Del-Ton 223s, whadya think?

I just got one. I just fired it for the first time today. I suppose it's too soon for me to say how good it is, I'm new to ARs, but the price was not bad.

I read a lot of reviews and searched a lot of forums before I went with Del-Ton, and they have a very good reputation.

There was a little card with mine that says the warranty is voided if I shoot lacquer coated ammunition (this would rule out the really cheap Bear ammo from Russia) but I think that's common enough.
 
Delton...

I'm sure Delton's choice of the menagerie of AR15 part manufacturers isn't any worse than the other run of the mill assemblers: A1 Sales, Olympic, Century... etc. Buy a kit from them, a good lower from POF/Mega/Spikes, and a decent drop in trigger and I'm sure you'll be more than pleased w/ your new gun. In my personal opinion the trigger makes a huge difference.

If you looking to shoot the cheap Russian ammo, try the "Silver Bear" nickel plated casings, I don't think they have the poly lacquer coating like the Brown Bear casings.

I always keep some Silver Bear on hand for those first timers who "want to go to the range and shoot something". No point in having them blow through a couple of boxes of Black Hills since they're most likely shooting up the targets in the lane beside us, the target posts, the dirt, trees, clouds... etc :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes :eek::rolleyes::

~Sail
 
There was a little card with mine that says the warranty is voided if I shoot lacquer coated ammunition (this would rule out the really cheap Bear ammo from Russia) but I think that's common enough.
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Thats a total cop-out and I would never get a Del-Ton because of it.Any gun that can't handle steel cased ammo shouldn't be sold.My Hi-Point has seen almost exclusive use of steel cased ammo without a problem.
 
If the buyer has no plan to shoot lacquer coated ammo, then its a moot point.
I wouldn't buy that kind of ammo myself. There's sooo many other bulk ammo buys available these days. But to each his own.
 
I have a 20" upper of theirs. It shoots very well when I do my part. It seems to be partial to black hills 52gr match ammo...consistent 1-1.5 MOA at 100 yards. I plan on buying another upper (lightweight 16" middy) from them in a few months. I think del-ton makes a quality product at a reasonable price.

+1 on the silver bear recommendation. My upper is flawless in ~700 rounds of their 62gr HP ammo. It also seems to be as accurate as PMC and American eagle in my upper for 2/3 the price.
 
Shot mine again today. The trigger is a total disaster, I'd say it's about a million lbs and creepier than...well it's got a lot of creep. Having spent the money, I'll stick with it for the time being, but a better option might have been to pick a good trigger kit. You could try calling them and see if they'll substitute a good match trigger in one of their kits, it's worth the extra $$ (and they sell those trigger kits separately anyway)

Any gun that can't handle steel cased ammo shouldn't be sold
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The document that came with my rifle didn't actually say that steel cases would void the warranty, just lacquer coated, and reloads (although I don't know how they'd tell if you used reloads) - so it should be OK to shoot Silver Bear which is coated in zinc, and some of the Wolf ammo which is polymer coated. I have also seen steel cased ammo which is coated in brass.
 
My upper is Del-Ton. The lower is Cavalry Arms.

It has been nothing but 100% awesome reliable. It's a 2MOA bench gun with sloppy-constructed 55gr surplus bullet handloads. It's around 1MOA with PPU 75gr match.

From prone, I hold it to about 3MOA if I really focus.

You guys shooting steel: You ever wonder why the army doesn't use steel cased ammo in their guns?

It's because the chamber isn't tapered like an x39 chamber is. Steel in a NATO chamber (5.56x45 and 7.62x51) will grip, because those two chambers are straight along the body of the brass. x39 chambers taper with the body.

NATO chambers aren't designed to shoot steel cases. NATO specs call for brass casings.

IMO, brass/steel is a non-issue in a responsible NATO-chambered gun owner's mind. If you want to shoot cheaper steel cased ammo, get an upper in 7.62x39 or 5.45x39. Otherwise, shoot ammo that was designed for your chamber.

Wolf/Silver Bear aren't used by the Army or Marines for a reason. Regardless of the potential short term cost savings.
 
So lake city did not make steel cased 7.62x51 in 1956? (as well as other years).

The US has used steel cased ammo. I'd almost place bets on the reason for brass use is more due to easy of making brass cartridges then weapon wear.
 
Thanks for the input guys.
I was mulling things over.
Have a pre-ban Eagle Arms and take it
for a spin sparingly.
I live in the great gun fearing state of California.
Land of the combination lock 10 round magazines.
And taking my pre-ban 223 out is like taking your cherry condition
classic car out for a spin.
So was considering getting a post-ban 223 and using it
like a daily driver.
The Del-Ton goes for sub-$1000 and getting a 223
north of $1000 makes me think of getting an M1A instead.
 
I used a Del-ton LPK and have to agree the trigger action was rough. Ended up replacing it. Also I had to do a little work on the stop pin on the sliding stock and finally replaced the whole stock and receiver extension.

From those two items I'd say Del-ton is acceptable but I'd aim a little higher.

As far as firing steel case, I don't see how Del-Ton could say it voids their warranty and I doubt they could prove you used it as long as you carefully cleaned the chamber before sending an upper in for warranty work.

Nothing wrong with using Russian steel case .223 as long as it's not corrosive. And the main reason the US military doesn't use it is because it rusts fast when exposed to rain, water and mud. I use a lot of it in my chrome lined bore with no problems. It's not a Del-Ton however.
 
As far as firing steel case, I don't see how Del-Ton could say it voids their warranty
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They don't - at least the card I got with my rifle didn't say that - just lacquer coated ammo and reloads. There is plenty of steel cased ammo that is not lacquer coated (see post #9)
 
Ok, as far as firing lacquer coated steel case, I don't see how Del-Ton could refuse warranty service based on that... :D

Still, their saying it would worry me as far as how well they stand behind their product. Other manufacturers allow steel case and reloads though may warn against reloads and surplus ammo but usually stand behind their product unless it can be proved that bad ammo damaged the gun.
 
Had my chrome lined mid-length for a couple years now and never had a problem with it, shooting steel or brass.
 
Just my 2 cents. I was able to shoot my dads delton ar and had a very dangerous situation show itself the first time the rifle was used. This was purchased as a new rifle not a parts kit. The catch on the bottom of the hammer had been filed down and would release and fire every time the trigger was released. I don't know if this one slipped through the cracks or what. Delton says they test fire every rifle. They would have found this. I myself wouldn't purchase one. You do get what you pay for. I have a DPMS .223 and 7.62x51 and have had no problems like this.
 
I was never a fan of steel ammo at first, but, when your only choice is a huge stack of 3$ steel ammo verses none in brass, well there you go.

wolf has changed to some other kinda coating, but I don't know what it is.
 
del-ton uppers and lowers are good to go in my book. all are properly staked and assembled by highly skilled monkeys (some places use unskilled gorillas :p )

I have done several builds based on del-ton components and all were spot on.
 
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