Rifles

While most shooters associate Smith & Wesson with fine handguns, especially revolvers, the company now has a line of AR-style rifles it calls M&P15s, the M&P standing for Military & Police.

I recently used this month's evaluation gun--the M&P15A at the week-long Smith & Wesson-Gunsite Invitational. Except for the Gunsite Raven engraved on the lower receiver, the addition of a Brownells low-profile ambi sling adaptor and a Surefire M73 AR/M4 Picatinny fore-end, my rifle was just like any other M&P15A. It is a direct gas-operated AR-15-pattern carbine built with great attention to detail. Slots in the integral mil-std 1913 rail on the A3 flattop are numbered so that optics can be returned to the same place if removed, eliminating the need to rezero the gun. The single-stage trigger broke cleanly at seven pounds after very little creep.

M&P15s are chambered to 5.56mm NATO specifications, making them particularly suitable for shooting military ammunition. The 1:9-inch twist, M203-contoured, 4140-steel, 16-inch barrel is chrome lined, as are the chamber, bolt carrier and gas key. At the business end of the barrel resides an A2 birdcage-style flash suppressor, and sling swivels are installed on the bottom and left side of the gas block. The side swivel can be switched to the right side if desired. At the friendly end of the M&P15A is a six-position collapsible buttstock, making the overall length of the piece 353?4 inches when extended, 32 1/2 inches when the stock is collapsed.

The magazine release, bolt catch and safety are standard GI and worked as expected. Fieldstripping is typical AR, but the takedown pin and pivot pin on the sample gun were very tight and required light tapping with a punch to drive out. The M&P15A accepts standard AR-15 magazines and worked well with both factory and Brownells magazines, which is significant because AR magazines are a common source of rifle problems such as jams.