Smith & Wesson M&P15-22

HughScot · September 17, 2016, 02:43 PM

Just got an email from the truth about guns and it seems this S&W has been having some serious issues regarding firing out of battery. Here's a link:

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/20...s-sw-mp-1522s/

marine6680 · September 17, 2016, 03:34 PM

From what I can tell, the issue stems from walking trigger pins.

I built a 22AR from a stripped lower and a DPMS 22 upper... That is the direction I would steer people who wanted a 22 AR.

Get a cheap complete lower from PSA and a DPMS 22 upper, cost is about $400.

Quentin2 · September 17, 2016, 04:49 PM

Wow, I'm surprised to hear that. S&W has sold a lot of these over the years. I'll have to point my buddy to that link. He got the M&P15-22 and I got the phony pony Colt M4-22 five or so years ago. No real problems with either but I'll let him know.

Marine6680's advice probably is best, a good .22lr upper on a real AR lower makes a lot of sense. I've been happy with the dedicated AR22 and they are cheap, the whole rifle costs not much more than the upper.

Anyway, I hope S&W solves this quick.

KNS anti-walk trigger and hammer pins might be a user installed fix.

marine6680 · September 17, 2016, 08:22 PM

I have seen people comment that they used those pins to fix the problem, or got a different trigger group, and never seen an issue.

9x19 · September 18, 2016, 12:25 PM

I've had both of my 15-22s since 2012, and neither has had any issues.

I don't play any run and gun games, so they don't get thousands of rounds a week in practice, but again, no issues.

When I upgraded the triggers, I did install CMC 15-22 pins, because the 15-22 receiver is wider than a normal AR receiver, so the holes can get a bit buggered using stock length pins.

I sold my Tac Sol .22 upper after getting the 15-22s and they proved just as reliable, but weigh a bunch less. I have no plans to go back.

Justice06RR · September 18, 2016, 01:26 PM

That is probably a very small batch of 15-22 that have that issue. Which explains why this is a recent occurence although these rifles have been out for a long time.

I've owned a couple of these rifles and never had any issues with them.

JWT · September 18, 2016, 05:06 PM

Have had mine for 5+ years and never had any problems with it. Great gun IMO.

It very well may be an issue with a particular 'lot' of more recently manufactured guns. Will be interesting to see if S&W issues any warnings.

Eazyeach · September 18, 2016, 05:55 PM

Bought mine two years ago. No problems at all. And I keep it pretty dirty. Was thinking about selling it and buying a newer one because they have a nicer hand guard. But I guess I'll just wait and see what happens with this deal.

Destructo6 · September 19, 2016, 09:14 AM

I've used several of these and put 30k rounds (not all myself) through each of 4 of them and 1 had an out of battery discharge, probably due to having not been cleaned in 6k rounds. It blew the extractor and spring out of the bolt.

I'm not concerned with this issue while shooting my personally owned MP15-22 that I clean after every outing...

Fishbed77 · September 19, 2016, 11:30 AM

When everyone was recommending M&P15-22s, I elected instead to go with a dedicated .22LR AR-15 (CMMG .22LR upper on a PSA lower).

I've always been glad I did.

Destructo6 · September 21, 2016, 09:16 AM

Quote:

When everyone was recommending M&P15-22s, I elected instead to go with a dedicated .22LR AR-15 (CMMG .22LR upper on a PSA lower).

We shot 3 factory CMMG complete .22lr rifles alongside those 4 MP15-22s. After the obligated test period, the CMMGs went back into the safe and have not come out since. Every shooter detested loading the magazines and had little confidence in the reliability and accuracy of the CMMG dedicated .22lr.

The MP15-22? we asked for more and shot them until we ran out of ammo, which was some 120k rounds to start.

Erno86 · September 21, 2016, 01:47 PM

I had at least 2 OOB's in my dedicated Model 1 rimfire upper, using a heavy hammer spring in my Rock River lower. I know I wasn't shooting Thunderbolt ammo when the incidents occurred --- Fortunately...no one was hurt. I believe the rifle had an approx. 20,000 to 30,000 rimfire round count when the incidents {OOB's} started occurring.

I've given up shooting my Model 1 & Spikes Tactical dedicated rimfire uppers, and now rely on a Ruger 10/22, Kimber Custom Classic rimfire bolt gun and a single shot BSA Martini Henry for field and target work.

