Smith and wesson m&p 15-22

I haven't heard anything necessarily bad about them (any more than you do about anything else), but I kind of feel that if you're gonna spend that kind of money on an AR clone you may as well save a bit more $$ and get an actual AR. That being said, .22lr is very cheap to shoot, and if you're just looking for something to plink with and have a good time (not looking for defense) it'd be an excellent choice, and getting a full AR platform wouldn't be necessary. If I were making that decision it would probably boil down to exactly what I'm gonna use it for. If I'm just gonna take it out shooting and not use it for defense, it's not a bad choice. It's a bit on the high side for price, but if you plan on doing a lot of shooting, the savings in ammo will more than make up for that since 2100 rounds of .22lr can easily be had for under $100. If you want to use it for defense, however, I would seriously consider getting an AR in the .223 platform. I wouldn't be overly concerned about using .22lr for personal defense in a pinch (it can still very easily be lethal) but it wouldn't be my first choice.