View Full Version : Delton the best of very cheap ARs?
shadowspirit
11-18-23, 04:42
I read a couple of good things about Delton ARs. I noticed some are not much over $500. Are they the best of the very inexpensive ARs?
The above question excludes S&W Sport and Ruger ARs as they are priced higher.
There are plenty of threads that can be searched here without adding another “filler” thread about what “best cheap” AR is. Those three words don’t work together.
So, let’s ignore Delton and say Colt 6920 OEM.
These shit guns end up costing the same as a good one after you fix all the things that break. Then you're still stuck with a bunch of other corner cuts that'll get you later. Sub standard steel, cheaper finishes, etc.
I am in no way versed in technical AR stuff but I look at weapons like I look at tires, you're life and others depend on them so why skimp a few $$ instead of getting something that you can rely on. I'm not saying go spend $4k on a weapon but get something that is known to be trustworthy.
I would buy a DPMS first.
Diamondback
11-18-23, 10:26
Get on Arms Unlimited's mailing list and watch for police trade-in Colts. If you're patient and diligent you can get a far better rifle for maybe $100 more.
shadowspirit
11-18-23, 12:09
I would buy a DPMS first.
DPMS is one of the brands bought out by the investment company that owned Remington, IIRC. That's one of the less expensive ones people say to stay away from.
titsonritz
11-18-23, 18:04
Cracks me up, there’s a current thread about Colt 6920s for under 7 bills and we’re taking about Delton and DPMS, lmfao
Get on Arms Unlimited's mailing list and watch for police trade-in Colts. If you're patient and diligent you can get a far better rifle for maybe $100 more.
^^This^^
Diamondback
11-19-23, 10:48
DPMS is one of the brands bought out by the investment company that owned Remington, IIRC. That's one of the less expensive ones people say to stay away from.
And Stick has been well connected in the industry for a LONG time. So if he says he would rather have a DPMS than a Brand X, that's a pretty scathing review of Brand X.
Let's make this all perfectly clear and simple: Get on the AU mailing list, buy a trade-in 6920 and get a life. Leave the Bubba Trash guns for Bubba Trash.
shadowspirit
11-19-23, 22:14
Are the police trade in Colts carried a lot and fired little like many police trade in pistols?
Hammer_Man
11-20-23, 11:17
https://armsunlimited.com/colt-le6920-oem-rifle---no-furniture/
https://armsunlimited.com/colt-le6920-oem2-rifle---no-furniture/
https://armsunlimited.com/colt-m4-carbine-556-semi-auto-ar15-rifle/
Are the police trade in Colts carried a lot and fired little like many police trade in pistols?
The brand new Colts don't cost that much more than the trade-ins, so I can't see myself ever buying one of the trade-ins that will be, at a minimum, pretty beat up cosmetically.
Hammer_Man
11-20-23, 12:36
The brand new Colts don't cost that much more than the trade-ins, so I can't see myself ever buying one of the trade-ins that will be, at a minimum, pretty beat up cosmetically.
I dunno, that last crop to pop up at $630 a piece was a smoking deal. I’d be perfectly fine with any blemishes that may or may not have happened from being tossed around a squad car for a few years.
Diamondback
11-20-23, 12:44
By the time you fix all the QC bugs and tune up your Delton, you'll have spent more than if you'd just bought the 6920, even if the latter needs a few wear parts replaced. Is squeezing a few extra pennies now really worth the time and money correction expense later?
And Stick has been well connected in the industry for a LONG time. So if he says he would rather have a DPMS than a Brand X, that's a pretty scathing review of Brand X.
Let's make this all perfectly clear and simple: Get on the AU mailing list, buy a trade-in 6920 and get a life. Leave the Bubba Trash guns for Bubba Trash.
Yeah, I think he missed what I was saying.
Are the police trade in Colts carried a lot and fired little like many police trade in pistols?
Some are, and some aren't. When I turned in my last duty pistol it had over 100,000 rounds through it. Rifles are going to be the same way, with some being in great shape, and others used pretty hard.
I dunno, that last crop to pop up at $630 a piece was a smoking deal. I’d be perfectly fine with any blemishes that may or may not have happened from being tossed around a squad car for a few years.
If you get a good one, then yeah that's a great deal. Or, you could be unlucky and get one that has many thousands (or tens of thousands if you're really unlucky) of rounds through it and was beat to hell, which to me would not be a smoking deal. I'll personally stick to paying a few hundred dollars more to be sure that I'm getting something that's going to be in great shape.
Hammer_Man
11-20-23, 17:30
If you get a good one, then yeah that's a great deal. Or, you could be unlucky and get one that has many thousands (or tens of thousands if you're really unlucky) of rounds through it and was beat to hell, which to me would not be a smoking deal. I'll personally stick to paying a few hundred dollars more to be sure that I'm getting something that's going to be in great shape.
