[beartracker]

Yes, I have been hunting coyotes for over 25yrs

 

[pruhdlr]

Dremmel Time !!

Hate to say it(kinda), but take the ol' Dremmel tool to the front sight or better still get a different mod of AR. They make a gazillion. The front sight will get in the way and the lower power you crank the scope down to,the more obvious it will be.

Chop that front sight off just above the gas tube. This is how I used to built "flat tops" before there was officially such a thing. For the model of weapon shown you will need to get super high rings(1"+) or a separate riser for the top of the rail to put "normal" sized rings into. Used to get mine from Bushmaster.

Aside from all that....you might of read some of my posting re. to coyote hunting with a AR type. Basically it's the best thing since sliced bread. In the thick'ish brush a 16"bbl is great. (have one,do that). For the power lines,clear cuts,or farm fields where you simply set up to call or wait till the farmer is mowing,a 24" bbl is great(have one,do that).

My 16" has a 4.5-14X50 Leupold with heavy crosshairs on it. My 24" has a 6.5-20X50 on top,with a special run (heavy)German #4. For a 16",get as much scope as you can swing. Always get a large objective scope. At least a 50mm,I would suggest.

Remember to get at least 4,5shot mags,as per the law. Do not use the full sized 20 rounder and simply block the inside. The shorter 5rd mags are not as likely to get hung up on brush and are easier to carry. Also,regular man sized grips,make yourself(I did)a good trigger,or buy one. NO creep,very little over travel will do. Also....not more tan 4lbs pull weight. Mine is 2lbs 7oz.

Sling swivel stud and a Harris Bipod and/or a good quality shooting stick is mandatory. Load up any bullet of 50-52grs and move them as fast as accurate. Try the Speer "TNT',Nosler BalTip,or Sierra 52gr BTHP's @ 3300fps or so.

With the AR get used to lettin' another one fly because of a miss(yeah right)when he just stands there and goes "what was that",or you kill his brother and it takes him a second to figure why he ain't runnin''. If he's running off,git ready to shoot and give a couple of guttural barks. Seems to me that 50% of the time they will stop and look back. Remember that they have only heard a boom. No mechanical sounds of any kind. I have gotten quite a few doubles this way and a couple of times,a triple.

Yote huntin' and AR's simply go together. ----pruhdlr

 

[wildhobbybobby]

Actually the M&P-15A with the front sight that you listed first will work just fine with a scope. The front sight is not in the focal area and, believe it or not, you will see a full picture through your scope, especially at powers above 3x. Below that you would see a fuzzy blur at the bottom of the field of vision, and below 2x you would see the sight itself.

The "Optic Ready" version will be dandy at any power, so you really wouldn't go wrong with either one.

 

[coyotewallace]

I have decided after thinking about that I will not get this rifle called the gun shop and told them I want the S&W Optic Ready model. I am going to put front and back flip up battle sights on it and will mount a VX-III 2.5-8x36mm on the rifle. I have 1,140 rounds coming and a few other goodies. Here is the one I am going to get and thanks for responding. IT IS COMING IN NEXT WEEK

yep thats the one I would get myself. I just never cared for that front sight look anyway

 

[Shawn Crea]

I have an armalite AR-10, 16" barrel with the same front sight. Mine has the carry handle on it, on which I mounted an old Weaver 4x. Granted, on the handle, the scope is higher than it would be on a flat top, but I don't see any of the front sight when looking through the scope. However....do wish I'd gotten a flat-top from the start, without the ear-busting muzzle brake/flash suppressor.. It's still fun & functional though!

 

[deadduck357]

gonna have a heck of a time at 300-400 yards with that.

 

[deadduck357]

Not at all, I will use clicks to compensate and if really windy I will pass.

Just saying a M4 type barrel hovers around 1.5 to 2.25 inches at 100 yards.

Have you thought about some AR's with a little more accuracy like -

http://rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=230

http://rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=229

http://rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=228

All these can be had in a 16in even 18in, just suggesting.

 

[wildhobbybobby]

You will like your S&W. I have the M&P-15A and it has never bobbled and is very accurate.

 

[Savage99]

Sorry but those AR look guns are not to my taste. I would rather hunt with a good looking gun.

 

[Combat Diver]

Beartracker,

Good shooting and hunting with your new Optic Ready Smith. I've been carrying the AR 20" from 83-95' in all types of terrain all over the world and then in 95' went to a 14.5" M4 and rarely gone back to a 20". Even shoot the 14.5" out to 500yds with irons. Its my coyote/deer rifle/HD rifle whenever I decide to come home. Even squirrel hunted with mine after I drop in the .22LR conversion. Never had a problem with a 30 or 20 rd mag getting hung up when moving through swamps at night with no lights. Swimming the AR, I will put in a 20 rd mag and prefer the 14.5" as the 20" full stock bumps my legs on every finning stroke. Here's a picture of a mule deer doe looking through a M4 carbine at 150yds with a 4x ACOG scope (kind of hard holding rifle on fencepost, at using a cell phone camera), notice how the front sight is blurred. Bag a yote for me.

