S&W M&P 15 AXE SBR 300 Blk Out Gun Review

The Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Axe SBR. Let’s check it out.  (Available Here)

 

Well, the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Axe SBR, which means short-barreled rifle, it is a rifle. This is not a pistol. And it has an 8-inch barrel. 300 blackout is just excellent to me for suppressing.

And with this really short, compact package, you can add a suppressor on it, like this Gemtech Neutrino, and it makes it compact, maneuverable, and super quiet. And one of the things about 300 blackout, especially with the shorter barrels, they’re just typically more reliable than other calibers. Now, obviously, with the loosening up of the NFA, as far as the tax stamp being gone, and there are current rumblings, which may do away with the NFA altogether.

And so it’s really cool to have a short-barreled rifle instead of a pistol with just a brace on the end. And this gives you a solid, dedicated stock, which gives you just more stability. But there’s a lot of cool features about this.

Guys, there’s a ton of AR-15s out there, but this one really steps it above and really optimizes being suppressed. So in full disclosure, Smith & Wesson sent the Axe SBR for this review, and they’re going to allow me to keep it, considering I’ve gone through all the paperwork. But we’re going to give you an honest review anyway.

And then joining it with that Gemtech Neutrino, again, man, this makes a great package. The sound of silence. All right, guys, the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Axe SBR.

300 blackout. Very compact package. I mean, this thing is solid.

And there is a lot that we’re going to talk about with this, because guys, let’s face it, the AR market is highly saturated. And to be honest, I haven’t really done many AR-15 reviews in a while, because it’s pretty much the same thing. Maybe a little different here or there, but this is definitely something to take a look at.

And the one thing about 300 blackout is it is optimal for suppressors. And this setup is also optimal for suppressors as well. They’re using the Gemtech GVAC technology for their gas block.

We’ll take a good look at that in a minute. This keeps the gas out of your face. And this also comes with a standard thread protector.

So instead of any kind of flash hider or muzzle brake, it comes ready for direct thread mount. But the one thing about an SBR is it’s compact, it’s short. And of course, guys, pistols have been a big deal, but there’s just something about putting a stock on here that just really changes the game.

And we have one of the CTR Magpul stocks, and it also has the lockup feature here. So this is just an excellent option. And of course, it is adjustable.

Now, before we get into it too much, let’s go ahead and make sure the gun’s unloaded. We’re going to drop our magazine. It’s one of the Magpul 300 blackout mags.

And then we’re going to check the chamber. And of course, the gun is empty. And speaking of which, we have one of the Radian Raptor ambidextrous charging handles.

And so you’ve got it locked in right here. And then that just makes it easy to be able to get to, especially if you’re running an optic. And we’re just running one of the little mini Trenchicons 1.5 magnification.

Now, starting out here at the front, we have an eight inch barrel, and it is 4150 chromoly vanadium. The barrel extension has been nickel boron coated, which is going to give it smoother feeding and cycling. And again, it does come with just a thread protector.

Also, we have a Midwest Industries M-LOK seven side rail. So you’ve got all kinds of points to be able to attach different things. And it comes in at seven inches.

I mean, this is a very compact package. But now their gas block’s definitely something different. And this is the Gemtech GVAC gas block.

And you can see that it’s pretty large, but it has a chamber that’s built in. So when the gases come out, it’ll give you enough to cycle the rifle, but all excess gases are retained in the front and then pushed out. So this is going to give you very little gas in your face.

It’s going to keep it going forward. And again, 5.8 by 24 thread pitch, which is your standard 30 caliber. Now they did send one of the Gemtech EMT flash hiders, and this actually eliminates carbon lock.

It does have the Armonite finish. So it’s very similar to your M&P handguns. There is an EMT QD mount that’ll actually fit over it.

It just makes this a cool system. And there are QD ports on either side of a handguard. Also, we have metal backup sights, and these are actually from Smith & Wesson.

And of course you have your standard post. And here at the back, we have an aperture sight as well. And it’s nice to see backup sights.

You know, a lot of times now, a lot of the ARs we’re getting are coming without them. But now one thing about these sights is you have a little lever you push down, and then you can retract them down. And it took me a couple of minutes to figure that out.

