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Old April 7, 2013, 08:25 PM   #1
Gbnk82
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First time owner advice

I have been looking at the ar15 model for quite some time now and have decided to buy one now that i am starting to find some stock again..i am familiar with handguns but very new to rifles i owned a semi auto. 22 when i was a teenager but that s it..ive been looking alot at the m&p15 and it is right now my favorite in the sub 1000 category.my question is how reliable this rifle is i have heard lots of great reviews but a few people have also said they are known to lock up on occasion and are next to impossible to unjam without gunsmith assistance anyone else heard this?The lack of the forward assist doesnt both me but the dust cover is a slight concern i do take good care of my guns but like i said im a newbie to ar's should the lackfaster of athe dust cover concern me?? Also for that sub 1000 pri e range is this really my best option??its uses woulx be basic target practice(i shoot atleast oncegive per week soso it wouldto be used regularly) and a secondary home defense gun and of course in the shtf situation..i want something reliable above all else when i pull the trigger it goes bang is always my biggest concern with a firearm purchase..will this gun give me all of this?? Thanks in advance for any help and i look forward to becoming an active member of the forum
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Old April 7, 2013, 08:31 PM   #2
Gbnk82
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PS sorry about all the grammar errors I had to type all of this on my phone as I don't have a computer right now lol
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Old April 7, 2013, 10:56 PM   #3
Metal god
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Not sure where your located but if your not in a anti gun state like CA , NY , CT etc I would wait a bit . I'm guessing there is going to be some good prices coming soon .

To your OQ I have heard nothing but good things about the M&P sport . Not sure it's a 1k rifle but when they were selling for $600 that was a good price for that AR . I'm a big fan of the foreword assist and dust cover . That being said I've never had to use the assist and the dust cover has only came in handy a couple a times . I'm of the thought , why not have them ? They do nothing to hinder you or the ability of the rifle and can only benefit you so why not have them for that off chance you need them . We all have those thing we keep in the car or in our house that we almost never need but keep them around just in case . I look at the foreword assist and dust cover the same way .
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Old April 7, 2013, 11:24 PM   #4
chris in va
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2500 rounds in my Sport, three stoppages due to bad reloads (mine). In other words a very good rifle.

Don't sweat the lack of a dust cover. Unless you're shooting in a dust storm or other very dirty conditions, you won't notice the difference. Same goes for the forward assist, totally unnecessary and really not a good thing to force an out of spec round into battery anyway.
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Old April 8, 2013, 04:39 PM   #5
Gbnk82
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Thats why i actually like the idea of nof having an fa to me i feeleven like if a round wont chamber then it shouldnt be forced in..ive done alot of research on some guns and for my price range i like this one the most like i said i just wanted a dew more opinions on it..also i live in florida so pretty east going gun laws here but i do plan to wait another month or so for prices to drop ive already started to see it happen.. as for another question what sort of upgrades shoulx i look at for this gun?? I know i want a foregrip and if i can find a good deal a decent red dot would love an aimpoint but cant justify the price so ill probably go primary arms..but besides this what else should i take a look at??
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Old April 8, 2013, 06:13 PM   #6
BillyJack3
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Sounds like you've done your research. Yes on the M&P and yes on the Primary arms. I went a year getting to know my M&P OR before I started changing it. By then, I knew what kind of rail I wanted and what length. I also knew what stock I wanted and what set up I wanted to go with. I was very glad I waited and got to know my AR. I was surprised at how much I really liked the handgard it came with. You might be too. After a year, this is how it's set up now. I have around 2,500 rounds through it and haven't had a failure yet. They Sports have just as good of a reputation from everyone I know that owns one and many others.

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Old April 9, 2013, 12:05 AM   #7
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Nice Samson Evolution

I run one on my 3 gun AR and love it!
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Old April 9, 2013, 05:49 AM   #8
mxsailor803
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You won't be disappointed with a M&P Sport. I've shot many rounds through my Sport and my Colt 6920LE and I wouldn't hesitate to grab either of them if I needed it.
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Old April 9, 2013, 07:00 AM   #9
Tangentabacus
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Too bad people are scared and bought up all the rifles. Here in Alaska everywhere is sold out of semi-auto rifles that are in any way military-ish, and so the only shops that have them are mom and pops shops and they are EXPENSIVE. I got my Colt for 1,100 with 3,000 rounds of ammo in 2009!!!

Regardless the M&P is a solid rifle. Now adays most ARs are pretty solid and don't differ much from one another as far as what you feel and see when shooting. There's some brands/modles to watch out for but for the most part if you can find an M&P for under $1K right now you're doing alright, but as someone else mentioned I'd wait a few months at least so all this hysteria settles down a bit so that prices can go down too. I suspect you'll be seeing a lot of people who stocked up on rifles thinking they'd explode in price can't get rid of them.
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Old April 10, 2013, 06:02 PM   #10
chris in va
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I forgot to add.

S&W had to consolidate/cut corners in a few areas, and the handguard is a prime example. It's just a piece of plastic and doesn't have a heat shield. It gets hot after the second mag. I remedied this by installing a used Colt M4 guard I found at a gun show.
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Old April 11, 2013, 02:29 PM   #11
Gbnk82
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Thnks for the advice ill defiently look into handgaurds knowing that..im aiming to get it around end of june early july i figure prices will srart to come down a bit more by then..right now i know if two here at a local gun shop one for 999you the other for 1150you and ive saw a few online around the 950 range im hoping there back to the 700-800 range by the time i plan on buying though..right now im just picking up ammo when i can find it that way i can actually take it out and shoot when i get it..
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Old April 17, 2013, 03:34 PM   #12
dgludwig
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Smith makes a nice AR-15. I have two brothers that have one and like it-though neither of them have shot their rifles much at this point in time. I don't think you'll miss the forward assist nor the dust cover. I like having both features on any AR-15 rifle because, well, just because...
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Old April 17, 2013, 05:20 PM   #13
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I think the better question is are there any factory AR15's being produced out there that are not reliable. I honestly can't think of any.
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Old April 17, 2013, 07:40 PM   #14
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Gbnk82, if you are in Florida (I am too) you should be able to find an M&P15 Sport for $839 locally.

I just bought one myself at Shoot Straight for that price. the M&P Sport is an excellent rifle for the price. I have not had any problems with mine after shooting hundreds of rounds. I runs just as good as my other AR15's (Spike's, Bushmaster's, and PSA's)

Do not let the lack of FA and dust cover bother you. Its not a deal-breaker by any means. An AR15 will run just fine without them; of course they are nice to have, but Smith and Wesson didn't add them on the Sport as a cost-cutting method. Nevertheless it does not affect the rifles reliability.
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