D-Tech AR15's

capitol

Active member
A few years ago D Tech uppers were all the rage and now I dont really read anything about them anymore.
Are they still good to go or no?
 
Yep, they are hard to beat. My first AR was a Dtech, and that first one is still they one I pick up more than any other.

I don't know many people who have just one Dtech. Once they get one, they have to have another. They are kinda like potato chips.

I was putting mine to use just this past week.


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Oh yeah Mike is still making'em as fast as he can. I got a fast twist 22DTi this past year. Not sure how long the wait is now to get one but once the election is over I am sure it will be crazy again.
 
I spoke with Mike last week. He has all new equipment now and his wait time are less than 4 months for an upper, less than 2 months for a custom barrel and many standard barrels are in stock for immediate delivery. He is a very nice guy but if you want something non-standard he can be difficult if not impossible to convince otherwise. He just turned 63 and says he's still going strong but he does not visit the boards very often anymore and that is probably why you are not hearing as much about him. His products are top notch.
 
Mike is a top notch guy. I have an upper from him, 6x45, my most accurate firearm I own. But then again, I can't shoot for [beeep]. I am local to him and sometimes stop by to just chat with him. VERY knowledgeable guy.
 

Yep, Mike is a stand-up guy, pleasant to talk to and eager to please his customers. He goes to great lengths to make sure a customer gets what he wants.
My 6x45 is wonderfully accurate and a real pleasure to shoot. Mike spent a good length of time working on a 2-stage trigger for me too. Dtech is quality
and worth the wait.













My buddy's .204 Dtech is a sweet one too.





 
Originally Posted By: 6mm06
Yep, Mike is a stand-up guy, pleasant to talk to and eager to please his customers. He goes to great lengths to make sure a customer gets what he wants.
My 6x45 is wonderfully accurate and a real pleasure to shoot. Mike spent a good length of time working on a 2-stage trigger for me too. Dtech is quality
and worth the wait.













My buddy's .204 Dtech is a sweet one too.





How do you like that stock on yours? I've looked at them and often wondered. Not to steal your thread op
 

JJ,

My stock is the Ace Skeleton and my buddy has the typical A2 stock. I like the Ace just fine for the 20" barreled rifle. It's different than some of the others I see but I like it. In some of the photos you can see where I put a camo cover over it and my buddy did on his too.





 
I have a question about "custom" ARs . What exactly does mike do other than build to order? Is there any accuratizing or black manic or voodoo? I ordered an upper from another "custom" builder who is no longer on the forums and it was the most expensive paperweight I have ever bought. I was under the impression that they took extra time to fit and finish the builds but my experience with the other guys left a bad taste in my mouth. From what I gathered from our conversations (with Scott) he ordered the parts slapped it together and sent it out the door (way passed the quoted time) after a long laundry list of excuses. I could have ordered and built it myself for cheaper had I know that was going to be the case. Any insight would be appreciated. I wish I would have used mike as to this day I have not heard a single negative.
 
Quote: I wish I would have used mike as to this day I have not heard a single negative.


Doubt very seriously that you will. Mike builds a great rifle and is a good guy to deal with.

His rifles look good.....

and shoot well..........


Que mas quieres?

Regards,
hm
 
Doesn't he simply chamber and finish match grade barrels, then assemble with some of his own parts like proprietary gas blocks and handguards?

I suspect his barrel work is top notch. Other than that, I too wonder why anyone would want to wait 4+ months for an upper. It was an 8 month wait when I looked into buying and decided to build my own instead.
 
Mike (DTech) is a good guy, builds good stuff and has great customer service !

I cringe when that (Scott) guy is brought up. Had to many friends get his BS work and excuses to go with it.

