DD M4v3 Zeroing Issue- *UPDATED*

[Jellybean]

**Update follows at end of post #1**


So I got my rifle- a Daniel Defense M4 V3. Life was good. Then I took it out today to test/zero it.... Now I think I have a problem.

Here's what went down:

Rifle: DDm4V3
Accesories: Grip-pod, Eotech 512
Ammo: PMC 55gr. .223- Approx. 60 rds. fired.
Range:50 yds.
Temp:43 F +/- with slow drop towards sundown
Wind: 0-1 mph

Went out about mid afternoon. From a table/grip-pod rest fired first 5 rds with irons. After checking the target, it was clean. Same for second five rounds. So I moved a bit closer to get an idea where I was missing, and noticed I was hitting way low and left. No problem- I guesstimated how many clicks I would need to change my POI, and still possessing a bit of confidence moved back out to 50 yds (table) for another 5 rounds. Re-checked: Still wide left, but vertically good enough until fine tuning.
So I thought I just underestimated how many clicks to adjust, as I usually shoot a bit left anyway. So after more adjusting and another five rounds, things aren't getting much better. At this point I had turned the rear site a total of 14-18 clicks, and was almost out of space.
Long story short, I turned the rear sight all the way to the right- I literally cannot turn it any further- and am still about 3 inches wide left of center.
I also had my dad shoot it, and he got the same results. This, compared to the adjustments and subsequent groupings I got with my previous rifle, was enough to convince me that it wasn't me.

At this point I said screw the irons- let me see if I can do better with my Eotech. I made adjustments of approximately 8-10 clicks right, more than I had it set previously. Same results.
Although, do red dots like the Eotech reset themselves at all? Prior to today I had removed the batteries for storage. But since the internal adjustment is like a screw/gear shouldn't it still have been close?

By then it was getting dark, and my brain was vigorously waving the red flag, so I just decided to call it a day.

WHAT is going on here?
As far as I can tell there is nothing functionally wrong, or broken on the rifle. The front sight post doesn't appear to be canted. Had to tighten the rail slightly, but aside from one random stovepipe, everything worked fine (albeit only slow-fire).
Can it be that after dozens of flawless reviews, I may have gotten a lemon?

Yes, I know- contact DD. But since I can't really do so til tommorrow, figured I'd ask here first in case I'm just missing something.

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UPDATE (2-27-11)

You guys are not going to believe this-

If you read the previous portion of this post, you know the issues I was having. Keep in mind this is a brand new rifle....
So I talked to the rep from DD, and they had me send it in (I sent the whole rifle just to be on the safe side). About a week later I got a call (yes- they actually called me! First time I’ve had this happen from any company…) from one of the guys (Bill?). He told me all about the issues and what they were doing to fix it.

It turns out, the reason I couldn’t get the thing to zero was the barrel was actually bowed!! Apparently there is some sort of coating they apply to the barrels (forgot what he called it), and sometimes during the process it causes the barrel to bend. And I got the one in a million that this happens to….

A short while later I got the rifle back and immediately ran out to re-try zeroing. It worked fine. But I was still getting persistent FTE jams where a spent case would not extract and would get jammed in the chamber on top of the fresh round, usually mangling both pretty good.
It was suggested that it was simply a case of the PMC .223 being weak ammo. And when I did a search, I was starting to think the same thing. But it still didn’t add up in my brain, especially after hearing about how these rifles aren’t exactly picky about ammo- even stuff like Wolf that (in my understanding) is supposedly pretty weak as well.
After talking to Iraqgunz, he put me in touch with Joe at Daniel Defense, and I emailed him a summary and some pics to let him know what was going on. He too called me to talk about it. He said it was possibly a bad extractor, and that they would send a new one for me to try. (Apparently I must have gotten pretty famous around DD, as I also received an email from Bill who actually apologized for the problems, and assured me that they would do everything possible to get it solved).
A couple days later I got the part- they actually sent me a whole new bolt! I had to wait a couple days due to bad weather, but eventually I got out to re-test the rifle.
I figured I’d start at square one, so I just replaced the extractor in the original bolt with the new one, cleaned and lubed everything, and stuck it all back together. I proceeded to fire 150 rounds through the rifle (same ammo) with no problems. Unfortunately that’s all the ammo I had available for testing, so it’s about as conclusive as I’m going to get- but it seems to be working, so I guess I’ll call it good. And all I need now is a new extractor and I’ll have a spare bolt.

So it seems the problems have been remedied- hopefully this will be the last of them....
A big thanks to the folks here, and the guys at Daniel Defense for excellent customer service!

[JR TACTICAL]

I had a similar issue whit my DDM4 V2 I bought a while back with the irons, thankfully I was 2 clicks away from being maxed out to the left and I was zeroed. There is a few thing I can think of... 1, were your sights torqued down tight?, 2, is the rail system tight ( any movement at all) if its loose, that will mess with the zero bad, 3, barrel nut either torqued down too tight or not tight enough, per Daniel Defense, the barrel nut slots should be at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions when looking at it from the front of the rifle so I would check that as well

As far as the EoTECH goes I never had that problem with mine, I had a 557 that I recently sold but that thing was a tack driver. It sound to me like you my have a over torqued barrel nut, that is uncommon for DD but things do happen, I had to send my V5 back today because for some reason my rail system came loose for no aparent reason but they sent me a shipping lable and had me send it back to fix it at no charge.

If I were you I would be on the phone with DD in the morning, tell them what is going on and maybe that can help you troubleshoot the issue

Goodluck

[Quentin]

Well this has got to be a fluke, they aren't all like that. The upper that I got last week that's now on my S&W lower in effect creates a DDM4V3 LW. I adjusted the irons to mechanical zero and that was almost dead on for a 50 yard zero. RDS cowitnessed easily.

Let us know what DD says about it!

[Jellybean]

Yes- the sights are tight. At first this is what I thought- that the rear sight was either loose or maybe tightened to one side from the factory, but it doesn't seem like it fits like that anyway.

The rail was tight- I had to tighten the allen screws a bit when I first got it, but it was fine yesterday.

The Eotech worked just fine previously, which is why I was more confused after trying it with that, seeing as how that would take both sights out of the picture.

I took the rail off today to look at things. I think the barrel nut is ok- maybe slightly favoring toward 1 o'clock. There may be a slight front sight cant to the right, but I'm not sure. And this still wouldn't explain the eotech not lining up.
So I'm going to give DD a call later today and see what's up.

[Iraqgunz]

Since it will be hard for DD to analyze your issue over the phone or net I would allow someone else to shoot the weapon and see if they have the same results.

[Artiz]

Since it will be hard for DD to analyze your issue over the phone or net I would allow someone else to shoot the weapon and see if they have the same results.

I also had my dad shoot it, and he got the same results.

There you go.

[Iraqgunz]

I am locking this for now. Please let us know what DD tells you and then we will re-open so you can update us.

[Jellybean]

Bump for update- for the folks that were interested previously.

[strambo]

Glad they made it right. Getting an extra bolt at least makes up for some of the hassle. My DD upper has been good to go.

[Beat Trash]

If you manufacture enough of anything, you're bound to have something leave the factory with some kind of problem. The important thing for me is how the company handles the issue once it's brought to their attention.

I'm glad to hear Daniel Defense didn't try to feed you a line of BS. Sounds like they were more than willing to stand behind their product and make it right.

It's the stories like this one that will earn my future business.