Daniel Defense DDM4v11 Review

Daniel Defense is not a new player in the AR market and have been selling quite a lot of rifles for some time now. They aren’t quite as synonymous as Smith & Wesson and Ruger with firearms, but when it comes to the AR15 platform they are arguably the standard. I’ve had my eye on the Daniel Defense rifle for the last three or four years and finally was able to obtain one about five months ago. Since then, I’ve been doing some T&E and running the rifle so I can report back. I now believe I can say that I probably have enough experience with the DDM4V11 to tell you a little more about the rifle and my impressions.

First Impressions

When I first handled a Daniel Defense rifle, I picked up the quad rail version, or what they call the Omega. I loved it and decided I wanted one. However, I waited long enough to buy a Daniel Defense rifle that the Keymod Rail and M-Lok Rail craze came along. When I decided to buy the Daniel Defense rifle, the slim rails were available. I won’t get into the M-Lok/Keymod rail debate, although I am a fan of both, but I currently have most of my accessories in Keymod, so I went with the Keymod rail.

When you first pick up a Daniel Defense rifle you’ll notice that the tolerances are insanely tight. There was no play in the receiver and even the buttstock was tight and hard to move back-and-forth. It only took me about 30 seconds of holding this rifle to realize that it was coming home with me. Granted, I had held one before and liked it then, but that was prior to Daniel Defense creating their own furniture kit.

What really sold me this time was probably the grip. The pistol grip is unlike anything I’ve felt on a rifle before. The small pocket and spot for your thumb felt similar to a pistol when you establish your master grip. Without sounding too much like I’m trying to sell a keyboard, it is very ergonomic.

Shooting

After picking up the gun, I decided that before I added anything to it, I was going to to take it out to the range and shoot it with iron sights.

Personally, I love the Magpul PRO BUIS. There is just something about those sleek low profile sights that do something for me.

The first day I shot the DDM4V11, I put roughly 100-200 rounds down-range. It was insanely accurate, however, I only took it out to about 100 yards. Previously, I’ve been shooting a Noveske with an AAC quick attach suppressor mount for a break. I had also been running a rifle with a VG6 break and I loved it. The DDM4V11 wasn’t as flat shooting as the rifle I was running with the VG6 break, but the custom Daniel Defense break didn’t throw the same felt percussion as the VG6 does standing left or right of shooting. So the trade off for noise and percussion cost a bit when it came to shooting flat, but not much.

Accessories

What’s a rifle without some accessories, right? After debating on optics I decided on the Aimpoint Micro T-2. After slapping the T-2 on top of the rifle using the Daniel Defense Aimpoint Mount and sighting it in, I couldn’t be happier with my choice of optic. I’ll do a follow up review on the Aimpoint T-2 at a later time. I also threw on the Surefire M600-U light with the pressure switch. I love this little light and it doesn’t make the gun front heavy

I also purchased a VG6 break for this gun, but have yet to put it on. I’ll probably do a review of some kind for this break at a later time.

Final thoughts

That’s right Tomi Lahren, I have some final thoughts to! (Even though I won’t get nearly as many people to read this as you could, ha!)

This rifle has a few of those extra features that I didn’t appreciate until I used them. I was testing slings with this rifle, which comes with several built in quick disconnect (QD) areas. One on the receiver end plate, two on base of the rail near the barrel nut, and one on each side of the stock.

First I decided to run a single point sling that I attached to the receiver end plate. This attachment worked okay for certain situations, but if you aren’t wearing a chest rig that will catch the gun and stop it from hitting you in your “fun area” during transitions, it wasn’t the ideal setup.

Second, and my personal preference, is running the two point configuration with a slight that you can pull the slack out of. I attached one end to the buttstock and the other to the QD connector near the barrel nut. This worked great for transitions and my “fun area” was safe from being assaulted during transitions to pistol.

So to sum up this article: After firing over 1,000 rounds through the rifle in the past five months, I would have to say that I recommend this rifle hands down to anyone. The price tag is a bit higher than your typical rifle with an A2 front post sight, but what this rifle comes with out of the box is well worth the cost.

Disclaimer: This post was not a sponsored post and no company nor person contributed to it financially or with content other than the author.