Dpms Panther Serial Number Lookup

PREBAN AR15 INFORMATION RESOURCES | PRE BAN AR 15

Oct 05, 2019 Serial Number Lookup Specs Dpms Serial Number Manufacture Date According to what I found was sold as a complete rifle by DPMS, I see conflicting info about them building rifles with non-sequencial serial numbers and just the serial does not tell if preban you have to contact them.

1. Post a pic of your serial number, with the K in it. You can delete part of it, but leave the K in there. All DPMS LR-308 stripped lower receivers had a K at the end of the serial number. You're talking Gen 2, as well, so who knows what they did with that platform.
2. Record the serial number of your DPMS/Panther Arms firearm! Randy Luth founded Defense Procurement Manufacturing Services (DPMS) in 1985 in Osseo, Minnesota as a precision machine shop for manufacturing M203, M14 and M16 parts for U.S. Dpms Panther Serial Number Lookup.

PRE BAN AR 15

PRE BAN AR 15 information is very valuable to shooters in states that maintain an ASSAULT WEAPON BAN. While I dont normally advocate borrowing content from other websites I feel this information is invaluable and needs to be protected, duplicated and shared for the greater good of the shooting community.

If anyone has more information and links please post them at the bottom and I will update the list. If you have a lower of from one of the lesser known brands and have managed to verify the date to the serial number please add your info to the comments and I will add it to the master list.

OLYMPIC ARMS

Q: What does my serial number mean?

A: Nothing is more frustrating than to know little or nothing about the firearm you own or are about to buy. Use the information in this page to help determine when your Olympic Arms AR 15 was produced. Please read all of the details on this page because there are many questions answered in the following paragraphs.

As many of you already know, on the 7th of June, 2000, Olympic Arms experienced a devastating fire that destroyed our sales offices. In those offices were housed our current as well as archival records with regards to manufacture, acquisition and distribution of firearms. The books that we, as well as all federally licensed firearms dealers are required to keep are commonly known as 'Bound Books', or 'A&D' (acquisition & distribution) books.

These books, over 25 years of Olympic Arms history and data, were completely destroyed in that fire. All A& D book records prior to the 7th of June, 2000 are GONE. Period. This is an unfortunate situation that severely limits our ability to provide product information for any and all AR-15 lower receivers and/or complete guns manufactured prior to that date. As a result all that we can provide is what you see below, a date 'range' in which your serial number was manufactured.

We CANNOT provide you with the date the serial number was shipped, we CANNOT provide you with information determining whether a particular serial number was a factory assembled firearm, and most importantly, we CANNOT determine whether or not your particular serial number is a legal grandfathered pre-ban firearm.

Many people and organizations have been critical of Olympic Arms for not securing a copy of these records elsewhere, or keeping an electronic file of this data as an emergency back up. If you'd like to read why this decision was made, please read the article in the About Us section titled 'Pre-fire Bound Books'. Remember that Olympic Arms fully complied, and still does, with ATF regulations regarding A&D books.

Below you will see a list of serial numbers. At Olympic, we group our serial numbered lowers into 'ranges'. If you'll notice, all the serial number ranges have a letter prefix but one. The initial receivers made by Olympic Arms simply contain a 4 digit serial number, no letter prefix. Each subsequent serial number range (either beginning with 0001, or 1001) will show a 1 or 2 letter prefix.

Additionally, you will see several lines for serial numbers that begin with the same letter(s) prefix. These prefix series are divided by a date range to their right. These date ranges are the beginning and ending dates of the physical paper ledgers in which those numbers were recorded. In other words, the ledger books were not large enough to contain all of the numbers (0001-9999), in one book. For that reason, there is a beginning date and end date for each ledger. That is what you see below.

Match your receiver up with the letter prefixes on the chart below. Each line is separated into 5 columns.

Column 1: The serial number itself (including prefix).

Column 2: The beginning serial number in that book.

Column 3: The beginning date for that book. If there is only one date listed after the serial numbers in column 2 and/or 2, all of those numbers were manufactured on that same day.

Column 4: End date for that book.

Column 5: Comments regarding that range of serial numbers. The comments as listed would apply to all of the serial numbers with the prefix listed to the left.

