D9Firearms

We recently sold a good friend of ours Kyle Remington 700 SPS Varmint in 308. I’ve written about this rifle before covering the new X-Mark Pro trigger. You can never go wrong with a Remington 700 but the older models including the varmint rifles all had heavy unrefined triggers. I was frustrated with the two 700’s I purchased in the VLS and VSF, both of which I had to replace the triggers at about $100 a shot. This combined with the cost of the rifle turned out to be quite expensive.

As a firearms provider, part of my responsibility to my clients is finding a gun and optics that I can recommend and stay within their budget. Unfortunately, cost is generally the first issue to consider. (I live in the real world with a mortgage, kids, and a wife, so I understand.) So when I look at the VLS & VSF at $800+, and then have to add a trigger, and have money left over for a decent optic, most people are going to bulk at that cost. I have and still do. And as we’ve discussed before and committed to the ATF we are in the business to make a profit and cover our cost.

So when Remington came out with the new 700 SPS Varmint my wholesaler called me up told me it’s worth a look. Naturally, being a varmint/target shooter the trigger action is very important to me. That was the first thing I tested out and thought for a factory trigger this is comparable to my Tikka. It has a very smooth 700 action, heavy varmint contoured barrel, and a synthetic stock. The vented the forearm which also adds to the ascetic appeal of the rifle even though it is synthetic (but this helps keep cost and weight down). And finally, the cost was very reasonable and left room for the shooter to spend a little more on the optics that will compliment the accuracy of the rifle. (If you can’t see it, you can’t shoot it. Also, a poor scope on a good rifle, will still give you poor shooting results.)

Since we weren’t able to fire it, it worked out great that Kyle purchased the rifle and we were able to have him out to the range with us. Prior to going out though, Kyle needed an optic. We had a Sightron 4×16x42 w/mil-dot reticule that we suggested. You will not find these optics on every street corner but they are very good optics for the money. I consider them a base line optic when recommending an optic to someone asking for my advice. As a side note, I also like the Nikon Buckmaster series for a slightly lower cost option and consider it a very good value for the quality and cost. However, Sightron doesn’t do much marketing and they have what I consider exceptionally crisp & clear optics, good construction, but at a slightly higher price. But when you get this optic mounted and sight down through it, you will see you got what you paid for.

After shooting the rifle, we asked Kyle if he would give us an honest opinion about each aspect of the rifle and scope. I know Kyle well enough that if it didn’t perform he would have not provided us with the feedback and secondly we were with him and saw for ourselves how the rifle performed. Thirdly, we offered Kyle the option to take the scope back if he didn’t like it.

Hey,

I finally got the .308 out to shoot. First lets talk about the rifle, it is a Remington 700 SPS Varmint. This is my second Remington 700 first was a deer rifle in 30-06 and man this blew that gun out of the water. The trigger is also a lot better then the high end rifles that Remington does make. Second, I started out by mounting some Leupold rings and bases and the only problem I had with them was that I wish I would have bought the double dovetail series. Then came the part I thought I would never get put on so soon, the scope. I mounted a Sightron 4-16×42 with mil-dot. I have not heard of Sightron before and was concerned if I would like it, but guess what it is crystal clear and the eye relief was fantastic. The first couple of rounds sent through the gun were sighting the gun in and then the first real three shot group. Two bullets almost through each other, then I pulled the next one, it was less then an inch to the right. Needless to say the rifle performed great and would defiantly consider one in .223.

We appreciate Kyle’s time in providing us feedback on the rifle. Here at D9Firearms our goal is to provide you with quality and proven firearms and optics to make your shooting experience more rewarding. If you’re interested in a Remington 700 SPS Varmint, please contact us.

Shown above left to right DPMS LR-260L, LR-308B (quasi SASS with daughter’s hand), and LR-308

Along with the same shipment with the LR-260L came some other rifles we had ordered.  These rifles were based on the LR-308B model that has an 18” chrome molly steel bull barrel and standard A2 stock.  This rifle in of it’s self has been a great rifle and received excellent feedback on it.  These rifles are great for target shooting and light enough for some fast action and free hand shooting.

