New From Daniel Defense: DD5V1 7.62 Rifle

1. Nice rifle. Outrageously overprice!! $2900 for a LR-308? I understand DD is quality but sometimes I think these boutique firearms companies are full of themselves.

   • They’re not full of themselves. It’s just that they don’t get out of bed in the morning if they can’t sell guns for $2,500, so that’s all they do. I agree with your sentiment, I chuckle when I see the price tags, but the business model is working quite well for them, so who am I to judge?

     Also, there was that one time I inadvertently spent over $2,500 custom building my own gun after I initially set out to only spend $900. The cool gizmos and gadgets kept growing by the minute as I was looking for parts and the could haves became must haves.

   • The issue I have with the price is that it’s sporting a hammer-forged barrel. When the price of a rifle (any rifle) crosses above $2K, I expect to see a better barrel than a hammer-forged barrel.

     • Had the exact same thought. Start with the barrel, build from there.

     • Which would be….?

       • A single-point cut rifling barrel, ala Krieger or Bartlein. I’d expect it to be a stainless steel barrel as well.

     • I thoroughly enjoy a good stainless steel barrel. My AR-10 .308 project will have an 18″ 416R stainless upper, and I might do a 6.5 Creedmoor uppers well.

       • Why do I want an SS barrel? My understanding is that they are not the most accurate, they add cost, what is the benefit? I have never owned an SS anything, just wondering why I should start!

       • Stainless vs. chro-moly barrels:

         Most of the accuracy shooters today are shooting stainless barrels. I’d say that over 80% of the benchrest & F-class guys/gals are shooting stainless.

         416 stainless is a bit softer and easier to machine to a nice finish than 4140 or 4150 chro-moly. You typically see nicer, smoother bores in a stainless barrel. Stainless also has fewer corrosion problems than chro-moly, but this is also a function of the care the shooter takes of their barrel. If you’re in a coastal region, I’d strongly recommend stainless, as I’ve seen more than a couple of nice guns ruined by simply being forgotten in a safe or gun sock for a couple of years in a coastal region – the rust formed in a couple years within a couple blocks of the beach on a blued chro-moly barrel is ruinous to the gun.

         Accuracy: Both are plenty accurate as barrels. Stainless tends to suffer faster throat erosion (only slightly) and some shooters report that stainless barrel groups open up “all at once,” whereas chro-moly barrels gradually open up as the throat erosion progresses. The reason why most BR/F-class shooters are shooting stainless is because with a smoother bore and less corrosion potential, cleaning a stainless bore is a bit easier, and they’ll tend to copper foul more slowly.

         Go with whichever one you want, most shooters don’t shoot to a level of accuracy and precision where they’ll notice the difference, and certainly not in a semi-auto rifle. In a semi-auto rifle like a AR or some other rifle with a potential of a high round count and looser accuracy requirements, I’d go with the barrel that suits your environment. If you’re trying to win Camp Perry, then I’d be looking at a stainless barrel, single point cut. If you’re shooting 3-gun or other running-jumping-shooting-squeeking games, even a chrome-lined chro-moly barrel will work just fine.

         If you’re seeking longest possible barrel life, then I’d probably investigated chro-moly barrels that are sent out for nitriding treatment after all the machining work has been done to them.

       • Stainless barrels are almost universally more accurate, tend to yield a bit more velocity, are easier to clean and are more resistant to corrosion than their chromoly counterparts.

         For example, my 416R stainless M4 profile barrel 5.56 16″ upper is more accurate than my 4140 / chrome-lined M4 profile 5.56 upper. There are a lot of things that come into play regarding ultimate accuracy, of course, but stainless steel is awesome. I’ve got multiple guns with stainless steel barrels / stainless steel upgrades.

       • Weeeelllll… we should be careful to quantify why your stainless tubes are better than your chrome-lined chro-moly tubes in the accuracy area.

         Chrome plating, in my experience, almost always degrades accuracy a bit.

