Great accuracy, straightforward install, great bang for the buck - Volquartsen Firearms THM S&W M&P 15-22 Sport Lightweight Threaded Barrel

My club recently started a "Mini-Palma" competition during the winter for .22 cal at 100 yards. Not having a real competitive .22, I used my "fun gun," the M&P 15-22. It's reliable, and a hoot to shoot, but it's just not that accurate when shooting bullseye competition. Rather than buy a new rifle, I thought I'd try a couple upgrades. First was this Volquartsen carbon fiber tensioned barrel. Optics Planet had it available for a good price, even though shipping was delayed about 10 days due to the nationwide shipping crisis.
I was a bit uncomfortable with doing the installation myself, but this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQNZ0faCBXw from Brownell's was very helpful. I do wish the product description had made it clear that the barrel removal tool was included with the barrel, 'cuz I purchased one separately, so now I have two. Also note that it may be necessary to dress the cogs on the end of the tool a bit with a file to allow them to slip into the notches on the barrel properly.
After a straightforward installation as described by the Brownell's video, I took the gun to the range and zeroed it at 50 yards. After bore-sighting carefully, that took me just five rounds. I then shot 50 rounds of Eley Tenex to properly foul the barrel before shooting for groups, per the Volquartsen recommendations. Once the barrel had been appropriately fouled, and since I had very calm conditions, I began shooting for groups using various brands of ammo at 50 yards. I tried seven different loads, and all shot quite well, with no misfires or feed issues at all. All the ammo, except for good ol' CCI, was competition grade stuff. Even with the horrible (for accuracy shooting) stock trigger on the 15-22, I got one-inch or better groups with ALL the ammo I tried, and an honest 1/2-inch average group with Eley Tenex just before I wrapped things up for the day. That's a real improvement over the accuracy of the 15-22's factory barrel. Want the data for the group sizes on the ammo? Here ya' go:
Eley Tenex - 0.50"
Eley Target - 0.78"
Lapua Polar Biathlon - 0.81"
SK Rifle Match - 0.90"
Wolf Match Target - 0.94"
CCI Standard Velocity - 0.81"
RWS R50 - 1.00"
Procedure: After the initial 50-round fouling process, I would fire 10 rounds of each brand to refoul the barrel with the new ammo before shooting that brand for groups. Averages are based on two 5-round groups, slow-firing about every 20 seconds, off a rest at 50 yds, calm conditions, about 50 degrees, afternoon light, scope was a Nikon Prostaff EFR 3-9x40.
All in all, I'm delighted with the results. Accuracy greatly improved, relatively easy to install, and a lot cheaper than a new competition rifle. Note that this is just after installation and minimal use; accuracy should only get better with a few more rounds, and this rifle does NOT have a good trigger for accuracy. Now to install a good two-stage trigger and see what I can get...