The reason we only call it the quasi SASS is because it doesn’t have the dust cover. (The dust cover is a nice feature but even with the shooting I’ve done in western Kansas I’ve never had an issue with excessive dirt/dust/sand getting into my receiver causing failure or damage.)

However, we ordered these rifle with a couple of extra’s and have already begun modifying them with some extras above what we thought.  We ordered these rifles with fluted and threaded barrels.  (One of the rifles went to Earl in Nevada, whom we’ve developed a great relation with, and plans to put a suppressor on it, legally of course.  He has done some research and found that the suppressor actually does more than suppress the sound.  His research found that it actually helped accuracy.  He will probably have some feedback on this when he gets his suppressor.)  We had them shipped with the Miculek compensator but we can easily change it out with a standard flash hider or other type of compensator.

The rifle for Earl we made an extra modification to add a low profile bull barrel gas block and an extended handrail.  We originally thought we were going to have to add the SASS gas block which is a mini-gas block for a bull barrel so the extended hand rail could be used, but were able to use a standard low profile bull barrel gas block.  So this saved some cost and he decided to pick up a speed hammer to go with his JP trigger and had us add the tactical carrier release.

Another side note, as soon as I pulled this one out I had to call Earl.  Even though this is what I would call a quasi SASS, it wreaked of manliness and had a down right in your face, I’m going to kick your ass (referring to fascist terrorists), belligerent attitude.  I think it’s the addition of the muzzle break that adds the extra punch that says this rifle is not for limp wrested, urinal cake eating, bed-wetting, nancy boys.  (However, it would be appropriate for one of those flat top, tattooed, nose ring wearing, butch bull dykes.)

We are doing the same to a second rifle only adding an extended 4-rail hand guard, low profile bull barrel gas block, a JP adjustable with speed hammer and swapping out the A2 stock with a 6 position collapsible stock.  This rifle will be going to our new friend Tao over in Illinois (in Jesse’s backyard.  Hopefully Jesse doesn’t come over and protest me.)

We currently have a couple left but I suspect not for long.  However, we do have more on order and we still have the standard LR-308B that we can upgrade with the exception of the muzzle threading.  (I suspect we can get it done after the fact but it will cost slightly more than having it come from the factory.)

If you have some suggestions or upgrades please email us, we would be glad to incorporate them into our standard upgrades.  If you’re interested in a LR-308B please contact us.

I just received a couple of rifles from DPMS the other day with the full intent of selling them. Unfortunately the first box I opened contained the new LR-260L. And since this was the first one I have received I took it out to give it the once over and that’s about the time I knew this one was going to be a keeper and would be going to the range for some personal testing. (The next issue will be dealing with moving it over to my personal storage without my wife asking too many questions.)

The rifle has a totally different look and feel from what I am used to getting in the AR-10 platform. It’s reasonably lightweight and has a stream lined, lean, sleek, look and feel to it. Even coming factory standard with the carbon fiber hand guard and G27 grip just added to it’s coolness. (Cool isn’t everything but since I trust DPMS, I know it will deliver.)

Several things caught my attention as I was simulating suppressing a jihadist prairie dog attack. First, the upper receiver is an A3 style, has a lightweight round carbon fiber hand guard, a heavy non-contoured barrel with a mini gas-block and capped off with a customized Miculek Compensator which is the same diameter as the barrel. (The compensator gives it an edge to add that slightly menacing look.)

The lower receiver adds to the coolness with the skeletonized stock which also reduces the overall weight. It comes outfitted with a G27 tactical grip and JP Adjustable trigger installed. (The only thing I would change here would be to add the speed hammer to give it an ultimate fire control system.)

Since I don’t have any loads or ammo I decided to see what was out there. The 260 was a wildcat cartridge up until about 1997 when Remington decided to make it a factory round. It’s based on the 308 case necked down to the .264 or 6.5mm. The barrel has a 1×7.5” twist rate so I will probably start with a heavier bullet in the 120 – 140grn either Hornaday V-max or Sierra Matchking HPBT. I found some information on the ballistics and it has about the same trajectory as the 300Win.

