordable AR15

Florida Gun Supply has the M&P15 Sport for sale at their online gun store for a great price.

While the M&P15 Sport doesn’t come with a quad rail, you can easily pick one up and add it on – it’s a super easy job.

Conclusion: The Smith & Wesson M&P15 II Sport is Worth Every Penny! Click here for a great deal on your Sport 15 II!

20 thoughts on “M&P15 Sport II Review & Torture Test: Smith & Wesson AR15

  1. This video TOTALLY convinced me of which AR I am buying. I was in the Military back in 1072 and used the M-16. I was pretty good with it. The dust cover and forward assist not being on the M&P 15 Sport was a slight concern but this video has made up my mind. Also the music was pretty good being I had named my black Harley Black Betty! Thanks for the great video.

    1. First off- I find it ironic that if the so called ” quality ” of the M&P Sport II were offered by a smaller AR-15 assembly company it would be considered LOW GRADE in the market:

      1/9 twist (when the market has followed the military with 1/7 twist)

      4140 CroMoly barrels( market went 4150 ord / CMV like Mil Spec carbines)

      Standard Carbine buffer ( H1/H2 buffers tend to be found even in other ” bargain” AR-15s)

      Semi auto bolts ( plenty of supply of the basic full auto bolt )

      No High pressure or magnetic particle testing

      Smith and Wesson’s ” secret fairy dust” recipe of what is essentially JUST the Nitride/ melonite process.

      You can actually get those higher ” mil spec” standards from smaller AR-15 companies like Palmetto State Armory ( $439 for a ” freedom variant “) Del Ton ( the “316 Echo” carbine for $549) and DS Arms ( better known for US assembly of FAL pattern rifles )

      Sorry Smith and Wesson cheaped out- when you can’t put a dust cover on and simple things like no forward assist, then some writer is “impressed” when the company does, is a low hanging fruit moment

      Me? I’ll stick to BCM ( Bravo Company Manufacturing) for my primary self defense AR-15 and Palmetto State Armory for my plinker…

  2. US army from 2008-2012, one of those years in iraq. I had the m16 in basic and ait but carried the m249 as my primary weapon for the 3.5 years i was with my unit. When i first started buying guns i rejected the ar15 platform due to there’s thousands of other guns in the world so why stick to one platform based off a tactical fad? Then i wanted an ar15. I always liked s&w and i believed the m&p 15 sport was the cheapest rifle that isn’t a piece of junk. The only thing i was nervous on was the lack of a dust cover, but this video solved all my concerns. I own the m&p 15 sport now and have run it through my own torture tests, and mine has never had an issue.

  3. I’ve owned my M&P 15 sport for a few months now and have fired roughly five hundred rounds through it during that time. This mostly included Steel cased ammo ( Silver Bear ) and various brass cased ammo also. Brown bear testing to soon follow. Not only has it fed, fired and ejected it all without issue, its shoots those rounds accurately as well. Although I have both a Windham Weaponry carbine and an Armalite M-15A4 SPR, I do not feel any more confident in those weapons than I do my trusty Smith and Wesson M&P 15 Sport!!

    1. Yes, they do after about 75 rounds. I suggest replacing the stock hand guard with an aftermarket one

  4. I don’t know why you say they could not be used in a combat situation, I have one that I have put more than 2000 rounds through and without a single problem, we also me and a few of my friends have shot the ar15 sport out in the desert in Arizona with some pretty gruesome torture test and they passed without fail, I sorry I have to disagree with you on a few of your observations on the weapon, especially where you say that they couldn’t be used in combat, I have seen the S&W MP 15 sport out perform some of its more expensive counterparts, and in a combat situation that’s what I want reliability and performance

  5. I’ve had my sport for about 6 months now and I’ve put about 700 rounds through it without a single hiccup. I’ll probably get an upper receiver with a forward assist and dust cover if i decide I want one and I’ll do all the swapping myself. A great carbine that I can always rely on at an affordable price. Thanks S&W.

  6. I chuckle every time I see the debate on the dust cover and forward assist. Eugene Stoner and design team did not original want the forward assist as the natural reaction was to slap it with the palm of the hand. Ammo coming to Nam was not always handled carefully so there were a lot of dinged cases. The first orders for the 16 were from Gen. Curtis Lemay for the SAC bases and these did not have the assist. Many of those issued to Marines did not have it either, the Army for some reason insisted on it. I was in Nam in 1963 and back in 1965, sure there were issues but from no cleaning to improper first issue ammo as well as dinged cases. The guys learned quickly to clean them periodically and when a case did not seat home, cycle it out for another round. As for the dust cover about the only time I saw them closed was when resting in camp and sitting in the dirt, and not always then. When they headed out on patrol I never saw the cover closed. I have had my M&P for almost 2 years and find it way smoother, better finished and far more accurate than our 16’s back then, although I am sure changing the rifling from 14″ twist to 8″ is part of the accuracy improvement. It is a huge step up from what we had back then.

  7. I bought me a smith and Wesson m and p 15 sport without the carry handle … first off I disagree with the above statement as well that this gun is not combat worthy ….. I have owned more exspensive rifles that are highly combat reliable and I tell you what I had jams and cartridge hang ups in them with the m and p 15 it runs flawlessly I am a man that has to have reliability before all even accuracy cause if your gun wont shoot or work it doesn’t matter if you missed your target you got to fire a bullet at it first to miss at lol but I love my m and p 15 and I suggest anyone who is wanting an AR for a shtf shit hit the fan scenario this is the gun for you im not worried about a bolt assist if I ever do encounter a jam or misfire I will just re rack my gun until it is clear and I sure don’t need a dust plate because there is not much room around the bolt carrier for dirt to get into unless your chamber is wide open definite buy and I give it a 10 out of 10 on reliability

  8. Thanks for these reviews guys. I am a first AR purchaser and saw one of these in a local store. I own the S&W M&P Shield so I was naturally drawn to it cuz ya know if that works well why shouldn’t their AR. I was slightly trepidatious but This has pretty much convinced me it’s the best one for a engineer such as myself. Thanks!

  9. I purchased an M&P-15 late last year. After the first firing, I began cleaning and found the exterior of the bolt carrier was very abrasive. I rubbed it with a cloth and quickly wore a hole in the rag. The abrasiveness was obviously sufficient to damage the upper receiver by filing down the metal. I sent it to the factory and they sent it back with a new bolt carrier that is just as abrasive as the original.

  10. I picked up a sport about a year ago and when I got it I shot some brass ammo out of it and it jammed and bent the casing and a lot .I bought 60 rounds of steel ammo and it runs great . Cleaned the rifle put some brass in it and jammed when I hit the bolt release button and bent the casing at the shoulder of the round this happens a lot I would say it has done this over 50 times only with brass ammo .I am sending it back to S&W . I trust them that they will fix this problem.

  11. I looked at 2 SW sports today. Both rifles had problems with the clip release button jamming in the release position. They have to be pushed in a way to release them from sticking. Over travel possible but this is a deal breaker for me. I have big fingers, but I will not buy one of these rifles for this reason.

  12. Hmm, I have an ar with the .22 conversion and it works pretty well, but I’m thinking more and more of S & W mp 15 /22. Why? that’s a really good question as to why.

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