Daniel Defense’s focus is on providing top-quality small arms solutions to our military and law enforcement community. Daniel Defense founder Marty Daniel, a firearms enthusiast and lifelong shooter, discovered that the demand for the sling loops and rail systems he had designed and created was much greater than he had ever expected. Over the past 10 years, Daniel Defense has grown from a supplier of AR accessories to manufacturer of complete guns. Its latest offering, the Designated Marksman Package (DMP), is a portrait of Daniel Defense’s commitment to building high-performance firearms for law enforcement, the military and the shooting public. What sets Daniel Defense carbines apart from the competition’s? In a word, quality. Daniel Defense has solid experience building guns for military contracts. The parts for those guns must be mil-spec and are made in-house for better quality control.
Gun Details
Quality starts with the DMP’s barrel, which Daniel Defense cold-hammer-forges in-house from 4150 chrome-moly-vanadium steel and chrome-lines for corrosion resistance. The chamber is cut to 5.56mm NATO specifications, and the bore has a 1-in-7-inch twist, so it will stabilize the heaviest bullets available. Daniel Defense has chosen a relatively narrow diameter for the DMP’s 18-inch barrel. Dubbed the S2W profile, Daniel Defense says the barrel’s diameter and contour are optimized for a high strength-to-weight ratio. The exterior of the barrel is treated with a hard-wearing salt-bath nitride finish. The barrel is fitted with an A2-style muzzle brake with five longitudinal slots and the bottom is blanked off to tame muzzle rise.
Quality shows in every aspect of the gun. Both the barrel and the bolt are magnetic-particle tested to ensure their structural integrity. The gas key is properly staked. The upper and lower receivers are made from mil-spec materials, cut to mil-spec dimensions and treated with mil-spec coatings. The feed ramp has an M4 profile for maximum reliability, and the mouth of the magazine well is flared and beveled for faster and smoother magazine changes. The buffer tube is cut to mil-spec dimensions as well.