I have lowers from LMT and uppers from BCM and DD, and I’ve been very happy with all of the above, but I have never bought a “complete” rifle. This is mainly due to availability here, and the fact that I have not been able to find a rifle configured the way I wanted it without having to make a whole bunch of expensive changes.
Daniel Defense offers the “Build Your Own DDM4” option and it seemed like a good way to go. Several other companies also offer great rifles, but they won’t allow me the degree of customization that I desire. Back in January I put in my request for a build code for DD and a few months later it came. I went on the website, entered my custom specs, and 3 days later my first complete rifle shipped. All was good with the world.
As a side note for those who are curious, my specs are as follows: 16" lw, low profile gas block, mid-length with a 10" “lite” rail. I ordered a SSA trigger and I put on my own SOPMOD stock and a Falcon Industries Ergo grip. LMT as my first lower spoiled me…
My rifle showed up and I was in awe as I removed it from the packing. It felt solid, but still light as a feather. I brought it home and started attaching all my furniture; Aimpoint, MBUS, fore end QD sling attachment point, and light… This is where the trouble started. To make the rifle CA legal, they have to install a “Bullet Button”. This makes it so your magazine is not detachable without a “tool” and therefore the rifle is NOT an “assault weapon” under CA law. Basically you have to stick the tip of a bullet or a stick or something in the hole to drop your mag. I know. Its ridiculous, but its better than not being able to own an AR at all. I run a different type of bullet button called a “Raddlock” that allows me to turn my bullet button into a standard mag release with a simple turn of a screw driver when I leave the state and it is legal to do so. As I began to try to remove the factory installed BB, I soon discovered I had a problem. It was stuck. BBs are attached with a little threaded aluminum collar that screws onto the threaded post of the mag catch. A little aluminum tool with two tines is supplied for removal of the BB. I called the factory to find out exactly what they used to “glue” it with and they confirmed it was blue loctite. I went and bought a mini torch. No dice. Tried MEK. Wouldn’t budge. I started a thread asking for advice here: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=131344
I called DD again and emailed. The guy that answered the phone actually walked over to the building bench and asked the guy who assembled my rifle exactly what he used while I was on the phone with him. “Blue Loctite”, was the answer. My flimsy aluminum tool was not going to work, so I was planning on making my own tool with a flat head screw driver and a grinding wheel. But then I got to thinking that this might simply strip the aluminum collar instead of stripping the aluminum tool and I didn’t want to be mucking around and marring a brand new rifle. I called DD yet again and asked them to pay for gun smithing or pay for shipping back and forth to them to fix the problem. After a few days with no response I called again. The person who handles that stuff was on vacation for a week. Still no call back a week later. In my frustration and impatience I just took the rifle to a LGS where a friend works and does some smithing. I did not have the “OK” from DD for this. The shop has a proper jig and a drill press and he simply drilled out the post on the back of the mag catch. He gave me a new mag catch and a bill for $40, and I proceeded to install the new BB. All done. Fixed.
Here is where it gets interesting. I was a little frustrated and angry at the lack of response and lack of customer service from DD. This is not typical of my past experience with them. In my imaginative mind I envisioned them hanging up and muttering about stupid Californians, as so many people from other not-yet-so-restricted states are wont to do. Out of spite, more than anything else, I sent the bill for the smithing and a detailed letter voicing my complaints and the time line to DD. I expected my letter to be laughed at and tossed in the round file. What company on earth is going to reimburse someone for work done by an unknown outside third party that they didn’t even authorize? It was more an attempt to vent and voice my irritation. In my letter I included my contact info. I dropped it in the mail on the way to the range and immediately felt better and forgot about it. The rifle performed flawlessly and shoots like a dream. I sighted in at 25 yards and was printing little clover leafs. Shots on steel at 125, 220 and 411 yards came back with a pleasant “thunk” every time. I like all my ARs, but I really LOOOOOOOVE this rifle. Don’t really know how to put it in words, it just feels SO right.
Three days past and my phone starts ringing. The display shows “Daniel Defense”. (I have them programmed in.) “What in the world do they want?”, I wondered to myself as I answered. It was the customer service lady. (Sorry. I don’t remember her name, but she’s very nice and polite.) She told me that somehow she had the wrong phone number and had been trying to figure out how to reach me for two weeks. She was going to send a letter to the LGS that my gun shipped to and ask them for help contacting me, when my complaint letter showed up with the contact info in it. She was extremely apologetic about the whole incident, thanked me for my patience, and informed me that with my permission they wanted to credit the gun smithing charges back to my credit card. I was dumbstruck. I said, “But you didn’t authorize that. I just did it out of impatience. You guys aren’t liable for that.” She said that they were “re-evaluating” their BB building protocol and making necessary adjustments, and thanked me for my customer feedback. Then she asked for a shipping address so that she could send a free DD hat and t-shirt to me, for the “inconvenience” that I had experienced. I gladly gave her one.
In the past, I have always been pleased with the customer service at DD. They still answer their phone when so many other companies, don’t or won’t. I sort of figured that this BB issue was the price I had to pay for living in a state with crappy gun laws. It should be noted that this Bullet Button is NOT made or designed by DD, and they install it as a service and courtesy to their customers in the “not-so-free” states. Daniel Defense has demonstrated to me AGAIN that the customer matters to them. They have again demonstrated why they deserve the reputation that they have earned over the years. And they have demonstrated again why everyone should feel good about doing business with them.
Thank you Daniel Defense for taking excellent care of your customer. Thank you for making such excellent rifles and parts. Your reward for your efforts will be my continued business, and my recommendation to anyone who will listen that they should do business with you.
Nobody can be perfect all the time. I firmly believe that in dealing with problems or disagreements is where you truly learn about a person’s or business’s true character. Daniel Defense has clearly demonstrated their character here. I ask everyone to shop accordingly.