The DMK22 upper/lower fit on any other standard AR upper/lower. Only chance of reclassification is to prohibited if all AR15s go away at some point.Originally Posted by G.Mitchell
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The DMK22 upper/lower fit on any other standard AR upper/lower. Only chance of reclassification is to prohibited if all AR15s go away at some point.
If that's the case it's pretty straight forward and restricted. Thought I'd read that it wasn't a standard spec upper/lower and not compatible.
Looking for members in Grande Prairie Alberta interested in wilderness skills, survival skills, camping, prepping, shooting, etc.
There are no full reviews that I could find outside of old SHOT show coverage, so I based my comment on seconds 25-35 of this video (youtube.com/watch?v=-iU97MF3p7o) which gives a brief look at the 2017 production rifle. He mentions he could take the upper and put it on a regular AR.
Once I get my DMK22 from IRG (it's in this month's import) I'll post proper pictures and descriptions.
Here is a sneak peek:
As you can see, she's now wearing some NEA furniture. I've run out of time for the day, but I took lots of pictures during the disassembly which I will hopefully post tomorrow, including a scan of the parts diagram from the manual.
First impressions are that it's a pretty neat toy.
Last edited by RideauBound; 05-07-2018 at 10:07 AM.
Great to see you received your DMK22. Looking forward to detailed pictures. Does it come with the adapter to install a 10/22 barrel?
Yes they are standard uppers and lowers. I know the guys that machine them and basically they could be used in just about any AR build. Apparently, and I can't confirm this so I could be wrong, but I've been told that you could swap out the upper for a center fire and you're good to go. Pretty sure that would make them restricted right there.
Yes.
And now, review time as promised!
The DMK22 comes with a generic hard case, there’s no branding on it and it’s fairly flimsy.
Inside you’ll find the rifle, one 15rd magazine, and a manual. The latter mentions a locking device, but none came with my rifle.
The rifle is made entirely of alloy, minus the grip and stock. The sights are a mixture of polymer and metal. The rear sight has two flippable aperture sizes. I believe these are designed by Krytac and may also be used on airsoft rifles. They’re of reasonable quality and flip down flat. They can be removed with a flat-head screwdriver.
The stock is a Kriss design that is similar to a Magpul MOE SL, but doesn’t attach as firmly and has some wiggle. It was heavier than my spare NEA stock and more stubborn to put back on so I ditched it. The buffer tube is standard milspec.
The charging handle is standard AR15, but it travels far less than usual due to the much shorter springs. It’s way easier to pull back than on a real AR15 due to reduced spring tension. I still hate the ergonomics of the stock handles, so I’ll replace it with a BCM Mod 4 later, but it’s not as critical an upgrade as on a normal AR.
Surprise! The lower is not standard AR15. There is no hole for the buffer and spring to be inserted into the buffer tube without machining out this aluminum window:
Now my pet peeve: the handguard. I opted for the base 13” free floated model. If you do not care to attach anything to the handguard aside from using the top 1913 rail you will be happy and you can skip this section. Otherwise, read on.
I think the handguard is a huge missed opportunity. Gone are the Keymod slots from the 2016 SHOT SHOW prototypes. Instead, we get a proprietary design similar to the Midwest Industries SS handguards. Kriss says you can remove the lugs off Keymod rail sections and screw them directly into the handguard. But you can only do this with rail sections that match the exact distance between the threaded holes on the handguard. IRG sells a rail section meant for the Kriss Vector that will probably fit but it’s a bit expensive and looks cumbersome: http://www.irunguns.com/product.kris...-side-rail-kit
The manual shows there is a larger 3 screw rail available too, but I haven’t seen it for sale anywhere.
The slots are not M-LOK compatible, they are too wide so the lugs barely touch the edges. It might be possible to force an M-LOK accessory to install like that but it won’t work well.
I replaced the handguard with a NEA 14” M-LOK model. The Kriss handguard attaches via a large barrel nut with a spacer at the top and two screws/lugs providing pressure from the bottom. The barrel nut does not work with a standard AR15 barrel wrench which was disappointing. To (re)install it you need a Crow's Foot wrench.
I don’t think it’s possible to remove the nut without a vise. My BEV block would not fit due to the lack of an AR15 barrel extension, so I had to clamp down the upper receiver directly in the vise and go at it with a large adjustable wrench. I think a 1 ¼ inch wrench would work as well. Kriss didn’t use any kind of barrel nut grease.
The magic of the whole system is the 10/22 barrel adapter. The included barrel is a 10/22 barrel with a ½ in x 28 muzzle brake / flash hider attached (the latter has a pretty rough finish).
The bolt carrier group rides on two rails and has built-in springs. It’s easily removable from the upper.
To further understand the mechanism, here is a scan of the parts diagram in the manual (click the pictures):
The Kriss mags are a modified Black Dog design. They feature an extra plastic lip at the rear which activates the bolt catch, here it is compared to a Black Dog 26rd X FORM mag:
The Black Dog mags will fit, but the follower is taller than on the Kriss mag. I haven’t shot the rifle yet, but it seems the taller follower will cause the bolt carrier group to get stuck in a half open position, and the mags will not drop free after the last round since the BCG is pressing against the follower. This is unfortunate, but at least they give you a 25 round capacity.
The Kriss magazines are currently unobtainable in Canada or on IRG and they are only for sale on the Kriss site. I expect they will eventually show up on IRG, so here are the model numbers. Kriss has promised high-cap mags at some undetermined point in the future.
15 Rd DA-M15BL00 (UPC 810237027592)
10 Rd DA-M10BL00 (UPC 810237027585)
Alright, so in conclusion is this thing worth the money?
I’m not sure yet. I’ll only get to shoot it next year due to holiday commitments. If it shoots well, I think it’ll be a keeper. The handguard, proprietary lower, and poor magazine availability weigh against it. And it’s not cheap, you could get a decent 223 AR for the money (NEA, S&W, etc).
Parting thoughts: The lower won’t accomodate a standard AR buffer/spring, and the upper has no gas tube notch, so to be honest it’s not entirely clear what makes this restricted other than the look and advertising.
I will probably put the Kriss handguard and Defiance stock/grip up for sale next month, so if anyone wants them, PM me a reasonable offer and we’ll talk.
Last edited by RideauBound; 05-07-2018 at 10:24 AM. Reason: Fix the pictures
Thanks RB for the detailed photos and great info. As you probably know there does not seem to be any similar info on the 'net yet.
Are the 2 set screws, that can be seen in the picture with the vice and the next picture, used to hold the 10/22 barrel in place?
I will definitely wait to see how the Black Dog mags work for you before deciding to buy a DMK22 (I have a lot of BD mags !).
Yeah, I think so. They hold the guide adapter and barrel key together.
Fair enough. I'm trying to find a reasonable source for more Kriss mags, but hopefully IRG's system gets them soon. For some reason you can order spare grips and stocks, but not the mags.
Yeah, I'm surprised at the complete absence of any unboxing video or Youtube review. That said I emailed Kriss twice and they replied both times within a few hours so at least there's that.
Great review, thanks!!! They are all on sale here in UK, with a starting price of £875.00 - that's Can$1400 or thereabouts. Not any kind of a bargain, but then, unless you go for the much more expensive straight-pull centre-fire AR, it's the only AR game in town at that low a price except the Smith & Wesson version, which is mostly polycarbonate.
tac
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