.260Rem case with 140grn Sierra Matchking HPBT

Once I found that it based on the 308 case I new this has to be a shooter. The bullet weights range from the 90grn – 140grn making it a good large varmint and deer round with just a little more horsepower than the 243Win. I’ll probably start with Alliant R15 powder since it works exceptionally well on the 308Win hand loads. As a side note I just ordered some Vita Vourhi powders and plan to test some loads with this. But the R15 is still a go to powder for the 308.

.308Win. case shown with 168grn Sierra Matchking HPBT shown above and below.

Below I have shown the .308Win with 168grn SMK HPBt with the .260Rem with 140grn SMK HPBT. Notice the two cases are almost identical except for the neck. Also observe the bullets themselves. The 168grn is shorter and larger body whereas the 140grn is much longer and narrower. This will be an interesting load to work on. I suspect it will be a flat shooting, accurate, and take care of most midwest game.

The .308Win is on the left and the 168grn is in the back. The .260Rem is on the right and 140grn in the front. (above and below)

I plan to have some results on the accuracy (which I don’t question about the gun) on the loads and how the rifle handles in general in the next few weeks. But so far the only negative thing I have found is the ammo prices, which if we develop a good load, hope to provide in the coming months. The only other issue I found negative was I only got one of these, but I have a couple more on order.

If you are interested in a .260Rem please contact D9Firearms. We expect to have some available before Thanksgiving and more by Christmas. Thanks

When I received the call from our local BATF agent wanting to come by and pay me a visit after being in business for almost 2 years I was obviously a little nervous. It wasn’t because I was thinking uh-oh, hide the guns with the filed off serial numbers, put a way the ammonium nitrate, and oh yea get rid of those full auto-sears. It was partly because of the recent publicity these fellows have received for their so-called belligerent behavior and partly because I was concerned, about if, I was doing everything correctly and I din’t want to be fined or loose my license.

I had received the call on Friday afternoon and I returned the call to the ATF and spoke with the agent in charge of reviewing me. I’ll give him an alias of Bob for this article in case he’s involved in some under cover work or his boss reads this and finds out that he’s not a ball breaker, but a person like the rest of us law abiding gun enthusiasts and who really enjoys his work and has an appreciation for firearms.

Over the weekend I thought about it and realized what’s the worst they can do, take my license. But the more I thought about it the less I became concerned because I knew I had not done anything willfully or knowingly illegal. So I decided to sit down and conduct a review of my paper work, forms, and inventory. I probably should have done this sooner, but this was part of the purpose of Bob’s visit.

Bob came over in morning and we sat down and talked about a variety of things not all related to guns. He’s a good guy, who takes his position seriously, but who is still a person. We finally started getting down to business and Bob was going through the list to verify who I said I was, that I’m in this business for Profit (This is not a dirty word), and other related questions. As the discussion continued, I described that I had incorporated and he noticed my license was still under my personal name. He indicated that I would need to re-apply for my license under the corporation, but was able to continue doing business until the new license arrived. The next day, he was in my area and dropped of the new application form.

Bob did find some other paper work discrepancies that I need to correct but most of it was from when I first started and as I told him became more knowledgeable as I spoke with others. Not to mention, he also informed me of some procedures I thought were required but weren’t. So I’m glad he came and verified everything and provided me with some additional information and pointed out some issues. I can also say that every time I have called the ATF help line, the local office, and even the NICS background I have received excellent service and more than willing to help. (I even told a couple of them, this is not typical for a government bureaucracy.)

Just like anything, you will always find some people who want to put your cajones in a lock box, but so far my experience with the BATF has been positive, polite, and truly seemed interested in helping and protecting.

If you have any questions or suspect any illegal firearms or explosives please contact the ATF.

http://www.atf.treas.gov/

I recently took the Missouri Conservation’s Hunter’s Safety Class with one of my sons and it’s always good to be reminded of firearm safety and conservation.  The class was a 10 hour marathon covering safety (MUZZLE CONTROL, MUZZEL CONTROL, MUZZEL CONTROL) hunting rules, types of sporting firearms (machine guns were not discussed something about un-sports man like), purpose of the Missouri Conservation Agency, hunters behavior, how to aim, courtesy to land owners, WHO is responsible for a firearm being discharged, and first aid and survival.