Now we have a forged upper and lower receiver. Of course it’s hard anodized. And we have an ambidextrous safety selector.

It is a short throw. And we have an ambidextrous bolt catch. And of course we have our standard magazine release, dust cover, and we have forward assist with shell deflector.

But on this side, again, short throw on your safety selector, which I thought was pretty unique. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it on both sides. And then we have our magazine release right here.

And then we have our standard bolt release up top. So this is fully ambidextrous. And the trigger guard is one solid piece in the receiver.

And we have a flat face trigger. So guys, when I say flat face, I mean flat face. And here we’ve got a little bit of take up.

And then we have a nice break. There is a little bit of hesitation coming up to the wall. Reset right there.

And it’s solid. Now instead of your standard AR-15 grip, they do have their M&P 2.0 grip. A lot of texturing.

You have four different backstrap options. And it does come in here and fill in somewhat. And it’s funny because when I was at the range, I kind of looked down and thought, oh, where’s my magazine? But this is not a magazine well, obviously.

One thing about it though, I noticed is there is a tiny slight gap right here. So I think if they could get that designed to be a little bit up closer. But this will be compatible with any of your AR-15 pistol grips.

But this one is excellent. And it’s like having a handgun grip in your hand. And with this size rifle, it fits really well.

And back straps to fit whatever hand size you have. Now it does mention that it has an enhanced bolt carrier group. We’re going to check that out when we break it down.

But the enhancement should be actually aiding with the gases in your suppressor. And guys, while we’re going to take this out of range, we’re also going to be testing the Gemtech Neutrino, which really mates well with this rifle. Well guys, a big thank you to Fiocchi for sponsoring our ammo.

All made in the USA. One of the largest suppliers of ammunition in the country. And also Lula loaders.

They do make loaders for your AR-15 mags. Of course, we’re using hypersonic and we’re going to be doing subsonic. And we have one of the Gemtech suppressors, and this is the Neutrino and it’s for 7.62. And so we’re going to be testing it on this as well.

Guys, we have the M&P 15 from Smith and Wesson, and this is their SBR. And you can order this direct. It really cuts down on wait time instead of having yours transferred into an SBR.

This is the .300 Blackout. It has an 1 1⁄8 inch barrel. Love the Magpul stock.

It’s definitely a huge advantage over a brace. It’s got an M&P 2.0 grip on it, so it gives it a lot of texture. Now with the 1⁄8 inch barrel, it’s short, but with .300 Blackout, it’s typically very reliable even in that short barrel configuration.

Got great sights on here, but we have a little Trijicon Mini ACOG. I’ll tell you guys, this is such a small little package, but we’ll be shooting some suppressors with it as well. Flat-face trigger, which makes it really crisp and just great take up.

It’s an AR-15 though, guys, and really with .300 Blackout, it gives you a little more recoil than your 5.56, but it’s very manageable to shoot. Of course, it takes your standard AR-15 Magpul mags, but you can get the upgraded .300 Blackout mags made specifically from Magpul. But overall, ambidextrous charging handles, ambidextrous features all throughout.

I mean, Smith & Wesson has hit a home run in a sea of AR-15s, but the M&P 15 is just an excellent choice. And of course, it’s been extremely reliable. So guys, this makes it, again, simple to be able to order an SBR straight from the factory, and that way it just makes wait times even quicker.

And you don’t have that really ugly serial number that you have to put on an existing pistol to transfer it over into a short-barreled rifle. But guys, again, that eight and a half inch barrel is really made for the suppressor. So it gets that short barrel, and then you have a compact suppressor like this Gemtech Neutrino, and it just makes it not even larger than a standard rifle, and yet you have it super quiet.

Now guys, with the accuracy, we were using the 1.5 Trijicon ACOG, and we were shooting it at 25 yards. Again, eight inch barrel. We were getting acceptable accuracy.

All right guys, for disassembly, we’re going to drop our magazine, go ahead and check the chamber, make sure the gun is empty. Now we’re going to take and push our takedown pin, pull it out. Now we’re going to take our Radian Raptor ambidextrous charging handle, and we can pull out our bolt carrier group, and go ahead and just bring out our charging handle.

