GOAT-15 Review: A 3-Pound .22 That Runs Like an AR

If a lightweight .22 that still runs like an AR is on your list of firearms to pick up, the GOAT-15 is what you’re going to keep seeing. It features a sixteen-inch barrel, an ultra-lightweight polymer receiver, and comes in at 2 pounds and 14 ounces empty.

While it might look like someone hit an AR-15 with a shrink ray, it’s being sold as a training rifle, a pack rifle, and a general purpose plinker that’s perfect for teaching junior shooters about firearm safety after they’ve graduated from their Daisy.

This review covers:

• What The GOAT-15 Actually Is
• GOAT-15 Specifications
• Our Range Time With It
• Who This Is Actually For
• The Parts You Can’t Ignore
• The Bottom Line

If you already know you want a scaled AR trainer, a pack .22, or something a new shooter can run all day, jump to that section. If you don’t, start with what Mountain Billy built, then decide if the proprietary tax is worth 2 pounds 14 ounces.

What Is the Mountain Billy Gun Lab GOAT-15

Mountain Billy Gun Lab is a small Utah shop. The rifle started life as the JR-15 from Wee1 Tactical, a 20% scaled AR built to teach youth shooters the same controls they’d later use on a 5.56.

Mechanically it’s a simple blowback .22 with polymer upper and lower, a 16″ CMV barrel with a 1:16 twist and 1/2×28 threads, a 7-position stock, full-length picatinny plus M-LOK, and proprietary magazines. The controls are AR-pattern, but smaller. There is no gas system and no forward assist. The buffer tube is a dummy that only holds the stock.

The one feature that isn’t a shrink-ray job is the patented tamper-resistant safety on the right side of the receiver. It follows the selector and can lock it on SAFE. You need real grip strength to pop it off and this is by design. For a rifle that’s going to get handed to brand new shooters still learning the ropes or stuffed in a pack, it’s one of the most useful things on the gun.

It ships with a 1-round training magazine and an extra 10-round magazine. Extra 10-rounders are about $23 and the larger 20-round magazines are available for the same price point.

Specifications (Helium Rifle)

Also in the GOAT-15 lineup

• GOAT-15 Helium — 16″ rifle, 2 lb 14 oz, MSRP $469.99
• GOAT-15 H2 — 7.5″ SBR, 2 lb 2 oz, MSRP $489.99 (NFA)
• GOAT-15 ATOM — 7.8″ pistol, about 1 lb 15 oz, MSRP $479.99

Our Range Experience with the GOAT-15

On the range, the first thing you notice isn’t the weight of the rifle. If you’re an experienced AR-15 user, the first thing you’re going to notice is the scaled down size of the rifle. It literally feels like it could disappear when you pick it up, which makes for a firearm you can spend all day shooting without getting too fatigued.

CJ and I ran this with Sam Schaust from TFB and Ben Kubek from Griffin Armament using mid-velocity .22 through it, and it ran exactly like a blowback .22 should. Better ammo kept it happy, and we had no issues cycling the extra-quiet stuff that Ben brought out with him to test with some of their suppressors, and in my opinion suppressed is where this gun really put on a show. The breaking of the cardboard was louder than the firearm itself, using a cheap $350 Resistance .22 Silencer.

Accuracy is in the useful zone, not the bragging zone. It’s a squirrel rifle and a trainer. If you do your part it should stay minute-of-small-game at 50 yards. It’s not a benchrest gun and it doesn’t need to be. With CCI, SK Match, and similar mid-velocity ammo, owners and testers report it runs well. MeatEater averaged about an inch at 50 yards across several loads, with SK Match printing a half-inch group.

After a full day of shooting, our only common complaint between all four of us was the trigger. It’s heavier and longer than a decent AR trigger, and you can’t just drop in a new one because the FCG is scaled down. That said, Mountain Billy says that hard trigger pull is intentional since the firearm is built as a trainer, and I believe them. It’s exactly what you’d want for a new shooter.

Who this is actually for

A 10/22 is still the smarter and cheaper plinker. A full-size M&P15-22 or similar is still the smarter “this is almost my AR” trainer if the shooter can hold the weight. The GOAT-15 wins when weight and scaled controls both matter at the same time, and when you’re looking for something that’s more compact.

The Parts You Can’t Ignore

Because everything is proprietary, you’re married to Mountain Billy for magazines and any future trigger that they put out. That’s the tax on 2 lb 14 oz. The threaded barrel is the feature that makes the tax worth paying for a lot of people though. Slap your favorite .22 suppressor on it and you have a pack rifle that doesn’t scare the livestock, and that you can shoot all day with no drama.

Worth noting, no iron sights on it fresh out of the box. A compact red dot like the AT3 Alpha is the right optic. A full-size 3-9x looks ridiculous and adds back the weight you just paid to lose. If you really want to get down to the fundamentals, I’d recommend picking up some flip up sights when you buy the rifle, that way you can get straight to the basics with whoever you’re teaching.

The Bottom Line for this .22LR Trainer

I like what this rifle is trying to be. It’s not a novelty once you pick it up, and it’s a serious attempt at an AR-control .22 that a kid or a backpacker can carry all day.

It’s not a 10/22 killer and it’s not a substitute for a real AR-15. The trigger is heavy on purpose, the magazines are proprietary, and average-sized adults will likely feel cramped running this. If those three sentences don’t bother you, or if they describe exactly the shooter you’re buying for, the GOAT-15 is one of the more interesting .22s to come out over the past few years, and it seems like Mountain Billy Gun Lab is just getting started.

If you want a .22 that handles like an AR, weighs almost nothing, and won’t wear out a new shooter or a pack, the GOAT-15 is worth the money. That’s the gun it is. That’s the shooter it serves.

If you’ve already run one, tell me what ammo it liked and what ammo it hated.