The class started out with the usual barrage of a bureaucratic paper work and the introductions of the instructors.  The instructors were all-volunteer and were not reimbursed for their travel cost or paid for their time.  This is a very salient point and should give us an insight into what hunting is about and the passion these individuals have for the sport.  Another sobering fact they provided was only 5% of legal US citizens hunt.  Another 5% of US citizens (more if you counted the illegal’s, because you know they don’t want to get shot breaking into our country, or some farmers property, or my house for that fact) are adamantly opposed to hunting. (Now who would that be? Answer: Most of your liberal party leaders of course, fellow kook travelers, and their nut job tofu eating bed-wetting friends.)  The remaining 90% don’t care, which in lies the case for winning the hearts and minds, and why it is imperative for all gun owners to be involved in their local conservation agencies and get a hunting license regardless if they hunt.

Another interesting point about the class was the composition of the class.  I performed a rough count and there were about 100 people in the class.  Of that there were about 50% children (predominantly boys, but several girls as well), 35% men (predominantly fathers), and about 15% women/girls (not children).  I took the liberty to interview three young women, 2 of whom were married, the other was with her boy friend.  I was interested in why there were there, were they hunters, how they felt about their husbands buying guns (this is a topic for an upcoming blog), and what types of guns they shot?  The two married ladies responded that they wanted to go hunting with their husbands, and the third was a target shooter and planned to go hunting.  You two husbands listen up, they want to hunt with you, and they stated they would use your gun.  You need to contact D9 and get them their own rifle.  The class composition was also a testament to an excellent way to do things with your kids, wife, girl/boy friend.  I also saw a couple of mothers in there as well and several dad’s with their daughters.  It’s not just a man thing.

I would have to say the best part of the class was when the instructor showed the class the hard statistics on hunting accidents.  In the last 15 years, with the mandatory hunter’s safety class, hunting accidents have been reduced by almost 66%.  That is a staggering amount, which is also a testament to the class.  I think this fact made the instructors probably the proudest to know they are having a dramatic effect on truly saving lives.  A couple of the stories they shared were truly heart wrenching because not knowing your target, illegally hunting, and down right stupidity.  None of these would you ever find yourself doing after taking this class.

All in all it was a good class, the instructors did a good job of keeping the momentum and reducing boredom.  The Kansas Conservation also holds hunter’s safety classes but they were scheduled for three nights.  If you’re going to do, go for the all day marathon.

We would like to encourage everyone to go through hunter’s safety because the ideas are applicable to everyday shooting, handling guns, and about conservation.  We have listed the links below for both Kansas and Missouri Conservation Agency.  We hope you all can.

http://mdc.mo.gov/

http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/

I never get tired of writing about the DPMS rifles. This platform is such an excellent platform regardless of the AR-15 or AR-10 and the more of these rifles I outfit the more I like them. I still like my Tikka T3 bolt, but when it comes to an AR, DPMS I feel provides the best in service, quality, price, reliability, and accuracy. Regardless of the platitudes I have for this rifle, I prefer to leave it to my customers to provide the unbiased feedback.

Recently we put together an awesome LR-308AP4 together for Don and even with some of the difficulties we encountered we had a lot of fun building it and getting to know Don. Since we made it through another learning curve, I decided to get on the phone with our friends at DPMS to increase the type of options we will provide.  One of the request were are starting to see more of is that our clients are buying a lower completely outfitted with a JP Trigger & speed hammer, grip, tactical safety and mag release, then purchase a second upper.  That’s what’s so great about this platform and it cuts your cost especially if you want the upgraded lower.  With this flexibility you can get your lite weight AP4 for deer, bear, or javalina hunting and then a heavier upper in the 18 or 24 inch for shooting long range varmints or targets.  Additionally, we are on the list to become a DPMS certified armor.