Next, we’re going to push right here at the pivot pin, and we’re just going to pull that out, and we can separate the upper and lower receivers. And with the enhanced bolt carrier group, we see these rings that come around. I’ve not seen that before, so that’s very unique with a carrier.

Properly state, gas key. We’re going to pull out our firing pin retainer pin, drop our firing pin, and of course you can see we have been shooting this quite a bit. And we have a reinforced firing pin, and you can see that it does have the concentric rings all the way up.

Here we’re going to take our cam pin, pull it out, and you can see that this is pretty dirty. And we have our bolt, and that’s fully disassembled. Now we’re going to put our bolt back in, line up that hole, take your cam pin, drop it in, and then you’re going to turn it and pull it forward.

Next, we’re going to take our firing pin and put it in through the back, and then we’re going to take our firing pin retainer pin, and we’re going to push it back in, just like that. Very well done, and easy to assemble and disassemble. Now the barrel extension is nickel boron coated, but here we can see the chamber, and you can see the interior of the upper receiver.

And here we have our lower and the hammer, and again, really well done. It does have relief cuts into the hammer, but again, standard AR-15. Now we have our buffer and buffer spring in the tube, and one thing I like to do is to take this out and take the grease and coat it with red and tacky, and it keeps that pinging down when you’re shooting it.

Now for full reassembly, we’re going to go ahead and put our charging handle in first, partially, make sure the bolt is out, and then we’re going to place the bolt carrier inside, bring our upper and lower receivers together, hit our pivot pin and our takedown pin, and test for function, and we’re back in business. Now guys, there’s a lot of cleaning material out there, but my choice is Otis Technologies. They are suppliers to the U.S. military.

They make excellent cleaning products. They’ve been around for a number of years. Also, their compact kit, this is great for being able to take this out to the range.

They make a lot of different tools, and they have their rip cord, and they have a whole system around that. So check out Otis Technologies, and they do give a 15% discount using Suge15, link down below. And we really appreciate Otis for being one of our channel sponsors.

MSRP on the M&P 15 Axe SBR is $1499. What are some pros and cons? First off, we have an optimized gas system for suppressors, and for 300 blackout, to me, that is the bomb. I love 300 blackout suppressed.

You have your threaded barrel, but you do have a lot of accessories, especially from Gemtech, where you can really upgrade this. And of course, using that Neutrino, this thing was incredibly quiet. The M&P grip, very unique and very aggressive.

I like the way this feels in my hand, especially with an SBR. Gives you more control over it. Full ambidextrous features, plus Midwest Industries M-Lok rail is just excellent, and the Radian Raptor.

And then the backup sights that are metal. I mean, these are excellent sights, and you’re getting your stock. A very compact package that’s really, again, ready for a suppressor.

But if you want something even smaller, I mean, this is still a very powerful firearm. The 5R rifling is really going to help keep accuracy. It’s going to prolong the life of your barrel.

And with the Gemtech GVAC technology gas block, this is going to keep all the gases going out front. And that’s one of the things, especially shooting suppressed, is you can get a lot of it in your face. Are there any cons? The only con that I have, period, in this nitpicking, is the way that the grip just doesn’t quite fit to the receiver.

And while that’s really not very a practical thing, it’s definitely an aesthetic thing. And that would be one thing that I would like to see them improve. Otherwise, this has been fantastic.

And while we have the pistols that are out there, there’s just something about putting a stock on here that just makes a world of difference. Now, obviously, the NFA, we’re seeing what’s happening with that right now. And of course, that’s just current events.

But at this point right now, this is great to have a dedicated SBR coming from the factory. Again, form four, fully transferable, easy to do. You don’t have that really gaudish looking serial number, your name, your address on here, or at least the state and city that you live in.

And with a form one, it takes a little bit longer. So to me, that is a huge plus in itself. So guys, the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Axe SBR in 300 blackout, perfect host for a great little suppressor, especially this little Gemtech Neutrino.

I mean, this fits on here so well, and it’s so light and compact. And yet with the eight inch barrel, I mean, it still gives you very good reliability. And then with the ambidextrous features, I mean, this is definitely a cut above.

And again, a big thank you to Smith & Wesson for sending the M&P Axe SBR for this review.

 

Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America. Long live the Republic.

 

-Don