         I’ve seen some really accurate chrome plated barrels, but they’re like the mythical “hummer” barrel for the BR guys — some angel, clad in the purest shimmering samite, pulled it out of a pond in back of a barn of an ancient farm, with gravestones in the back 40 from before the Revolution. Then the ghost of Harry M. Pope mounts the barrel on your action, using a treadle-powered lathe, taking a year or more to do this. Your resulting rifle shoots like a house of fire, but you can never replicate it, so when you get 500 rounds through it, you start to think carefully “Should I be shooting this rifle ever again?”

         Chrome plating is good for service rifles, or rifles that will see hard use, possibly with corrosive ammo, or not be cleaned as nicely as they should be. It’s not something I’d recommend for an accuracy rifle. If you want a harder bore in an accuracy rifle, I’d recommend the new nitriding processes used on finished barrels – the result is a surface that’s harder than a whore’s heart, and more uniform in thickness all the way down the bore.

       • So wait….My question is this. I’m new to the Daniels Defense products other than the Mk 18 SBRs w/ folding stocks they gave our security firm. They ever jammed a lot but could hold much weight…no flashlights, or my commonly carried DD tape etc….
         ——MY QUESTION IS REGARDING THE SMALLER UPPERS FOR THESE NEW QUASI-CSASS LENGTH BATTLE RIFLES…I KNOW AN 18″ OR 20″ HEAVY BARREL IS A MUST YET HOWEVER I AM AN “BIGGER BORE SBR BELIEVER-TYPE” MEANING, I USED A CUSTOM AERO PRECISION AR-10 (M5E1 PARTS ALONG WITH OTHERS FROM GHOST/DANIELS DEF/ETC) AND IT WAS A 12.5″ BARREL, YET IT REACHED OUT P-E-R-F-E-C-T-L-Y AS FAR AS 950M WITHOUT DROPPING NEARLY AS MUCH AS OTHERS ALMOST SIMILAR TO REC-10 TYPE ARs——> i AM CURIOUS TO KNOW IF THEY WILL MAKE ANY EVEN MORE ROBUST YET SOME HOW SBR-VARIANT OR CARBINE ITERATION OF THIS CALIBER AND SYSTEM? I live near one of their HQs on the SC/GA border, and I have shot Daniels Defense DDM4s and put thousands of high end rounds through it into ballistics gelatin. THEN, I tried a .308 (mine) which is an Aero “frankenstein” semi SR-25-meets-an-Mk 18 SBR w/ a Maxim CQB stock. I hand loaded a spec round I rarely use and save for highly difficult/stubborn targets. But the DISTANCE WAS KEY IN MY QUESTION HERE….I completely realized SBR-STYLE AR-10s to be my faster, more thumping yet preferred (in range/velocity) round when using a CQB length upper.
         Lets say minus talkin’ NDAs, I’ve been to El Salvador, Mexico, etc. I’ve seen the new Enhanced Performance US Army rnds in a CQB contact between four of our ICs (contractors) and in a backroom vs nearly ten of theirs, w/the room=maybe 10ftx40ftx, and on FA, my teamies @ TITAN still had to almost use nearly two full mags into every section of the room and into each corner. They ripped up the dudes real, REAL good as advertised to the DoD, YET HOWEVER the LWRC REPR (that 1st gen on Futureweapons–on military channel i think) and modular it was? From SBR to DMR? to even an IAR M27 type platform? AMAZING! And in .308. I was wondering who else would be putting that out nowadays?

     • From what I understand this
       http://www.laruetactical.com/larue-tactical-obr-optimized-battle-rifle-complete-762-rifle-20-barrel
       Is a might fine rifle good for long ranges. This rifle being about a grand more than a Daniel Defense, is this Larue barrel not hammer forged? I can’t find the details?

       • No edit button and I am still on my first cup of coffee. The Larue is no double, but once the Daniel Defense hits retailers I’d say the Larue will be nearly a grand more and still has what I believe to be a hammer forged barrel.

       • I think LaRue is running Lothar-Walther LW-50 barrels, which have polygonal rifling. I think, I don’t know for certain. I read that somewhere and it stuck in the back of my head, because not many rifle builders of any kind of rifle use Lothar-Walther barrels. Lothar is using a tougher form of stainless steel in their barrels. Other gunsmiths of my acquaintance have told me that it takes a bit more work to machine LW barrels, but they last longer and they think using Lothar barrels is worth the effort if the customer is willing to pony up the money to do so. Of course, they cost more – TANSTAAFL.

         I’m going to build up a 6.5 Creedmore LR-308 here in the next year. I might hang a LW barrel on that one to see how it shoots.

     • @Dyspeptic Gunsmith Thanks for the reply, I am doing research now, I haven’t found anything official from Larue yet but most initial findings show the OBR models have a better barrel made out of LW50 stainless. Looks like I still have a lot of research to do before I make any purchases 🙂

       • OK, you’re most certainly welcome.

         FWIW, here’s my take on AR’s and AR-like rifles:

         I think too many people worry about getting the “ultimate” AR out of the box. The beauty of the AR platform for gun owners is that it is truly a “lego” gun, and you, the gunowner, can do most everything you want to an AR without needing the services of guys like me, the gunsmith, fiddling with your gun.

         You can start with a (relatively) cheap AR and upgrade it in pieces, including the barrel. To change the barrel on an AR, you’d need the proper wrench to pull off the castellated nut that holds the barrel into the upper, and you’ll need a 1/2 drive torque wrench to put a new barrel on. If you don’t get a bolt that is matched to your barrel/extension, you’ll want to get a go & no-go gage to check your bolt in the new barrel’s extension. If you’re working from a new barrel, then the easiest thing to do is get a new bolt. The combo you don’t want is a new barrel/extension and a used bolt. The rest of the bolt carrier doesn’t matter a whit for headspacing – only the bolt itself matters.

         Then you just put on the gas block, get the castellated nut aligned properly to allow the gas tube to go through, and Bob’s your uncle. If you’ve going to become really finicky about the fit of the barrel and/or gas tube into the upper (which the accuracy guys do, BTW – they’re highly particular about the fit of the extension into the upper, and how well centered the gas tube is into the gas key in the bolt carrier), then you might need a ‘smith’s attention.

         This is why I don’t do commercial work on AR’s – I think that for most people who know how to change their car’s oil and sharpen their lawnmower blade(s), they can work on an AR to a high level of confidence. The proper tools to do nearly everything on an AR would cost only a few hundred dollars, and you’ll need a bench with a good vise, some soft jaws and the proper inserts to allow you to work on AR uppers/lowers without scarring the aluminum.

         About the only work where you really must use the services of gunsmith for an AR are:

         1. You want to buy a custom barrel, and run a custom or specific chamber into it.
         2. You want the gas port opened up. If you want it closed down, just put on one of those adjustable gas blocks.
         3. You need the muzzle lopped off (so you don’t need a flash hider) or you want a different thread for a can.
         4. You could buy a borescope yourself (they’re about $1700 on up, new), but for most people who want to see what their bore really looks like, taking it to a smith and paying $50 or so to scope the chamber & neck is a better deal.

         Literally everything else you can do yourself, and hanging on a Very Nice Barrel that’s already been turned to size, chambered, extension put on, and a gas port drilled in… that’s no different than everything else you can buy for an AR. Get the right hand tools, a bench with a good vise and you’re off to the races.

   • Daniel Defense is hardly a “boutique” AR. They meet or exceed mil-spec, genuinely, and some parts or components that they manufacture have US military adoption, but by and large, their products are still essentially normal M4 stuff. I agree that the price may optimistic, but they have really only recently ventured into “ninja” territory with colors and flavor of the month furniture. Most of their 5.56 offerings fall into the 1,400-1,700 range which is really only boutique if Bushmaster is your go-to brand.

     • I have an LMT MRP upper, it cost me $1150 back in 2008. It was pricy but at the time it was one of the only, if not the only AR upper that had a quick change barrel setup. To be able to go from a 10.5 inch barrel to a 14.5 inch was really nice. Plus now if I want I can purchase one of their 300 blackout barrels without having to build a whole new upper. I can also convert to a piston upper with a barrel and bolt change and then hop right back to DI.

       I considered the upper expensive but for the functionality it makes sense. This Daniel Defense rifle is really nice, has good parts but there’s just no way it’s worth 3,000.

