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Double D Armory SST, not your father’s AR-15.

I met the owner of Double D Armory at The NRA show 2015 as we struck up a conversation about the show, how it was going, and so forth. I found out he was also a former Marine and manufactured boutique AR-15s. It was not long before he and I got a plan for a test gun.

A few months later the model SST in 5.56 NATO  test rifle arrived to me and I got started right away. The rifle upper and lower are made from billet aluminum and available in eleven hard coat anodized patterns. According to Double D Armory the anodized patterns are as durable as standard aluminum anodized parts and the rifle is capable of sub minute of angle accuracy with proper ammunition, optics, and human technique. The SST comes without sights, and truthfully at this price point it would be nice to include some sort of iron sights.

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Here is the rifle after it’s mud bath. Though it made it less fun to shoot, reliability and accuracy was not affected.

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Though I did not clean the rifle, I did put some CLP on it somewhere around 200 rounds.

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6 position Magpul collapsible stock.

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Full length Picatinny rail with these unique handguards.

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Standard single sided safety, worked exactly as it should.

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Quick detach mounts

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This rifle includes a forward assist, though some say they are not necessary I am glad to see it included.

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M4 style feed ramp to ensure reliability.

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Standard A2 type “bird cage” flash hider. Though I would have liked to see an updated flash hider, this one worked and is easily changed.

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Nickel Boron coated bolt carrier group. A nice upgrade.

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The trigger had a consistent amount of small take up and broke clean around 4 1/2 pounds.

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Magpul MOE grip with a small storage compartment.

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Billet aluminum lower and upper, you can see here it is reinforced in high stress areas.  The finish held up well over the test and some abuse.

Initial Range Trip

With the help of my buddy Beaux we took the SST to a private range where he had lined up four other folks, three of which had never shot and AR-15, to help out with the review.  I had previously sighted the MagPul flip up sights at twenty-five yards so we could get right to shooting once we got to the 100 yard line. After a period of instruction four guys each shot a five shot group from a rest with iron sights. The ammunition used was just cheap 55gr range ammunition and the average groups were three to five inches. A few of the guys also shot some fifty yard five shot groups and they averaged one to two inches. That is not bad at all for folks who have never shot an AR 15. Beaux and I both printed a couple of two inch five shot groups at 100 yards with the iron sights. After that I loaded up a couple MagPul thirty round magazines and just blew threw them at fifty yards getting the rifle pretty hot, but not so hot I could not keep a hold on the aluminum handguards. I was able to keep all sixty rounds on the silhouette target at fifty yards off hand with rapid fire. So, with the sight in and the first day we were at about 150 rounds without a failure and iron sight accuracy proved to be better than average but I know it is going to take optics to really see how well this rifle will shoot.

Second Range Trip

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Accuracy chart, rounds fired from a rest at 100 yards. Iron sight groups are 3 shot while groups shot through a scope were 5 shots. I did spend some time shooting groups with the rifle, getting to know it before recording final accuracy numbers.

Conclusions

The problem with high end AR-15s is they look the same as bargain basement AR-15s but as my wise friend, John Travis, says often “the devil is in the details”. Meaning it is not the paint job you need to look at but it is what is under the hood that counts. If you plan to buy an AR-15 to shoot occasionally, inside 100 yards, and mostly just look at, buy a cheap one and save your money for video games and pizza delivery. If, however, you plan on using your rifle as it was intended, by pushing the envelope of the 5.56, maybe not taking care of it as you should, running the gun hard and still expect reliability and sub MOA accuracy you would be better off investing your money in a high end rifle. Trust me, you will see the difference at the firing line. Not that it matters but it is also satisfying as hell to be the one on the firing line with the nice rifle. The Double D Armory SST is a great candidate for your choice on the upper echelon AR-15s. The rifle preformed exactly as the man who built it said it would throughout the 600 rounds I ran through it.