AR15.com

The folks over at AR15. com have compiled the list below

Disclaimer: This list is correct to the best of my knowledge, however, I accept absolutely no responsibility for the accuracy of this information or for the consequences and/or damages occurring from any inaccuracies. I have compiled this list for the purposes of sharing information only. This is not intended to be used in any way except for personal entertainment. It is a compilation of both personal information and information submitted from others from the Internet. ALL SERIAL NUMBERS SHOULD BE VERIFIED FROM THE MANUFACTURER PRIOR TO ANY PURCHASE OR ASSEMBLY. It should be noted that it is a felony to possess a Post-Ban (newly assembled after Sept 13, 1994) assault weapon.

If any information presented here is found to be incorrect or you have additional information to contribute, please contact me via E-Mail (hkusp40@midmaine.com) and I will update and re-issue the list.

Note: All items marked with a single asterisk (*) are taken from http://home1.gte.net/bblakley/ban/index.htm. The year/serial numbers under Colt SP series was forwarded to me by an individual whose return address I no longer have. Double asterisk (**) under Bushmaster, a person on the internet e-mailed me that he had a lower that was shipped stripped (thus not a complete rifle) in 1991 from Bushmaster with serial #0327XX – ALWAYS CALL TO VERIFY.

Advanced Armaments

No information – Apparently machined from bar stock aluminum, lowers are marked as M-15.

American Spirit Arms (Formerly 'Sun Valley Traders')

Ipad Serial Number Lookup

ALL lowers are Post Ban AR 15. Began introduction of lowers and rifles in mid/late 1998. Noted as having good fit & finish. Also, reported to be manufactured by Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT).

Armalite | Eagle Arms

Slightly over S/N 30,000 was the Pre Ban AR 15 cut-off, call to verify.* (Some Eagle lowers below the 30,000 range were determined to be POST BAN AR 15 by BATFE – call to verify) Armalite sells Eagle lowers, but sells factory complete rifles with Armalite lowers.

Bohica

Made stainless steel lowers, rumored to have also made AR-15 pistols. Lower marked M16-SA. This is NOT verifiable info as it came from the Internet. Out of Business.

Bushmaster

Below L051000 – Assembled Pre Ban AR 15 Rifles and some pre-94 lowers.**
L051001-L063000 – Mixed Pre Ban Assembled Rifles and Pre-Sept 94 Lowers (Call to verify)
L063001 and Up – Post Ban

Century International Arms

Lower marked CIA. All are Post-Ban. Made with Olympic Arms Receivers under contract.

Colt Firearms

CC001616 and Below – Pre-Ban
CH019500 and Below – Pre-Ban
GC018500 and Below – Pre-Ban
LH011326 and Below – Pre-Ban
MH086020 and Below – Pre-Ban
NL004800 and Below – Pre-Ban
SL027246 and Below – Pre-Ban
SP360200 and Below – Pre-Ban
1963 SP00001-SP00023**
1964 SP00101
1965 SP02501
1966 SP05600
1967 SP08250
1968 SP10750
1969 SP14000-SP14653
1970 SP15001-SP15473
1971 SP16001
1972 SP19401
1973 SP24201
1974 SP32601
1975 SP43801
1976 SP55301
1977 SP67651
1978 SP83400
ST038100 and Below – Pre-Ban
TA10100 and Below – Pre-Ban
BD000134 and Below – Pre-Ban (AR-15A3 Tactical Carbine – very rare model)
MT00001 and Above – Post-Ban
BK000001and Above – Post Ban (CAR-A3)
CST000001 and Above – Post-Ban (Began Late 1997 Production)
CMH000001 and Above – Post Ban
CCH010000 and Above – Post Ban MT6700, MT6700C and MT6700CH series, 1998 production

Dalphon

All are POST ban. Cast 356-T6 Aluminum, hardcoat anodized per mil-spec A-8625

DPMS

Below 10300 – Pre Ban AR 15 Rifles.
Some or all lowers are cast. Black in color. Some lowers are Stainless Steel.

Eagle Arms

Now called ArmaLite. They will not give out a list, but will look up on an individual basis. Lower receiver serial numbers DO NOT begin with EA.

