Are DPMS AR's good?

[clonies]

Every AR15 that I know of is built to Mil Spec. Whether it is a lowly "standard" AR or one of the "premium" gotta have AR's. They are all Mil-Spec. Mil-spec is a drawing.

The "premium" AR's hold no special attraction to me.

Yeah. 100% incorrect like others have said. DPMS is fine for plinking. Wouldn't bet someone's life on one. I 2nd whoever said to get a BCM upper and a cheap lower. $79 Palmetto State Armory lower is a bargain at the price. If you manage to snag one during their frequent $50 sale's, it's even more amazing. I've bought ~5 or 6 of them.

 

[shootinghoosier]

I have 2 DPMS AR's and they run great. Both have had more than 5,000 rounds run through them. The only problem I experienced was with the one I bought used...it could not be zeroed correctly. I sent it back to DPMS and they replaced the barrel for free, even though it was outside of the warranty period and I was not the original owner. Couldn't be happier with the service I received...it took them less than 10 days to get it back to me.

 

[sloughfoot]

I don't believe that the DPMS is inferior just because someone says it is on the internet.

I believe in real life performance. Thousands of rounds worth. Enough rounds to need a new barrel.

I have Colt, DPMS, Bushmaster, and Rock River receiver'd rifles. I cannot see a nickels worth of difference between them. They all perform.

Sometime look at the rifles the USAMU uses in competition. The receivers just might say Bushmaster or DPMS.

 

[slow1911s]

Huh?

...but its pretty clear that DPMS doesn't build to the military's specifications.

DPMS has something to say about such things... OFFICIAL DPMS MYTH BUSTING THREAD - AR15.COM

 

[Taylorz71]

The ones I've had ran fine. I'd suggest looking at Spikes though, for close to the same money,

I agree and I have been using Spike's stuff lately. The first AR I built was off of a DMPS stripped lower and a DPMS LPK. I have it fitted with a S&W upper right now and it runs great. I don't think you would be disappointed with a DPMS, but the Spike's is a top tier gun with closer to DMPS pricing.

Good Luck

 

[esrice]

DPMS has something to say about such things... OFFICIAL DPMS MYTH BUSTING THREAD - AR15.COM

All that says is that they do make *some* of their parts to meet the milspec, but they must be specifically requested, and sometimes at an added cost.

One thing that stood out is that their barrels and bolts are HPT/MPI tested by the lot, versus individually. And the carrier staking looked light.

The biggest issue I see is that, due to all of their options, their rifles are going to be inconsistent in terms of what parts are milspec and what parts aren't.

Most DPMS rifles I've seen on the shelves lack the milspec parts. 1/9" barrels, no chrome lining, no H-buffers, commercial buffer tubes, light carrier staking-- some even without dust covers or forward assists.

 

[teddy12b]

I don't believe that the DPMS is inferior just because someone says it is on the internet.

I agree with this. All the DPMS rifles I've had have been very accurate and great guns. It's always amazed me how well a rifle can perform for me at the range and then as soon as it's mentioned on the internet the gun is junk. I'm guilty of it too and I bought into the hype selling my DPMS sweet 16 and buying a colt 6920 to replace it with. My colt isn't anywhere near as accurate as that little DPMS sweet 16 was. Shame on me for ever selling it.

 

[Titanium Man]

I agree with this. All the DPMS rifles I've had have been very accurate and great guns. It's always amazed me how well a rifle can perform for me at the range and then as soon as it's mentioned on the internet the gun is junk. I'm guilty of it too and I bought into the hype selling my DPMS sweet 16 and buying a colt 6920 to replace it with. My colt isn't anywhere near as accurate as that little DPMS sweet 16 was. Shame on me for ever selling it.

+1 After I read the different threads bashing all the different weapons, some of which I own, the only way to overcome it is a trip to the range. Once I've ripped through a few rounds, I'm all better, but to read these type of threads, makes me wonder why I have a safe, since everything I own, according to all these closet special forces dudes, is junk.

 

[gunowner930]

Yeah. 100% incorrect like others have said. DPMS is fine for plinking. Wouldn't bet someone's life on one. I 2nd whoever said to get a BCM upper and a cheap lower. $79 Palmetto State Armory lower is a bargain at the price. If you manage to snag one during their frequent $50 sale's, it's even more amazing. I've bought ~5 or 6 of them.

