Posted: 4/8/2008 3:26:40 PM EDT
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Looking at getting the DCM upper from Midwayusa.com for $491.00 at the dealers price. I'm an average shooter, so the White Oak may be a little much for me. Question: Has anyone ever seen the DPMS DCM Upper? Give me the run down on them. Thanks |
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Bushmaster 225: In my experience with DPMS they are still light years away from what we competitors want and expect in a NM rifle or upper. I'll explain. I would expect that the the sights are 1/2 x1/2 minute. They may or may not track very well. The rear sight base will be canted to the left.  It features a free floated barrel but I do not know the quality of the float tube.  I do know of sub standard tubes are out there and if it isn't on par with the quality of the RRA you could be replacing it in the near future.Product number 616914 which I think is the one you are referring too is post ban (without flash hider) Product 984959 is the pre ban. Most like the looks of the pre ban.  Ooops, I see your from N.J. The FH is a no, no! The barrel is a Wilson 1 in 8 twist SS. It has the SAAMI spec chamber. These barrels are very good!  I use them and have installed them for several others. Never an issue!In reading the Midway ratings of others, it looks like there are some problems with assembly of the front sight tower.  They do back up their product and by now they should have corrected the problem with their poor (assembling) smithing. However if you get a problem upper, consider the costs of sending in back, phone calls etc.OK, you say your getting "dealer" pricing. You must be a dealer, if not, your milking the system. In either case, posting the dealer cost is not in the best interest of the retailers, gunsmiths, Midway USA or the sport in general. All in all the DPMS isn't a bad deal if the smithing is performed well but the rear sight needs modified/improved in it's alignment and for match shooting to eliminate the built in cant. Also the 1/4 minute sights are preferred by 9 out of 10 competitors. In the least, you would need to work on the rear sight yourself. Should be no problem for a "dealer" or have it sent out for a pin job. However you could buy a RRA NM rear sight assembly. Anyway you decide to correct what the rear sight is lacking, there goes almost another $100.  My best recommendation to you would be to purchase a RRA NM A2 upper. That way you would have the best of everything, including re-sale value. I see that Steve at ADCO has them in stock for $650. Of course that's not dealer.  Dave McGrath |
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Milking the System. Not only dealers get the dealer price. C&R's, LEO's etc. Midway is out of them now, excepted in on 4/18. I would think any of the problems you mentioned would be resolved. A friend bought a RRA Upper and also stated that the sights were screwed up. Thanks for your help. |
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While I value Wanglers opinion on many things,I have had no real complaints with my DPMS rifle and has served me very well for 3 yrs now.Yes the rear sight was slightly twisted/canted but that took all but 10 minutes to fix. And have not had another issue with it. Maybe I just got a good one ? but all I can comment on is the results I have had with mine. Tim |
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I started with a DPMS NM upper that has always served me well in fact a friend of mine shot a 490/500 with his in the last match of our season. The float tube may not be as robust as a WOA but the upper will shoot. If I had it to do all over again I would have bought the WOA (first) with the pinned rear sight for $750 or $695 without the rear sight modification. It is all the upper that you will ever need. The rear sight rides up and down on two 1/8" pins that are installed through the site and into the recever. The clicks are very strong and positive with zero backlash. The front sight is windage adjustable but will be zeroed before shipping. You also get three screw in hooded aperatures .038, .042 .046 so you can see which one works the best for you. Headspace will be held to no more than .001 over SAMMI minimum. The barrel is a heaivier contour than the DPMS or the RRA. None of these features come with a RRA. That being said the RRA is a nice upper than the DPMS but I just think the WOA is worth the extra for everything you get as well as the quality of the parts and the care taken in the assembly. The truth be told you should be able to shoot High Master scores with any of the three uppers! It all comes down to the $ and what you are comfortable with. |
Mine had a pretty mushy feeling and sometimes I would feel it skip. Although a friend of mine averaged 96% this year with his DPMS. I keep telling him If he got a new upper he would probably be a HM by now. He also uses old underwear and screw together GI cleaning rods to clean his rifle 
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I didn't say the DPMS was junk. My meaning to my post was to point out that for a couple dollars more, the RRA is the way to go. When a company lists their product as NM, I would think it is the best they have to offer. Then if you send it out to have modifications to get it to perform, well they don't have a product that meets NM specifications, at least in my opinion. Ever wonder why Midway doesn't stock the RRA line? It's because RRA can't keep up with the demand of their regular distributors, all due to demand for their QUALITY! Another thing I would like to make mention about. I keep a close ear to the wall and talk to many competitors. I get to see a lot of rifles and gear. If I don't recommend a product or a business that supplies high power competitors, it's because I am very good friends with more than 60 who regularly attend the matches I conduct at EMSC. Fourteen of them are juniors, many are seniors or grand seniors who spend their money on barrels, uppers, triggers, complete rifles or shooting gear and get the "BONE" when they encounter a problem. All within reason of course and not related to their own fault. Also I consider myself a friend of all that read my posts looking for their best deal. That's why my name is at the bottom of my posts rather than a "handle". I am serious about this sport, High Power, after all, I have been very active in it for over 20 years! Now if a C&R holder or LEO deserves a price break at Midway USA, then by God we high power shooters who spend 10 times or more the money than the folks mentioned "combined" each year on bullets, powder, barrels, shooting gear etc. we should contact Mr. Larry Potterfield and let him know who we are! After all, speaking for the majority of us in our sport, we are NRA members, members of our state associations, members of CMP & NRA affiliated gun clubs and we contribute to the NRA round up, that Mr. Potterfield initiated each time we order from his business. A copy of your NRA membership card, your high power classification card and state association card should suffice. It would be good for Midway or other major distributors to offer you dealer or at least some price break too! However, the above, as with all of my posts are my opinions. Dave McGrath |
OK. I'll say it the DPMS NM sucks donkey arse. Once you get a better upper you will feel the same. I had quite a few dead clicks. I cleaned it and regreased it only to find that to make 1/4 min. sights they simply drilled another detent on the windage knob. Granted I bought mine in 2001 and mine may have been an earlier production upper like 1st gen Apple iPods. Is DPMS even USA owned I thought they were bought by a private equity firm Cerebreus or something. Support USA!
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Hi Renn; That double detent windage knob is the same as the Armalite. Armalite had their name molded in it. They suck big time! One click and then mush. When I had one I didn't have a Ray-Vin sight checker but it was so bad, you just knew it wouldn't track. Now that I have a checker and have checked several manufactures sights, they all have a small degree of backlash. That's because they all work off of ball detents and springs. I believe it was Airgun1 that brought this to our attention in a post several months ago. Backlash is also evident in scopes. Easy to correct by going two extra clicks than needed then go two back. Your shot will be precision placed if you did your job. Now that DPMS and Bushmaster have new owners, lets all hope they improve their NM quality standards and listen to what we competitors want in a rifle. Somehow I seem to doubt that because the biggest market in the AR today is the tactical line. Dave McGrath |