TMD · September 21, 2016, 01:52 PM

S&W has sold a boatload of the 15-22's over the last 6 or so years since they were introduced and now suddenly we're hearing about problems. I'm guessing its a very small batch or a handful with round counts in the 10's of thousands. I bought my first one when they first came out and put about 10k rounds through it without a hitch. Sold it to get a threaded barrel model for use with my suppressors and have easily put the same amount of rounds through this one with most being suppressed and again, not a single hiccup.
Hopefully the issue will be resolved and disclosed soon.

Guv · September 21, 2016, 03:17 PM

Erno, I had a 2 Thunderbolts rupture. 1 while shooting my 10-22 and the other was while shooting my Intertech Scorpion.

Ibmikey · September 25, 2016, 03:27 AM

More doom and gloom in the firearms world, dont worry Hillary will fix all of our firearms so we do not hurt orselves. I have three 15-22's that have been shucking out brass like they were made to, never any problems and they were all bought at different times. Also have a Colt m4-22 and a DPMS dedicated .22 lr rifle none of which have given me difficulties.
I bought a Compact M&P .22 when the forum boys were condemning them..mine works fine, shot Texas hogs we trapped with it. Now i recently bought a Remington ( at a time when the forum boys have nothing nice to say about the company or their products) R 51 9mm. The pistol has about 500 rounds through it and although warnings the brass would rupture among other things mine has worked flawlessly except for a couple of mags of Win steel case that the pistol did not like...the first two mags fired had a couple of nose dive rounds in the mag and a failure to lock back with the steel case......since then all brass ammo and has fired without a hitch.
Point being: Firearms are mechanical devices and some are in need of further tweeking...but that does not mean that one guy had trouble so all hundreds of thousands of 15-22's built Will necessarly have the same problem.
I should think most of the detractors of weapons here have not bought one themselves or ever intended to but will down play a successful product at a moments notice, some in an elequent manner, but for me i intend to purchase and shoot the weapons that appeal to me and if repair is in order the manufacturer or my friend gunsmith will be asked to initate the corrections.

September 17, 2016, 02:43 PM	#1
HughScot Senior Member Join Date: July 4, 2016 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 166	Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 Just got an email from the truth about guns and it seems this S&W has been having some serious issues regarding firing out of battery. Here's a link: https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/20...s-sw-mp-1522s/

September 18, 2016, 12:25 PM	#5
9x19 Senior Member Join Date: October 15, 1998 Location: Sherman, TX USA Posts: 3,750	I've had both of my 15-22s since 2012, and neither has had any issues. I don't play any run and gun games, so they don't get thousands of rounds a week in practice, but again, no issues. When I upgraded the triggers, I did install CMC 15-22 pins, because the 15-22 receiver is wider than a normal AR receiver, so the holes can get a bit buggered using stock length pins. I sold my Tac Sol .22 upper after getting the 15-22s and they proved just as reliable, but weigh a bunch less. I have no plans to go back. __________________ Make mine lean, mean, and 9x19! Last edited by 9x19; September 18, 2016 at 12:49 PM.

September 18, 2016, 05:06 PM	#7
JWT Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2007 Location: Southern Arizona Posts: 3,888	Have had mine for 5+ years and never had any problems with it. Great gun IMO. It very well may be an issue with a particular 'lot' of more recently manufactured guns. Will be interesting to see if S&W issues any warnings. Last edited by JWT; September 18, 2016 at 05:13 PM.

September 19, 2016, 09:14 AM	#9
Destructo6 Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 1999 Location: Nogales, AZ USA Posts: 4,000	I've used several of these and put 30k rounds (not all myself) through each of 4 of them and 1 had an out of battery discharge, probably due to having not been cleaned in 6k rounds. It blew the extractor and spring out of the bolt. I'm not concerned with this issue while shooting my personally owned MP15-22 that I clean after every outing... __________________ God gave you a soul. Your parents, a body. Your country, a rifle. Keep all of them clean.

September 21, 2016, 01:47 PM	#12
Erno86 Senior Member Join Date: September 22, 2012 Location: Marriottsville, Maryland Posts: 1,739	I had at least 2 OOB's in my dedicated Model 1 rimfire upper, using a heavy hammer spring in my Rock River lower. I know I wasn't shooting Thunderbolt ammo when the incidents occurred --- Fortunately...no one was hurt. I believe the rifle had an approx. 20,000 to 30,000 rimfire round count when the incidents {OOB's} started occurring. I've given up shooting my Model 1 & Spikes Tactical dedicated rimfire uppers, and now rely on a Ruger 10/22, Kimber Custom Classic rimfire bolt gun and a single shot BSA Martini Henry for field and target work. __________________ That rifle hanging on the wall of the working class flat or labourer's cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." --- George Orwell

September 17, 2016, 03:34 PM	#2
marine6680 Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2012 Location: Parker, CO Posts: 4,594	From what I can tell, the issue stems from walking trigger pins. I built a 22AR from a stripped lower and a DPMS 22 upper... That is the direction I would steer people who wanted a 22 AR. Get a cheap complete lower from PSA and a DPMS 22 upper, cost is about $400.

