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Official (DTA) SRS, HTI, Covert, Hunter Thread

Guys - if anyone is coming out to the NRL match in Craig Colorado this weekend - I am going to be out there with Desert Tech doing some demoing of the SRS-A1's and there may be an MDR to be fondled as well (not sure if it will be shootable). There will also be an HTI on-hand in .375 CT as well. I will be there Friday, so swing by should be easy to find me - just look for the large Bison Tactical banner next to the Desert Tech banner.
 
Guys - if anyone is coming out to the NRL match in Craig Colorado this weekend - I am going to be out there with Desert Tech doing some demoing of the SRS-A1's and there may be an MDR to be fondled as well (not sure if it will be shootable). There will also be an HTI on-hand in .375 CT as well. I will be there Friday, so swing by should be easy to find me - just look for the large Bison Tactical banner next to the Desert Tech banner.

Wish I was closer so I could try out an HTI. I'm really thinking I want to sell my two AIAE mk 3 rifles to buy one.
 
What caliber? Any particular reason behind the customers decision to go with such a heavy contour?
It's a 300WM. That's only an inch straight, not 1.250... and lots of shooters like the extra weight. A bit of recoil mitigation goes a long way toward how effectively the shooter can manage their firing position. Also you have to remember that some of us humans are larger than average size. For a guy that's 6'6" and a solid 260lbs of pure muscle... a rifle like this still feels like a toy.

We are happy to configure these rifles however will fit each individual customer's specific application and aesthetic choices the best possible way. :)
 
I was doing some dry firing with my DT the other evening and got to wondering how the grip might feel if I added some material to the front of it so the middle crease of my fingers was better filled and had a more direct axis to pull the rifle back into my shoulder. Not sure if that makes sense, but i was goofin around. I cut a tooth brush handle to length and taped it to the front. Has anyone ever messed with modifying the grip to good effect, or how do you like to grip your SRS?
 
I was doing some dry firing with my DT the other evening and got to wondering how the grip might feel if I added some material to the front of it so the middle crease of my fingers was better filled and had a more direct axis to pull the rifle back into my shoulder. Not sure if that makes sense, but i was goofin around. I cut a tooth brush handle to length and taped it to the front. Has anyone ever messed with modifying the grip to good effect, or how do you like to grip your SRS?

I was hoping the SRS could have a grip similar to the feel of a Magpul MOE+ I like that grippy feeling. Wondering if you can get it dipped in the rubber after your modification somehow.
 
I'd probably start with pistol grip tape if you want more friction. The SRS grip kind of tapers like a revolver handle. I wonder if a certain hogue grip would fit over it decently? I think it could fill the hand a little more and my hands are average size. Or maybe someone has best way to grip the SRS. Do you wrap hand all the way around and still have a torque free grip or so you align middle crease of fingers on front of grip? This is all kinda theory. I shoot my SRS pretty good so I'm nitpicking technique. Thanks.
 
Guys - if anyone is coming out to the NRL match in Craig Colorado this weekend - I am going to be out there with Desert Tech doing some demoing of the SRS-A1's and there may be an MDR to be fondled as well (not sure if it will be shootable). There will also be an HTI on-hand in .375 CT as well. I will be there Friday, so swing by should be easy to find me - just look for the large Bison Tactical banner next to the Desert Tech banner.

Can't believe I totally missed this by a day or two... :mad:

Have been thinking about making the drive up to see your shop since I'm getting curious about a DTA. Getting to put a few rounds through them would had be a major plus. Need to stay more vigilant on the forum...
 
Desert Tech SRS bore guide options

I found the DT bore guide to be fairly overpriced for what it is at $40 - $46, so I went looking for options. There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of info out there, so I thought I'd add some here.

I have other Possum Hollow (https://www.possumhollowproducts.com/) bore guides that I enjoy, so looked into those. Their bore guide chart says I need a #257, but I couldn't find one online.
I called Eric at Possum Hollow and he shipped one out that day.
He shipped it to my door for $23.00. The fit is perfect. The only problem I had was with my 26" barrel, it was too long for my 36" cleaning rod. Removing the barrel to clean is not what I have in mind, so I opted the hack saw. Now it's perfect.

