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August
2003
THE PANTHER BULL SWEET SIXTEEN AR FROM DPMSChoosing an AR for MyselfJacob Gottfredson copyright 2003 Precision Shooting Magazine
About 6 months ago I wrote an article about AR rifles from DPMS that was published in these pages. I clearly shared my distaste for the little pip squeak cartridge, but was turned around in my thinking by the rifles from DPMS. So much so that I purchased one. I had written about the M4 and the Lo-Pro Classic short barreled versions. They shot superbly and functioned without fault. I decided I had to have one for myself. Now that’s what I call a turn around. I was convinced by the fun I got in shooting them, the quality and accuracy, and the relatively low cost. Deciding how I wanted it configured was not difficult. I still had the CAR with the rotten barrel that DPMS is changing out. That is a very light, short weapon, so I did not need to duplicate it. Yet, I was not interested in a space gun or a long barreled job. I had in mind something that was relatively light and accurate that I could carry in a small case with accessories in the SUV or truck. When I began piecing it together, I realized I had put together a DPMS package that already existed, or was very close to it: The Panther Pup or Bull Sweet Sixteen. The Panther Bull Sweet Sixteen AR rifle from DPMS When the rifle arrived I was happy with the appearance, the features, and the balance. As I stated in a separate article, I asked DPMS to send the rifle to Black Hills Ammunition, and I would pick it up there in my travels. The rifle was in Jeff Hoffman’s office when I got there. We mounted scopes that I had brought along and sighted the rifle in on Jeff’s range. I was pleased from the get-go as the rifle shot very well and the accuracy was what I had come to expect from DPMS. Photo 1 (Caption: The DPMS AR, called the Panther Bull Sweet Sixteen by the company. ) Photo 2 (Caption: One of many targets shot at Jeff Hoffman’s range outside Rapid City, South Dakota. Jeff Hoffman of Black Hills Ammunition supplied the .223 ammo in several varieties of weights and bullet types. Groups at that first firing were in the 1.5 inch range on steel targets as far as 250 yards. Groups at 600 and 700 were good as well. I left his range with the DPMS AR in my Durango, pleased that the rifle appeared to have good potential. As it turned out, I was right.)
Model Number: RFA2-B16LC – Post Ban Features: Features: Flat top Receiver with A3 Lo-rider, Push
Pin, Pivot Pin, Upper & Lower receivers are hard coat anodized per Mil-A 8625A & Teflon Coated Black. The rifle came with 2-10 round magazines, 1-nylon web sling, and 1-cleaning kit. Options That I Selected • Harris Bipod Bracket DPMS also installed a rubber stopper they call an acu-wedge in the rear portion of the lower receiver. This holds the receivers tightly together and acts as a bit of a shock absorber. I have not taken it out to see if accuracy changes. The JP trigger installed in this rifle is excellent. I have not changed the factory setting as it is very acceptable the way it was shipped. Blackhawk, Surefire, and Leupold There were three other items I wanted to complete this system. I needed a scope, a light, and a case. Since this rifle is for fun, handy to carry in the truck, and I did not expect to do any long range shooting, I opted for Leupold’s Close Quarter Tactical scope. I had evaluated it earlier and really liked it. The dot works well for targets to 300 yards, and the picatinny style rails on the side would allow me to mount a light … great for hog and raccoon hunting at night. I decided on a Surefire light with a pressure plate. That system is very well made and works extremely well, lighting animals sufficiently to make hits at night possible at 100 yards and a bit beyond. The Surefire light I mounted had 2 bulbs, one giving 65 lumens and the other 120. Surefire supplies several different mounting systems, and one of them attaches easily and quickly to the side of the Leupold CQ/T scope. The light shown in the pictures is the M961SU06. You might know that Surefire would denote some meaning to such things. For example, this model is called the nine volt rail mount Universal Tac Light, 6” cable. Thus the 06 at the end refers to the length of cable from the rear of the light to the pressure plate. The 96 could be 95 to differentiate 9 volt from 6 volt, and the 1 beyond that denotes that it is the thumb screw mount, or if the number was a 2, it would be the ARMS company throw lever mount. The 6 inch cable was too short for what I wanted, so I would order the 961SU10, meaning a nine volt with thumb screw mount and a 10” cable. I had tested the throw lever model at Black Hills Ammo and found that it would not fit the rails on Leupold’s CQ/T scope. But the jaws of the thumb screw model would open more than enough to accommodate the Leupold. In short, I highly recommend the Surefire light. Photo 3 (Caption: The rifle is set up with the Leupold Mark 4, CQT scope and the Surefire light. The cable for the pressure plate was short so I took it down where I could activate it with my thumb. Surefire sends the material to make a more permanent installation, but since I had to ship this one back to the friend who was kind enough to let me borrow it, I held it in place with electrical tape. My own light will come with a 10” cable so that I can take it to the forearm to activate it with my left hand.) Photo 4 (Caption: The Surefire light is attached to the Leupold CQ/T scope. It is easy and quick to install and works very well. The cartridges shown below the rifle are the Black Hills 60 grain V-Max that this AR likes so well.) I have written recently in these pages about the Leupold CQ/T scope and will not do so again here. However, I did find that if I turned on the illumination of the dot and ring on the scope in conjunction with the Surefire light, it worked better. Using a low illumination did not wash out the image, making the system very effective at night for small targets. Large targets would be a cinch. The light lets you locate and illuminate the target, and the illumination in the Leupold sight lets you locate the dot reticle quickly. I wanted a case to carry the rifle, a second scope, ammo, magazines, knife, etc. But I did not want the typical assault case with ammo pouches on the side, nor one that was large and unwieldy. Blackhawk had just the case I needed. A call to Blackhawk produced their Discreet case in short order (this is the kind of service that makes a writer’s job easy and enjoyable … particularly since we only earn a nickel an hour). The case was perfect. It fit the rifle nicely, was small, had a carry handle as well as a shoulder strap, an outer pocket for gear, and loops in the rifle compartment for gear as well as tie-down straps for the rifle. The small, outer pocket is Velcro lined so that additional pouches can be easily attached, yet are out of sight. A 3 compartment magazine pouch came with the case, and I ordered additional small pouches for a flashlight or Surefire style light, a knife, a Kestrel, and a Palm Pilot with ballistic data. The complete system can be carried in the case, which doesn’t look like a rifle case … at least not an assault type rifle case, or a rifle case at all for that matter. I suspect the average person would not recognize it as a case that contained a rifle and gear. It fit my needs perfectly. Photo 5 (Caption: When the bag is closed it makes a very small, unimposing, good looking case. I don’t think many people would recognize it as a gun case … thus the name discreet. ) Photo 6 (Caption: The case holds the Sweet Sixteen nicely with room for ammo and other items. This compartment has loops sown in for gear and straps for securing the rifle. The case is made of a very tough nylon. ) Photo 7 (Caption: I have used the Leupold CQ/T to keep the outer compartment open for this photograph. I store the scope there along with several magazine pouches (shown) and other pouches for a light, phone, kestrel, etc. The inside has a Velcro lining that makes the attachment of pouches, etc easy. A very nice, attractive, durable case.)
