Apparently, I have been out of the loop, as I was unaware until today that Smith & Wesson has introduced a pistol version of the M&P15-22 which uses the standard M&P15-22 magazines. I guess they’re trying to compete with things like the GSG-5.
After handling one, I really can’t see the point; the gun is too big and heavy to shoot like a handgun, and can’t really be fired effectively like a rifle. It looks like it’d be a fun gun for plinking and other putzing around, except for size and bulk considerations.
Other than that, the only purpose I can see is making Sarah Brady and her ilk scream and cry and wet their pants. That’s a pretty good purpose, but I’m not sure that it would be worth $400+ to me.
(I will add that Austin Gun Liquidators is a very nice store. They don’t have quite the used selection Tex-Guns has, but they’re about five minutes from work and open until 6 PM Tuesday-Saturday. Their price on M&P15-22 magazines was pretty reasonable as well.)