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I was able to keep most of the three shots under a half inch though when I went to five shot groups that opened up to three quarters of an inch and on some of the lighter bullets an inch. Being a light weight rifle, and without a heavy bull barrel I expect some of that was the barrel and some of that could very well be me.  Once I got the feel for the rifle the results were pretty consistent . There are a lot of included upgrades on the rifle but enough left for you to make it your own. Double D Armory is a relatively new manufacture but after having some time with his rifle, I do believe Jay is off to a good start and is a helluva nice guy that is available to talk to potential customers with questions and concerns

Gorilla Ammunition

Stillwood Ammunition 

Defender Ammunition

Tug Valley Armaments LLC

Hornady

Winchester Ammunition

Specifications

Receiver: Double D Armory, LTD Billet upper/lower receiver set finished in one of the following:

Mil Spec Hard Coat Anodize Camouflage: COVERCEAL(TM) Patterns.

Barrel: 16” Lothar Walther LW50 Stainless, 1:8 Twist, polygonal rifling, Light Weight Contour, Mid-Length gas system, .750 gas block.

Barrel Finish: Bead blasted prior to Black Nitride, matte finish.

Muzzle Treatment: A2 Flash Suppressor.

Caliber: 5.56 NATO

Butt Stock: B5 Systems Sop Mod w/ QD.

Grip: Ships with MagPul MOE+ or B5 Systems Grip

Hand Guard: Double D Armory, LTD Enhanced Free Float*. (Finished in the receiver set finish listed above)

Gas System: Gas Impingement.

Trigger: ALG Defense Advanced Combat Trigger. 5.5-6.0 LBS, HardLubing** finish.

Bolt CarrierGroup: Double D Armory, LTD finished in Nickel Boron.

Weight 6.3 pounds

Accessories: Operators manual, one 30 round magazine (were permitted by law).

MSRP $1949

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By Hunter Elliott

I spent much of my youth involved with firearms and felt the call early on to the United States Marine Corps, following in my father's and his brother's footsteps. Just after high school I enlisted and felt most at home on the rifle range, where I qualified expert with several firearms and spent some time as a rifle coach to my fellow Marines. After being honorably discharged I continued teaching firearm safety, rifle and pistol marksmanship, and began teaching metallic cartridge reloading. In the late 1990s I became a life member to the National Rifle Association and worked with the Friends of the NRA. Around that time my father and I became involved with IDPA and competed together up until he passed away. I began reviewing firearms for publications in the mid 2000s and have been fortunate to make many friends in the industry. Continuing to improve my firearms skills and knowledge is a never ending journey in which we should all be committed. I am also credited as weapons master on a few independent films.

4 thoughts on “Double D Armory SST, not your father’s AR-15”
  1. One of your best articles, the photography was really clear and effective. Also enjoyed the video, boy you gave this rifle h____. Keep up the good work

  2. […] Originally Posted by Snakeii Those of you that have had various flavors of AR15's, Id like your opinion. I'm debating on the RRA Pro-Series Elite, or going with a less expensive Bushmaster Modular or similar style rifle. I really like RRA's setup, thats exactly what I want (dont really have a reason to go tri-burst or full, those days are over…), and I priced out everything and it would be cheaper just to buy the entire package. But, the cheapest Ive found is $2700, I could easily fit in a Bushmaster or the S&W and get the add-ons later, which will cost more in the long run. Between working part-time now, going to school and making the bills its a tough choice. I've only shot the Colt breeds, which I love but I think they are no better than RRA and other top picks. I guess I miss carrying this weapon, and its a matter of time before they decide to ban the "assault" rifles again, so Id like to get one in the next few weeks. As for the rifling I think I'll just go for the 1:9, maybe pick up another barrel later down the road for serious plinking/varmint hunting. Later on I'll probably pick up a Springfield rifle, or maybe one of those AR-47's if I can find one and are worth the hoot. Have to get one of those 10-22 "gatling" gun kits too Check these guys out! Sub MOA and runs flawless! https://double-d-armory.com/ A review I found: Double D Armory SST, not your father's AR-15 […]

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