The rings I ordered for DPMS are unique in that they will fit either 1” or 30mm tubes due to an insert that fits inside the ring. That allowed me to use both Leupold’s 3.5-10x40mm Tactical and Nikon’s 6.5-20 scopes during accuracy testing. When that was complete, I mounted the lesser powered Leupold Mark 4 CQ/T 1-3x14mm and again tested for accuracy to 300 yards. For that test I made a target that the scope’s dot would just fit inside with a tiny sliver of white between the dot and the black circle of the white, open bull. It worked well and gave me a chance to test the accuracy of the Leupold CQ/T on this AR. Photo 8 (Caption: I tested mid range accuracy with Nikon’s 6.5-20 scope at 300 and 500 yards. Although my benchrest front rest is shown here and was used for much of the testing, I found that accuracy was the same with a Harris bipod. Amazingly, and fortunately, I have found that to be true with all the rifles I have tested. Accuracy at these ranges was very good.) Photo 9 (Caption: I don’t have much use for golf, but l love shooting the balls. With this rifle it was fun and fast. I set 5 balls up at 100 yards and hit them as fast as could acquire them and pull the trigger. No, I did not miss the other two. These 3 were all that I could find in the brush behind the target. Most bullets leave a very small hole as they enter and exit a golf ball. The 60 grain V-Max blew the insides out. Accuracy, speed, and function were very impressive … so was the ammunition from Black Hills. These were shot using the Leupold CQ/T 1-3x14mm scope with dot reticle.) The M4 and the Lo-Pro Classic rifles both had 1 in 9 twists. As one might suspect, they did not shoot the heavier bullets as well as the lighter. They shot superbly with bullets in the 40 to 68 grain range, but did not seem to like the loadings I used for bullets in the 73 to 77 grain range. However, the Panther Bull Sweet Sixteen, also a 1 in 9 twist, made no complaint about the heavier bullets. Again, I had little trouble bore sighting the rifle. I pulled out the rear pin and allowed the lower receiver to swing down. I placed the upper receiver on the edge of the bench and let the butt swing free below the edge. I removed the bolt and cocking handle and looked through the bore at the target. I clicked the scope to that point (not far to go) and fired a first shot. I was center bull in 3 shots again. As my grandson says: “Sweet.” While the rifle shot fairly well with all the loads I had, it preferred the Black Hills 60 grain V-Max loading and Black Hills 77 grain match loading that is supplied to military match shooters. Both would typically group in the .5 to .6 inch range. Groups were shot at 29.95 barometric pressure,
60 feet elevation, and 78 percent humidity. Velocities were taken at
10 feet from the muzzle and then averaged. They were shot in very mild
winds from a benchrest setup with front and rear bags at varying temperatures.
Depending on bullet weight, velocities varied from 2600 to 3000 fps.
Groups with the 60 grain V-Max averaged about .5”. Other loadings
varied from .6 to .8 depending on the ammo. Photo 10 (Caption: I had the idea that the Sweet Sixteen would make a great hog gun so we gave it a try. Alan McCrea sights with the AR from a blind in South Texas. Alan, myself, and Gary Chaney spent 2 nights in the blind, waiting until midnight, but no hogs. We saw squirrels, birds, and raccoons. We all shot the rifle several times from the blind. What we discovered was that my night shooting technique needs a lot more practice. The Surefire light and Leupold CQ/T worked very well for the job however. With the stronger bulb in the Surefire and the CQ/T illumination turned on low power, the system was effective.) Bottom Line: I was happy with my decision to purchase a DPMS rifle to my specifications, which turned out to closely resemble DPMS’s Panther Bull Sweet Sixteen. The addition of a JP trigger and Harris bipod bracket were two good decisions as well. I can’t think of any changes I would make to this rifle considering what I want it for. I would add flip up front and rear sights. This company near the northern borders of our great nation takes material, quality, function, reliability, and accuracy to heart and sells it for less than their competition. I like it. Future Randy Luth has come up with a .308 model, and they
have a Remington 300 SAUM scheduled for the fall. He also told me he
is sending them along for evaluation. I can’t wait. If all that comes
true, I will let you know the outcome. Also, Randy has finally consented
to rebarrel my CAR that shoots 4 foot groups. I will let you know the
outcome of that little exercise also … the one that got me started
on all this AR stuff in the first place. DPMS Black Hills Ammunition Surefire, LLC Blackhawk
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