Smith & Wesson has been busy. A few years ago, the company moved to their new facility in Maryville, Tennessee. Just two weeks ago the Smith & Wesson Academy, a state-of-the-art training facility on the company’s property in Maryville, opened its doors. While all this has happening, Smith & Wesson has also managed to roll out some class-leading new firearms like the Bodyguard 2.0, the 1854 family of lever-actions, the M&P Shield X, and the new Axe family of M&P 15 ARs.
Smith & Wesson has long been a leader in the crowded AR market because their rifles offer superb features and excellent quality at a very affordable price. Axe rifles offer buyers a nice blend of high-end features while still being priced affordably. There are four new Axe models for 2025, two of which are SBR models (an 11.5-inch for $1,559 and a 14.5-inch for $1,579). There’s also a 16-inch model with an MSRP of $1,599, and there’s also a Performance Center version of the Axe 16-inch rifle which carries an MSRP of $1,699.
Testing At The Academy
I had the opportunity to test two different Axe models starting with the SBR 11.5-inch version with a Gemtech Abyss 556 suppressor and a Vortex red dot optic at the company’s brand-new Academy training center in Tennessee. The Academy offers a variety of different shooting ranges, and to test the Axe SBR 11.5 Smith & Wesson product manager Cory Beaudreau and I headed to the 360-degree Flex Range. Because the range is surrounded by HESCO barriers, we were able to engage steel targets at a variety of different distances, around various barriers, and in different directions.
The Axe SBR 11.5 proved to be the perfect tool for the job. This model comes equipped with a Magpul CTR adjustable buttstock and a Midwest Industries Combat 10.5-inch M-LOK 7-Sided free-floating handguard, and the Gemtech GVAC upper. The GVAC design is one of my favorites because it offers a GVAC expansion chamber that siphons off excess gas forward, and not back into, the shooter’s face. The system is self-regulating and works suppressed or unsuppressed while also helping to mitigate recoil. That makes the Axe 11.5 a smooth-shooting rifle that doesn’t bathe the shooter in bled-off gasses.
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The Axe 11.5’s barrel is topped with a Gemtech ETM flash hider which allowed the Abyss suppressor to be attached and removed without any risk of carbon lock. The handguard offers multiple anchor points for any or all accessories you’d like to attach to the rifle, and there are additional QD cups and sling attachment points on the stock. Combine this with a full-length top rail and the Axe SBR 11.5 is a superb defensive or tactical weapon.
With the Abyss can in place the Axe 11.5 was great fun to shoot. Transitioning down a line of targets was fast the flat-face trigger is one of my favorites because of its consistent, smooth break. Just like Smith & Wesson’s M&P handguns, all Axe rifles also come with an M&P grip and four interchangeable backstraps.
“The M&P grip is important because it allows you to adjust the backstrap to fit your hand and offer perfect finger alignment with the trigger,” Beaudreau told me. “A2 style grips found on most ARs don’t offer that level of customizability, and the Axe’s M&P grip fills the hand comfortably. When the grip is properly sized to the shooter’s hand trigger feel and control is improved.”
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The Gemtech GVAC forged upper worked very well in conjunction with the Abyss suppressor and it’s very nice not to have to adjust the gas system when shooting suppressed or unsuppressed. The CTR stock is rather large but offers great stability and can quickly be customized to fit the individual shooter.
The best way to describe shooting the Axe SBR 11.5 is that the gun quickly becomes like an extension of the shooter. When the M&P grip and CTR stock are customized to the shooter and the rifle is outfitted with your favorite accessories, the Axe is intuitive to shoot. Gemtech’s Abyss cuts down on noise and the GVAC expansion chamber gathers and expels much of the gas that would normally blow back onto the shooter.
Once I’d finished testing the Axe 11.5 and touring Smith & Wesson’s new Academy training center, I headed home and tested another version of the Axe, the 16-inch non-SBR model. For testing, I installed a Trijicon MRO SD 1×25 red dot sight and left everything else factory stock while testing. Like the 11.5-inch version, the 16-inch Axe comes with a Magpul CTR adjustable stock and Midwest Industries Combat 7-Sided M-LOK 15-inch free-floated handguard. Both rifles feature forged lowers and black anodized finishes, and both feature GVAC uppers with expansion chambers and 1:8 twist 5R 4150 CVM barrels with an Armornite finish.
Features and Components
Both the 11.5 and 16-inch Axe rifles I tested as well as the 14.5-inch SBR model I did not test come with M&P grips and flat-face triggers (the line-topping Performance Center model gets a HIPERFIRE enhanced trigger, Tungsten Gray finish on the receiver and handguard, and a Magpul DFT buttstock). All Axe rifles feature a enhanced reliability bolt carrier group with a specially designed firing pin that helps cut through buildup and debris for reliable cycling. Combine that with the suppressor-ready GVAC system and it’s easy to see why the Axe is one of the cleanest, softest-shooting and most enjoyable AR rifles around.
I swapped interchangeable backstraps on the 16-inch test rifle multiple times and finally settled on the large grip module. With the large module installed my finger rests naturally on the flat trigger face which allows for faster and more accurate shooting. Very few ARs offer adjustable grip sizes, and that’s one benefit of buying the Axe rifle.
Another key benefit of this gun is the fully ambidextrous lower assembly. Right or left-handed, this gun is easy to run and operate. Even if you aren’t left-handed you’d likely find that there are certain operations that are simpler to perform on the right or left side of the gun. The ambidextrous lower also allows me to immediately identify selector position whether I’m looking at the left or right side of the gun.
Smith & Wesson ships Axe rifles with a pair of M&P tactical flip-up front and rear sights. I suspect that most shooters who buy one of these guns will run a reflex sight with or without a magnifier or an LPVO on their rifle, but the iron sights are well-designed and functional. They also fold flat and secure in place so they’re out of the way. The rear sight comes with a rotating aperture design that allows you to swap between large and small apertures depending on conditions. All Axe rifles also ship with a Radian Raptor charging handle and a Picatinny rail section that attaches to the M-LOK handguard.
With the Trijicon in place I had no issues hitting ½ size attacker torso targets at 50 yards and making head shots from a braced position. Five-shot groups hovered in the .6-inch range, and the GVAC system does a great job channeling all the harmful, nasty gasses away from the shooter’s face for a more pleasant experience. The GVAC upper itself is an almost $900 option, so there’s no doubt that all Axe rifles are excellent values.
You can piece together your own AR if you’re able and have the time, but at under $1,600 you’d be pressed to combine so many high-end features in a single rifle for a lower price—even if you were doing the work. Smith & Wesson continues to evolve in every aspect of their business, and the Axe is proof of this. It’s a well-built American AR that offers a long list of class-leading accessories at a fantastic price.
Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Axe
- Action: Delayed impingement gas system
- Chamber: 5.56/.223 Rem
- Capacity: 30 (1 mag included)
- Upper: Gemtech GVAC
- Lower: Ambidextrous, Forged Aluminum
- Barrel: 16.1 inch 4150 CVM, 1:8 twist, Gemtech ETM Flash Hider
- Handguard: Midwest Industries Combat L-LOK 7-Sided
- Finish: Type III Harcoat Black Anodized receiver, Armornite Barrel
- Grip: M&P, 4 interchangeable bacstraps
- Stock: Magpul CTR Adjustable
- Sights: Full-Length Picatinny rail, M&P tactical flip-up iron sights
- Charging Handle: Radian Raptor
- Overall Length: 33 to 26-inches
- Weight (unloaded, no optic): 6.6 lbs
- MSRP: $1,599
- Contact: Smith & Wesson, smith-wesson.com
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