D9Firearms

Shown above is a D9Firearms custom built PD-SASS w/Hawk Horus Vision Optic.

Although summer time is generally a slower time of the year for gun sales, we manage to stay busy working on special projects, loading ammunition, and customizing rifles. Currently we are still waiting on rifles from DPMS and based on their estimates we should start seeing some rifles in September. (We have 45 various LR rifles on order). Additionally, our special project using the Mike Rock barrel being finished by White Oak Armament will be in at the end of August. (We have placed an order for 5 Krieger barrels with a slightly different design and expect to see those by October.)

We had a fellow stop by our table at the Topeka Gun Show two weeks ago and he had a DPMS LR-308AP4 that needed a little D9Firearms customizing. Steve brought the rifle over last weekend and we upgraded his AP4 with a quad rail, Miculek Compensator, Hogue grip, Rock River 2 Stage National Match trigger, and bipod kit. He left with a completely different looking rifle from what he walked in with.

We also received a call from a customer of ours who had purchased one of our D9Firearms PD-SASS (Prairie Dog – Semi Auto Sniper System) LR-308B rifle and his dad wanted a DPMS LR-308SASS. The most amazing part of this story is DPMS actually had one available and we didn’t waste a second commandeering it, (Thanks DPMS). Although DPMS does excellent work and puts out great products, D9Firearms still tweaked it.

The LR-308SASS, shown above, comes standard with a JP trigger, but to us that’s only half of the picture. My assumption is they don’t add the speed hammer since this is classified as a sniper weapon. The speed hammer is ½ the weight of a standard hammer and has a light spring. We’ve not experienced a problem with misfires but if we were providing this to a law enforcement agency using military ammo, we would stay with the heavier springs. So we added the speed hammer. Additionally, I added a Miculek compensator and tactical carrier release to round out this precision rifle.

The last rifle is one of our D9Firearms custom PD-SASS rifles that Brian, a local client purchased, brought back to have us install a Horus Vision Hawk optic on. His initial impression, looking out at about 400yd, through the patio door, was the clarity of the glass and he prefers the first focal plane reticule. We look for a response from him when he takes it back out and see how it compares with ours & Paul’s from (NZ) reviews.

We received a phone call from Brain, as he was leaving the range the other day, and based on the excitement in his voice my guess is his testosterone levels were hyper-elevated. (Phone calls like this are what make building these worth the effort.) Brian provided us with a field report on the PD-SASS, Horus Vision, and D9Firearms custom 308 ammo.

Darrel-

I wanted to thank you for building me such a high performance rifle. It shoots better than I could have imagined. I have had and fired many different AR platform weapons in the past, but this is a step above.

(DPMS also receives part of the credit.)

We added the over sized Miculek for the in your face attitude.

Before I bought the Horus scope from you, I used the iron flip-up sights to break in the barrel at 50 yards and shot very tight groups. Yesterday I sighted in the Horus Hawk scope with ease at 100 yards. I went with five other friends and they all fired three shot groups. Four of them were experienced shooters and one was a novice. All of the experienced shooters could cover their groups with a quarter or less and the novice shot a 1 1/2″ grouping.

The .308 reloads that I bought from you were an excellent fit for this rifle. They out performed even the Federal Match Gold Medal. I would not have believed it if I did not see it and test it for myself. (We would like to say this was not a surprise but were very pleased to hear this.)

The Horus Hawk you sold me I was weary of, since I am such a big IOR fan and the Horus was half the price. But, the more I used it, the more I fell in love with it and its reticule. The clarity is incredible and the built in range finder is very easy to use. The fact that I do not need to adjust my turret knobs for different windage and elevation settings is so foreign to me, but I am quickly becoming fluent in its language. You get what you pay for does not apply here. For the price, there is nothing better.

The biggest compliments I got on the rifle, aside from its consistent accuracy, is how smooth the trigger is and the function of the overall weapon. (We installed a JP adjustable w/speed hammer.)

Thanks again for all your help with building my dream rifle and guiding me towards the right accessories for it.

Brian

So if you are looking for a precision AR or customizing your existing AR please give us a call at D9Firearms.

Thanks.

D9Firearms has over the past 2 years developed a few international clients that we have provided non-firearms shooting and hunting products for. Thanks to our new friend Paul in New Zealand, we are now exporting firearms as well. Paul put us in touch with European Target Shooters Supplies (http://etssincusa.com/) in Colorado who now handle our firearms exports. For non-firearms related we ship directly. We have just recently expanded the countries we are servicing clients in, to include Mexico and as of this blog we received a request from Slovakia.

