Del-ton good enough?

[MoBoost]

I ran a firing line supervised by 5 active duty soldiers last weekend. I oversaw the firing of about 2,800 rounds through 6 AR's from 4 different manufacturers in about 3 hours. All of them were inspected, cleaned and PROPERLY lubricated prior to firing and periodically throughout. I called the two that choked and quit about 10 minutes before they did exactly that.

I love real-world experiences with AR-15 failures. Can you please be more specific - what brands, what round count, how they failed?

 

[Shootin 4 Fun]

I was also going to recommend FBT. They've sold millions (yes millions, those guys are rolling in it!) of DTI rifles.

lol...we haven't sold millions....yet.

 

[Shootin 4 Fun]

As far as quality, a decent barrel and a quality bolt carrier group are what you're looking for in an upper.

The JSE Socom uppers that we are selling are nitride treated Wilson Arms barrels chambered in 5.56 with a 1:7 twist. The bolt carrier groups are produced by Advance Ordnance and Microbest, the carriers are 9130 steel and the bolts are Carpenter 158.

I have no doubt that these components will take a beating and continue to rock on, but I could be wrong, every manufacturer produces a lemon every now and again. Are these uppers the same quality as Colt or BCM? Probably not, but we aren't asking customers to pay Colt & BCM prices.

 

[Glocktogo]

You didn't start anything. I always love a good debate and forum conversation. I can tell you, if I needed knowledge on any firearm platform, Glocktogo would be one of my first choices for info. We were just bumping shoulders trying to get the last word in.. Look forward to seeing what you build.

Lurker is spot on. We just like to "rub fenders" when we bench race, it's all good!

In the interest of stirring the pot, what were the rifles that puked down their leg?

I love real-world experiences with AR-15 failures. Can you please be more specific - what brands, what round count, how they failed?

I have a reason for not saying. This was a wounded veteran's (and their families) benefit event. All of the firearms, ammunition, range, targets, staff, etc. are donated. I refuse to say anything that would dissuade any of them from supporting the event in the future. There were multiple configurations of rifles and about 12 AR's total. We function tested and zeroed all of them the day before the event. Two were deemed unsuitable then and set aside for reliability reasons. Five were initially selected to represent the broadest cross-section of the various configurations on hand. Of those five, two went down and were rotated out, with two more rotated in. IIRC, the 1st down gun lasted about 150 rounds, the 2nd was around 200+. The rest performed without issue. None of them broke.

The reason I "called" the guns is because I had several police explorer volunteers on hand. The were loading magazines and sweeping brass. I used it as an opportunity to explain to them the roles and responsibilities of a range officer. I explained what I was looking for and what the Army volunteers were doing as they worked with each of the participants. As I was doing this, I also took the time to explain to them what I observed on the firing line. We had four guns running simultaneously. I explained that the one on the left was behaving erratically. The 2nd from the left was overgassed and would run for the entire event, albeit with excessive recoil and the possibility of breaking in the future. The 3rd was undergassed and was going to choke once it became too fouled. The fourth was pretty much spot on.

Sure enough, the one on the left choked 1st, and #3 was about 10 minutes behind it. The explorers looked at me like I was some kind of wizard. All I'm willing to say is that the Marketing Director for Colt's Manufacturing LLC was also there loading magazines and sweeping brass. At the end of the event, he was very pleased. That really wasn't a surprise to me.

Please keep in mind that the sustained rate of fire during this 3 hour event was right at the recommended maximum sustained rate of fire for the military. That's a crucible for any platform. Not everyone would subject their rifle to that sort of treatment. That's why I'm not recommending the OP go out and spend more on a rifle than he could a rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammo. If applied correctly, he'll be a far better rifleman with the cheaper gun and more ammo once he's fired it, than the expensive gun and a couple of mags worth of ammo downrange.

 

[Shootin 4 Fun]

If applied correctly, he'll be a far better rifleman with the cheaper gun and more ammo once he's fired it, than the expensive gun and a couple of mags worth of ammo downrange.

Best advice ever.

 

[uncle money bags]

Best advice ever.

That is a fact.

 

[MoBoost]

The reason I "called" the guns is because I had several police explorer volunteers on hand. The were loading magazines and sweeping brass. I used it as an opportunity to explain to them the roles and responsibilities of a range officer. I explained what I was looking for and what the Army volunteers were doing as they worked with each of the participants. As I was doing this, I also took the time to explain to them what I observed on the firing line. We had four guns running simultaneously. I explained that the one on the left was behaving erratically. The 2nd from the left was overgassed and would run for the entire event, albeit with excessive recoil and the possibility of breaking in the future. The 3rd was undergassed and was going to choke once it became too fouled. The fourth was pretty much spot on.

Do you believe that the problems could have been resolved with minor gas tuning, or the assembly/QC wasn't up to par, or inferior parts just showing their ugly head?

P.S. I've never bought a complete rifle. However I have assembled dozens using mix-match parts of all sorts, and the only problem I've ever had was Stag lower with out-of-spec take-down pins.

 

[AKguy1985]

I know a delton isn't the same as a colt

Rijas seems to think they are superior!!!!

 

[AKguy1985]

Bcm ftw!

You must have read my mind.

 

[J.T.]

I'd run the .410 AR upper against all of the "boutique" brands. Hands down best AR on the market with vastly superior ballistics.


http://www.midwayusa.com/product/97...tte-with-flash-hider-5-round-magazine-pre-ban

Best advice ever.