I recently finished testing an Anderson Mfg. Am-15, M-LOK 5.56. I personalized it with a few after-market parts, but nothing that really enhanced the shooting abilities other than installing a Bowden Tactical trigger. So this Product Review will cover what the Anderson Mfg. AM-15, M-LOK 5.56 can basically do right out of the box.
Anderson MFG. AM-15 Complete Rifle
I’ve been wanting to get a new AR for quite some time for two reasons:
- I needed a new varmint rifle. I do quite a bit of varmint hunting and needed a lighter-weight rifle.
- It will also have a dual purpose as a self-defense gun.
Right when I picked up the Anderson MFG. AM-15, M-LOK I liked it, and knew it’d fit the bill if it shot accurately. The first item I had to install on it was a scope. For varmint hunting, a 3-9x would suffice 90% of the time, but sometimes a coyote will hold up at 200 yards when calling. I’d want a 12x or larger in those instances, so I decided to go with a Riton Optics Primal1 4-14x 44mm scope. The 4x allows me to zoom down for close shots and would also work well for any self-defense needs.
A big piece of the “obtain a good group” puzzle is what ammo you chose. It’s not fair to test a rifle with bad ammo and then say all that the rifle could obtain was a 2-inch group. I’ve had good luck with Nosler ammo, so I got some Nosler 40 gr., 55 gr., and 69 gr. ammo to test in it.
So how did it shoot? On the first outing, my best group was ¾-inches, which is better than you’d expect out a factory rifle with factory ammo. But I thought it could do better. So, I took it home and cleaned it well. With some rifles, a dirty barrel really affects their accuracy.
When I first mounted the scope, I used regular rings, but the front ring was attached to the handguard. That’s not good, as some handguards are not rock-solid, although the handguard on the Anderson rifle felt solid. So I thought it’d be prudent to use a Cantilever mount.
Anytime you’re trying to obtain a good group, you’ve got to remove all outside variables, so I grabbed a Vortex Cantilever Mount and threw it on the rile. Now to go out and see if I could improve my group with a clean barrel and the new Cantilever mount.
I went through the regular routine after mounting a new scope. The first sight in at 25 yards to get it on paper and then move out to 100 yards. I shot all three flavors of Nosler Ammunition but did the best with the Nosler 55 gr. BTV. I went out on the high desert to shoot, and as is the norm, I encountered wind. This day I was fighting gusts of up to 12 mph. I set up my Caldwell Stable Table Lite on the downwind side of my truck to block the wind the best that I could.
My target was moving a little due to the high wind gust, but luckily, some village idiot had left a cooler out there, so I set it behind my target to brace it. That stabilized it. I tell you all of the above to let you know it wasn’t necessarily primo shooting conditions. But despite all of this, I got an 11/16 group with the factory Anderson Mfg. AM-15, M-LOK rifle shooting Nosler 55 gr. BTV ammo.
I was plenty happy with this group. Now to get a varmint hunt lined up. I have to fly to South Dakota in two days and then run down to Dallas to conduct a seminar at the Dallas Safari Club Conv. & Expo, back to SD, then home, grab my stuff, and head to SHOT at the end of the week to conduct three seminars at the Safari Club International Conv. and on and on. But Bill Olson, the editor of Texas Outdoors Journal is, wants us to do a varmint right after all of these shows in either South Dakota and/or Texas. I can’t wait. Then if I get loose, I’ve got an invitation to do a hunt in Alabama. Then in the spring, the ground squirrels will be out in full force. With any luck, I may have this rifle worn out by June!!!
So, in a nutshell, I’m happy with my new ANDERSON MFG. AM-15 RIFLE. The MSRP is $681.49 (less $ online); as usual, we will close with the company specs.
- WEIGHT 8.000000
- LOWER RECEIVER MATERIAL Forged 7075 T6 Aluminum
- UPPER RECEIVER MATERIAL Forged 7075 T6 Aluminum
- TRIGGER GUARD Open Trigger
- RECEIVER FINISH Type 3 Hard Anodized, Black
- RF-85 TREATED Non-treated
- BOLT CARRIER FINISH Nitride
- BOLT CARRIER MATERIAL 8620 Steel
- BOLT FINISH Nitride
- BOLT MATERIAL 9310 Steel
- BARREL MATERIAL 4150 Chrome Moly Vanadium
- BARREL LENGTH 16 inch
- BARREL FINISH Nitride
- BARREL CONTOUR M4 Contour
- TWIST RATE 1:8
- GAS SYSTEM LENGTH Carbine Length
- GAS SYSTEM TYPE Low Profile
- GAS BLOCK DIAMETER .750 inch
- CHARGING HANDLE Standard Charging Handle
- BOLT CARRIER GROUP Standard M16 Profile
- HANDGUARD M-Lok
- HAND GUARD LENGTH 15 inch
- PISTOL GRIP A2 Style
- THREAD PATTERN 1/2 – 28
- MUZZLE DEVICE Knight Stalker Flash Hider
- BUFFER TUBE 6 Position Buffer Tube
- BUTT STOCK 6 Position Carbine Butt stock
- PRODUCT UPC 686162539741
- COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE USA
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman and an outdoor writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net, and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal, you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening #ad for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”
