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Posted: 6/15/2016 5:11:29 PM EDT
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I hope this is the right sub-forum for this post. I FINALLY bought my first AR. I looked at several different brands and the one that stood out while holding and handling them (7-8 companies) were the Daniel Defense models. I need to start looking at slings and a red-dot sight...don't know too much except Aimpoint and EOTec are popular I assume for good reason. May have to wait a few weeks but I'll get there.
Tried to put a direct picture from Photobucket but it shows up as a link here, for some reason. 
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You won't be disappointed with Daniel Defense. I've got a couple of ARs and I still prefer my DDM4V5 over all of them.
Don't hesitate to stop in the Daniel Defense section and say hi to those kind folks. I'd say they are one of the best around here when it comes to CS, if you need it. |
| DD makes great stuff, good choice. May I suggest you get a good set of iron sights first and put a 2-3 hundred rounds through your gun to help break it in. Since its your first AR I suggest you familiarize yourself with the iron sights as optics can break and batteries fail. |
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Nice choice and welcome to the forum. you will see a lot of hate about eotechs but for what it's worth i love the ones I have. Buy some ammo and shoot the thing, most of all enjoy yourself and don't be afraid to ask questions.
+1 on the ironsights... my personal preference is for mbus pros but there are plenty of good ones out there. |
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Quoted:
Thank you for the info on the iron sights. By the way, where exactly is the Daniel Defense sub-forum or section? I can't seem to find it. I do need to break it in soon. It's in the industry section: here is a link Right here |
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I like LMT iron sights if I'm not going to be running an optic. Troy folding sights (HK style) if I am. I like the circle inside a circle sight picture on the HK style sights.
Aimpoint PRO is a great red dot at a bargain price. You chose wisely for your very first AR. I really didn't have much of a choice when I bought my first, it was a Colt SP-1 or nothing at all. I still have it circa. 1980/81. Loved it and still own it, but it has changed almost as much as I have over the last 35 years  .
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| Great first pick! Daniel Defense is a top notch company. There customer service is unbelievable. You may hear some trash talk about Troy Industries but they make good products. All of my ARs, except my clones, have Troy tritium flip sights. Enjoy your new rifle! |
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Congratulations on your new stick! DD makes an excellent carbine and I love mine. I have used the Troy BUIS with an HK front for a good while and prefer them over all else with exception to Knights sights. I prefer the Aimpoint optics and they have served me well for years with no trouble at all. Battery life is exceptional and they are tougher than nails.
The Aimpoint PRO is a great value and priced well but if you want something smaller, the H1 or T1/T2 is the way to go. Get a good padded sling, mags and a case or two of Ammo and break her in! |
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You joined us in 2007 and just now managed to post this? Nice choice in rife.  eta: I know that a few people recommended Aimpoint Pro. < It is a nice optic. However, if I were in your shoes, I would just save a little bit more, and buy an H-1 Micro. They are a lot lighter, smaller, and seems to me that you get a better field of view with a smaller optic. I like them so much that I only have one Aimpoint PRO and three H-1 Micros. I wish I can equip every AR that I have with a Micro, however im trying to save up for a new house...  |
Well, I joined a few new gun forums in 2007 and intended to buy an AR then. However, I kinds got caught up in handgun buying and never could decide which AR to get. So I kept buying handguns and while I kept an eye on this forum, it took me a while. Better late than never! 
Oh, thanks for the scope tip. I'll look into the Micro too. |
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Yes, very good choice.
