GUN TESTS GRADE: A (BEST BUY)

$500

The last rifle we are testing is a replica of the U.S. M4 service carbine. The M4 is a shorter and lighter member of the M16 family of rifles first developed 60 years ago. The increasing mechanization of the U.S. armed forces and the deployment of forces in urban areas drove the demand for a more compact primary infantry weapon. Officially adopted in 1994, the M4 saw heavy usage during peacekeeping and anti-terrorist conflicts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. By 2005, the M4 was the primary weapon for all forward-deployed Army forces. By 2015, the M4 was designated the primary weapon for the U.S. Marine Corps. The M4 carbine keeps the same 5.56 NATO chambering and magazine of the M16 rifle but has a telescoping stock and a 14.5-inch barrel with a shortened version of the direct impingement gas operating system developed by Eugene Stoner. The shorter DIG system tended to exhibit reliability issues in earlier carbines. As a result, the M4 was modified with two small ramps at the bottom of the chamber to improve feeding. The barrel includes a stepped section for the attachment of a M203 grenade launcher. A mature design, the M4 has been deployed in several variants to military and police in more than 60 countries. The M4 has a three-position selector for Safe, Semi-auto, and three-round burst fire. The M4A1 selector allows the user to select Safe, Semi-auto, or Full-auto modes. Almost all versions of the M4 have a flattop receiver allowing the use of optics and other accessories.

As the M4 is select fire and has a sub-16-inch barrel, ownership is regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) and requires a tax stamp for civilian ownership. Therefore, most civilian offerings are actually “M4 style” semi-automatic carbines with 16-inch barrels. Costing from $500 and up, the M4-style rifle has proven to be just as popular with civilians as it has been with most troops and police. It makes sense that a less expensive 22 LR replica would be a very desirable for fun and training purposes.

The M&P (Military & Police) 15-22 replica M4 in 22 LR is built in the USA by Smith & Wesson of Springfield, Massachusetts. The M&P 15-22 is a simple blowback-operated action, as opposed to the direct impingement gas system found on the M4. The rifle has a 16.5-inch barrel and weighs a featherweight 5.4 pounds. This is due to the black polymer upper and lower receivers. This material choice should not be an issue with the low-pressure 22 LR. In fact, the polymer may actually be an advantage due to ease of maintenance and a reduced risk of corrosion. We do recommend that some care be taken when selecting gun cleaners and lubricants to ensure they are polymer friendly. The sturdy receivers break down for cleaning in a similar manner to a standard M4. The upper receiver has a flattop Picatinny rail and integral brass deflector but no dust cover or forward assist. The lower receiver is clearly marked with the Smith & Wesson M&P logo. Our sample has the older quad-rail edition fore end, but you can get brand-new rifles with the even lighter Magpul M-Lok handguard for as little as $329 (BudsGunShop.com). We are less enthusiastic about polymer for the quad rail. While we did not experience any issues with the material choice, we do recommend the user be careful not to over-tighten accessories on the quad rail. We can see the replacement Magpul M-lok handguard being an improvement in both longevity and reduced weight.

The M&P 15-22 uses a proprietary polymer magazine available in standard 25- and reduced 10-round capacities. Interestingly, the 10-round magazine comes in a standard-length body and a short-body version (which might be handy for shooting off a bench). The magazines are easily found and reasonably priced. The rifle comes with a standard six-position collapsible buttstock and finger-groove pistol grip. The M&P 15-22 controls closely mimic the M4 with a right-sided magazine release and left-sided two-position safety lever and bolt release. In fact, the M&P 15-22 is the only AR clone in our testing that has a functioning bolt release. This is a big plus if you want to use it for training purposes. All the controls were easily accessed while wearing gloves. The safety selector will only go on Safe when the rifle is cocked.

The flattop receiver came with removable back-up iron sights providing a 15.75-inch sight radius. The front-post sight is well protected by two ears and is adjustable for elevation. The well-protected rear peep sight had two apertures that are easily flipped. They are click adjustable for both elevation and windage. The sights were easy to use and should hold up well to rough service by shooters of all ages. The M&P 15-22 uses a standard AR-15 trigger group in a slightly enlarged housing. The rifle came with a serviceable single-stage trigger that had minimal take-up, a crisp release, and little overtravel. The trigger released at an average of 6.3 pounds.

As most of the testing panel had shot AR-15s before, they felt very familiar with the Smith & Wesson. Even the one tester with minimal AR experience found the controls intuitive. All the testers thought that the M&P 15-22 looked authentic. ARs have become so commonplace that nobody really noticed yet another one on the firing line. The testers thought the magazines were sturdy, but the thumb assists on either side of the magazine were a little small for easy loading. The magazines go into the well easily and latch with a positive click. The bolt is held open by the magazine when the rifle is empty. The experienced rimfire shooters like this because it should reduce wear on the firing pin and the chamber’s edge due to dry firing.

The bolt stays open when the magazine is released. The magazines dropped freely. Because the bolt release is functional, the testers thought the M&P 15-22 was the best rifle for use as a training tool for magazine changes. The testers found the rifle easy to use in the cold with gloves. All our testers found the rifle easy to use from the standing position. The Smith & Wesson was easily the favorite of our younger and more petite shooters due to its balance, very light weight, and adjustable buttstock.

Practical accuracy with the M&P was excellent, with all testers scoring easy hits on the 50-foot gong using the peep sights. We shot more than 500 rounds through the rifle in both hot and cold conditions. Our testers experienced only one functional issue, a failure to eject very early in the evaluation process, during all of our testing.

While there have been substantiated claims of issues with early models of this rifle firing in an out-of-battery condition, we saw no evidence of that happening with our sample. At the time of this writing, Smith & Wesson has not issued any recalls for this product. Our advice is to always wear eye and ear protection and have any firearm exhibiting unsafe behavior seen by the manufacturer or a competent gunsmith.

The M&P 15-22 was easily the best rifle in our formal 25-yard accuracy testing. The Federal 40-grain RN was the “worst,” with a very consistent 1.0-inch average-size group. The Aguila 40-grain RN had the smallest group of the test at 0.5 inches and averaged 0.9-inch groups. The Winchester 36-grain HP tied for second smallest group in the test at 0.6 inches and the smallest average of 0.8-inch groups. The M&P 15-22 was remarkably consistent in accuracy testing, with the only flyers being called upon breaking the shot. The rifle is so accurate that installation of an AR-15 match trigger might be worth the investment. Our chronograph results indicated that the M&P velocities were a little lower for the Aguila and Federal ammunition than for the other rifles. The velocity differences were not considered a significant issue for this application.

Our Team Said: While not as exotic or as historically interesting as some of the other rifles, our testers really enjoyed shooting the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22. Compact and lightweight, the rifle was comfortable for all our shooters to handle in a variety of positions, was very reliable, and was consistently accurate. Well balanced, the M&P 15-22 was easily the favorite of our most petite shooter. Our more experienced AR shooters said that the M&P 15-22 was the only rifle that could be considered a fully capable training tool. Half the price of a civilian M4 and shooting inexpensive 22 LR ammunition, this is a major selling point and a great help for economically improving one’s shooting skills. As tested, we can fully recommend the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 as a realistic and reliable trainer and an accurate plinker that anyone can enjoy.

Written and photographed by David Tannahill, using evaluations from Gun Tests team testers.

22 LR Range Data