Should S&W Bring Back its Performance Center M&P10?

The Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P10 in 6.5 Creedmoor is a standard pattern AR-10 rifle enhanced by Smith & Wesson’s custom shop: the Performance Center. Per its forte, the Performance Center took the basic design and added many features for the discerning shooter.

Did Smith & Wesson make a mistake discontinuing the Performance Center M&P10? Let's find out.

Table of Contents

Video Review
Performance Center Features
Weight
Performance
My Issues
Discontinued
Deals

Video Review

Performance Center Features

Smith & Wesson's M&P ARs have proven to be affordable and dependable options in the semi-auto rifle world. The M&P10 line has been Smith’s offering of larger-pattern ARs usually chambered in .308 or 6.5.

The Performance Center is Smith & Wesson's custom shop known for upgraded features with serious chops when it comes to performance and accuracy. (All photos: Don Summers/Guns.com)

The Performance Center models debuted in 2017 and were S&W’s more elite choices. This rifle has a 20-inch, medium contour carbon steel barrel. There is 5R rifling and a 1:8 twist with standard muzzle threads. The rifle is nitride-finished and uses a rifle-length direct-impingement gas system.

Smith & Wesson M&P10 rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor — The 20-inch barrel is protected by a free-floated 15-inch Troy Industries Alpha rail with M-LOK slots.

The handguard is a free-floated 15-inch Troy Industries Alpha rail with M-LOK slots. A Magpul MOE fixed stock and pistol grip round out the furniture.

controls on Smith & Wesson M&P10 rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor — Controls are mirrored on either side of the receiver...

One of the nicest additions is the fact that the rifle is almost completely ambidextrous. Many companies say “ambidextrous” but leave out the right-side bolt lock. On this gun, the safety selector, bolt lock, bolt release, and magazine button can be actuated on both sides by either hand. The trigger guard is also oversized for gloved use. The only thing that is not ambi is the charging handle, which is a standard left-side-only release.

charging handle on Smith & Wesson M&P10 rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor — ...except for the standard left-side releasing charging handle.

trigger on Smith & Wesson M&P10 rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor — The trigger proved quite crisp with about a 3-pound pull.

The curved trigger is a very nice, crisp two-stage match trigger that breaks at little over 3 pounds. This is no surprise coming from the Performance Center.

6.5 CM in AR-10 magazine — The 6.5 CM M&P10 uses standard AR-10 or SR-25 magazines.

Because this is a standard pattern AR-10, it uses standard AR-10 or SR-25 magazines. I used a mix of Magpul, D&H, and Lancer mags with no problems.

Related: Why Buy an AR-10?

Weight

Naked, the Performance Center M&P weighs 9 pounds. That’s respectable for a standard pattern AR-10 that uses the normal bolt carrier and receivers and has a 20-inch barrel. To make lighter guns, companies usually must use proprietary shorter receivers and carrier groups.

flash hider on barrel of Smith & Wesson M&P10 rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor — This used model has a flash hider that can be swapped out easily.

With the addition of a US Optics TS-20X 2.5-20 and a bipod, the gun tips the scale at around 12 pounds. This used gun also came with a flash hider, but any muzzle device can be swapped onto the end.

Performance

So, how was it to shoot? Pretty great, actually. Accuracy-wise, it’s a solid 1-MOA gun that can flex as a hunting, plinking, competition rifle, and defensive rifle.

Shooting Smith & Wesson M&P10 rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor — The M&P10 was a pleasant and accurate shooter.

I tried four loads, and three grouped under 1 MOA. This thing is a shooter! My best group was .56 MOA using Federal Premium Gold Medal Berger 130-grain OTM. Again, I credit the Performance Center.

My log of ammo used and the respective results.

So, it’s not the lightest or the most accurate, but it is not a no slouch in those departments, either. The weight tames the 6.5 Creedmoor round nicely.

6.5 Creedmoor round vs .308 Winchester — The 6.5 Creedmoor round, left, compared to a .308 Win round at right.

It’s also dependable and reliable, which is the first thing one looks for in a firearm. I experienced no malfunctions during my testing. Ejection was consistent at around 4 o’clock. Also, I really liked the two-stage match trigger. It made shooting those groups easy.

My Issues

The Magpul stock was a little too long for me, since I have a short length of pull. I prefer more adjustability in my guns. The fixed stock is fine for shooting groups off a bench, but if you want to do closer-in CQB-style shooting, the long stock puts you in a less-than-ideal bladed position.

Magpul stock compartment — The Magpul stock does have a handy storage compartment, though.

In addition, I wish the charging handle were extended, because the overhang of the scope makes grabbing the handle difficult. Since pretty much everyone is going to mount a scope to the M&P10, I think S&W dropped the ball when omitting this feature.

pulling charging handle on Smith & Wesson M&P10 rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor — It's hard to grab the charging handle with a scope mounted, an issue S&W seems to have overlooked.

From an ability standpoint, I would say the Performance Center M&P 10 is competitive against any .308-sized battle rifle such as the FN SCAR Heavy or the M1A. This M&P 10 is an excellent example of a multi-role AR-10.

Discontinued

Now, back to the original question: did Smith & Wesson make a mistake discontinuing this gun? I don’t think so. For the initial MSRP of $2,095, it doesn’t fit any one role especially well. It’s too heavy for a hunting or mountain gun.

It’s not really heavy enough for a PRS-style competition gun, because those shooters usually want much more weight to stabilize shots. Also, suppressors are all the rage right now, but the lack of an adjustable gas system hurts this rifle’s ability to be a suppressor host.

For the original asking price, I would think buyers would want something to fill their specific needs more directly as opposed to a jack-of-all-trades gun, even if it is an excellent all-around gun.

Deals

Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P10 in 6.5 Creedmoor

However, since it has been discontinued, I’ve found some good deals for it on Guns.com and other used sites. Stores want to move it out of inventory. If you can find it for a discount, I think it would make a great project gun because the bones are so good, and it’s already ambidextrous.

You could add a gas-tunable carrier to fine tune the gas system without having to break down the barrel system. Changing the stock would solve the length of pull issue, and a new handguard might shave some weight. These guns are rugged, so the sky’s the limit on what you could do with it.