DD sits with BCM at that perfect blend of high quality and price IMHO. Better quality than many other respected brands, but without the high price of some others. I second an Aimpoint. Tough, excellent warranty, and with battery life measured in years. The PRO is great but a bit bulky, well relatively bulky, its not a huge sight. The price is right on it too. If you want smaller, and don't mind spending about twice the price on a smaller model with a mount... The Aimpoint micros are awesome. There are two models, one has night vision compatibility (the red dot gets dim enough to use with night vision) the other does not have that feature, but costs less. Unless you plan on using night vision, you don't need compatibility and its higher cost. There are other options. EoTech has recently been caught in a little kerfuffle, as the military discovered that the zero shifts on their sights when the temperatures change. With the worst shifts happening when it is below freezing or above 110 degrees. (or 120, working from memory) So if you live in a desert area or where winter can get fairly cold, it may be an issue. If not, you may not have an issue. There are cheaper options, but that is up to you to decide. Some of those cheaper options are very well made, some even have awesome warranties. They are not as good as an Aimpoint, but if you choose wisely, they are 75-85% as good, at significantly lower cost. For me, I would pick an Aimpoint for such a nice rifle as a DD. I also like to set up my rifle with folding sights with the red dot set up to use lower 1/3 cowitness. Meaning the iron sights can be deployed and used, while the optic is mounted, by looking through the lower portion of the optic. Some like absolute cowitness, where the iron sights line up dead center of the optic when deployed. For backup iron sights (BUIS) I really like the Magpul MBUS Pro sights, as they are fairly inexpensive compared to other options, and made of metal. They are light and trim, they take up little room on the rifle, and the rear sight does not interfere with reaching the charging handle easily. The standard polymer MBUS sights are a cheaper alternative, work well, and are tough too... But they are a bit bulky due to the polymer construction. There are many others available, some at significant cost. While more costly, many models have features like easy elevation adjustment for different ranges to the target, and/or locking into the deployed position. Locking in the deployed position allows them to be used as a primary sight rather than being a pure backup solution in case your optic fails. For what its worth, seeing as I am not in a war zone, and unlikely to need to shoot past 200yds, and only then on a range... I use a 50/200 yard zero, I set it and leave it, so I do not need to adjust elevation. My red dot optics are also zeroed at 50 yards. This zero has only +/-2 inches of deviation from zero to 225 yards. The zero is useful for typical self defense ranges, and for when I am out on the range. And I would drop that vertical grip back some, or just get rid of it... If it were my rifle, as I never use them myself... I have used short vertical grips as a type of hand stop. I would hold the rifle where the grip and handguard meet. Basically, about 60% of my grip would be on the handguard, the rest against the vertical grip. I like that grip method a lot, and picked up a BCM angled grip to give a similar grip method. |
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Quoted:
Nice choice and welcome to the forum. you will see a lot of hate about eotechs but for what it's worth i love the ones I have. Buy some ammo and shoot the thing, most of all enjoy yourself and don't be afraid to ask questions. +1 on the ironsights... my personal preference is for mbus pros but there are plenty of good ones out there. The think I don't like about eotechs is the pixelated (?) dot. That's subjective though, quality seems really good. OP - before dropping $500 or so on a RDS go to a good gun shop or sporting good store and look through both to see what one you like better. Both Aimpoint and Eotech are good, but the sight pictures between them are different. |
| Great info, Marine and glockr. Thanks. Yeah, I took that pic as soon as I got home. That forward grip feels a bit unnatural. I moved it back but will probably get rid of it. I like the idea of flip-up sights and the Aimpoint Micro but need to go to gun shops and research things online and here. Problem is I can't do it all in a hurry. There is just so much going on with work and house repair issues, parents, etc. I'm looking forward to shooting and personalizing it. The flip sights and ammo are probably the two first things I need, along with a cleaning kit since all my cleaning rods and brushes are for my handguns. I should get a gun cabinet or some gun storage things too (no kids). |
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Quoted:
The think I don't like about eotechs is the pixelated (?) dot. That's subjective though, quality seems really good. OP - before dropping $500 or so on a RDS go to a good gun shop or sporting good store and look through both to see what one you like better. Both Aimpoint and Eotech are good, but the sight pictures between them are different. Quoted:
Quoted:
Nice choice and welcome to the forum. you will see a lot of hate about eotechs but for what it's worth i love the ones I have. Buy some ammo and shoot the thing, most of all enjoy yourself and don't be afraid to ask questions. +1 on the ironsights... my personal preference is for mbus pros but there are plenty of good ones out there. The think I don't like about eotechs is the pixelated (?) dot. That's subjective though, quality seems really good. OP - before dropping $500 or so on a RDS go to a good gun shop or sporting good store and look through both to see what one you like better. Both Aimpoint and Eotech are good, but the sight pictures between them are different. I used to love my EOTechs till I got an Aimpoint. My EOTechs sucked batteries dry, my 512 would flicker from time to time, my XPS 2-2 would dim randomly so I sent them home when they offered refunds. Now I have an Aimpoint PRO in a LaRue QD mount I have had it for about 6 months, have not turned it off yet, used it to shoot probably over 3K in ammo through my AR, M&P 15-22, SCAR, and lent it to my shooting buddies when I was using my 1-4x Optic. I just ordered a Vortex AR red dot just waiting for it to come in (backordered) I plan to use it when either my fiancé wants a red dot or for whatever while we shoot. |
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I'm going to start researching all this next week and save up some cash as well. I did notice that the rifle came with one mag but being Colorado, they replaced the piece above the baseplate with a block, so the Magpul magazine (PMAG 30 Gen M2) is normally a 30 rounder but blocked down to 15. They did not include that original piece, so I need to find those for when CO repeals its 15-round law/regulation. :)
Well, I need more than just a couple of magazines so will probably hit the next gun show. I'm assuming Magpul is the best over magazine to use. |
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