September 17, 2016, 04:49 PM	#3
Quentin2 Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2009 Location: NorthWest USA Posts: 1,996	Wow, I'm surprised to hear that. S&W has sold a lot of these over the years. I'll have to point my buddy to that link. He got the M&P15-22 and I got the phony pony Colt M4-22 five or so years ago. No real problems with either but I'll let him know. Marine6680's advice probably is best, a good .22lr upper on a real AR lower makes a lot of sense. I've been happy with the dedicated AR22 and they are cheap, the whole rifle costs not much more than the upper. Anyway, I hope S&W solves this quick. KNS anti-walk trigger and hammer pins might be a user installed fix.

September 17, 2016, 08:22 PM	#4
marine6680 Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2012 Location: Parker, CO Posts: 4,594	I have seen people comment that they used those pins to fix the problem, or got a different trigger group, and never seen an issue.

September 18, 2016, 01:26 PM	#6
Justice06RR Senior Member Join Date: December 21, 2010 Location: Central FL Posts: 1,360	That is probably a very small batch of 15-22 that have that issue. Which explains why this is a recent occurence although these rifles have been out for a long time. I've owned a couple of these rifles and never had any issues with them.

September 18, 2016, 05:55 PM	#8
Eazyeach Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2014 Posts: 706	Bought mine two years ago. No problems at all. And I keep it pretty dirty. Was thinking about selling it and buying a newer one because they have a nicer hand guard. But I guess I'll just wait and see what happens with this deal.

September 19, 2016, 11:30 AM	#10
Fishbed77 Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2010 Posts: 4,862	When everyone was recommending M&P15-22s, I elected instead to go with a dedicated .22LR AR-15 (CMMG .22LR upper on a PSA lower). I've always been glad I did.

September 21, 2016, 01:52 PM	#13
TMD Senior Member Join Date: August 9, 2011 Posts: 1,293	S&W has sold a boatload of the 15-22's over the last 6 or so years since they were introduced and now suddenly we're hearing about problems. I'm guessing its a very small batch or a handful with round counts in the 10's of thousands. I bought my first one when they first came out and put about 10k rounds through it without a hitch. Sold it to get a threaded barrel model for use with my suppressors and have easily put the same amount of rounds through this one with most being suppressed and again, not a single hiccup. Hopefully the issue will be resolved and disclosed soon.

September 21, 2016, 03:17 PM	#14
Guv Senior Member Join Date: February 24, 2012 Location: South Texas Posts: 2,126	Erno, I had a 2 Thunderbolts rupture. 1 while shooting my 10-22 and the other was while shooting my Intertech Scorpion. __________________ Walnut and Gloss Blue, mostly!

September 25, 2016, 03:27 AM	#15
Ibmikey Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2013 Location: Now relocated to Texas Posts: 2,943	More doom and gloom in the firearms world, dont worry Hillary will fix all of our firearms so we do not hurt orselves. I have three 15-22's that have been shucking out brass like they were made to, never any problems and they were all bought at different times. Also have a Colt m4-22 and a DPMS dedicated .22 lr rifle none of which have given me difficulties. I bought a Compact M&P .22 when the forum boys were condemning them..mine works fine, shot Texas hogs we trapped with it. Now i recently bought a Remington ( at a time when the forum boys have nothing nice to say about the company or their products) R 51 9mm. The pistol has about 500 rounds through it and although warnings the brass would rupture among other things mine has worked flawlessly except for a couple of mags of Win steel case that the pistol did not like...the first two mags fired had a couple of nose dive rounds in the mag and a failure to lock back with the steel case......since then all brass ammo and has fired without a hitch. Point being: Firearms are mechanical devices and some are in need of further tweeking...but that does not mean that one guy had trouble so all hundreds of thousands of 15-22's built Will necessarly have the same problem. I should think most of the detractors of weapons here have not bought one themselves or ever intended to but will down play a successful product at a moments notice, some in an elequent manner, but for me i intend to purchase and shoot the weapons that appeal to me and if repair is in order the manufacturer or my friend gunsmith will be asked to initate the corrections. Last edited by Ibmikey; September 25, 2016 at 09:44 PM.