5.56/.223

What ye say? I can get one for $599.

Good
Bad

Very nice guy, enjoy!

Is it new stock or an older used one? They've made some changes over time I think.

Brand new.

If you're looking for a $600 AR that's the one I'd get.

I THINK that it'll have a 1-9" melonited barrel. They've got a great reputation for accuracy and so far my 1-8" S&W melonited barrel has been good.

I'd look at replacing the buffer with something heavier, they have a reputation for being over gassed. But that's a $30 fix, if you even want to do it.

Is this worth another $280?

$880

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/..._757784_757784_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y

Nope.

Thanks.
Appreciate it.

+1 nope

Even if you decide to convert the Sport to an Optics Ready, you should be able to do it for under $200, including parts and tools.

Thanks guys! Got one on the way!

Bluedreaux, Mine is the OR version. What is the concern over the buffer? Did some come with the wrong one? Will it hurt it? Seems to work fine but I'm no expert. I have less than 500 rounds through it so maybe it's ok? Someone also mentioned them being over gassed. What does that mean?

I'll log on later when I've got more time but the short answer is that it's not the "wrong" one and it's not going to hurt anything.

An AR that is overgassed typically has a gas port hole under the front sight that is slightly oversized, but still within the safe range. This is good and bad. It CAN make the gun more reliable if the buffer/spring combo is beefed up to match it. If not, and the spring is too weak, or the buffer too light, or both, then all that gas will have that buffer/bolt/carrier trying to move rearward/unlock before pressures have dropped. This results in failures to extract, typically. Most rack-grade carbine stocked AR's will benefit from an upgraded buffer/spring.

http://www.defensereview.com/m4m4a1...why-they-occur-and-why-theyre-our-fault/

Thank you. Good information in that link.

+ 1. I am going to look into the manual mentioned in the article.
I always see the advice of keeping the rifle lubed but I don't see exactly what part(s) of the rifle I am supposed to keep lubed.
Obviously new to ARs.

Ernie

Lube the gas key, 2-3 drops. Drop oil in/on the cam pin. Lube the bolt body before you put it in the carrier. Put a drop or two on the hammer. LIGHTLY lube the outside of the carrier. I don't like to overlube, but that means you HAVE to lube more often, as a direct-gas gun like an AR blows the oil away.

I plan to send my carriers to Ion Bond as that stuff really hangs onto oil.

The whole system works off of gas pressure coming from the fired cartridge. The gas flows from a hole in the barrel (the gas port) through the gas block, down the gas tube and into the bolt carrier group...causing the action to cycle. The gas flows through the gas block like that until the bullet leaves the barrel and all the gas escapes out of the muzzle. If the BCG is getting too much gas it's typically called "over-gassed". This can be caused by a gas port that's too large, gas systems (like yours) that are short and close to the chamber where gas pressure is very high and barrels that are too long for the gas system (because the gas is being fed to the chamber for a longer amount of time until the bullet leaves the barrel).

The concern is that there's too much gas going to bolt carrier group. This can cause failures to extract, wear on the bolt, and excessive recoil. Manufacturers sometimes purposely make their ARs slightly over gassed to make sure that the gun will function with any ammo you feed it, from high powered 5.56 to super weak foreign .223. They figure that as long as the gun goes bang the customer will be happy and the benefit of over gassing (reliability with weak ammo) is worth the cost (potential malfunctions). If you're not having any malfunctions and this isn't an people-shooter, then I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you just want to tinker with it.

From what I've read and my sample of two, the S&W carbines are pretty gassy. I put a heavier buffer in one and it made a significant difference for me. The heavier buffer will add more resistance to the BCG (which is getting too much gas pushing it back) and slow it down some. I think S&W carbines are shipping with carbine weight buffers. Open up the upper / lower and look at the buffer. If it's blank, it's likely a carbine weight buffer. H or H2 buffers will be stamped accordingly.

If you feel like tinkering, get an H or H2 buffer and try it out. Shoot the carbine and H2 back to back and I think you'll notice a difference. ARs don't really "recoil" that much. But if you try the different buffers while shooting offhand at 75 yards or so you'll probably see that your sights move less. If you're not shooting offhand at those distances or you rarely have to make a lot of multiple shots or target transitions, the benefits may not be worth the hassle to you.

But it won't hurt anything to try it. If you switch to a heavier buffer, load a mag with the weakest ammo you shoot. Make sure the BCG is cycling far enough back to reliably feed rounds from the mag. Also make sure you try just loading one round in the mag to be sure that the bolt will lock back on an empty magazine. If it doesn't, the buffer is probably too heavy and is keeping the BCG from moving far enough to the rear and you'll need to move to a lighter buffer. But if you're shooting American made commercially loaded .223 or 5.56 ammo I think you'd be fine with going straight to an H2.

to many years of running OLD printing presses where wet metal = good because oil is cheap and parts arent..........i hose down the inside of mine and just deal with getting some oil thrown on me but ive got a old jeep so thats nothing new

Whatever oil it doesn't want it'll give back to you in the first few shots.

Thanks for all the information guys . I don't see a "h" on my buffer so I guess I have the carbine buffer. I will get a h or h2 buffer next time I'm in minot. Is there a different size buffer for a commercial vs. mil spec buffer tubes, or are the tubes just different dimensions externally (thicker)?

Thank you guys for the advice. I recently broke my charge handle. So while filling my cart on the brownells website I added a spikes tactical T2. I don't know about wear on the gun, but it definitely smoothed recoil/ helps keep on target for second shot. I also put on a levang linear compensator. In doing some google research on that one I actually found an old thread here on the fire and noone seemed to think it did any good. I ordered it anyway since it had 5 star reviews on brownells. I agree that there is no discernable noise difference while wearing hearing protection, but there is a difference shooting without. Don't take this wrong. It's still a 16" barrel and loud as hell but it does help. Anyways thanks again for sharing your knowledge and the advice.