Original:

WP_20170722_001.jpg


Kustom:

WP_20170722_002.jpg
 
I have had my SRS in 308 for about 4 months now. I have 975 rounds through the factory barrel and it is still under 1/4" , when I do my part. How many rounds should I be able to get out of this barrel before it will need to be replaced? And would you go back with the original barrel or some one elses?
 
Theres a lot of variables, to accurately state when its time for a new barrel, and personal preference. How hot your loads are, barrel maintenance, rapid fire, and whether or not youre satisfied with the group size going to 1 MOA or larger. Some guys will say a barrel is shot if its 3/4 MOA. Really you could be looking at 5000-10000 rounds. You could potentially get even more if you chase the lands (but youre limited to the magazine length at that point.
 
Has anyone got the Primal Rights barrel in .308 22" and what can you tell about it .

I don't get it, the barrels Primal Rights sells are as good or better than most and no custom barrel maker is going to guarantee you 1/4" groups. I don't own one of their barrels yet, but I will. Orkan has always given support/advice to those that ask for it. IMO which I know you didn't ask for, the beauty of going custom is you can get what you want and the way you want and then there is the customer service side of things. Give one of these guys a call, they will go overboard to answer your questions and help anyway they can, and even after the sale.
Forgive me for venting, I just watched the evening news.
 
Forgive me for venting, I just watched the evening news.
hahaha! Well yeah, that'll drive any sane man into a fit of rage. That's why I stopped watching or reading "news" years ago. ;) Thanks for the laugh and the kind words Fishkat.

Cro789, if you have any questions about our products please don't hesitate to give us a call. I'd be happy to talk through anything you'd like. If I can't help, I'll be happy to send you where it may best be found if I have a connection to do so. While we cannot guarantee 1/4moa performance due to the complexity of the varying degrees of knowledge and experience among the shooting community, we can tell you that we've had numerous customers tell us the smallest groups and most consistent performances of their lives have come from our barrels.

 
hahaha! Well yeah, that'll drive any sane man into a fit of rage. That's why I stopped watching or reading "news" years ago. ;) Thanks for the laugh and the kind words Fishkat.

Cro789, if you have any questions about our products please don't hesitate to give us a call. I'd be happy to talk through anything you'd like. If I can't help, I'll be happy to send you where it may best be found if I have a connection to do so. While we cannot guarantee 1/4moa performance due to the complexity of the varying degrees of knowledge and experience among the shooting community, we can tell you that we've had numerous customers tell us the smallest groups and most consistent performances of their lives have come from our barrels.

Sir,
I am sorry if I gave the wrong impression about the 1/4 groups. I just have been lucky that the barrel shoots that good. No one ever told me that it would do that just got lucky. I have gotten several items from you in the past and you sir , and your company, are one of the best around. You stand behind you products and ship when you say you will and not to say that the quality of your items are too top of the line. I will give you a call and with your help figure out what I want and need. Also thanks for the support you provide to us with the Desert Tech rifle systems.
 
Who:
has a Desert Tech scope mount with 30 MOA of cant in stock, and
can Cerakote it FDE for me?

I bought a 40 MOA mount, but my Kahles is 2 mil shy of being able to zero at 100 yards in it. (I'll keep it for the happy day when I can get an HTI.)

Please PM me. Thanks!
 
OK several years back when they were first coming to market as Desert Tactical I spoke with them at SHOT show and was going to order a rifle but got sidetracked with a couple Melvin Forbes rifles I had built, had a kid and kinda lost the itch/time to get into shooting much. Fast forward to yesterday, I have been buying several SBR's and Supressors with how everything has changed in the past couple years and had to go to Oakland Tactical to get fingerprints done for a couple supressors I just ordered. I went in there with the mindset of fingerprints and I don't need anything else (I have most of what I want in firearms) but I asked the guy to show me around and I started to play with the DT Covert and fell in love! (Im a smaller guy so love compact rifles)... Well I am about to go back on Monday to order one! I have hunting property where we have a 1000 yard range, I know that is nothing for the DT but I think this will be a really fun and unique piece to shoot as well as most likely hunt with. Anyway anyone here wanna talk me off the ledge and tell me why not to buy? Or why not the covert? Ill never be taking 1 mile shots LOL! I know the rifle will outshoot my abilities. I plan on getting it in .308 and ordering the .338 conversion.
Oh yeah last ? Anyone know how these shoot with the South African or Aussie 308 mil surp?
 