Which is why I keep linking to the Colt OEM models at Arms Unlimited. Those are a smoking deal at $750.00.
Are the police trade in Colts carried a lot and fired little like many police trade in pistols?
LGS had some LE trade M&P15s a couple months back. Most were pretty nice with really just minor cosmetic wear. One even had a BCM CH and a couple other upgrades. One of them was rekt, though...Rusty, beat to shit, busted gas rings, the works. Definitely rode hard and put away wet.
So yeah, LE stuff is luck of the draw.
I worked at an indoor range and we had a very basic Delton that we rented out and that went 17k rounds (Magtech or federal ammo through the store) before it started keyholing, not saying that there isn't better on the market, just saying that the AR platform is very well thought out in itself, I personally wouldn't buy a Delton, but it did work better than I expected considering all the Freedom Group DMPS and Bushmaster failures we from customers we saw at the time.
@Hank6046
I love seeing feedback like that. You’re not saying it’s a top quality gun, but if assembled well enough, the AR platform is outstanding.
@Hank6046
I love seeing feedback like that. You’re not saying it’s a top quality gun, but if assembled well enough, the AR platform is outstanding.
It is an outstanding platform, this is my hope for PSA, they just need a little more care in the QC. If a M&P Sport in rough conditions can provide the average American some level of protection and last lets say 8-10k rounds that's awesome. Again, I cannot tell you how many failures we had with Freedom Group ARs when I worked there ("13-"16), it really underscored the "ARs are failures" that all the permeated after Vietnam, and the truth is as long as they give a modicum of care into their manufacture they can do decently.
NCPatrolAR
11-21-23, 10:36
I used a Delton for years as my primary training carbine with the only parts breakage being a gas key screw that sheered off after close to 12 years of use. The 1/9 twist can be a limiting factor, my gun would key hole frang at room distances, but other than that I dont think they are too bad from what I've seen.
shadowspirit
11-21-23, 14:24
I worked at an indoor range and we had a very basic Delton that we rented out and that went 17k rounds (Magtech or federal ammo through the store) before it started keyholing, not saying that there isn't better on the market, just saying that the AR platform is very well thought out in itself, I personally wouldn't buy a Delton, but it did work better than I expected considering all the Freedom Group DMPS and Bushmaster failures we from customers we saw at the time.
Yeah, the Freedom Group butchered DMPS and Bushmaster. I don't know how much better they were before the Freedom Group purchase, however. Did FG purchase them in 2007 like Remington?
shadowspirit
11-21-23, 14:25
@Hank6046
I love seeing feedback like that. You’re not saying it’s a top quality gun, but if assembled well enough, the AR platform is outstanding.
Me too. I'm grateful to people that share their knowledge, especially first hand knowledge.
shadowspirit
11-21-23, 14:27
It is an outstanding platform, this is my hope for PSA, they just need a little more care in the QC. If a M&P Sport in rough conditions can provide the average American some level of protection and last lets say 8-10k rounds that's awesome. Again, I cannot tell you how many failures we had with Freedom Group ARs when I worked there ("13-"16), it really underscored the "ARs are failures" that all the permeated after Vietnam, and the truth is as long as they give a modicum of care into their manufacture they can do decently.
Why can't the M&P Sport go for more than 8 to 10 thousand rounds if a new barrel and bolt carrier group is installed as preventive maintenance.
shadowspirit
11-21-23, 14:28
I used a Delton for years as my primary training carbine with the only parts breakage being a gas key screw that sheered off after close to 12 years of use. The 1/9 twist can be a limiting factor, my gun would key hole frang at room distances, but other than that I dont think they are too bad from what I've seen.
Probably just needed a barrel.
Why can't the M&P Sport go for more than 8 to 10 thousand rounds if a new barrel and bolt carrier group is installed as preventive maintenance.
It probably could, I would also swap-out the buffer and gas block, but for all that trouble a BCM upper and Aero lower are readily available and overall make a better carbine
Yeah, the Freedom Group butchered DMPS and Bushmaster. I don't know how much better they were before the Freedom Group purchase, however. Did FG purchase them in 2007 like Remington?
Something like that, I can just remember living in Minnesota and the clientele coming into a Mn gun shop and saying that they wanted a refund because their 'Minnesota built' DPMS wasn't near as reliable as their Century (Wasr) AK, and knowing that didn't make sense. It wasn't Eugene's fault, it was the fault of Freedom Group to fire their experienced AR builders and hire minimum wage people to build civilian ARs while a small LGS was selling Rock River like no tomorrow. We started selling DD, LMT and Sig ARs and they took off like wildfire because they worked.
MarshallDodge
11-22-23, 16:10
I've never owned a Delton but based on past history, I would own almost anything PSA builds over them.
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