Essential Arms

All are Pre Ban AR 15 Rifles as they went out of business in 1993. (DPMS bought them prior to the Ban) Call DPMS Lower receiver serial numbers begin with EA. Some or all lowers are cast. Light gray coloring. It is rumored that Ruger investment casted the lowers for Essential Arms.

Frankford Arsenal

All are Pre Ban AR 15 Rifles. As rumor has it, Olympic Arms produced the lowers for Frankford Arsenal Call Olympic Arms and then Frankford assembled the weapon. A2 configuration lower. Frankford Arsenal went out of business in 1987. (Info from RudolphoS@aol.com)

These books, over 25 years of Olympic Arms history and data, were completely destroyed in that fire. All A& D book records prior to the 7th of June, 2000 are GONE. Period. This is an unfortunate situation that severely limits our ability to provide product information for any and all AR-15 lower receivers and/or complete guns manufactured prior to that date. As a result all that we can provide is what you see below, a date 'range' in which your serial number was manufactured.

We CANNOT provide you with the date the serial number was shipped, we CANNOT provide you with information determining whether a particular serial number was a factory assembled firearm, and most importantly, we CANNOT determine whether or not your particular serial number is a legal grandfathered pre-ban firearm.

Many people and organizations have been critical of Olympic Arms for not securing a copy of these records elsewhere, or keeping an electronic file of this data as an emergency back up. If you'd like to read why this decision was made, please read the article in the About Us section titled 'Pre-fire Bound Books'. Remember that Olympic Arms fully complied, and still does, with ATF regulations regarding A&D books.

Below you will see a list of serial numbers. At Olympic, we group our serial numbered lowers into 'ranges'. If you'll notice, all the serial number ranges have a letter prefix but one. The initial receivers made by Olympic Arms simply contain a 4 digit serial number, no letter prefix. Each subsequent serial number range (either beginning with 0001, or 1001) will show a 1 or 2 letter prefix.

Additionally, you will see several lines for serial numbers that begin with the same letter(s) prefix. These prefix series are divided by a date range to their right. These date ranges are the beginning and ending dates of the physical paper ledgers in which those numbers were recorded. In other words, the ledger books were not large enough to contain all of the numbers (0001-9999), in one book. For that reason, there is a beginning date and end date for each ledger. That is what you see below.

Match your receiver up with the letter prefixes on the chart below. Each line is separated into 5 columns.

Column 1: The serial number itself (including prefix).

Column 2: The beginning serial number in that book.

Column 3: The beginning date for that book. If there is only one date listed after the serial numbers in column 2 and/or 2, all of those numbers were manufactured on that same day.

Column 4: End date for that book.

Column 5: Comments regarding that range of serial numbers. The comments as listed would apply to all of the serial numbers with the prefix listed to the left.

AR15.com

The folks over at AR15. com have compiled the list below

Disclaimer: This list is correct to the best of my knowledge, however, I accept absolutely no responsibility for the accuracy of this information or for the consequences and/or damages occurring from any inaccuracies. I have compiled this list for the purposes of sharing information only. This is not intended to be used in any way except for personal entertainment. It is a compilation of both personal information and information submitted from others from the Internet. ALL SERIAL NUMBERS SHOULD BE VERIFIED FROM THE MANUFACTURER PRIOR TO ANY PURCHASE OR ASSEMBLY. It should be noted that it is a felony to possess a Post-Ban (newly assembled after Sept 13, 1994) assault weapon.

If any information presented here is found to be incorrect or you have additional information to contribute, please contact me via E-Mail (hkusp40@midmaine.com) and I will update and re-issue the list.

Note: All items marked with a single asterisk (*) are taken from http://home1.gte.net/bblakley/ban/index.htm. The year/serial numbers under Colt SP series was forwarded to me by an individual whose return address I no longer have. Double asterisk (**) under Bushmaster, a person on the internet e-mailed me that he had a lower that was shipped stripped (thus not a complete rifle) in 1991 from Bushmaster with serial #0327XX – ALWAYS CALL TO VERIFY.

Advanced Armaments

No information – Apparently machined from bar stock aluminum, lowers are marked as M-15.

American Spirit Arms (Formerly 'Sun Valley Traders')

Ipad Serial Number Lookup

ALL lowers are Post Ban AR 15. Began introduction of lowers and rifles in mid/late 1998. Noted as having good fit & finish. Also, reported to be manufactured by Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT).

