Today someone brought over a DPMS carbine that I was told was GFE (Gov’t Furnished Equipment) that was being used by a small PSD team. Their company has decided that operating in Iraq after 01 JAN 09 is not in the best interest of the company or employees so they are leaving. I was asked to strip the weapon of the goodies (GG&G PVS 14 mount, GG&G Tactical Modular Forearm, Rear BUIS, sling attachment, etc…) because they had no tools or armorer.
The weapon was select fire and was marked with the typical gay military/ LE restricted mantra of the mag well. Here are some observations. The barrel was actually marked DPMS 1/9 5.56 NATO at the bottom part of the barrel. It also had a strange “CM” marking near the FSB.
Removing the FSB was a SOB (had to remove the GG&G rail). I believe that they may have been put in incorrectly and they were just pounded in. I used heat and oil and still couldn’t hit them out. The pins appeared weak and actually bent. One had to be drilled out.
The bolt carrier key had the typical pathetic stake job and required little effort to break the screws loose. It is also marked on the side with a large “D”.
The selector lever did not have the indicator notch on the right side so as to determine what status the weapon was in.
The handguards were crap and when I removed the aluminum inserts, had I continued squezzing them they would have snapped w/o a doubt. They are probably worse than the BM handguards. The extractor spring and insert appeared to be the same as Colt military ones and I think that it may have been swapped out as it also had a donut on it.
Underneath the FSB was not parkerized. The buffer was “H” marked. Since the barrel was marked 5.56 I wanted to see how true it was but couldn’t ream it since it was GFE. However, when I inserted the reamer it was very snug and there was no doubt in my mind that it would have removed material from within the chamber. The castle nut was also not properly staked neither from the factory or the person who installed the single point sling attachment.
Overall it was a typical substandard build that we have come to expect from makers such as DPMS and Bushmaster, et al.
Well, crap build or not, it did get the job done. They are leaving Iraq, so job done. What I get from this is that even the crappiest AR builds can get the job done.
And you know this how? I can tell you with utmost certainty that they did not engage anyone with these weapons and as far as I know they were shot out on the range and not in anger.
It’s also part of the reason why he is in FOB Livingroom and not here. 99% of the time a mini-14 could probably get the job done, but you won’t see me running around here with one.
Just curious. In your opinion, who is the “loser” here. Seems like everyone came out on top by using a DPMS gun.
DPMS: gets money for the sale of the gun
the Company: gets money for government contract work
Iraqgunz: gets money for the job of working on these guns
And just to clarify, I’m not trying to be an ass. Seems some think I’m trying to be one.
You are completely missing the point. Yes, the company did their job and the personnel got paid. They could have just easily got into the shit and someone could have been killed by the POS they were using.
My company pays me whether I work on 100 weapons or two, whether I work 8 hours or 15 hours. I didn’t get paid anything for the stuff I did on this weapon as it was a favor to my Country Manager and that person on that team.
Just curious who makes CM marked stuff and is it good?
Why would a left(edit: i mean the other left) side indication be a big issue if the weapon is intended to be used in a hostile environment? How many other firearms(non m16/m4) used in battle have ambidextrous markings for the selector?
whats wrong with thinking only the best is acceptable? keep in mind, we’re talking about a board where a lot, if not most, of the active members are/were members of the military/LE/PSD/competition shooters.
if terrified beer cans were all that’s on the line, nobody would give a flying crap.
These weapons are purchased because they are cheap and they are available. It has ZERO to do with quality. Often times those who make the purchases have no idea what they are buying. When our BM’s were bought back in 2004 it was a matter of they could deliver in xxxx time and the money was right. No one took into account that they cut corners. The front and rear BUIS’s were way over priced and are the worst pieces of shit I have seen next to airsoft.
Why do you say I am bashing them? I am simply pointing out that they are not on par with Colt, Noveske, LMT and probably a few others. They are crap. If you are happy with yours more power to you. I personally do not use and carry substandard gear, especially when I know better. But, hey that’s just me.
how do you figure? and yes I am happy with mine, BUT I only use it for hunting and target shooting. I agree it is too delicate to use as a service rifle, but there is no need to bash on it? majority of the members on this forum already know of there status as a compnay. just my opinion on your post
how do you define “bash?” my take on his thread was that he was disturbed by what he found on a weapon being used in-country and wanted to share, critical as he was. that’s investigative reporting, not bashing.