One of the questions we have received is why doesn’t DPMS offer some of these options as a base like Rock River. I’ve asked them and their response is what I would expect, to keep cost down and allow the end user to decide what options they want. I’ve transferred and sold a couple of the Rock River rifles and they seem to be a good rifle, but once again, one size doesn’t fit all and DPMS leaves it up to the end user to decide what options they want. I think it’s an excellent idea to help keep initial cost down allowing the shooter to get a rifle in hand sooner and add upgrades later or have D9Firearms install them for you.

Over the last few months, we have been ordering a variety of DPMS rifles in various calibers and configurations every month since DPMS was experiencing a large backlog early this year. (You know, the bad economy thing the bed wetting libs keep talking about.) This does two things, one it keeps our cost down in not having to carry inventory, and secondly your wait time for a standard or customized DPMS rifle is significantly reduced. (I know it never happens when you bid on an item on GB or GA and the seller than states that it’s on order.)

One of the rifles we just outfitted was the DPMS Sweet 16 Bull for a good friend of ours Ashly. We ordered the rifle in with flutes on the barrel, although this is not as critical on the bull, it adds aesthetic appeal. If you don’t get it from the factory like this, you can always strip it down and take it to someone but this is usually cost prohibitive. (Factory ordered fluting is usually $50 - $70) So we’ve been ordering our rifles with fluting so we can offer a better choice without a long lead-time. We also installed the JP Adjustable trigger with speed hammer, Hogue grip, and a tactical carrier and bolt release. (These options are almost a standard install on every rifle we sell.) On the tactical rifles, we have been predominantly installing the two-stage triggers with tactical options. We topped Ash’s rifle off with a Nikon Buckmaster 3×18 w/side focus and BDC.

Ash’s rifle shown above.

Ash was pleased and since he is a neighbor of mine he decided that he wanted to load up some quality .223 rounds for this little tack driver. We got the press converted over to .223 and started off with some Sierra Matchking 52grn HPBT and Hornaday 52grn A-max bullets using Alliant powder and once fired brass that Ash had shot. Ash was able to take it out about two weeks later and found that the Hornaday bullets worked the best and held in at about ¾”. However, we will probably tweak this load a little to see if we can pull it in a little tighter and try it out in a controlled test. (Ash had said he was out with several friends and all wanted to shoot it and he was adjusting the scope as well. We will update this one when we perform a test out at Mill Creek.)

At the same time, we were working on another special order with a DPMS TAC-20 for another client and he gave us the option to install what we thought. Since we haven’t shot this particular rifle I evaluated it from what I thought would be its most practical shooting application and how our client described his shooting intentions. Since the rifle has a 20” barrel and is slightly heavier than both the LR-308B (18”) and the standard LR-AP4 (16”) I thought free hand shooting maybe secondary to shooting off of a bipod. (As a note, the 4-rail hand guard is heavier than the standard round aluminum. This is much more pronounced on the LR-AP4)

Another interesting part of this order was, several months ago when Dan was in town, he stopped by with his brothers to pick up Tim, his brother’s rifle (displayed in an earlier write up), and I showed him my Tikka T3 Varmint. So along with this order Dan decided to get the Tikka T3 Tactical to complement the TAC-20. The TAC-20 pretty much went off as expected and we added all the tactical options; Badger Ordnance tactical carrier release, G27 tactical grip, DPMS tactical bolt release, Arodondo tactical magazine release, DPMS tactical safety selector.

The DPMS turned out as we expected “smokin” and was proven about 2 weeks later when Dan’s brothers came by to take it out to the range for Dan before he got back to town. They also picked up the Tikka Tactical to test it out. (Dan had given his brothers approval to test it out since he lives in Florida and wouldn’t be able to come up until November.) I let them borrow my IOR Valdada 2×12x35 scope for the day. This was also beneficial to me because I use that optic a lot for my test.

We all went to the range and we brought along the Barrett 50BMG, nothing like a 50 to lite things up. They enjoyed that, as well as me to. Regardless, they got down to business with breaking in the Tikka Tactical and DPMS TAC-20. I can assure you by the end of their test on the 50 & 100 yd line there were several almost hole in one shot’s. Although this is a short range test for the break in period, it will deliver well beyond 100yd. (As another side note I tested my Tikka T3 Varmint 308Win out last week on the 300yd and had a 2” group (1 flyer, otherwise it would have been 1.5”) with 7 rounds.)