So a 62 gr 5.56x45 coming out of a 16 in DPMS is less deadly than a 62 gr 5.56x45 coming out of a high end rifle with a 16 in barrel?

 

[teddy12b]

+1 After I read the different threads bashing all the different weapons, some of which I own, the only way to overcome it is a trip to the range. Once I've ripped through a few rounds, I'm all better, but to read these type of threads, makes me wonder why I have a safe, since everything I own, according to all these closet special forces dudes, is junk.

LOL, by the way, everyone on the internet is probably going to tell you that your safe sucks also. We just can't win.

 

[Spanky46151]

Go Double Star...YAY!

 

[teddy12b]

Go Double Star...YAY!

Actually a doublestar is on my list of guns I want to try out. Those deals they have on them at Budsgunshop is pretty good and the percent of positive reviews are amazing especially for guns at that price point.

 

[LPMan59]

DPMS earned its poor reputation. I could dig up a thread or two concerning their quality- and these were within the last year, not once upon a time etc.

regardless the fact remains that for equal or even less money, a rifle made by a more reputable company with better quality control (ie individual not batch testing) can be had.

with what PSA, BCM, Spike's, etc are putting out, why would you even bother with DPMS?

 

[slow1911s]

All that says is that they do make *some* of their parts to meet the milspec, but they must be specifically requested, and sometimes at an added cost.

You said they don't. My point is that they do. I'm sure Randy Luth would love to discuss the specifics with any critics.

On a side note, DPMS is a huge supporter of the shooting sports.

 

[teddy12b]

DPMS earned its poor reputation. I could dig up a thread or two concerning their quality- and these were within the last year, not once upon a time etc.

regardless the fact remains that for equal or even less money, a rifle made by a more reputable company with better quality control (ie individual not batch testing) can be had.

with what PSA, BCM, Spike's, etc are putting out, why would you even bother with DPMS?

Any recent quality issues would be the result of being bought out. Remington, marlin, bushmaster, dpms, etc are just names now. The businesses have changed hands so many times here lately that we can't count on any of their reputations from years past.

I also agree on what you're saying about the price. DPMS used to be a cheaper rifle, but now you may as well spend another $100 and just buy a colt or whatever. The price of that DPMS recon wasn't much less than a colt 6940 and there would be absolutely no comparison of quality between the two rifles.

 

[sgreen3]

Ive had my DPMS for almost a year now, an with close to 3000rds through it. Just as acuurate as the day it was new. I would buy another

 

[billmyn]

RRA has great rifles and great customer service , dpms is an ok rifle in my opinion but do not compare to RRA and with nice little free upgrades like a cromed bcg they are an even better deal

 

[esrice]

You said they don't. My point is that they do.

Then I guess I will amend my statement to "they don't normally build to milspec" or "they don't build entirely to milspec".

For the purpose of the question being posed by the OP my point was that he should look elsewhere if he puts a lot of weight into his AR meeting the milspec. I wasn't suggesting that a DPMS wouldn't meet or exceed his wants and needs.

On a side note, DPMS is a huge supporter of the shooting sports.

That's awesome.

 

[esrice]

It's always amazed me how well a rifle can perform for me at the range and then as soon as it's mentioned on the internet the gun is junk.

since everything I own, according to all these closet special forces dudes, is junk.

So preferring one type of AR over another, especially one with a higher price tag, makes one a "closet special forces dude"? Poking intentional fun at someone's choice in guns makes anyone a rude jerk, but I don't think simply recommending another brand due to a perceived increase in quality instantly makes that person an internet ninja.

So a 62 gr 5.56x45 coming out of a 16 in DPMS is less deadly than a 62 gr 5.56x45 coming out of a high end rifle with a 16 in barrel?

Nope, not at all. But a high-end AR is more likely to reliably, accurately, and comfortably send that projectile in the first place. That's not to say that $599 AR = crap and $1,800 AR = perfect, it just means that its more likely to run when you need it to.

And this holds true for lots of non-gun things like cars, electronics, or tools. And like any rule, there are always a few exceptions.

 

[Hop]

C'mon, who in this thread called a DPMS junk? I don't see it. What a few here are saying is there are other manufacturers that are doing a better job at QC for the same or lower price.

This isn't m3carbine.net. A seriously high number of pros hang out on that board and they tend to migrate towards very high quality rifles because they do take them to war. Getting bashed on there should be expected.