CD

 

[Big Bore]

The way the M&P 15 is set up from the factory you are not going to get all the accuracy it has to offer. You need to get that barrel free floated by changing out the forend to any free float style rail. That will remove all stress from the barrel especially if you shoot from a tight sling. The way it is now, the handguards attach to the barrel right behind the gas block. By changing handguards you can avoid this contact point completely. I really wish you had gone over to AR15.com and looked around a bit before buying. The good news is ARs are incredibly easy to work on and rebuild. There is none of that headspace BS problems you have with bolt guns when you pull and reinstall the barrels. Once you get your rifle, there are so many free float rails out there it can be daunting. Yankee Hill Machine (YHM) makes several in both tactical railed and plain round. If you hunt at night, a tactical railed handguard lets you mount lights or lasers on them, but if only during the day is when you are hunting a plain Jane round free float tube is all you will need.
It takes a minimal number of tools but any smith worthy of the name can change out an AR barrel in 15 minutes and change your handguards. If you find that the S&W barrel is not up to your accuracy standards, the good news here again is you can get a top of the line match grade barrel and matched (headspaced) bolt for under $500. And installing a new barrel is as easy as changing the handguards. I have built over 20 ARs and LR-308s for my own personal use so they are not rocket surgery to build. Headspace will be set by the barrel maker via the barrel extension, and if you buy a matched bolt it is a simple drop in change over and you will not need to check headspace.
A lot of people out there are totally ignorant of what kind of accuracy you can get out of those silly black rifles. My match rifles can do 1/4 MOA easily, and you can get them in calibers from .17 to .50 and use the same lower with nothing but an upper change and in some cases, different mags, but still use them all on one lower receiver.
The rifle as you get it will probably not be the rifle the gun rags write about. G&A and ST have not seen a gun they did not gush over in over 30 years, which is why I no longer subscribe to them. I have never read an honest report from any of them. Do you really think they will trash a bad rifle when just opposite the review is a full page color ad for the rifle they are reviewing? I think not. But the S&W will be a good rifle and should give you 1.5 to 2 MOA out of the box. But you can cut that by a LOT by changing over to a free float tube and a better match grade barrel. For long range yote hunting you do not need chrome lining and M4 barrel profile. Get a good free float tube and match grade 20 inch stainless super match or CrMo super match barrel from someone like Noveske (Pac-Nor barrels) or any number of match grade barrel providers.
You can sink a fortune into these black rifles but they are a world of fun to build and shoot and you can take anything from mice to bears, from 10 yards to as far as you can shoot with the proper upper in the proper caliber.
Welcome to the fold and expect to come down with BRD (black rifle disease) because once you shoot one and see what they can do, your whole attitude toward them will change, and so will your expectations.
Please go over to AR15.com and look around. There is a world of information there and don't be surprised if your next AR is one you build yourself.

By the way, if you want the proper eye positioning on that scope you could not do any better than by getting a set of Warne Ultra High AR Maxima QD rings. They always return to zero and can be removed quickly for storage and cleaning. They are very high and will put the scope at the proper height without the use of risers, which only adds another piece of equipment that can loosen up and ruin zero. Get the ultra high rings and you will be good to go with that scope. I have the Leupold 2-7 on my .358 HDH LR-308 and the 1.75-6x on my .458 SOCOM AR-15, both of which are my main hunting rifles. The Rhino below also wears a 1.75-6x in Ultra High QD Warne AR rings. As you can also see in the below picture, TROY BUIS sights fit easily under the scope eye piece.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
You might not think my .470 Rhino is beautiful, but I love it, and just let an elephant tromp through the garden. His tusks will be MINE!

 

[Oneeye66]

Remember to get at least 4,5shot mags,as per the law. Do not use the full sized 20 rounder and simply block the inside. The shorter 5rd mags are not as likely to get hung up on brush and are easier to carry. Also,regular man sized grips,make yourself(I did)a good trigger,or buy one. NO creep,very little over travel will do. Also....not more tan 4lbs pull weight. Mine is 2lbs 7oz.

Sorry for the hijack, but where can I get these 5 shot mags. I want to use my AR for coyotes too, but I only have the hi-cap mags right now.

Thanks.
Dan

 

[pruhdlr]

Mags ---->

I notice in the Bushmaster catalog they still carry 5 shot mags. They are not exactly like the ones that I bought from them some 20 years ago though. They are the 10 shots,with a block to "legally' make them 5 only.

The ones that I got are much smaller and had a plastic base plate/extension attached that could be removed and a regular base plate could be attached. For quiet stalking/yote hunting,try to ensure your 5 shot mags will allow the mag to be inserted,WITH 5rds loaded,WITH the bolt closed. Many mags will not do this unless they are of the "5 1/4" shot variety. Much mo-bedda for hunting purposes. -----pruhdlr