They were gracious enough to let me put a few rounds through the TAC-20 as well. My thoughts on the TAC-20 don’t very much from my general opinion of DPMS rifles, but the TAC-20 is a fairly heavy rifle and I would be hard pressed to make a repeatable free hand shot, but I’m a smaller guy. I shot it from a bipod and in that position out of 5 rounds I had 2 shots in basically the same hole, and the other three were surrounding it. Overall my spread was right at ½”.

I know Dan will be very pleased when he puts these two side by side. Unfortunately I failed to get some photo’s of the Tikka, but will put a request in to Tim to see if he would be interested in getting us a couple of side by side photo’s.

Dan is still in the process of trying to determine which optic to go with; my recommendation would be any one of the IOR’s.

If you’re interested in a DPMS or Tikka call D9Firearms.com. We will customize your DPMS.

As we stated before we always like to post feedback especially on firearms that we recommend. As you can tell from the site Tikka is by far my most favorite rifle. It is not an easy rifle to sell to people like a Remington or some other well known name. Most people haven’t heard of Tikka and that’s why I always take pride when I get feedback on these rifles. Once you put one in your hands and operate the smooth bolt and adjust the trigger to your liking it’s all over but the explaining you have to do to your wife. Regardless, of the explaining you have to do it will be worth it. Our good friend David sent us his feed back on the Tikka T3 Deluxe he purchased from us. (As a side not, we shot together the first day he had it out and I had my Tikka T3 Deluxe 270Win. and mine delivered 3/4″ with factory ammo. I’ll let David tell his story.)

Tikka T3 Deluxe - Review
by David Boone

It’s been almost a year since I first handled a Tikka T3, having been turned on to them by friends at D9 Firearms. This past week it was my turn to become a proud owner of a Tikka T3 Deluxe in .308 Winchester. Tikka rifles are made in Finland and Tikka’s parent company is Sako, known for their world class rifles. For the uninitiated, Finland is the country that gave the world Simo Hayha, a sniper with 505 confirmed kills against the Russians, using open sights. Obviously, the Finns take the accuracy of their rifles seriously and the new Tikka T3 is no exception.

My initial impression of the Tikka T3 line was that of a light to moderate weight rifle, with a slick, bolt throw and action, easy to shoulder and easier to point. The T3 Deluxe sports a higher grade hardwood stock than the hunter model and has slightly different checkering in the grips. A hand rubbed oil finish on the Deluxe suits the traditionalist in me, and she is not so lovely as to worry about taking her hunting. I haven’t taken any measurements on the geometry of the stock, but she feels much more comfortable to shoulder and better balanced than my Browning A-bolt. Whether it is this geometry or the well fitted recoil pad (one of my pet peeves is poor fitting recoil pads on mass production firearms) the recoil of the .308 Tikka is well moderated and putting a couple boxes of ammunition downrange does not leave me reaching for the ibuprofen.

My first trip out to the range left me scratching my head, questioning my mounting of a new Nikon Buckmaster scope, a model which I have had good results with before. I was shooting handloads of Reloader 15, and the groups were running just under 2” at 100 yards and the point of impact was shifting on me. After a remount of the scope and a follow-up to the range with handloads of two different powders and 4 different powder charges behind them, the Tikka finally came into her own with 43.9 grains of IMR 4064 behind a 150 grain Sierra spitzer. Her last 3 shot group of 1” with this load after 25 rounds through a hot barrel with no cleaning was almost as good as the 3 shot cloverleaf fired from a cold barrel.

Would I recommend a Tikka? Without a doubt. And as others have said before, shoot a variety of bullets and powders through your rifle whether they be factory or handloads until you find one that suits your rifle and needs best. It really does make a difference. The Tikka T3 Deluxe will be my hunting rifle this fall – a good looking, well balanced rifle, light enough to pack deep into the woods and capable of all the accuracy I will ever need.

We appreciate the feed back and we appreciate your trust in D9Firearms. Please contact us if you are interested in a Tikka rifle. (Picture shown above are from D9Firearms personal collection.)