Our current list of countries our international clients reside in are:

- Norway

- Denmark

- New Zealand

- Argentina

- Mexico

- Slovakia (once the permit goes through)

For our international clients there are some limitations on how we conduct business, but in general it’s as easy as doing business as it is domestically. When it comes to handling commerce we have two options; bank wire transfer or credit card. Our preferred method is credit card and we have a 3% charge for the transaction. Additionally, certain countries are high risk and we may request a bank wire transfer from individuals in those countries or refuse the sale. (We’ve done this already to a couple of nefarious wankers in Indonesia.)

Another issue is the requirements on the clients end. From our experience the client generally has to get some form of permit to import the firearm. Combined with this permit are the regulations on the firearms features such as calibers, barrel threading, magazine capacity, and others. We assume the buyer is aware of this prior to ordering and we do not research or verify what’s legal to import. The permit is then submitted to the exporter (ETSS) and we do not require it. Please verify firearms restrictions before ordering as this may result in a charge for products you are unable to import. Additionally, returns on exported items are equally as challenging so we will do everything we can to confirm you are getting what you want.

From our foreign clients perspective you can and should expect the same responsive and courteous treatment as any client that is local. You can and should expect the same guarantee that we offer our domestic clients on firearms we build (ie. D9 custom AR or LR rifles), is that we stand behind what we build. If a rifle we’ve built or customized fails to operate as a result of work we performed (triggers mainly) we will refund the local gunsmith fees that are within reason. Additionally we would expect to hear from you if there is an issue prior to taking it to a gunsmith and work out the details in advance. For factory firearms most manufacturers have local representation and would expect the client to proceed with warrantee work. (Contact us regardless we want to know if there are any issues.)

Finally our goal is to Arm the World with D9Firearms custom rifles. If you are interested in importing a firearm or hunting supplies please contact us here at D9Firearms.

Our good friend Paul from way down under in the land of sheep and kiwis just sent us some awesome pictures of him and his good friend Harry stretching out of a hilly range for some long range shooting.  A while back we outfitted Paul with a DPMS 24” Varmint upper and a custom DPMS lower built by us.

Paul also mounted a Horus Vision Hawk and provided some feedback on that as well.  We have used the Sheppard scope and it is very nice.  They cost about $200 more but based on Paul’s review it sounds like we better get one in and do some evaluation.

Recently we also sent him a second rifle a DPMS LR-260 and he just emailed us confirming that he picked up from customs over the weekend.  However, Paul now has a new problem, which is really not a problem, is that his wife now wants one.  If all goes well we hope to outfit Paul with a D9Firearms custom SASS version in 308Win.

I’ll let Paul tell the rest of the story:

Hi Darrel,

The .260 is in country, just need to clear Customs.

Had a day out at Harry’s 1000m range on Sunday, I’ve attached a few photos.

I had a chance to Crony some 77g SMK’s through the AR but only went as high as 22.5g of H335 (using 23g behind the 69’s) the 77’s made about 2650fps vs the 69’s 2800fps. at that speed there was no appreciable difference in group size. I will need to experiment further to see if I can gain any extra accuracy by speeding up the 77’s.

There is a photo of a 12″ circular steel plate, it’s out at 500yds. The 3 shot group has a spread of 80mm or about 3.25in this was shot from the AR using the 69g Match Kings. The Savage shot a similar size group

There is also a photo looking down the range, you should be able to see both the 500yd targets and in the distance a rectangular target up on the hill to the right of centre. That target is a 8ft x 4ft steel plate that’s 1″ thick! it’s out at 1000m

I ended up swapping the Shepherd V2 from the Savage onto the AR, to be honest I think the Shepherd has better clarity than the Hawk despite having a smaller (25mm) main tube. The range reticule is within an inch using the 69’s @ 2800fps out to 300yds, within 2″ out to 600yds and spot on at 700yds. At 2850fps it’s about 1/2″ out at 1000yds.

Looks like the Hawk reaches it’s limit at about 700yds with the .223, haven’t done the math for the .260 yet, it may be useful a little further out. At this stage though I will probably go with a Shepherd V1 on it.

All in all very pleased with the AR, it’s every bit as accurate as the Savage by the looks.

Regards

Paul

P.S. The other white targets in some of the photo’s cost about $100 bucks each to shoot!

If you live down under or back here at home and need a long range AR varmint rifle contact us here at D9Firearms and we will be glad to assist you with you custom built AR rifle.  (For you animal lovers ie. kooks don’t worry they weren’t shooting the sheep and if they did I’m sure they had a bbq after words.)