       • OK, you’re most certainly welcome.

         FWIW, here’s my take on AR’s and AR-like rifles:

         I think too many people worry about getting the “ultimate” AR out of the box. The beauty of the AR platform for gun owners is that it is truly a “lego” gun, and you, the gunowner, can do most everything you want to an AR without needing the services of guys like me, the gunsmith, fiddling with your gun.

         You can start with a (relatively) cheap AR and upgrade it in pieces, including the barrel. To change the barrel on an AR, you’d need the proper wrench to pull off the castellated nut that holds the barrel into the upper, and you’ll need a 1/2 drive torque wrench to put a new barrel on. If you don’t get a bolt that is matched to your barrel/extension, you’ll want to get a go & no-go gage to check your bolt in the new barrel’s extension. If you’re working from a new barrel, then the easiest thing to do is get a new bolt. The combo you don’t want is a new barrel/extension and a used bolt. The rest of the bolt carrier doesn’t matter a whit for headspacing – only the bolt itself matters.

         Then you just put on the gas block, get the castellated nut aligned properly to allow the gas tube to go through, and Bob’s your uncle. If you’ve going to become really finicky about the fit of the barrel and/or gas tube into the upper (which the accuracy guys do, BTW – they’re highly particular about the fit of the extension into the upper, and how well centered the gas tube is into the gas key in the bolt carrier), then you might need a ‘smith’s attention.

         This is why I don’t do commercial work on AR’s – I think that for most people who know how to change their car’s oil and sharpen their lawnmower blade(s), they can work on an AR to a high level of confidence. The proper tools to do nearly everything on an AR would cost only a few hundred dollars, and you’ll need a bench with a good vise, some soft jaws and the proper inserts to allow you to work on AR uppers/lowers without scarring the aluminum.

         About the only work where you really must use the services of gunsmith for an AR are:

         1. You want to buy a custom barrel, and run a custom or specific chamber into it.
         2. You want the gas port opened up. If you want it closed down, just put on one of those adjustable gas blocks.
         3. You need the muzzle lopped off (so you don’t need a flash hider) or you want a different thread for a can.
         4. You could buy a borescope yourself (they’re about $1700 on up, new), but for most people who want to see what their bore really looks like, taking it to a smith and paying $50 or so to scope the chamber & neck is a better deal.

         Literally everything else you can do yourself, and hanging on a Very Nice Barrel that’s already been turned to size, chambered, extension put on, and a gas port drilled in… that’s no different than everything else you can buy for an AR. Get the right hand tools, a bench with a good vise and you’re off to the races.

   • Honestly, for that money you can buy a SCAR 17S and still have some cash for ammo. The SCAR is at least as good a DMR and tends to pop more eboners.

     • That was sort of my point. For the money they are asking you can get a SCAR17

     • But you get way better performance from the AR.

       • You’d be surprised. The SCAR may not be free-floated but it’s got a top grade barrel. It’s an MOA gun. Not much more, but for a DMR, it’s more than sufficient. Only stupid part is that they use their own proprietary magazines. But a SR25 style lower is available from third parties.

       • I have plenty of experience with the Scar platform. Been issued both 17s and 20s. Even got to take part in the evaluation of the MOD1s before I got out. I had a MK18MOD1 that shot better groups than either of my best shooting 17/20s. They aren’t that good of a gun. Its why SOCOM has been quietly looking at other options for a while now, and neither SMU uses them.

       • I don’t know about “way” better. Scar is still a free float fn made barrel. It’s pretty nice kit. And it doesn’t spit carbon all over your internals.

         I favor the scar, but I do not own it, so y’know. It is what it is.

2. No way I’m paying SCAR money on a .308 AR.

3. I’ve been waiting for a moment like this.

   Why buy this when you can get a SCAR-17s for cheaper?
   What does this rifle do better that a SCAR-17s already does?
   A SCAR-17s is lighter!

   • SCAR 17s wins more dick measuring contests…

     • Having shot the Scar-17s side by side with my ruger SR-762 i can tell you without a doubt that the ruger is a better rifle, and it’s about $1000 cheaper

       • Possibly, but it’s not as operationally tactical for high speed tactical operators. Let’s be honest, the only reason anyone buys a big brand rifle that they could easily have custom built is because of the bragging rights to the sticker. I just built out a 20″ LR-308 based SSAS for $1800. I can guarantee you that it has much nicer furniture and internals than this thing.

         Personally, I hate collapsible stocks on what are supposed to be precision rifles. I can dig the UBR stock, but that’s more of an exception that proves the rule kind of deal.

   • I bet this one doesn’t destroy scopes, and it doesn’t use a stock that rattles and looks like something dreamed up by a starwars cosplay junkie.

     • Two points.
       1. The stock rattle on SCARs is greatly exaggerated and not really any more common than stock rattle on an M4.
       2. If your scope can’t survive on a SCAR, you don’t need a different rifle. You need a more durable scope.

4. Holy crap, that costs the same as a SCAR17… Just slightly below the REPR in terms of price. Hope it shoots well for the money.

5. If you want a .308 semi that bad, just buy an M1a and have about $1000 left over for extra mags and ammo.

6. How is this better than a SCAR-17?

7. 2 Vet Arms offers an excellent 308 AR for the price. The price tag on this DD is too high.

8. I just wish the GII platform wasn’t built by freedome group…

9. Opinions on this rifle aside, DD does offer financing, which I guess you could do if you really wanted this firearm and didn’t feel comfortable laying out $3K all at once for it, this would be an option…

10. You guys all make some great points pro and con. I’m relatively new to rifles myself, only about three years experience, and none with that caliber.

    My only input here is that that’s way too much rifle, both price and performance, to be anyone’s first rifle. You don’t even know what you don’t know at the beginning, let alone know enough to make an intelligent decision at that level.

    But as always, to each his own. Do your thing and have fun.

11. The DD5V1 rifle has an MSRP of $2,899 LMAO, you have got to be kidding me. a f’n SCAR is less than that.

12. I just got my first AR. . . . But maybe I should have waited because Daniel Defense just announced their new DD5V1 rifle in 7.62 x 51.

    Maybe not. There is a difference between a 5.56 AR and a 7.62 AR. A basic AR-15 with it’s intermediate cartridge is very easy to shoot, and good ones are very accurate. An AR-10 firing a full-power .30 caliber round is not a soft shooter and reveals all the limitations of the platform. After using an AR-10, even if you like it you’ll understand why many people prefer the M1A.

    Is the AR-10 a stiff? No, not at all. But IMO it is out-shined by the AR-15.

    • I really want an AR-10. But I REALLY want a M1a. Been a dream rifle of mine for a long time. They’re just too pricey for me. Maybe one day.

      • I enjoy my M1A. I’d like to own a few other varieties of the M1A, but they are spendy, although for what you get they are not overpriced.

        • I have yet to fire the M1A, although I really want to. I find theSR-25 (Remington A-10) to be pretty gentle and easy. Of course, it’s not a 5.56, but the buffer spring still does a good job of eating the recoil.

          Of course, to each their own. I enjoy shooting 1911s and the new Sig 220 in 10mm, but I think that the IWI Jericho in .45 is designed to beat the crap out of my hands. Maybe it’s real, maybe it’s just my perception, but that’s how it seems to me.

    • Curious why you think a M14 or a M1A is superior than a AR10. You get way better accuracy and reliability out of the AR than you ever will with the M14.

13. Meh. Springfield SOCOM more gooder.

    • Whats not to love about the Spingfield Socom, heavy, unreliable, and not that accurate.

      • Pffftt,,,,,,,,do some arm curls if its too heavy or stick with an AR15 and leave the big boy calibers to those who arent scared of them. Your other comments are flat out wrong. You obviously have never seen one much less shot one.

        • Hmm, your right do more curls. Its not like I routinely carried a MK48 and 35 pounds of ammo, on top of my kit daily in Afghanistan. Nope I am just weak. Or that the fact that M14s which I have had issued, or not as accurate, or reliable as ARs. Nope all that testing is documentation is just false. We all know how great a gun the shortest lived issued rifle in American history is. The M14 fans need to realize that the gun is trash. Yeah its fun to shoot. But there is a reason the AR replaced it so quickly.

14. MSRP is always higher than what it will actually sell for. It will probably go for around 2500 and that’s not bad compared to the competition. GAPrecision, Larue, etc., are comparable. If you shop around the other high end AR10 makers, you’ll see. This is about right. Oh and DD’s CHF barrels are fantastic, whoever complained about that obviously has no experience with them.

15. So, street price will probably be around $2600 and includes a Geissele Super Semi-Automatic trigger ($220). And the charging handle looks like $30 – hence, price w/o both would be around $2350.

    The SCAR 17S can be found online for . . . $2549 (good luck finding it cheaper). So the DD is actually $200 cheaper than the SCAR 17S . . .

    Still, it’s priced too high (the DD) – street price should be $1800, and we may have a winner. Remember the SIG 716 can be found for $1600 – and between a SIG 716 @ $1600 and a DD5V1 at $2600 . . . . SIG 716, each and every time. Leaving $1K for ammo, magazines, optics – you name it.

    The marketing folks at DD messed up this one . . .

16. Meh.

17. I usually go out and shoot about 3-4 hundred rounds in a session and my Daniel Defense rifles have all run flawless. My buddies my give me flack for spending $1500-$1700 on an AR-15 when hey got theirs for $600 to a grand but while they are tooling with their rifles trying to figure out why it won’t cycle I am getting in non stop trigger time. Only time I practice malfunction drills on my Daniel Defense are with snap caps because beyond that the darn thing just runs.

    Recently I wanted to get into the AR10 game and once again seen buddies struggling with their Armalites and custom builds to cycle properly. I was going to go the Larue route but I know first hand that beyond Daniel Defense rifles being amazingly reliable their customer service is equally excellent so when they announced an AR10 coming out I had to hold off on any purchases till I saw what DD brought to the table. Now I just need to hope for a rifle configuration from DD with a fixed stock.

    • I gotta agree about the stock. What were they thinking? On a 14″ SBR or shorter I get it. Compact is key. But for a 16″ I’d at least like the option of a decent quality fixed stock. Especially at the price point they are asking. Just because you sell a branded collapsible stock doesn’t mean you toss it on everything you make.

      Is the brake pinned? If so it’s a non starter for me. While I am in the market for a 16″ .308 I wont even consider one without a removable brake.

    • Morgan is right. I run 3 gun with mine and never, and I mean never in two years have had a problem with the rifle. I have friends who have dickered with gas blocks, bolt carrier problems, improper staking, loose fore ends. Me-nothing but pew pew! I’d spend 1500 again in a minute for the 5.56. If I could afford their .308 It would honestly be my first choice. I may even sell my 6.8 build to start the ball rollin’.

18. I can tell you guys that if Daniel Defense made this rifle which they did, It’s one hell of a rifle! I own three of there weapons and they are the best AR platform I’ve ever owned. They are very very accurate have never failed and they use nothing but the best quality components known. I will purchase this weapon and I guarantee you it will surpass any manufacturer out there! Yes they are expensive but DD makes sure they poor alot of heart and soul into their products. And if the SHTF I will be using my DD weapons to protect me and my family!

19. I have been seriously waiting for the release of this rifle to get into the 308 game. Price surprised me a little.

    Anybody look at the Colt Pro Competition Series at same price point? You get your stainless barrel and a 20″ version. The 16″ version is actually $500 cheaper than the DD

    20″ http://www.coltcompetitionrifle.com/firearm/colt-pro-model-crl-20/

    16″ http://www.coltcompetitionrifle.com/firearm/colt-pro-model-crl-16/

20. Mine has arrived. Waiting for me to go pick it up at the post office. Looking forward to it. Just got the KAC 11.5″ CQB so this will be its big brother.
    Ps. You think this is expensive? Try working it out in Canadian Dollars.

21. The only issue i have is it comes with no iron sights but it’s worth every penny i paid 2599$ you get what you pay for it’s an awesome rifle consider this glass costs as much as the gun if your on a budget buy a smith m&p mass produced rifle for 599$ it’s like comparing a yugo to a Ferrari it all depends on what you want

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