View Full Version : Authentic DD Lite Rail?
BlueOvalFan
12-08-10, 02:32
Just recently bought a DD 9.0 Lite Rail off the AR15.com forum. It came in the factory box, had the installation paper work and sealed bolts and barrel nut, but for some reason there's no laser etching on the the bottom left side where you would see the daniel defense name, us flag or model number of the rail. But, all the T-marks are there.
I've never seen a rail w/o the bottom markings--is this thing a fake or is/has DD missed marking their name there before. Anyone seen this before?
Apparently there's a lot of counterfeit DD stuff out there in the market as well as Larue and KAC. Look at this thread...
http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum/showthread.php?1701-Fake-Daniel-Defense-OMEGA-7.0-Rails-in-the-Market
And there are a lot of Airsoft "replicas" too.
I'd call DD and ask them about the lettering.
How much was it? I think DD also makes air soft gear.
The_War_Wagon
12-08-10, 07:34
Damn... that suck-diddly-ucks! :(
Magpul also makes some Airsoft gear, under a different name that escapes me at the moment. There's an Airsoft shop about 4 miles down the road from me. They're PLANNING to carry REAL Magpul gear eventually, as none of the fun shops around here do. :rolleyes:
The owner was kind enough to point out the differences one day to me, and if you don't look carefully, it's EASY to confuse! I buy Magpul rail ladders there (he's cheaper than getting 'em shipped!), but the Airsoft stuff is scary in its realism... especially if you WANT the real deal!
Magpul Airsoft stuff is marketed under Magpul PTS. Not sure what the PTS stands for but you can't tell the difference by looking at the parts.
There is an Airsoft shop in my area that is also a Daniel Defense dealer. He doesn't stock anything but I have ordered a couple lowers from him.
This Air soft stuff is scary. At first glance I could not tell the difference between the parts. Honestly, even after some close investigation, few of the parts were still indistinguishable.
DD licenses to Madbull Airsoft, but the Lite rails all have DD engraving and are clearly marked "for Airsoft use only". The ones to worry about are the ones NOT marked that way because they're the ones that might well be counterfeit.
It might be an older rail, before they stopped machining the circular lightening cuts on the bottom of the sides to mark them.
See this picture? This style is laser engraved on the top of the rails, but there is no American flag:
http://danieldefense.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/b/f/bf15d5b95f739675196d86b7a36c60f3.jpg
Newer LITE rails are machined like this:
http://danieldefense.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/a/r/ar15literail10.0_545x409_.jpg
BlueOvalFan
12-08-10, 09:50
It might be an older rail, before they stopped machining the circular lightening cuts on the bottom of the sides to mark them.
It looks like the current manfu product line and I even compaired it to my other ones, they look identical less the missing markings on the bottom side. What's interesting is the box and instructions look identical to my other DD boxes. If it's a clone they did a damn good job at faking everything to include the packaging or the dude I bought it from just put a clone in the real box and sold it to me.
I wouldn't be stunned if it was real and just missed part of the laser engraving. That being said, without even a picture to look at, its a guess at best.
BlueOvalFan
12-11-10, 02:15
I wouldn't be stunned if it was real and just missed part of the laser engraving. That being said, without even a picture to look at, its a guess at best.
This might help--loaded some pictures for those who can offer an opinion.
Please take a look and let me know...
http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn127/MoPOWeR-349/guns/DD%20Rail/
Whootsinator
12-11-10, 02:55
Have you tried sending an email to DD? They've replied to my questions very quickly in the past. At the very least I'm sure they would want to know if they are being copied.
Dirtyboy333
12-11-10, 03:49
Those look as real as u can get....i would be very surprised if those are counterfeit. If they were i would think you would notice some diff. around and inside the bolt-up area but it looks exactly like mine. It is strange that they don't have the markings tho.
I wouldn't be stunned if it was real and just missed part of the laser engraving. That being said, without even a picture to look at, its a guess at best.
A while back, I remember hearing about a group of these rails being sold with slightly different or missing engraving.
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
there was something that sticks in my mind that the engraving changed when they went from Savannah to Black Creek, GA. I seem to remember there were all different markings for awhile, to even include some with no markings at all.
but that would have been awhile ago. this is definitely worth a call. Daniel Defense has FANTASTIC customer services and they would probably be most interested in this.
that said, even if that is a fake, that's an extremely well made rail. I don't believe they would go to all the trouble of putting all the signature DD touches there - even down to the scallops on the edge of the slots...
RogerinTPA
12-11-10, 11:15
I have 3 of the older versions that have no laser engraving.
Yeah call DD and or email them. I've had excellent response from them. I only looked at half of your photos. They look good. Did you contact the seller with any questions. He might have some good info about when it was made. FWIW I've had nothing but great luck on the EE here and on TOS. Good luck and let us know.
BlueOvalFan
12-11-10, 15:05
"there was something that sticks in my mind that the engraving changed when they went from Savannah to Black Creek, GA. I seem to remember there were all different markings for awhile, to even include some with no markings at all.
but that would have been awhile ago. this is definitely worth a call. Daniel Defense has FANTASTIC customer services and they would probably be most interested in this..."
Interesting on the engraving...nice to know this was observed by others.
I have two email and phone calls in, some 3-4days latter still waiting for a response.
I have 3 of the older versions that have no laser engraving.
Just wondering when you bought the 'older' version so I can sorta date this thing. I bought this off AR15.com and the guy did say he had it around for awhile. Lastly does the sticker on the side of my box look familiar or what was on yours. Looks like a rather plain label with three lines of text.
NewbieDave
12-12-10, 15:30
Ok, I've been following this thread and it got my head going. I got this lite rail couple weeks back from a fellow off the EE. Compared to my Omega that I got from BCM... none of the marks on the Lite matched up to my Omega.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3/Bandwidthhog/cdb04aed.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3/Bandwidthhog/02a4a34b.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3/Bandwidthhog/b8b0380d.jpg
Opinion... is this real rail? Reason I ask... I got it for $225 used, but in great condition.
~dpc
Dirtyboy333
12-12-10, 16:09
yeah those are real......those are the marks that DD used b4 the move to black creek.......if u look at sum websites you will be able to find pics of older rails that look just like yours.. BTW whats the EE?
EE is Equipment Exchange.
http://m4carbine.net/forumdisplay.php?f=108
Dirtyboy333
12-12-10, 18:54
EE is Equipment Exchange.
http://m4carbine.net/forumdisplay.php?f=108
Oh, thats sweet...i checked out the link and i had no idea that was on here...i'll have to make use of it
Dirtyboy333
12-12-10, 18:57
sorry, double post
There are lots of great deals there and it is a great way to get rid of stuff you no longer need/want.
Good to hear the OP has a real DD rail.
Texpatriate
12-13-10, 11:00
Just a testimonial here for the folks at DD. About 2 years ago I got an omega 9 rail used on e-bay. Having already been burned on a 9" Larue Tactical rail off of e-bay that turned out to be a very obvious airsoft knockoff when it arrived, I e-mailed Daniel Defense customer service with pictures of the omega rail. Within a day or two the cs rep e-mailed me back to tell me that it was genuine. Props to them for giving me the time of day even though they weren't making any money off of me.
From my DD experience as a dealer, from the pictures you posted it appears genuine. The box, label, and part # are correct. The rail itself also seems genuine. I can't comment on the engraving or lack thereof, but have noticed that the engravings have changed several times over the years.
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