anybody out there with firsthand experience with Del-ton AR's?

have a couple....good stuff...pretty much mil spec....price was great too..i bought them for 675 a piece.....new

Buddy of mine has one, can't complain about it.

Decent machining.

If you opt to go that route (getting a Del-Ton), it would be wise to double check the bolt carrier and feed ramps (located on the upper). There's really only a handful of companies that do the correct machining on the bolt carriers-- most notably that the gas keys are staked properly (BM is notorious for being the 'suck' in this regard), but with the correct tools-- the owner can address it if the company hasn't.

And no, this isn't one of those "tacti-cool" things. If the machining is screwy here, it can cause serious malfunctions.

thanks for your inputs! It does minimize possible regrets when I finally buy/build my first ar.

Decent machining.

If you opt to go that route (getting a Del-Ton), it would be wise to double check the bolt carrier and feed ramps (located on the upper). There's really only a handful of companies that do the correct machining on the bolt carriers-- most notably that the gas keys are staked properly (BM is notorious for being the 'suck' in this regard), but with the correct tools-- the owner can address it if the company hasn't.

And no, this isn't one of those "tacti-cool" things. If the machining is screwy here, it can cause serious malfunctions.

 

 

Believe it or not the last FIVE improperly statked Keys i've seen were all on Colt 6920's. Every Bushy i've seen has been staked really well, i think they got embarrassed and started paying better attention.

Believe it or not the last FIVE improperly statked Keys i've seen were all on Colt 6920's. Every Bushy i've seen has been staked really well, i think they got embarrassed and started paying better attention.

I have heard that actually, but only through "a person who knew a person's brother, etc." I thought it was just haters hatin' on Ponies... but I guess its true then. And I'm surprised that BM would care enough to actually shore up their QC, haha. They dropped the ball so hard on the ACR's at first (though fixing some of the wrongs regarding that too, kind of), I thought they were just banking on their name. Its good to hear of course.

Believe it or not the last FIVE improperly statked Keys i've seen were all on Colt 6920's. Every Bushy i've seen has been staked really well, i think they got embarrassed and started paying better attention.

I have heard that actually, but only through "a person who knew a person's brother, etc." I thought it was just haters hatin' on Ponies... but I guess its true then. And I'm surprised that BM would care enough to actually shore up their QC, haha. They dropped the ball so hard on the ACR's at first (though fixing some of the wrongs regarding that too, kind of), I thought they were just banking on their name. Its good to hear of course.

 

ACR is new. Their Bread and Butter, is was and will be for the forseeable future, AR's. They had a couple of entire orders rejected by large PD's when the armorers inspected and found them improperly staked. It's like anything else. People have bad days, and the firearms industry is no different..however, there is supposed to be a QC layer before it goes out the door. The Colts i find annoying because of the "Chart", and the innumerable fanboys who refuse to accept there may be anything wrong with them. Colt makes a good product, dont get me wrong, they've been making this one, with refinements since around 1963 or so, but there are others out there that do just as good (and in some cases, IMO better). I've held bad stakings in my hand from just about ALL of the biggies. Colt, Bushy, RRA, BCM, DPMS...Im just glad they finally cot away from the single cold-chisel strike across the top of the key and cap screw..THOSE were crap, and everyone did it that way for a while.

Lot's of good information here. KpdPipes, you are right, Bushmaster does seemed to have listened and started staking better.

 

However that was likely at least partially due to a fellow I know named Rob who's chart that you mentioned. This as well as comments from those that know what a good stake job looks like and what it means to have one.

 

As far as the ACR, it is proving to be a success so far and appears to be overcoming it's rather horrendous entry into the market.

Buddy of mine has one, can't complain about it.

 

Now a co-worker bought one too! Good gun for the price.

Just shoot a brandy new one today. Definitly a good rifle, the only knock is the carry handle is made in China. I'd problably dump it for an American one but that's just me.