 
I don't make it on here nearly as much as I used to several years ago. But it appears there are a couple more custom AR builders on this site now than back when I ordered mine. I can't speak for any of the newer companies. At the time there were only two, Dtech and another (I'm not mentioning names, but their name has already be brought up in this thread). I have an upper from both of them. Both are very good quality uppers. My Dtech is insanely accurate, the other is accurate. I'm not trying to bash anyone, only speaking from my personal experience, but if it was between the two of them again today, my money would go to Dtech, no questions asked! I can't speak for the newer companies that have come along since then, they may be just as good or better than Dtech. But I have experience with Dtech. I know if Mike tells me it's a 9 month lead time, I'll have my product in 9 months. I know if I change my mind again in the middle of the process and want a different caliber, and Mike tells me it's going to add another 2 weeks to it. Then its going to add another 14 days to my wait. I know if I have my build already planned out and built in my mind, and I tell Mike what I want and what I plan to achieve with it, if it's not going to do what I want it to do, Mike is going to tell me upfront, and he's also going to tell me what I need, to achieve what I want. It may be different now, but at the time there were several time slots on several days of the week that Mike took calls. I know if I called in then he'd either answer, or return my call shortly there after within in hour or so. I've never had the first issue with my build, but my close friend who ordered one the same day I did, did have a few small issues with his. Mike was very prompt to respond, and extremely helpful to make things right. He gave the option to either send it back and have the part replaced on his dime, or he'd send the part to us and we could replace it, still free of charge.

My experience with the other company that was here at the time was a night and day difference. Countless phone calls and emails never answered. Promised finish dates missed multiple times. And on the rare occasion I would get through and actually talk to someone, I got excuses after excuses. Only after I drug the admin here into it, did things start to turn around. I was told I would be notified when it shipped. The only thing I was notified about was when the local gun shop called to tell me they had received it.

If I were in the market for a new build right now, I would not hesitate to call Mike.
 
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Originally Posted By: DiRTY DOGDoesn't he simply chamber and finish match grade barrels, then assemble with some of his own parts like proprietary gas blocks and handguards?

I suspect his barrel work is top notch. Other than that, I too wonder why anyone would want to wait 4+ months for an upper. It was an 8 month wait when I looked into buying and decided to build my own instead.

Barrel work is the key along with his attention to detail. 4 months for a custom barrel isn't long especially for a 1 man show, any other smith with have you close to that time frame for a bolt gun chamber job.
 

My experience with Mike at Dtech was great. We had numerous e-mail and phone exchanges during the process of getting the upper I wanted. Mike didn't leave anything to chance and always wanted to talk to me about the build to ensure I got what I wanted. Despite his work load, Mike always responded to my calls and e-mails. His dedication to helping me is rather rare these days, and I am still impressed at the amount of time he took to explain to me about the cartridge and build, as well as his own personal experiences with bullets and loads etc. Outstanding customer service and a genuinely nice guy.

Even if the other company mentioned produces uppers on par with Mike (according to others, they don't), customer service alone would lead me back to Mike without question.

There's no denying the Dtech is an accurate one.





 
i wish he answered emails, i've tried a few times about 2 months ago with no reply. i know he is busy which is why i had emailed and sometimes its hard to call the day he is taking calls, website site needs to be updated,less clutter, straight forward price list by part or full gun price, stocks, etc
with that being said ive heard nothing but the best, and wish to do business even though i shouldnt for my money reasons:)
 
Mikes a great guy, let's get that out of the way first. I think a lot of Mikes magic uppers were ground breaking 10 yrs ago. He was one of the first to come up with a separate barrel nut that no longer required clocking to insert the gas tube properly. This also allowed less torque on the barrel nut since you no longer need to clock it. This also turned in to a Handguard that was free floating and now independent of the nut. But now everyone has their own barrel nut Handguard setup and I think many manufacturers have now exceeded Mikes design (most seem to be quite a bit lighter and allow for more attachments). Years ago all you could get was Mikes superior design.

He does full gun smithing services as well as having a pretty good inventory of just about anything your rifle might need. He has exclusive use of WSSM uppers and bolts as far as I know so if you want one Mike is it. He is an encyclopedia of rifle knowledge which is worth a lot if your not sure what you want in a caliber or barrel length.

I love his Shillen barrels and barrel work and will continue to purchase his barrels but I think the rest of the AR world has finally caught up to DTech. If you are new to the AR platform or have a very specific need then you cannot go wrong with Mikes uppers.
 
I really like his DTI line and all his uppers that I have shot shoot very well. Mike is a super good guy to deal with also.
 
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