I plan on getting it in .308 and ordering the .338 conversion

Go back there and run the bolt to make sure you will feel comfortable behind it. Some think its fine until they start shooting, and some think its awkward until they realize it's easy.

Are you going with a short covert barrel or a "full size"? Unless you have a great reason to stick to .308 (already setup to reload, 2000 rounds in boxes, etc...), go 6.5CM. It will do almost everything the .308 can do, and most of those things better. I run a Covert with a 26" 6.5CM and 26" .300WM barrel and I love it. Some prefer to have the bipod further out, but the weight is so far back that I don't mind it being a shorter overall chassis. I am 5'9" and 145 lbs for reference. I had the standard hand guard on it originally (shipping mistake) so I got to compare them side by side. The ONLY reason I can think of to run the standard A1 is if you run night vision. That was pointed out by everyone here when I asked about it..

After owning the DT, I hate taking my Remington out but I also don't like showing up to a coworkers house with a $7k weapon platform while everyone else is shooting $600 AR15's or sub-$1k hunting rifles.... That is the only downside for me...
image_66775.jpg
 
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If you're going to feed it cheap mil-surp what are you trying to do?

You're not practicing a skill because you can't get good feed back on what you are doing, right/wrong because the ammo is so inaccurate compared to the platform.

Are you shooting the low quality ammo just hear the gun go bang?
 
I'll second the notion that you need a 6.5CM barrel. I love .308, but if I was only going to own a single traditional short action chambering for my SRS then it's the 6.5CM because of versatility and ability to more easily touch 1200 yards.

If you have the means, buy the 6.5 CM then watch for a used .308 barrel on here on the forum. Max you will spend is $1000.

best of luck with the new rifle. It's a lot of fun.
 
Any of you guys have the HTI, preferably in 50? I went to the first local 50 bmg shoot at the range, and there wasn't much love for the HTI. There's one guy at the club who has one, but he wasn't there to make comments. From what the others said, the rifle is too light and knocks the owner (who happens to be a little guy, apparently) around a lot, and that the rifle isn't accurate at all. I'm gonna assume from my experience with my SRS that the HTI should be AT LEAST somewhat accurate, so maybe that guy just isn't good or doesn't have a good load.

As for the recoil, though, I shot one of their rifles; an AR 50. The recoil wasn't bad at all, but I didn't realize that those rifles were 34 pounds; quite a bit more than the HTI. They obviously know more about shooting 50s, and more about shooting in general than I do. But I wanted to see what you guys had to say. Maybe I can go back and try out the HTI.

Also, I might have asked this earlier, but I forget. Any idea on if suppressors reduce or increase recoil, particularly for the 50? It sounds like it'll make the recoil worse, but I'd might as well ask.
 
The HTI is light and the brake is crap. Its way undersized for the round and rifle. Adding a suppressor can be painful since its an oddball brake/mount. A friend has one of these rifles and we have shot it a fair amount along side his McMillan. What we found is that the HTI is really accurate if you can keep it from making you flinch. I made up a larger brake for the rifle and it reduces the recoil a lot more. I also built a suppressor for it that tames things a bit more. On the other hand the suppressor he used on the McMillan rifle was less then useless for recoil reduction. Side by side the HTI is worse with its brake and the McMillan is worse with its can. Accuracy is excellent with both rifles using good ammo. We were shooting Hornady 700s in both rifles.

Frank
 
Glad to hear that it's accurate; I found it hard to believe that it wouldn't be. Not so happy about the rest of it, though. Not much you can do about weight, I suppose. Good thing the Razor Gen II weighs 3 pounds! I've been reading mixed reviews on suppressors helping with recoil; it seems that on smaller calibers the increase in weight will make a difference, but on larger calibers a better brake is more important. Safe bet that if you had put that can on the HTI, it would be no better? Any idea on what might be a better brake to install on the HTI, and if it would improve it enough to make it more tolerable? Or, do you recommend a different rifle, like the McMillan, AR 50, or something else? I'm looking to join 50 cal shooters when I get closer to making the purchase.
Thanks for the input; not exactly what I wanted to hear, but I'd rather know what I'm getting into than not.
 
