(GunReports.com) — Smith & Wesson has supplied the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona with rifles from the company’s Military & Police Series. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has taken possession of 400 M&P15 Magpul Original Equipment (MOE) Mid rifles and is currently in the process of converting deputies to the new rifle system.
Maricopa County is the largest sheriff’s office in Arizona and the third largest sheriff’s office in the United States.
The M&P15 MOE Mid rifles, which were purchased through seizure funds, were previously tested and evaluated against firearms from various competitors.
The M&P15 MOE Mid comes standard with a MOE six-position, collapsible buttstock; a modular MOE mid-length handguard; and a folding Magpul MBUS rear sight along with a traditional A2-style front sight. For an improved grip both near the firing control and on the forend, the rifle is setup with an MOE pistol grip and a removable MOE vertical grip (MVG).
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, often referred to as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, the same town in which the Smith & Wesson manufacturing plant is located.
Sheriff Arpaio’s office secured the M&P15 MOE Mid rifles after a number of violent incidents involving his patrol deputies. This order means that every patrol deputy in Maricopa County will now be armed with a Smith & Wesson rifle.
“It is critical,” Arpaio said, “That deputies have equal or superior firepower to the criminals on the street, and these days that means outfitting them with these duty rifles.”
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office joins a growing list of national and international law enforcement agencies that have chosen firearms from Smith & Wesson’s Military and Police Series for official and off-duty use. A partial list of additional Arizona agencies that have converted to Smith & Wesson firearms includes the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, the La Paz Sheriff’s Department, the Sahuarita Police Department and the University of Arizona Police Department.
James Debney, president and CEO of Smith & Wesson, said the M&P15 MOE Mid is a 5.56mm NATO rifle that features an official Smith & Wesson/Magpul co-branded lower receiver and a mid-length operating system.
Based on the M&P15 platform, the M&P15 MOE Mid’s lower receiver features a flared magazine well to ease reloading. For improved handling, the lower also comes standard with a forward serrated edge on the magazine well and an ambidextrous finger shelf that allows proper indexing of the trigger finger prior to firing.
The M&P15 MOE Mid features a solid one piece integrated trigger guard and comes standard with a 16-inch 4150 CMV barrel with a 1-in-8-inch rate of twist and 5R rifling for improved accuracy. For extended durability, the rifle’s barrel has a durable, corrosion-resistant barrel finish and both the bolt carrier and gas key are chrome-lined.
At the end of the barrel, Smith & Wesson has added its patent-pending enhanced flash hider.
Gun Tests magazine tested Smith & Wesson’s M&P15 300 Whisper model in the November 2012 issue. Subscribers click here to see that review.
Gun Tests magazine tested the M&P 15T model in the October 2007 issue. Subscribers click here to see that review.
