DPMS any good?

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

Big Bad Wolf

Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2003
Messages
93
Location
West of the Mississippi
How would you rate them as an AR manufacturer? Would you consider them a first tier company in terms of quality? I have e-mailed them about general questions and seen their customer service forum at AR15Armory.com and they don't seem to be lacking in that area. I am just curious what you think about their quality.
 
Well

I've been a big fan of Bushmaster and even more so of Rock River Arms but recentlyhave used and bought some DPMS products. I think they are equivelant in fit & finish. I don't put 10,000 rounds through a weapon every year but for my prurposes I'm very pleased.
CT
 
Ihave experience with a Classic Sixteen and two of their M4s. All were excellent. They make a very good product.
 
Good stuff, from where I sit. I know of at least one (accomplished) gunsmith/machinist who prefers DPMS to just about anything else.
 
I've had good success with their products. I built my first left hand upper from parts supplied by DPMS. It was a hoot to shoot a left hand AR.
 
My regular shooting buddy owns two DPMS AR15s and his buddy owns one. Both guys had problems with the quality of the chamber and throat. Two were fixed by sending the guns back for polishing. The third gun had the barrel replaced by DPMS.

As a general rule (for me), I would suggest staying away from products with "PMS" as part of their name. While not a logically reasoned concern, it does sound like an ominous sign of tempermental performance.

With that said, no doubt some work great. A bore scope would be a very good idea for checking out your intended purchase before you pay for it.
 
We have 3 in the family and they all work great and are very accurate. Their customer service is very good also.
 
1)COLT
2)Rock River
3)bushmaster
4)armalite
5)dpms
Thats my order which means nothing. I would stay with one of those!! looking at lower price check out Stag Arms
 
Have two. My regular plate shooter Lo-Pro Classic has been great. Only problem was with NPA headstamped ammo. Complete utter (I know, redundant) crap ammo. No problems with the Extreme.
 
Haven't had much luck with DPMS personally. So based on that personal experience, I would rather avoid them.

I do know several who use their rifles much harder than I do (and mine definitely get used) and they like DPMS just fine.

Issues I've seen first hand with DPMS are broken bolts (2), broken smaller parts (1), parts out of spec (buffer tube unable to hold down retaining pin or screw in further), and parts that just weren't great (gas key not staked at all on bolt carrier, too long firing pin retaining pin that was bent).

Issues I've read about include broken bolts and chambers that are too short causing improper headspace and reliability issues with longer OAL rounds.

I just received a free brand new DPMS bolt carrier group and bolt to replace my used Bushmaster bolt w/9k rounds on it. It was meant as a "thank you" but I ended up spending $120 of my own money to replace the parts with a brand I trust. I'll keep the DPMS as a spare I guess.
 
The Grand Inquisitor said:
Why is a company that uses proprietary non-mil spec parts be at the top?

Far too often people confuse what costs the most, with what is actually the best.
Click to expand...

Why do you imply that Colt is at the top of the list because their guns are the most expensive? Why is it so important that having proprietary non mil spec parts disqualifies a brand from the top ranking?

The proprietary non mil spec parts about which you are referring are limited to fire control pins and the pivot pin. According to http://groups.msn.com/TheMarylandAR15ShootersSite/ar15brands.msnw not all are necessarily proprietary. Personally, I have not seen and new Colts lately that have the oversized pivot pin. My two have standard pivot pins.

All of the other parts are spec. The fact that the fire control pins may not be mil spec is hardly a significant issue as there isn't any shortage of them and they are a part not terribly prone to breakage.

Dallas PD recently allowed officers to carry a departmental issue AR15 or their own personal AR15s so long as officers passed a 40 hour AR15 class and used either a Colt or Rock River Arms. The brand selection was partially based on FBI DEA testing. The only 2 AR brands to pass their tests were Rock River Arms and Colt.
 
I heard someone say that he wouldnt trust anything with "PMS" as a part of the name.

I also heard DPMS stands for Dont Provide Much Service

I dont know Ive never owned one. A friend of mine has a .308 that he really loves made by DPMS.
 
I love mine, its accurate and has had no failures of anykind. I figured if Jerry Miculek shoots their gun for the DPMS team how can you go wrong? Also, DPMS is a big time sponsor of IPSC/USPSA events and is well recognized in the competition shooting field. Its a great firearm, second to none.
 
I am one of the owners of Superior Arms. We are a startup manufacturer in Iowa. We manufacture AR15 style weapons. I don't know where you are located, but I'd love the chance to quote you a rifle, or parts, whatever you are looking to buy. I don't like getting into the " I am better" game. We machine our own receivers, been having rgeat success with custom calibers and serial number markings. We do hard engraved pistol lowers, custom logos, etc. Check out our web site.

Leo Williams
Superior Arms
www.superiorarms.com
 
Hey guys , havent been on line for a while been in the hospital some blood problems stemming from an amputation about a year ago. Plus i live about 5 miles from the beach in gulfport MS ,but things are going ok right now.
i bought an AR15 upper about 3 years ago at a gun show i thought it was a DPMS turned out only the barrel was DPMS someone had put it together with a upper reciever that i still dont know who made. I didnt get around to putting it on one of my lowers till about 2 years after i had bought it and it jammed constantly so i sent it to DPMS to have them repair it.
They emailed me back and said it was not one of theirs and they didnt know who made it, but they repaired it and sent it back and didnt charge me a dime for it. It has functioned perfectly every sense and i dont clean a gun till i have put about a 1000 rounds through one , so i am really satisfied with their company and if i buy another AR it will be one of theirs. You all take care
 
I have a two month old DPMS LR308 24". I mounted a Nikon Monarch 6.5-20x44mm scope. I have 160 rounds downrange so far, so it's not even really broken in. It's a shooter. At 100 yds I get good, 1/2 MOA 5 round groups. I shot 10 rounds at 200 yds with a 1 1/2" group. No malfunctions, period. I ovserved proper breakin. My only complaint is the trigger group. Brand new the trigger was pretty rough, with a ragged, uneven pull. At this point, the trigger has smoothed out only a little, but I've ordered a McCormick two stage trigger for it. I can only imagine that the trigger will improve, along with group size. In the spring, with a little better glass, I'm gonna try 1000 yards-for the first tiime in many years!
Fit, finish and function are excellent, unlike earlier DPMS rifles. Probably due to new, hard working management
Thom
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top