Cutting to the point, I’m LEO down in Florida and have been for 10 years. I currently shoot and carry my Sig 516 Gen 2, with no mods. While I love the accuracy of the rifle, I feel let down at times with the reliability (i.e. bolt doesn’t stay open on last round, some FTF). I’m looking towards selling the rifle to get a DI gun. I enjoy the piston aspect and bought that for its cleanliness but I am looking at going back to DI just for parts exchangeability.
That being said, I’m looking at either a Daniel Defense M4 V11 in the s2w or a V9 with the same barrel. Is the accuracy and reliability on par with the Sig 516? I prefer the 18in barrel because I do like to shoot some longer distances and I do not think the added length matters too much. I do not feel like building another rifle, just looking at buying a nice package one. And do the DD’s have issues with standard 223 ammo, i.e. American Eagle or Wolf Gold? One of the issues with my 516 is if its not high powered 5.56, its about 99% reliable. When I do some training, I hate looking bad with a FTF.
You just came here and may not know who Iraqgunz is. Listen to him. What a 16" mid gas gives up to an 18 is next to nothing at your stated 2-300 yards.
The difference in velocity is minimal. What are you using the carbine for? A 16" with the right ammo will be as effective if not more than an 18" with FMJ.
Also just to point out Wolf Gold is fairly hot ammo. It is repackaged Taiwanese military ammo. Im not sure if its actually M193 or not but it isnt weak 223. I believe it was MAC that tested it and showed about 3050 FPS muzzle velocity from a 16 inch gun.
Being that it’s less expensive than 556 (more often than not), I load up on it and shoot the heck out of it in my V11. It + the gun are far more capable than I am, and more than suits my needs as a plinker and to get some training for defensive purposes (and to just enjoy shooting and learning to take care of myself, my family and my rifle).
I’m going for purchasing the whole rifle. DD doesn’t have the LEO discount for uppers only; it has to be the entire rifle. My issue with the ammo was the Sig 516 was shooting Wolf Gold and/or Federal 223 and having issues. I have read about the DD’s also having issues on the same level. Since I’ll point more towards the 16 inch now, I guess the big choice is either keymod or standard rail (Keymod being slightly lighter). I’m glad to read that DD seems to be extremely reliable overall, based on the forum comments on this site.
The rifle as I want to use it will be a plinker/work rifle/hd. The Sig plays that role now.
Don’t know if this helps or not but I’m under the impression that XM193 is on the light side compared to standard 5.56 loads? (Maybe IG or someone can correct me on this if I’m wrong.) I have had no reliability issues with Fed XM193 loads or my 50gr. Nosler Zmax with 25.5 grains of AR comp handloads through my V9 S2W. They are the only two loads I’ve run but admittedly, only about 250 rounds of each load through the rifle since this summer, so it’s not really seen “hard use” like most here do.
A buddy of mine got a V11 last fall and a case of Wolf Gold. I helped him sight it in and you will be pleased with that rifle/ammo combination. It is his first AR and he was surprised at the accuracy. I have a DD V1, V5, and V7 and wouldn’t trade any of them. The V11 is set up really well and was fun to shoot.
Those were some of my same experiences with the two Sig rifles I owned. I went with the DD M4V7 and haven’t had any issues yet and I’ve put about 2K rounds of a mixed variety of ammo through it.
I think you will be much happier.
I used a DDM4V5lw as a Patrol Rifle for a couple of years. Excellent rifle. I had no issues with accuracy or reliability. The only issue was I remarried, and let my new wife shoot it. So… I had to buy a second one.
I replaced this gun with a BCM 14.5" upper that had a 13" KMR rail, their ELW-f barrel with a predominately attached BCM MOD1 comp. I did this because of the weight savings. But I’d go back to the DD V5 in a heart beat if I had to.
Well I went up the road to a shop that is a DD vender. Picked up one of the DD rifles and all I can say is WOW. Huge difference in the weight of the rifle that I am use to. The DD was crazy light up front. I’ll be selling my Sig very soon and probably getting the V11 LW. Thanks for the replies