First Look: DPMS/Panther Arms AR15 6.8SPC

Recently, I had the opportunity to add this rifle to my collection, and for the price, I just couldn't pass it up.  The beauty of the AR15 platform is the ability to customize it to suit your needs.  This is why it is the assault rifle platform of choice for the Military and many Law Enforcement agencies.


Now, the rifle I am reviewing is a rather popular configuration, although in a less common caliber than the ever-popular 5.56 NATO military round or the civilian counterpart, .223 caliber.  This rifle is chambered in 6.8SPC, which was originally created as a compromise between the accuracy of the 6.5mm round, and the terminal performance of the 7mm round, as part of the Enhanced Rifle Cartridge program.  The program was started to address the poor terminal performance of the 5.56 NATO round.

Rather than continue about the history of the ammunition, let's focus on the rifle.  This particular configuration has the M16A2 style upper receiver and buttstock (complete with "trap door"), a 20" barrel, and a simple quad rail replacing the original plastic hand guard.

DPMS/Panther Arms AR15 in 6.8 SPC

As far as function goes, the DPMS AR15 has all the bells and whistles you would expect on an AR15.
This rifle also came equipped with a dust cover and forward assist, which many of the AR15 rifles that have a lower price point don't include.

Having served in the United States Army, I've handled many M16 and M4 rifles, many of which had been in service for 5 or more years, some of which were brand new, fresh out of the box.  Having the experience with these weapons, I know many of the areas of concern with this particular platform, and I can honestly say that the DPMS/Panther Arms AR15 platform is right on par with the weapons I used during my military service as far as fit and finish are concerned.  One thing I noticed right off the bat when disassembling and cleaning my rifle, the star chamber has some rough edges, rougher than those found in my issued Colt M4 rifle, which I was assigned right after I took it out of it's original factory packaging and cleaned the shipping grease from inside.  If you feed and manually eject a round from the chamber, the star chamber leaves visible scratches on the projectile.  This is a concern, since any inconsistency in the projectile can throw off ballistics properties, effecting trajectory, and ultimately negatively influencing long-range accuracy.  This is one issue I plan to look into further, but a local gunsmith has informed me that this is a rather common issue with many of the civilian models of the AR15, and the sharp edges will be worn down over time.  Basically, I need to put some more ammunition through the rifle to wear down those sharp edges.

When disassembling the rifle, everything comes apart easily enough.  The fit of all of the parts is superb, I have no complaints about the inner workings, nor the function of the rifle itself.

On to the fun part, firing the rifle.  I sighted this rifle in using about 40 rounds of ball ammunition (I apologize, I can't remember the specifics) that a friend brought along.  The rifle performed flawlessly.  No malfunctions at all, no failures to feed or eject, and it was every bit as accurate (if not more so) than my M4 and M16 rifles in the Army.  I didn't elect to sight in the optic I was using, I wanted to get a feel for the rifle's performance using the standard iron sights.  I was not disappointed.  I was only firing from about 75 yards when I sighted it in, but after the sight-in was done, we had a little bit of fun with some longer range targets.  I believe the range we were using only went out to about 250 yards, but I was able to hit paper plate sized targets from that distance using iron sights.

I expected the rifle to malfunction during our first trip to the range with it.  It was a brand new rifle, assembled with parts ordered individually from DPMS through our local firearms dealer, and it had never been fired before.  Honestly, the rifle surpassed my expectations, and I stand behind DPMS/Panther Arms 100%.  I still would like to fire many more rounds through it before I make a final judgment on the rifle, but in my opinion, DPMS is a great way to break into the AR15 platform, without breaking the bank.

Keep checking in, I will be adding a "Range Report" for some of the firearms we have reviewed recently, complete with pictures.  We are hoping to take the Sig Sauer P220, Springfield Armory XD45, DPMS/Panther Arms AR15 6.8SPC, as well as a newly acquired Ruger GP100 .357 Magnum Revolver to the range for an afternoon soon, so don't forget to follow along!