DPMS

Basically you get what you pay for. where DPMS ranks in price ranges are pretty much accurate to where they fall in quality. Alot of people will tout their excellenc but IMHO its because its the only model they have or know due to cheap price to get into.
 
I have a DPMS 24 bull. It has been very reliable, accurate, and has good fit and finish. If I do my part it will shoot 1/2 MOA. Only downside has been the factory trigger was horrible. I replaced that ASAP.
 
It has been very reliable, accurate, and has good fit and finish. Only downside has been the factory trigger was horrible.
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I have a flat top DPMS with 16 inch barrel and I agree with the above statement.
I reworked the factory trigger and it made a world of difference in the groups I shoot.
My groups using factory Winchester 45 gr JHP ammo is 3/4 inch at 100 yards which I feel is more then acceptable from a short light weight barrel rifle.
This is not my first AR, I've had some better as far as accuracy goes.
It's not a JP gun but for the money it's a darn good one.
Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
What are you going to do with it?

Are you planning on using it in a high volume carbine class?

-If so, no. You will most likely be "That Guy" who is holding up the rest of the class because you are having to fiddle/work on your rifle and are taking up too much of the instructor's time trying to help you.

Are you planning on shooting 100 rounds every couple of months from a bench using a magnified optic trying to shoot very small groups?

-It will be fine and probably last longer than you and will probably perform better at this than a rack grade Colt or BCM.

Aren't you a member over at LF.net? Don't ask this question there.;) But you can do a DPMS search. I think Pat Roger's has a story about a PD he was training that was using (or trying to use) DPMS rifles.
 
Ya, I'm a member on the LF forum. I sold my .50 Beowulf so I'm looking at getting another AR in .556. It between this DPMS that has a lot of after market work done and a colt sporter match. Don't know which one I should get. The colt is $700 and the DPMS is $800.
 
Ya, I'm a member on the LF forum. I sold my .50 Beowulf so I'm looking at getting another AR in .556. It between this DPMS that has a lot of after market work done and a colt sporter match. Don't know which one I should get. The colt is $700 and the DPMS is $800.
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What are you wanting to do with it?

I personally wouldn't trust MY life to a DPMS based on my personal experience and that of others.

But I wouldn't hesitate to get one to use as a varmit/target shooting gun. As a matter of fact, I would choose one over a Colt for a target gun. The DPMS generally uses tighter .223 chambers on their guns and are more accurate.
 
They're ok for plinking, but for defense, I'd probably get something else. IMO, $800 for a DPMS is a bit much. Not much more will get a person into a Rock River, which (IMO) is a nicer rifle.

If you go for the DPMS I'd recommend investing in a spare bolt carrier group of good quality (Bravo Company is selling theirs for $140, I don't see much point in buying anything else). That's the part that is likely to fail and leave you with a nonfunctional gun; the lower end brands tend not to use the higher quality steel (Carpenter 158) in the bolts, nor do they test each and every one for microscopic cracks, so it is far from unusual for this kind of commercial level AR to bust the bolt right at the cam pin hole or to have the gas key come loose due to improper staking. With another BCG, you just pull the busted one out, stick the new one in, lube it, and keep shooting.
 
The DPMS was my first AR a couple years ago. As became more educated about AR' s I noticed corners which had been cut I.e. the bolt carrier had not be properly staked. It shot fine but I lost confidence in the rifle that was part defensive rifle. For that price or less, the SW Sport would be a good choice or for $150 more the Colt 6920 would be a slam dunk.
 
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I concur with the above statements that reflect a positive experience with the DPMS rifle. Mine was purchased before the Cerrebus Merger. It is a Low Pro Classic. It will shoot one minute of angle consistently at 50 yards or 100 yards using a Millet Red Dot. This is now wife's rifle and she just rips to shreds the center of targets. And, this is using cheap PMC ball ammunition at $6.00 per box. She uses this rifle for Prairie Dogs between 75 yards to 125 yards with consistent hits. We also own a Rock River Arms that shoots just as good.

There are a lot of people on this forum who profess expertise on the AR platforms and ridicule those that are marketed today by Bushmaster, DPMS, Rock River, S&W and Stag. These people who create their own AR platform or profess the quality of certain brands pretend to know it all. Their intelligence on this matter is only exceeded by their arrogance.

Let's face it: Not everybody has a wheel barrel full of money rolled up to their door every month and those of us who enjoy shooting sports that are retired and live on a fixed income must count the pennies for their purchases. I personally cannot cost justify in my mind the rational to spend thousands on a firearm just so that I can brag that it is the best in the world to the people that I rub elbows with and crap on everything else.

My firearms are used on my ranch to kill predators, animals that ruin the land and self defense. My ranch is 5000 acres so we also hunt on this property when we need meat and that is probably twice per year.

Talk with you friends, a couple of local gun stores, read on the internet, go to manufacturer's websites, call the manufacturer, and make your own decision. You can buy a lot of gun in the AR family for $750 to $1,300 range and spend more if you want. But, please, do not be corrupted by the arrogance of bull$hitters. Do what works for you and nobody else.
 
Ya don't get to be an "Very Old Dog" with a 5000 acre ranch by being less than wise.

Roger
PS: My DPMS LR308 and my RRA 24" bull barrel 5.56 both have been flawless and very accurate. No matter what I do to them.
 
As previously stated, if you can buy a Colt for less than a DPMS you should by the Colt. That said, the DPMS is a fine rifle. I sold my Colt HBAR and bought 2 DPMS rifles for the money. People love to pay for the little horse on the receiver. I did well and have no regrets.