Never thought of trying to make a rifle heavier before, but I'm sure things can be done. Maybe open up the pistol grip and fill it with lead shot. Or attach various weights to the hand guard. I'm sure something can be done that doesn't look too ghetto.

I don't have any experience with suppressors with anything above 30 cal, but in every rifle I've shot, it seems to cut recoil by 1/3 to 1/2, and it's not because it makes the rifle weigh more. It's the slowing of gasses or whatever. To me, the recoil reduction is almost a better benefit than the sound suppression. Of course mileage will vary with rifle and suppressor design, but aside from the cost and the ATF wait, there are very few reasons to not shoot everything suppressed.
 
I did wonder if there was any way to make the rifle heavier, but I doubt there's much, being that it's so small already. Being that it' so short, maybe instead of the stock 29" barrel using a longer, potentially thicker barrel would work? I know Short Action Customs makes barrels for the SRS, not sure if they make any for the HTI. That might add a few pounds.

I figure that a suppressor adds weight, thus reducing recoil. But take the classic Barrett brake; it's just easy to picture. When the gasses leave the barrel, some of it is going to go through the sides, which redirects the gas and somewhat pulls the rifle away from your shoulder. Now, it's not powerful enough to remove all recoil, but to take some of it back. I guess that's how I imagine it to work, maybe I'm wrong? I thought that the slowing of gasses is what reduced the sound (maybe it still does) but I'm not sure if that would help with recoil. I plan on suppressing my 30 cals, but I need to know more about the 50s before I blow the money on them, and find out that it might not help at all.
 
Its not just added weight that is reducing the recoil.Suppressors reduce recoil in the same way that brakes do and a larger suppressor with more baffle area will reduce the recoil better than a smaller can. Its all about kinetic energy. You have burning gas travelling at 4000-6000 fps exiting the muzzle of the rifle. This gas hits the baffles and transfers velocity energy to them pushing the can forward. The longer the can and more baffle area it has the more effective it is in doing this. There are diminishing returns however so doubling the size of the can won't double the reduction in recoil. Where brakes really shine is in their ability to redirect gas to the rear adding thrust to the equation instead of just hammering baffles. Doing this with a suppressor kind of goes against the reason the can is there.....reducing noise and blast. Some manufacturers have added "muzzle brakes" to their suppressors claiming they reduce the recoil better than a brake or can alone. I say thats a load of crap. The gas velocity has slowed substantially by the time it gets to the brake portion of the can and is really doing little more than making up the noise it lost in the first part of the can.

Adding weight can reduce recoil but it takes substantially more weight to do this than you might think. Tossing a 3 lb can on a 15lb rifle doesn't really make much difference. We've run some tests with the SRS in 338 Lapua Mag where we clamp a 3 lb weight under the handguard and shoot the rifle with no brake or can. Then we run a few with the brake and a few more with the can. Felt recoil is lowest with the suppressor, next lowest with the brake (I have the old style brake that actually works, not the new flashy useless one) and then dead last is the weight alone. When you're shooting high power stuff you have a lot of energy you can use to help reduce the recoil and its worth using.

I have a WWII British Boys anti-tank rifle that was originally in 55 caliber Boys. The round was basically a copy of the US 50 BMG with the neck blown out to 55 and a belt on it for headspacing. My rifle has been barreled in 50 BMG and we shoot it (or at least shot it) a lot. It has a single plate 3 port brake that is surprisingly effective. It is about 3 inches in diameter and all 3 ports redirect gas rearward. Its an annoying brake because one port is always pointed at the ground so you get grit in your teeth and eyes when you fire off the ground. On the other hand it works very well. The rifle also has the receiver riding on rails in the cradle which has the buttstock on it. The receiver sits against a spring that is supposed to reduce the recoil. We have put a solid rod in place of the spring and can't tell much difference when shooting it. If you remove the brake and shoot it with or without the spring it hurts. Its slightly better with the spring. After firing over 3000rds through this barrel there is wear showing that the receiver moves about a quarter inch when fired. This rifle weighs 36 lb so its about twice the weight of the HTI and yet that extra 16lb doesn't seem to reduce the recoil to the equivalent of the HTI with its too-small brake. There is something to adding weight but its not the cure that some might think. Putting the brake back on it takes the recoil down to where my 120 lb wife will shoot it with no flinching. She won't shoot the HTI at all......

