Type Semi-automatic rifle Designer Eugene Stoner Manufacturer Smith & Wesson | Place of origin United States Designed 1957 Produced 2006–present | |
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The Smith & Wesson M&P15 is Smith & Wesson's version of the AR-15, semi-automatic rifle. It was introduced in 2006.
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History
Smith & Wesson is a gun manufacturer. The "M&P" stands for "Military & Police." The name goes back to 1899 when the U.S. Army and Navy placed orders for thousands of Smith & Wesson Model 1899 Hand Ejector revolvers chambered for the .38 Long Colt cartridge. With that government order, the revolver became known as the Smith & Wesson .38 Military & Police.
The M&P15 marked the make's return to the rifle marketing 2006. The M&P15 was the only rifle platform sold under the Smith and Wesson brand until 2013. Smith & Wesson's total rifle production was 4,600 in 2006, 38,000 in 2008, 100,000 in 2010, 302,000 in 2012, and 350,000 in 2013.
Design
The M&P product line was designed for military, police, and consumer markets, according to Smith & Wesson CEO Mike Golden in a 2008 earnings conference call with investors.
The M&P15 series of rifles is based on the AR-15. Smith & Wesson now offers the M&P15 semi-automatic rifles in a variety of configurations tailored to specific shooting applications and styles. Each model is chambered in 5.56mm NATO/.223 Remington, with variants in .22 Long Rifle and 5.45×39mm. They come with either a melonite lined or chrome-lined 4140 steel barrel, and 7075 T6 aluminum receiver with a hard-coat black anodized finish.
The rifle comes with a fixed adjustable M16A2-style post front iron sight and a detachable BUIS (Back-Up Iron Sight) adjustable Double Aperture rear iron sight accessory that mounts on the Picatinny rail along the upper receiver. The pistol grip is the M16A2-style with finger rest ridge. The forend has a four-direction Picatinny rail mount (i.e., with rails along the top, bottom, and sides); some have a rounded forend with no attachment rails. The rifle has a CAR-15-style six-position collapsible stock.
Variants
Unveiled at the 2006 SHOT Show, the rifle debuted in two varieties: the M&P15 and the M&P15T. Both are basically the same rifle, chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, with the T model featuring folding sights and a four-sided accessories rail fore end. Both have standard AR direct impingement gas system actions. Some of the less expensive rifles get their affordability by omitting some costly conveniences of the other near mil-spec rifles, such as the dust cover or forward assist. These rifles were initially produced for S&W by Stag Arms, but marked and marketed under the Smith & Wesson name. Currently, Smith & Wesson makes the lower receiver in-house, while the barrel is supplied by Thompson/Center Arms, a S&W company acquired in 2007.
In May 2008, Smith & Wesson introduced their first AR-15 rifle in a caliber other than 5.56×45mm NATO. The M&P15R is a standard AR platform rifle chambered for the Russian 5.45×39mm cartridge. It had a 1-in-8" [1:203mm] barrel twist. This model was soon abandoned due to poor sales. Cheaper surplus Communist Bloc AK-series weapons were already available and few shooters wanted an expensive AR-15 clone in a non-standard caliber that needed special magazines.
In 2009, S&W released the M&P15-22, chambered for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge. It had a 1-in-15" [1:381mm] barrel twist, a 10- or 25-round box magazine, and weighs 5.5 lbs empty.
The Standard model has an adjustable CAR-15 stock and comes with full-capacity 25-round magazines. The Compliant model (designed for the California market) has a CAR-15 stock fixed in the open position (with an overall length of 33.75 inches) and comes with 10-round magazines.
The Performance Center target shooting version has an 18-inch bull barrel threaded to take any AR-15/M16-style compensator, a 10-round magazine, Hogue pistol grip, and a Vltor adjustable stock; the compliant Fixed Stock version lacks the threading on the barrel and has a Vltor stock fixed in the open position (with an overall length of 35.75-inches).
In January 2009, Smith & Wesson announced their first short-stroke gas piston action rifle, the S&W M&P15 PS and PSX (piston AR-15).
In 2011, the S&W M&P15 Sport and S&W M&P15 Whisper were released. The Smith & Wesson M&P10, a version of the AR-10, was introduced in 2013.
In 2016, a new model was introduced, the M&P15 Sport II. It includes additional features of a forward bolt assist and dust cover not found on the original model.
Official users
Reception
The M&P15-22 was "accurate, fast, reliable and fun to shoot" and "so easy to send multiple rounds downrange that one shot just never seemed enough," according to an August 2009 review in American Rifleman.