There is not a whole lot of information out there right now on the new DPMS GenII rifles. TFB has a really good write up with most of the new advancements: http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/01/14/dpms-308-gen-ii/ Rather than restate that, I thought I would do a quick write up of my limited experience with the rifle.
The first thing I really noticed is the weight. It is noticeably lighter than my 1st Gen DPMS LR. I never would have considered hunting with one of these rifles, but after feeling how light the SASS is, I can only imagine how well the Hunter model feels. A second one of these may be in my future. The barrel on this SASS is fluted and in what surprises me the most, features a mid-length gas system. I am not sure why DPMS did not go with a rifle length system, but they didn't. The weight savings on the GEN II is nice, but it wasn't enough for me to shell out a large amount of cash...until I saw the bolt and carrier. The carrier has serrations cut into it for the forward assist, unlike the GEN 1, the forward assist actually works. The carrier key is installed with a roll pin with the body being machined as part of the carrier itself. The major update that DPMS is touting is the dual ejector and new extractor design. Admittedly, I have had good luck with my GEN 1. It never exhibited extractor problems, well, when the extractor wasn't broken. I have only ever broke one, but after replacement of that one, I hadn't had any problems. Unfortunately, others have had many extractor related issues. The new GEN 2 extractor design should eliminate that. I have only shot 230 rounds through the rifle so far, so it will need much more testing to lay that issue to bed. I changed the trigger out to a Geissele SD-E. The stock match grade trigger is actually very nice. It has just a little bit of creep in it that would probably 'shoot out' with some rounds through it. I just switched to the SD-E Geissele because I like them. I also ditched that awful grip and palm-swell for a stock A2 grip. I just think the thing looks hideous and doesn't serve any purpose. Lastly, I added a Slash's 10oz Heavy Buffer from my Gen 1 since I knew I would be shooting this rifle suppressed.
Dual Ejectors:
Bolt Carrier compared to an M16 Carrier:
I shot 30 rounds of my reloads for group. I didn't do any load development other than changing bullets. I shot 168 and 175 SMK's along with 178 AMAX bullets. The best group of the day was with the 175 SMK, with the 178 AMAX a very close second.
175 SMK:
3178 AMAX:
The wind today was gusting up to 18 mph. That's fairly common for Oklahoma, but it did end up effecting my shots some. I am confident that with a little load development I can improve on these groups.
Next, I attached the suppressor and switched to some M80 ball ammunition from various manufacturers. A suppressor can make a semi-auto rifle do some strange things. I wanted to know if the gun would run well suppressed. While loading a mag, I dropped it feed lips down into the dirt. I thought to myself great, and then I just decided to go with it. I ended up putting a couple of handfuls of dirt directly into the magazine. I figured the dirt and suppressor would highlight any of the rifle's weaknesses. I chambered a round and shot 20 rounds without a problem. At this point, I figured I needed more dirt, so I put some dirt in the magazine and then directly into the chamber. I then shot 20 rounds as fast as I could pull the trigger. It just ran. This is obviously not a scientific test, but I really thought the dirt and suppressor would cause something to malfunction, but it didn't. I dusted the magazines off as best as I could and continued to shoot. The last 60 rounds I fired as fast as I could. At the conclusion, most of the SLIP 2000 EWL was burnt off and the can was smoking hot. No malfunctions.
I had one issue with a piece of factory ammunition. It fired fine and ejected, but below is the result of the dual ejectors and a 'hot' round.
The brass flowing is pretty amazing. I removed the manufacturers headstamp because I didn't want to go down that path, but this is also a reason I feel much safer reloading. Obviously mistakes happen when manufacturing anything, and this cartridge was either too hot or the bullet setback when it was chambered. Everything held up well, but it had to have been pretty hot to make the brass on the head to flow like that.
Last edited:
