D9Firearms – Custom AR-15 w/White Oak Armament Barrels
With the current delay in production of most AR-15’s and LR-308 rifles from DPMS, and the others we order from (Rock River & Bushmaster) we decided to develop premium .223 rifles. Generally we don’t stock or order many .223 rifles since they seem to be a dime a dozen (or found in trash cans at gun shows) unless they are requested by a client or are a premium variant such as the RRA varmint or DPMS varmint
What we have found is that most of our clients were replacing significant amounts of parts on rifles, so we decided to make a transition to primarily buying all new factory standard parts for non-substitutable parts (springs, pins, receivers, bolt & carrier) and building our premium .223 rifles from there. (We are able to reduce the cost and provide exactly what our clients want.) Additionally, we test fire each rifle prior to shipping and guarantee our work.
Wanting to do something a little different but still gear it towards varmint shooting yet flexible for potential urban action we looked too White Oak Armament for some options and chose the Squad Designated Variant Marksman barrel to start with. We have since ordered the 16” SDVM version.
The barrel is a 20” SST bull barrel, with the main body (.980) necked down to .750 fore end. The main body also has deep flutes that reduce the barrel by almost 1lb and increases cooling capacity. (The fore end is not fluted and gives a clean cut look (Marine) and would offer negligible cooling or weight reduction benefits.) The barrel is threaded for your choice of a flash hider, brake, or suppressor. The barrel has a 1:7 twist rate that is excellent for delivering heavier bullets (55grn & up).
Upon the initial inspection I immediately noticed the depth of the fluting, which on this barrel reduces close to 1lb of weight and effects cooling rate. The milling at the gas block is distinctly different with a rounded trim. We also added the M4 feed ramps which are patently obvious. The overall external barrel look and feel was a perfect match for our planned project.
For our rifle we added all the tactical parts (latch, trigger guard, mag release, bolt release, & safety) and Yankee Hill Machine (YHM) free float 4 rail & picatinny gas block. Not all the tac latches or 4 rail free float guards are necessary but we do recommend the tactical carrier release. On our next rifle we are going with a JP Rifle Vtac hand guard.
We installed the CAA 6 position stock, which is more robust then a standard collapsible, has a rubber butt pad, & risible cheek piece. For the money this is an excellent choice ($70). The Magpul PRS would be a good second choice especially for variminting.
We also went with the Timney drop in single stage because it was feeling more like a business rifle (for taking out insurgents, drug running federalalies, pedophiles, and other glittering jewels of humanity causing global warming by breathing) then a varmint rifle. Another feature we really like is the 1:7 twist, which will offer better ballistics for a heavier grain bullet 55+ (thus preventing the threat from getting to close). This will be our first 1:7 twist barrel but we are looking to getting better results for longer range shooting.
We have already started our next one, which will use the same barrel designation only in the 16”. The 16” will offer a better platform if you plan more free hand shooting.
If you are interested in a D9Firearms custom .223 with a White Oak SDVM barrel please contact us.