Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Guns and Gear Review #26: Del-Ton DT-15 AR

Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp again.

Excuse the long absence, but I decided to take a break from posting for a bit because I just didn't really have much to review or even say for the past few months. I'm not going to make any promises of regular posts because that'd be wrong of me since I have been kind of neglectful to the site. But I will try to at least make one post every month or so, even if it's just a "Hi, I'm still alive." type of entry.

As you may have guessed from the title of this entry, I have a new rifle. I have a new one and had to sell another one to fund the purchase. I sold my Hungarian AMD-63 AK to fund the purchase of the Del-Ton DT-15 AR. I didn't get out to the range with the AMD-63 as often as I would've liked and a local dealer expressed interest in the rifle when I showed him pics of it. I accepted his offer and a couple days later, I brought the AMD-63 to him and got my money. The same day, I stopped at a local hardware store and picked up the Del-Ton AR.

This is my first foray into the world of AR-15s and I think I got a decent rifle. I've been doing some research on AR's for the past several years and with prices coming down, I figured the time was right to pick one up. I decided on the Del-Ton because it was low priced, well reviewed and in stock. I've got a fighting rifle (my M+M M10 AK I reviewed years ago), but the AR will serve as a secondary fighting rifle once I get it set up the way I want it and get some trigger time with it.

The Del-Ton DT-15 I picked up came with the usual accessories (M4 style furniture, including an uncomfortable A1/A2 style grip, gun lock that got ditched because I already have like 100 of them from various sources, owner's manual and warranty card). The literature that came with the rifle was really, really vague as to what model rifle I have since Del-Ton makes a few different versions from the DTI Sport to the 'Extreme Duty' series. Mine is probably an Echo 316 rifle because of the mil-spec parts, but since I have no way of confirming that short of calling Del-Ton, I can't say for certain. I will send them an email and ask what series rifle mine is and update y'all when I get an answer. All else fails, I contact them on Facebook and see what they can tell me there. I contacted Winchester like that when I had an issue with some ammo, so I figure I can ask Del-Ton about my rifle the same way.

I can, however, confirm that my AR has a 1/9 twist rate barrel (1/7 is the best according to what I've read, but 1/9 will work for me for the time being), A2 "bird cage" muzzle device, and a mil-spec trigger. The barrel also has the little M203 mounting cut on it, should I ever decide to attach one of those to it or one of those Spike's Tactical Havoc flare launchers. The M203 is probably never going to happen since they cost a boatload of money and they are very hard to get on the civilian side of things. They're not impossible to get, they're just really, really rare. And super expensive. Not to mention some of the ammo is also heavily regulated. From what I remember, the practice chalk rounds are ok for civilians to use with no ATF approval or paperwork, but the other stuff is heavily regulated and requires a bunch of paperwork. So it's not worth the time and money for me. Others might think so and to them I say "Have at it."

Back on track here, I haven't really had the chance to hit the range with my new AR, but that's mostly because I only have one magazine for it and no ammo at the moment. I'll also be upgrading the stock set from factory to Magpul MOE stuff since I prefer the Magpul stuff. The factory stuff works, but the buttstock just wobbles way too much for my liking and the A2 style grip just feels weird in my hands. I got a bit spoiled by the Magpul AK grips I had on both of my AKs, so I figured it was only right to pop one of the various AR grips they make onto my AR. I picked up a Magpul K2 AR grip along with a CTR stock and M-Lok fore end. I had a little issue with the screw on the K2 grip not catching, but that was my fault and not Magpul's. The grip is now on my rifle nice and tight and feels loads better than the A2 that was on it. I might toss the A2 grip and the stock furniture set up for sale on a local gun sales board or I may keep it for another project. Not too entirely sure at this point.

Overall, I'd recommend the Del-Ton made ARs to anyone looking for a decent entry-level rifle. With the AR being so popular, there's a ton of sources out there for help and parts, so you can build your own rifle if you choose or you can just customize a factory rifle to your preferences like I did. Once I get a bit of trigger time behind it, I can give y'all a much better idea of the rifle and tell y'all what I like or don't like about it.


As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.