Armalite | Eagle Arms

Slightly over S/N 30,000 was the Pre Ban AR 15 cut-off, call to verify.* (Some Eagle lowers below the 30,000 range were determined to be POST BAN AR 15 by BATFE – call to verify) Armalite sells Eagle lowers, but sells factory complete rifles with Armalite lowers.

Bohica

Made stainless steel lowers, rumored to have also made AR-15 pistols. Lower marked M16-SA. This is NOT verifiable info as it came from the Internet. Out of Business.

Bushmaster

Below L051000 – Assembled Pre Ban AR 15 Rifles and some pre-94 lowers.**
L051001-L063000 – Mixed Pre Ban Assembled Rifles and Pre-Sept 94 Lowers (Call to verify)
L063001 and Up – Post Ban

Century International Arms

Lower marked CIA. All are Post-Ban. Made with Olympic Arms Receivers under contract.

Colt Firearms

CC001616 and Below – Pre-Ban
CH019500 and Below – Pre-Ban
GC018500 and Below – Pre-Ban
LH011326 and Below – Pre-Ban
MH086020 and Below – Pre-Ban
NL004800 and Below – Pre-Ban
SL027246 and Below – Pre-Ban
SP360200 and Below – Pre-Ban
1963 SP00001-SP00023**
1964 SP00101
1965 SP02501
1966 SP05600
1967 SP08250
1968 SP10750
1969 SP14000-SP14653
1970 SP15001-SP15473
1971 SP16001
1972 SP19401
1973 SP24201
1974 SP32601
1975 SP43801
1976 SP55301
1977 SP67651
1978 SP83400
ST038100 and Below – Pre-Ban
TA10100 and Below – Pre-Ban
BD000134 and Below – Pre-Ban (AR-15A3 Tactical Carbine – very rare model)
MT00001 and Above – Post-Ban
BK000001and Above – Post Ban (CAR-A3)
CST000001 and Above – Post-Ban (Began Late 1997 Production)
CMH000001 and Above – Post Ban
CCH010000 and Above – Post Ban MT6700, MT6700C and MT6700CH series, 1998 production

Dalphon

All are POST ban. Cast 356-T6 Aluminum, hardcoat anodized per mil-spec A-8625

DPMS

Below 10300 – Pre Ban AR 15 Rifles.
Some or all lowers are cast. Black in color. Some lowers are Stainless Steel.

Eagle Arms

Now called ArmaLite. They will not give out a list, but will look up on an individual basis. Lower receiver serial numbers DO NOT begin with EA.

Essential Arms

All are Pre Ban AR 15 Rifles as they went out of business in 1993. (DPMS bought them prior to the Ban) Call DPMS Lower receiver serial numbers begin with EA. Some or all lowers are cast. Light gray coloring. It is rumored that Ruger investment casted the lowers for Essential Arms.

Frankford Arsenal

All are Pre Ban AR 15 Rifles. As rumor has it, Olympic Arms produced the lowers for Frankford Arsenal Call Olympic Arms and then Frankford assembled the weapon. A2 configuration lower. Frankford Arsenal went out of business in 1987. (Info from RudolphoS@aol.com)

Hesse Arms

All AR-15's are post ban. Manufacturing began late 1997/early 1998.

J.L.M & Sons*

SC001 thru SC250 are Pre Ban AR 15 Rifles. All others are post ban.

Knights Armament Co. aka KAC

All AR-15's are post ban, very few AR-10's are pre-ban. No further info at this time.

Military Manufacturing (M2)

All were military/law enforcement only. Full auto lowers were standard, semi were optional. Lowers were machined form raw bar stock with improvements incorporated – 18deg magazine angle and square magazine release.

Nesard

See 'Sendra' below.

Olympic Arms (Continued)

4-numbers only – very very old. Probably machined from bar stock.
1-letter and 4# – older receiver, but forgings. (Some are newer, POST ban castings – call to verify.)
2-letters & 4# – most receivers follow this pattern.
2#, 2 letters, 4# – the first two #'s are year of manufacture of the lower.
2 letters, 6# (separated 2 & 4 – e.g. SA 96 0000) – first 2 #'s are year of manufacture.
'ICR' marked lowers are an European customer's overrun, has an unused additional hole – all ICR lowers are post ban.

Olympic Arms Manufacturer's Notes:

1. There were some odd variations and some custom serial numbers mixed in thru the years also. And, some receivers manufactured after the ban have the year stamp after the model name, not in the serial #. and if you don't see a year stamp on the receiver, it is not necessarily pre-ban.
2. Serial numbers that end in 'D' were duplicates and one was changed using this letter.
3. Recently some serial numbers have left with one or two letters followed by FIVE numbers. The last numbers are either 5's or 0's. 99.9% of these are post-ban.
4. 'Older' does not always mean pre-ban as per Corey Sattler.
5. 'BL' serial number series lowers are transitional with some pre and some post ban. If you have a 'BL' you'll have to call to verify for certain.

Professional Ordinance

All are post ban (including all of the pistols).

Serial Number Lookup Model

PWA

35222 and Below – Pre Ban AR 15 Rifles (Note:Some lowers are cast not forged. Out of business) Post-ban have a year prefix in the serial number. Rumored to have only sold lowers.

Rocky Mountain Arms

Producer of AR-15 type pistols.

Sendra

Post-ban receivers have a circle milled into the side of the magwell. They were originally bead-blasted to a non-glare finish. All others are pre-ban. (This is unverified info…) Also, they used to be NESARD. Rumored to have been owned by Dick Drasen (currently M&A Parts) and produced lowers only out of Barrington, Illinois. No complete guns were sold (again, unverified info).

Colt Carbine R6521

Colt Carbine R6521 – Is a rare Colt of which only a few hundred were made for export purposes. They are not marked Sporter, AR-15 or SP1. These are the only Colt AR15 type weapons allowed to be transferred among Connecticut citizens

DPMS Panther Arms AP4 Panther Carbine
By Christopher Bartocci
In the 1950s, the ArmaLite Division of Fairchild Engine and Aircraft touted their new revolutionary AR-10 as 'Tomorrow's Rifle Today.' How right they were. But the day of the AR-10 would have to wait nearly 40 years to just show how true that claim was.
With the adoption of the smaller caliber AR-15, which was destined to become the 5.56x45mm M16 rifle, the AR-10 wound up in the scrap heap of the Ordnance Corps, even though it may have well been superior to the home grown M14 which was adopted by the U.S. military. The M-14 had an active service life of only 6 years before the AR-15/M16 would officially replace it as the main battle rifle for the United States military. Though the AR-10 was produced in limited number by Artillerie-Inrichtingen Hembrug-Zaandam of the Netherlands, it would disappear and become one of those extremely valuable collector items of the lineage to the longest serving small arm in U.S. history, the M16.
It was not until the early 1990s when the AR-10 would be re-introduced by its designer, Eugene Stoner. The AR-10 was always special to Stoner. His original design interest was in 7.62mm military rifles and it was noticed by individuals from Ordnance Corps that the AR-10 was unusually accurate for an auto-loading firearm. This was for good reason. Stoner teamed up with C. Reed Knight, Jr. of Knight's Armament Company and introduced the SR (Stoner Rifle) -25 (10 + 15). This was a match grade sniper rifle based on the AR-10 with many of the advancements of the M16A2 and boasted 60% parts commonality. But it was expensive and scarce to anyone other than military. The development of the SR-25 was paid for through commercial sales. Knight did introduce a very small limited run of SR-25 carbines just before the September 1994 Assault Weapon Ban. These utilized the telescopic carbine stock and a 16-inch free-floated barrel.
In the mid 1990s, Mark Westrom, President of Eagle Arms, bought the trademark along with all other remaining rights pertaining to ArmaLite and reintroduced his Company as ArmaLite. Westrom made many 5.56mm variations of the M16 rifle but his true crown jewel was the reintroduction of the AR-10. The new AR-10A2 and A4 series were modernized AR10's. Unlike the SR-25, Westrom was more concerned with making a rifle that was designed to be a 7.62mm rifle than a rifle that shared parts commonality with the existing M16A2. Westrom built a stronger rifle utilizing forged receivers instead of extruded ones and at a much more affordable price. In fact, ArmaLite (Westrom) has sold more AR-10 rifles than all the others combined throughout the history of the AR-10. With the new ArmaLite Company geared toward high quality weapons design and sales at reasonable prices, the AR-10 was back and back for good. Westrom did develop his weapon with surrogate components from the SR-25 and did maintain parts compatibility to tap into the existing SR-25 market.
AR-10 Carbine Development
Although the mid to late 1990s showed a variety of different AR-10/SR25 rifles, the one that was usually missing from Knight's and ArmaLite's catalogue was the carbine versions. This was due to the federal assault weapon ban that prohibited the use of telescopic stocks, bayonet lugs, flash suppressors and production of high-capacity magazines for commercial use. ArmaLite got around the magazine ban by his converting the countless surplus pre-ban M14 magazines into the magazines for his AR-10A2/A4 family of weapons. If you were fortunate enough to have an SR-25 you were stuck paying nearly $150 for a 20-round magazine. With there being little law enforcement or military interest in a compact 7.62mm weapons system, it made little sense to invest in the development of something you could not sell; at least, not yet.
On September 14, 2004, the federal assault weapon ban expired. These weapons were now legal in most states and civilians were anxious to get their hands on a 7.62mm M4. ArmaLite was the first to respond with their AR-10A4 carbine. This sported a 16-inch barrel with an M16A2-style muzzle break and a telescopic stock. Selling for around $1,400, ArmaLite could not produce enough. Knight's also responded and in 2005 put into production a carbine version of their SR-25 called the MK11 Carbine, which is made in very limited numbers and sells for more than $5,000.
The DPMS AP4 Panther Carbine
The latest entry into the AR-10 family of carbines is the AP4 carbine manufactured by DPMS Panther Arms and introduced at the 2005 SHOT Show. Selling for $1,249, the AP4 is an extremely high quality carbine that is light, reliable and accurate. Panther Arms offers an entire line of match grade rifles in this caliber but the carbine comes in two configurations with the only difference being the hand guard. One comes with standard hand guards and the other with a free floating hand guard. All come with two 20-round magazines and the DPMS Panther Arms Back Up Iron Sight, sling and operators manual all in a hard plastic carrying case.
The Upper Receiver
The upper receiver is made from thick-walled, extruded from 6066 T-6 aluminum. The receiver is then hard coat anodized to a flat black finish. The top of the receiver has a flattop Mil-Std 1913 rail. A unique aspect of the upper receiver is that it has a forward assist/shell deflector built into the receiver located directly behind the ejection port. Why does the AP4 carbine have a forward assist when Knight's and ArmaLite do not? DPMS was merely responding to customer demand. Although the forward assist assembly is quite useless and designed to force a bolt closed, which you should never do, there are customers who demand it because the M16 has it. The original rifle was designed without one for good reason but there has been a perceived psychological need for it, not a mechanical need, one which has kept it on the M16/M4 series weapons since the mid 1960s. The customers desired it so Panther Arms provided this feature on their AP4. The shell defector, like on the 5.56mm rifle, prevents ejected fired cartridge cases from hitting the left handed shooter in the face. The standard ejection port dust cover is used as well.
The 16-inch long barrel is manufactured from 4140 chrome-molly steel and has the 'step-down' contour of the barrel of the M4 carbine. The barrel is button rifled with a right hand twist of six lands and grooves with a 1 turn in 10-inch twist. The carbine uses a standard profile M16 front sight assembly with the M16A2/M4 square front sight post and a modified Vortex-type flash suppressor. The carbine utilizes a gas tube for its direct impingement gas system.
The test and evaluation carbine was also equipped with a DPMS designed BUIS (Back Up Iron Sight). This is very much a standard M16A2 style rear sigh adjustable for both windage and elevation with both long and short range apertures and is secured by two tension bolts. However, any BUIS can be attached to the standard Mil-Std 1913 rail.

