So, I’ve been saving up for an N4 Upper, but I saw a deal on a NIB DPMS SDM-R upper on gunbroker, and couldn’t help myself. Came with a flip rear sight, ladder covers, and fixed front site. Stainless steel 1-8 twist barrel.
It was delivered yesterday. Fit & finish was good. Staking on the gas key looked good, and it had feedramps. That being said, this is my first AR, so I’m comparing to pics on the internet.
There was only fluting between the FSB and the muzzle, and it wasn’t very deep. I’ve never had a gun with barrel fluting before, so it’s probably normal.
Should I keep it, or sell it?
To all the ‘get both’ replies, I want an SDM clone, but not sure if this is it. And I will try to get pics up. I’m still going to get the N4 upper, but if I keep it, it will push back my ACR purchase.
Looks pretty decent. One other thing for you to be aware of. DPMS typically uses 223 Wylde chambers so if you plan on using Mil-Spec ball, you MAY run into some issues.
Why they didn’t just pin the FSB is weird to me.
Go out and shoot it and let us know how the accuracy is.
I seem to recall a magazine article a few years ago comparing the Army’s new SDM-R and DPMS’s replica. The AMU decided to use the set-screws instead of the taper pins. A quick search on wiki shows this to be true; if you believe everything on wiki anyway. Even back then I didn’t understand the reasoning behind this but just figured they (AMU) know more than I. I would think it would be just as quick or quicker to drill the barrel and knock in some taper pins than to tap a FSB for set screws and dimple the barrel for them, hopefully DPMS at least did this. I wouldn’t trust it not to move though and would get it pinned if I was keeping it for personal use.
To the OP, I would keep it. With everyone scared of a future ban you could probably throw it on a cheap DPMS lower and make a decent profit that would help you get closer to your N4 and/or ACR.
