I'm not sure anyone has posted this yet or how many people know this already so I figured I should post it.
I just picked up my very first AR, an M&P15OR, got it for ~$900 after tax. The rifle is beautiful and I'm just waiting till my next pay check to install the Olympic Arms FIRSH rail I got for it. Before I picked it up I noticed something weird about the serial number on it though. The serial number was
003XX, indicating an early build. I asked the guy at the store if this was a new gun or if it was used since it seemed that the serial number was very low. He said It was new and he wouldv'e been suprised if it was an early build. So I trusted him and of course picked up the rifle.
Once I got home I checked the bolt carrier and upper receiver: It has an LMT bolt carrier (proper staking) and M4 feed ramps, meaning this was a new build.
It was only after looking online at some M&P lower receiver pics that I realised the precursor letters on the serial number were
SM not the regular
SW. It seems that Smith has changed the letters to indicate the newer rifles.
So what does this mean? Well it really just means that if you see an M&P15 on the shelf with a low serial number don't be afraid to pick that baby up, just make sure its the new SM serial not the SW. It also seems to be that ALL M&Ps are coming with M4 feed ramps and LMT bolt carriers, not just the premium models that I had heard about earlier.
Well I thought you guys would want to know about that little bit of news.