The Lower Receiver
The lower receiver is milled from a solid billet of 6061-T6 aluminum and hard coat anodized to a flat black finish. The trigger components utilized are standard .155 diameter AR-15 hammer, trigger and disconnector. The selector is the A2-style with co witness on the right side of the receiver so a left handed shooter will know the condition of his rifle. The lower receiver is thicker and sturdier than either the Knight or the ArmaLite rifle.
The telescopic stock utilizes an M4-type polymer stock but has 6 sliding positions instead of Mil-Spec four. The carbine uses a different buffer than the standard carbine and is much shorter in length.
The magazine is one of the most interesting features of the AP4. DPMS chose to go with the Knight's 20-round magazine, which is an enhanced original AR-10 magazine. It is the most optimal choice for the AR-10 type weapon system and now, with the high capacity magazine manufacturing restrictions lifted, DPMS was free to go with this magazine design. Their magazine retails for $59.95.
The AP4 Bolt Carrier Group
Like the SR-25, DPMS went with the original ArmaLite hard chrome plated bolt carrier. Showing that retro look is 'in' and the obsolete chrome plated bolt carrier groups have made a reappearance over the last few years after being discontinued in the mid-1960s for the current manganese phosphate finish. DPMS has reverted back to this finish as well on their entire line of 5.56x45mm rifles. Another interesting departure from previous bolt carriers is that DPMS went with two gas vents instead of three that have always been used since the 1950s. Another difference is the firing pin retaining pin. Knight's went with a captive firing pin retaining pin to prevent this commonly lost part from disappearing at an inopportune moment while ArmaLite went with the standard cotter-style pin. DPMS went with the machined pin similar to the original pins used by Colt in the early days of Vietnam. They were discontinued by the Army in favor of the cheaper and more durable cotter-type pin. This DPMS firing pin retaining pin is over-engineered and very durable.
Both the ArmaLite and the DPMS AP4 use dual extractor springs to increase extraction strength in the higher pressure carbines. Westrom however, utilizes a rubber 'O' ring to further enhance extraction reliability. DPMS stayed with a free-floating firing pin like Knight's whereas ArmaLite put a firing pin spring on the firing pin to lessen the likelihood of slam fires.
Conclusions
DPMS offers a very high quality and economical option to the 7.62x51mm AR-10 family of carbines. The AP4 can serve several roles that include hunting, target shooting and personal defense. It's lightweight and compactness will take it where few 7.62x51mm caliber rifles have gone before. With the introduction of these lightweight carbines by Knight's Armament, ArmaLite and DPMS, the 7.62x51mm cartridge has a package that could be suitable for close quarter battle conditions.
The test and evaluation carbine that was received and tested showed no points of concern in any areas. The AP4 carbine was high quality with excellent fit and finish. During live fire testing the carbine experienced no malfunction utilizing American Eagle .308 Winchester, Winchester Supreme 168-grain Open Tip Match, the authors own reloaded 147-grain full metal jacket as well as an assortment of surplus ammunition. The magazines interchanged and functioned flawlessly in both the SR-25 and the AP4. DPMS offers many configurations and add-ons to make the AP4 do anything a smaller 5.56mm caliber carbine can do and much more. Due to the modularity of the AP4 carbine, by replacing the upper receiver group the rifle can be a carbine, standard rifle or a match rifle. Then again, that is the beauty of any AR-15/M16/M4 based weapon system.
PANTHER LONG RANGE 308 C 16-inch AP4 CARBINE (RFA2-308AP4) Barrel:

• 16-inch heavy barrel, with a mock M4 contour
• 4140 Chrome-moly steel
• 6 grooves, right-handed 1x10 twist, button rifled
• 308 Panther Flash Hider

Chamber:

• .308 Winchester Method of Operation:
• Gas operated rotating bolt Sights:
  • Standard A2 front sight assembly
  • Detachable rear sight (FT-RS)
  Weight:
  • Empty - 8.5 lbs Length:
  • Extended - 35.6 inches
  • Collapsed - 31.6 inches
  Upper Receiver:
  • A3-style Flattop, forged
  • Thick walled, extruded from 6066-T6 aluminum
  • Hard coat anodized and Teflon coated black
  • Dust cover
  • Shell deflector
  • Round forward assist
  Lower Receiver:
  • Milled from a solid billet of 6061-T6 aluminum
  • Hard coat anodized and Teflon coated black
  • Standard AR-15 trigger group
  • Integral trigger guard
  • Aluminum magazine release button
  Stock:
  • AP4 - 6 position, telescoping fiber reinforced polymer

Dpms Serial Number Dates

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