I have the M&P, bought it for my first AR. Still love shooting it. Put 300 rounds down range with buddies today as a matter of fact.

I bought it for the price at the time. But it’s the one all my buddies want to shoot. It’s accurate, and I didn’t clean it until about 2,000 rounds (didn’t know better then) and it ran like a top both dirty and clean.

 

I doubt you could go wrong either way. I was confronted with this a few years ago and as the M&P trigger seemed better to me, I chose that. Might have been some other cosmetic differences too, don’t recal.

 

M&P is the better rifle. Better trigger, Magpul flip ups, really great accuracy.

 

How much does each of them cost these days?

 

Thanks everyone. Looks like I'm going for the Sport II. Sure would like to have the standard M&P 15....I hear it's more "robust", is that true?



About $749, if I recall.

 

I have a m&p sport 2 (wife does actually) it has many thousands of rounds through it with 0 issues and it is very accurate. I would highly recommend one. Is a colt better? Of course but the sport 2 will serve you well.

 

The Sport II, the Ruger is a good rifle but the Sport II is better.

 

Another vote for the Sport II. The rifles are close but the M&P had Magpul sights and front hand guard, plus the dealer threw in an extra Pmag on the deal. The trigger is better in my opinion and the finish was a little better on it too.

But I really like Ruger products and when I tried their AR I did like it. But the above mentioned extras swayed my choice. I think that either way you go you will be good.

 

I might be incorrect but I believe the sport 2 has a nitride/melonite barrel. While the ruger is a chf with phosphate finish. I would lean towards the melonite just for ease of maintenance and corrosion resistance. I doubt there’s any real world difference. It’s my own personal bias.

 

Asking which of these economical gun is better than the other is like asking which car is better, a Nissan Sentra or a Toyota Corolla.

The difference in these two guns are minuscule. They both go bang with regularity and tend to have better mechanical accuracy potential than their prospective owners.

I gave both of mine away. The SW went to a niece and the Ruger went to a nephew. Both of them were thrilled to get the fire sticks. Last I heard, the girl still kept hers with iron sights and the boy put a holosun on his.

 

Which one is the Toyota, the S&W?

‘cause I’d pick the Toyota over the Nissan an day of the week.

 

The real benefit of the Smith is that it's more mil-spec than the Ruger. A lot of the parts on the Ruger are proprietary. But with the Smith, you can change parts out because it's pretty much standardized. Plus the trigger is excellent; puts my 6920 to shame in that regard.

When Smith sport II was $499, it was a steal.

 

What part on the Ruger that you can’t replace with standardized AR15 part?

please don’t say handguard because I put the MagPul MOE hand guard on without any issue.

even the strange front sight/gas block can be replaced by standardized gas block.

As far as the SW trigger putting the Colt 6920 to shame, that isn’t hard to do. The typical 6920 trigger pulls is godawful.

 

I've got limited experience with these, but I found the M&P better built. The Ruger I shot didn't want to catch the bolt. As noted, the Ruger comes with some proprietary parts like the gas block, handguard hardware and (I think) flash hider, rear flip up sight.

Hardly a condemnation on the R556 model generally. But the Smith is my preference in this particular match up.

 

In summer 2016 with Hillary’s expected election, I decided to buy an AR for the first time and narrowed it down to the S&W and the Ruger. I found the best deal at the time on the S&W and I haven’t been sorry.

If I’d gotten Ruger, I’d probably be equally happy.

Fast forward to the insanity of 2020 and 2021, and I think the issue remains the same, but even more so- try to find either of these guns that you can actually get your hands on at a deal you can live with and don’t look back!

 

Most shooting you'll ever do will be covered by the Sport's 1:9 twist. The 1:9 is plenty tight.

 

I've had a S&W M&P15 Sport "1", and currently have the Ruger AR556. In my opinion, they are about equal. One nice thing about the Ruger is that it is much easier to take the forend off, no special tool required, just unscrew the delta ring.

 

It’s called “progress”.

 

1:8 Twist would shoot more bullet weights better.
So the 1:7 is geared more for cheaper ammo.

 

Just wondering where would 1:12 be at on that chart.

 

I will also second the trigger on the sport being better than a factory colt trigger.

 

If you’re in the market for a complete AR under $1K I’d check out the Savage.

 

I own a S&W sport 2 . It's been great with no issues since I bought it.

 

Just went to a Pawn Shop today, and they had a Ruger AR556 for $799. I could probably talk them down to $740 or $760, depending on what mood they are in.

Hmm...

Not yet. Still got some expenses to pay first. Needs before wants.

 

Sportsman's Warehouse has S&W listed at $669 when in stock. God bless those people.

 

If you get the Smith, it comes with skinny hand guards. You can get a new set of Colt M4 takeoffs for 20 bucks at the gun show or online.
These are the larger oval ones with the metal heat shields. They drop right in.

 

I'll put this way, the Ruger is almost as good as the Sport II.

 

Not an AR556 but I have a Ruger MPR and its a damn good rifle!
Best trigger I've found in a lower priced AR!
18" bbl with full length gas system.
Not a lot more $$$ than a base model.

 

Double post

 

They're comparable for the average Joe*, in my opinion. I waffled for a while and went with the Ruger to get that M4(gery) feel. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

(*A less-than-average Joe's opinion)