Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22P, AR-15 Style 22 Long Rifle Semi-Auto Pistol

 

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

June 17th, 2010

 

 

 

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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

 

For a list of dealers where you can buy this gun, go to: To buy this gun online, go to:

 

Sights are fully adjustable and easily detachable.

 

 

 

 

Twenty-five round magazine.

 

 

M&P 15-22P disassembles easily for cleaning.

 

 

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Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22P.

 

 

Sling attachment loop at rear of receiver.

 

 

 

 

Case deflector (top), bolt release (bottom).

 

 

Flash suppressor.

 

 

Plenty of rail is provided for attaching optics and accessories.

 

 

Safety lever (top), magazine release (bottom).