It has been about ten months now since I
reviewed the dandy little M&P 15-22
semi-auto carbine on Gunblast.com. Since then, it has proven
to be a good seller for Smith & Wesson, and I have received
a lot of positive feedback on that weapon. Internally, it as
about as close to a centerfire AR-15 as you can get, and still
function reliably with the 22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge.
Now, S&W has introduced a pistol version
of that excellent weapon, and I have been having a blast
shooting this little jewel. As I covered the M&P 15-22
carbine in detail, I will just hit the high points and details
particular to this pistol here. The P version has all the good
features of the carbine, including the excellent detachable
sights. The front sight is adjustable for elevation correction,
and the rear is adjustable for both elevation and windage
correction. The pistol also uses the same 25-round magazines of
the carbine, has a long section of Picatinny rail atop the
receiver, and four sections of rail on the abbreviated hand
guard. The M&P 15-22P has a six inch barrel with a birdcage
style flash suppressor attached. The lower receiver controls are
just like on an AR-15, with a protected magazine release, a
right-handed thumb safety lever, and an AR-15 bolt release. The
trigger is pure AR also, as is the pistol grip. The trigger pull
measured five pounds, seven ounces on my Lyman digital gauge.
The receiver and hand guard are made of polymer, but the finish
matches the black steel barrel and flash suppressor very well.
At the rear of the lower receiver, where a
buffer tube and buttstock are usually attached on a carbine,
there is a single-point sling attachment that is quickly removed
by the push of a button. Disassembly for cleaning is very much
like the procedure used on an AR-15/M-16/M-4 rifle.
Shooting the M&P 15-22P was a lot of fun,
and fun just might be the best reason for owning one of these
pistols. It has plenty of accuracy for hunting, and plenty of
firepower for close range defense, but I suspect that these
pistols will be bought mostly for high volume, low cost shooting
fun. Reliability was perfect with the S&W pistol. Every
round fed, fired, and ejected perfectly. I used only four types
of ammo in this pistol; Winchester bulk DynaPoint, Federal bulk
hollowpoint, and both Wolf and PMC match loads. Again, all
worked perfectly in the M&P 15-22P. Accuracy was also very
good. I mounted a scope atop the receiver and tested for
accuracy at 25 yards, with the results shown in the pictures
below.
The S&W M&P 15-22P pistol is a
delight to shoot. Weighing in at 54.4 ounces, felt recoil is
almost nonexistent. It is a high quality, fun little gun that is
built right, and built in the USA.
For a look at the extensive line of Smith
& Wesson products, go to www.smith-wesson.com.
For the location of a S&W dealer near
you, click on the DEALER LOCATOR at www.lipseys.com.
To order the M&P 15-22P online, go to www.galleryofguns.com.
Jeff Quinn
