Just bought a Dominion Arms DA556 need advise

Chuck McCann

Chuck McCann

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
49   0   0
Location
SK
I just purchased a Dominion Arms DA556 of the exchange forum and am looking for some advice as to ammo, optics and other enhancements. This is a new venture for me, I'm primarily a single action cowboy shooter. To be perfectly honest my motivation was our new PM and his comments about getting more firearms off the streets, I thought f**k him and started looking.

Based on my research so far the DA556 is very entry level but was priced right, I know I've bought other firearms at the right price and made a mistake so hopefully this time it will be different. At any rate any advise will be helpful.
Thanks Chuck
 
The DA556 is a sweet AR. It was actually the first gun I ever bought. Since than I have owned Daniel Defense and colt AR's and the DA was just as accurate and reliable as both of them. (just not as pretty. :) )
Some people recommend an extractor upgrade costing like 12 bucks, though I never had a problem with mine after thousands of rounds.

Buy a red dot, I recommend a vortex spark. Its a great red dot that wont break the bank. And than buy a #### load of ammo. Doesnt matter what kind, that thing will shoot anything!
 
Leave it be for a while and just shoot it. They are great guns, clean it up and figure out which way you want to go. I never had any issues with fitting aftermarket parts on my norc.
 
Thanks guys hopefully I got a good one. I was looking at a couple of the Vortex sights the Strikefire II and the Sparc II they are all 3 close to the same price but are 2, 3 and 4 MOA any advice which might be the best route to go and why? Also how do they stand up to cold conditions in the -10 to 20 range?
Chuck
 
Last edited:
Love mine.

Eats UMC .223 just fine, as well as varmint rounds. Absolutely ZERO issues.

Only warning... The buffer tube is not really commercial OR mil-spec. I plan to change mine out. It won't take any magpul furniture with ease. Commercial fit super tight, and would not slide without beating it to death. That, and the front sight was very tight to remove to get rid of the cheezy quad rail. Once off, it fit a carbine length forend and delta ring with no issues.

Other than that, enjoy it! Great starter AR. It was my first one as well!
 
Jonesyatpl said:
Love mine.

Eats UMC .223 just fine, as well as varmint rounds. Absolutely ZERO issues.

Only warning... The buffer tube is not really commercial OR mil-spec. I plan to change mine out. It won't take any magpul furniture with ease. Commercial fit super tight, and would not slide without beating it to death. That, and the front sight was very tight to remove to get rid of the cheezy quad rail. Once off, it fit a carbine length forend and delta ring with no issues.

Other than that, enjoy it! Great starter AR. It was my first one as well!
Click to expand...

Mine took a commercial magpul stock no issues and a Daniel defence grip no issue. And it shoots and cycles anything perfectly. On the red dot I have a strikefire 2. I like it but would prefer lower moa, like a sparc.
 
AR332 would be my suggestion for an affordable optic. 3x fixed magnification, quite robust, and affordable (especially on the EE!). Great starter AR. The ones I've owned were not picky about ammo. No other upgrades are really required, so buy lots of ammo, and enjoy it!
 
Thanks for the info, based on what you are saying this should be a good first AR. I also found a Sparc to put on for a sight in the EE and according to Canada Posts tracking site they should both arrive Dec 24th. So it will be off to the range right after Christmas.
 
The only thing I have had to replace on my norc was the bolt. Was having FTE and FTF, replaced the rings (twice), and finally just bought a new bolt (same carrier), and it's been perfect ever since. I figure the barrel will go next before anything else. I actually like that they come with ambi mag releases (at least mine did). I have a sparc on mine, and it hits the gongs at 300 yards all day long.
 
Chuck McCann said:
Thanks for the info, based on what you are saying this should be a good first AR. I also found a Sparc to put on for a sight in the EE and according to Canada Posts tracking site they should both arrive Dec 24th. So it will be off to the range right after Christmas.
Click to expand...

Providing the CFC is open and staffed well enough during the Xmas-New Year's week to issue an ATT...LOL!
 
TRS-25 is the way to go for red dot..... Ammo is something you need to test yourself. Every barrel is different more different with the Chinese. Still a solid rifle. I did a test and review on CGN and you can see some ammo can be sub MOA and some can be 3 in. Does not matter the price of ammo it's based on your twist quality. Etc
 
My buddy runs a norc ar for cqb competitions and has run as good as the other high priced ARs. He bought my Bushnell trs 25 red dot off me and is loving the combo. The only thing he did was polish the trigger mating surfaces and he was good to go.
 
You may want to add a battery assist lever (BAD lever). For me it makes it easier to lock/drop the BCG. There are ones which require no gunsmith that work just fine. You may want to change the trigger guard at the same time to accommodate gloves. Both these items should be around $50.00 total if you shop around. I have a Vortex SPARC II on my rifle which I love. You can mate that with a 3x flip to side magnifier. Good clear optics.
 
Last edited:
Firehoser said:
You may want to add a battery assist lever (BAD lever)..........
Click to expand...

One more note on ammo. Brass is always best. The cheaper the better. Your rifle should be 1-9 twist and shoots 55 grain optimally. I tried some Tulammo steel case ammo in my Norc and had serious hard extraction problems. Not all rifles have this problem but PRC rifles do. If you want to try steel case ammo to save a few shekkies try one of the other manufacturers.
 
Last edited:
The more I'm hearing from you guys the more impatient I'm getting. LOL Thanks for the tips on the ammo my plan at this point is to start with 1000 rounds and then reload once those are burned up. I have both a Dillon 650 and a 550 with a conversion kit for 223 and extra tool heads. The 550 has been primarily sitting since I picked up the 650 so I thought I would dedicate it to 223 and work up a load like I do with my bolt actions. That way I can leave my 650 for loading 38's for CAS shooting. Between my self, wife and son I load around 15,000 per year.
 
Jonesyatpl said:
Only warning... The buffer tube is not really commercial OR mil-spec. I plan to change mine out. It won't take any magpul furniture with ease. Commercial fit super tight, and would not slide without beating it to death.
Click to expand...

Found the same thing with my magpul stock. I just added some lube to the tube ( :) ) for now.
 
Expendable Nate said:
20150914_190032_zps6nllalei.jpg
Click to expand...

I like what you did there....if I ever decide to remove the front sight and need to resort to a cutting tool, I will go that route. Cheers!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom