Icculus
06-08-09, 22:31
Well I picked up my new DDM4 a couple days ago and while I haven't had a chance yet to go out and put it through it's paces, I thought I'd comment on my initial impressions out of the box. The first thing that struck me is WOW it's light. It doesn't feel nearly as heavy as some others I've held with railed forends. The rifle balances extremely well and feels very manueverable. Next thing I noticed was the grip area. The magpul trigger guard is nice and the grip has an overall good feel. Of the AR's I've shot though with different grips, I've found the A2 style just isn't for me. The grip doesn't have quite enough backstrap for me and either I'm comfortable but pulling the trigger with the middle of my finger or I can work the trigger with the pad of my finger but the bump on the front strap is grinding into my ring finger. Those who like A2 type grips will probably be very happy with them...for me its a MIAD on the way.
Continuing on the outside the MOE buttstock is comfortable and functional. There is a hair of front to back play in anything but the fully closed position. I'm guessing the friction lock in the CTR would take care of that but for me its a non issue. The castle nut is nicely staked once about 1 o'clock. The rear buis is simple, effective and truly seems to be as I've read several times; "everything you need and nothing you don't". The upper and lower meet up tight and there is no play whatsoever--the proverbial "bank vault". All this with take down pins that don't act like they are welded in place and come out quite easily with moderate finger pressure. I didn't fully break everything down but did pull the bcg and made note that the carrier key staking is on par with some of the best pictures of proper staking I've seen on this site.
Overall I'm extremely impressed with the gun. Still not having fired it, if asked to come up with a fault I would be hard pressed to do so. The only thing, and this may fall into the nit picking category, is that on the lower receiver, just behind the rear trigger pin the is a mar in the finish with shiny aluminum looking thru. I only have 2 possible explanations. 1) someone or some machine got a little sloppy with a punch putting that pin in or 2) the dummy tag attached to the trigger guard (you know the one that says: hey, guess what this is a gun and may be dangerous, go figure :)). The tag was attached with a zip tie and the end pulled through seemed to line up perfectly with the scratches in the finish, like it was just grinding it wrapped up in the bag in the case through its various shipping trips around the country. Again its a minor issue as I'm sure I'll put my own knicks and scratches on the gun, just don't necessarily like seeing it right out of the packaging.
Thanks to those who suggested the DDM4 in my search for a new rifle. Can't wait for this weekend to get here. Planning on putting about 500 rounds down range :)
Continuing on the outside the MOE buttstock is comfortable and functional. There is a hair of front to back play in anything but the fully closed position. I'm guessing the friction lock in the CTR would take care of that but for me its a non issue. The castle nut is nicely staked once about 1 o'clock. The rear buis is simple, effective and truly seems to be as I've read several times; "everything you need and nothing you don't". The upper and lower meet up tight and there is no play whatsoever--the proverbial "bank vault". All this with take down pins that don't act like they are welded in place and come out quite easily with moderate finger pressure. I didn't fully break everything down but did pull the bcg and made note that the carrier key staking is on par with some of the best pictures of proper staking I've seen on this site.
Overall I'm extremely impressed with the gun. Still not having fired it, if asked to come up with a fault I would be hard pressed to do so. The only thing, and this may fall into the nit picking category, is that on the lower receiver, just behind the rear trigger pin the is a mar in the finish with shiny aluminum looking thru. I only have 2 possible explanations. 1) someone or some machine got a little sloppy with a punch putting that pin in or 2) the dummy tag attached to the trigger guard (you know the one that says: hey, guess what this is a gun and may be dangerous, go figure :)). The tag was attached with a zip tie and the end pulled through seemed to line up perfectly with the scratches in the finish, like it was just grinding it wrapped up in the bag in the case through its various shipping trips around the country. Again its a minor issue as I'm sure I'll put my own knicks and scratches on the gun, just don't necessarily like seeing it right out of the packaging.
Thanks to those who suggested the DDM4 in my search for a new rifle. Can't wait for this weekend to get here. Planning on putting about 500 rounds down range :)