I think veryolddog gets it.
 
I had one Colt AR Sporter some time ago and was told it was one of the best brands I could buy. Everyone kept telling me how nice a rifle it was and how well it shot etc.

I traded it for a brand new DPMS rifle and some cash. Since then I've purchased three more DPMS rifles before starting to build my own. When building I still use stripped DPMS lowers with DPMS lower parts kits and stripped DPMS uppers. Of all my AR rifles I have only one that isn't both a DPMS lower and upper. I picked up a stripped Armalite lower for $60 at a rummage sale and built it up with a DPMS lower parts kit and slapped a fully built CMMG upper on it for my kids.

Between the Colt and DPMS I've noticed that the Colt does have some better refinements however shooting wise I've noticed that the DPMS shoots just as well as the Colt and with a Timney 2-stage trigger my DPMS with a 20" heavy barrel can outshoot many Colts, BCM and other more expensive rifles at the range when I do my part. Have I had any failures with these rifles? None whatsoever aside from failure to feed due to crappy mags. Now I only run Magpul Pmags through them and they all function fine - eating whatever ammo I run through them.

I've also got a DPMS LR-308 flat top with a 24" SS Bull Barrel - free floated with vented aluminum handguard (built that way from DPMS). This gun is more accurate than I am and I've watched other better shooters consistently pick soda cans off posts at 800yds with it. I'm not capable of that but I CAN hold 8" at 800yds consistently with it and as far as I'm concerned I'm happy with that considering that's shooting MOA.

Obviously I have no complaints about DPMS and the quality of their products.
 
Between the Colt and DPMS I've noticed that the Colt does have some better refinements however shooting wise I've noticed that the DPMS shoots just as well as the Colt and with a Timney 2-stage trigger my DPMS with a 20" heavy barrel can outshoot many Colts, BCM and other more expensive rifles at the range when I do my part.
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Here is an example of what I was referring to.

Choose a rifle for what you want it to do.

If you want a tack driver, don't buy a Colt or BCM rack grade "service" rifle. You won't be happy. They most likely won't be as accurate as you want it to be for the price you pay.

If you want a "duty rifle" and take it to a high volume carbine course, don't get the DPMS, go with the brands/options recommended over at LF.net by guys who do it all the time.

Personally, I won't buy a DPMS because of their association with Bushmaster/Cerberus and the bad personal experiences that I have had with them and the 1 DPMS rifle that my brother owned.

But I am not you and I don't know what your requirements are.
 
I don't know what your definition of high volume is but I've got a couple rifles that I've put nearly 12k rounds through each over the last 2 yrs and they're functioning just fine aside from things like a worn sear, gas rings etc. I've been told those things are normal with ANY brand of AR.
 
I mainly want it for just Plinking. Maybe down the road throw it in my patrol car. (have a 12g in there now). Have a few friends that are very knowledgable in the AR world, but also were jumping on the colt ban waggon. I figured a post something here to see. I just want real world experiences, whether theyre $hitty ones or not. I don't feel like jumping on LF cause it's goin to be the same $hit I hear at work. Just want something reasonably priced and will function everytime if I do my part. If I had the $1300 to spend I would have the colt 6920. But I'm on an Leo salary with a wife and 2 kids. Just can't wing that money right now. Just bought a new back up gun, so I've only got about $700-$800 total to spend.
 
http://www.eagtactical.com/coursedetails.asp?ListID=5

1,300 3 days.

Including lots of NSRs. (Mag dumps)

Pat comments frequently about what does and doesn't work in his classes.

DPMS is one of the manufacturers he recommends against. He even gives a description of a private class with a SWAT team that was issued DPMS rifles. It wasn't pretty.

I am sure that your rifles are fine. They might even out last my Colts, especially if your rifle wasn't subjected to HPT.

The problem with DPMS and some of the other builders is that while your rifles are fine, the next 5 in produced aren't. You can't be sure until something breaks or goes down. Because they aren't being built to the same standard with the same parts all the time.

That isn't a problem if you aren't relying on your rifle as your primary means of self preservation.

Having fired 24,000 rounds over the last 24 months means you are a lot further ahead of the game than most. (Myself included) And if you have gone that far without breaking a bolt, you are doing really good.

That is 230 rounds a weekend, every weekend for 2 years. $7,920 in ammo costs (@$.33/rd)

I envy you.:D
 
I mainly want it for just Plinking. Maybe down the road throw it in my patrol car. (have a 12g in there now). Have a few friends that are very knowledgable in the AR world, but also were jumping on the colt ban waggon. I figured a post something here to see. I just want real world experiences, whether theyre $hitty ones or not. I don't feel like jumping on LF cause it's goin to be the same $hit I hear at work. Just want something reasonably priced and will function everytime if I do my part. If I had the $1300 to spend I would have the colt 6920. But I'm on an Leo salary with a wife and 2 kids. Just can't wing that money right now. Just bought a new back up gun, so I've only got about $700-$800 total to spend.
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If you are going to be using it as a duty gun, you really need to think hard about it and listen to the guys at LF. Pat sees well over a million rounds go downrange every year.

As a LEO you shouldn't have to pay $1,300. I can get them for $1,094. Call one of the LEO distributors and buy it on your department letter head, you can get an even better deal. Contact Paul Buffoni at BCM and tell him your situation, I am sure they can cut you a good deal.
 
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