Just my 2 cents based on experience.

Frank
 
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Thanks a lot for all of that info! The brake makes sense; gas being redirected to somewhat pull the rifle away from you. I just couldn't figure out how the suppressor could reduce recoil, except by weight alone. So it sounds like a suppressor could help manage the recoil? Maybe I should get one now, so that it'll be available for me when I was planning on getting the rifle in February or so. I didn't wanna go with the longest, but it sounds like that would be better.

There were a lot of guys at the shoot who had MONSTER rifles, weighing 60+ pounds each. They were the ones saying the HTI wasn't accurate, but it was the AR50 shooter who said it was too light, so I figured if I could get it closer to the weight of his rifle (30 pounds) it would be better, because I shot his and it wasn't too bad.

I'm looking into the idea of just getting the chassis, and a custom barrel. I need to contact DT and see what the weight of the 50bmg conversion is, and what the maximum thickness of berrel can fit into the chassis. If I can get a Lothar Walther barrel (or any other) so someone like Short Action Customs, maybe we can make something happen. Like you said weight isn't gonna make a huge improvement, but if using a longer, thicker barrel can make a small difference, it's worth looking into, I feel. Granted, that would take away from the lightweight and compactness of the rifle, which would be somewhat counterproductive. Just things to consider, and I've got about half of a year to think. Kinda funny that the AI AX50 has a 2" shorter barrel, and is 6 pounds lighter.

I dunno, if I could get that HTI to shoot with comparable recoil to the AR50, I'd be happy. Whether that's from a thicker or longer barrel, better brake, suppressor, or any combination of those, that's what I think I'll do.
 
One thing I have noticed is taking some of the bark (sound) out of the equation makes a rifle "feel" a lot more comfortable also. I think a well designed brake will scientifically beat a suppressor when it comes to force reduced, but I will gladly take a suppressor over a brake alone with my .300WM. lol The fat bastard makes it kick like a .308, but everyone knows what rifle I am shooting when it goes off.
 
Felt recoil is lowest with the suppressor, next lowest with the brake (I have the old style brake that actually works, not the new flashy useless one) and then dead last is the weight alone.

Just my 2 cents based on experience.

Frank

Can you send me a picture or link to the older one that is more effective? Thanks
 
One thing I have noticed is taking some of the bark (sound) out of the equation makes a rifle "feel" a lot more comfortable also. I think a well designed brake will scientifically beat a suppressor when it comes to force reduced, but I will gladly take a suppressor over a brake alone with my .300WM. lol The fat bastard makes it kick like a .308, but everyone knows what rifle I am shooting when it goes off.

I was thinking about the XXX Bastard brakes, though they don't look much different from the DT brakes. But I'm sure looks aren't everything. And I know what you mean, recoil sucks but that loud report doesn't help with flinching either.



Orkan, what do you think would be the thickest contour you could run in the HTI?
 
OK!
I joined the family today!!
I bought a Desert Tech SRS-A1 Covert in OD Green :)
Went .308 (16 in.) and am debating .300 win mag or .338 lm
Leaning towards .300 as Im more likely to use it hunting.

I already have a couple 30 cal cans but need to decide which scope I want... I like US Optics and S&B.

I will try to get a few pics hopefully later tonight.

Big thanks to the guys at Oakland Tactical for making this a nice easy purchase!!
I also got to fondle the MDR while I was there and have to say I was quite impressed!
I could see myself picking one up in a few mths after they have some more reviews out there.
 
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OK!
I joined the family today!!
I bought a Desert Tech SRS-A1 Covert in OD Green :)
Went .308 (16 in.) and am debating .300 win mag or .338 lm
Leaning towards .300 as Im more likely to use it hunting.

I already have a couple 30 cal cans but need to decide which scope I want... I like US Optics and S&B.

I will try to get a few pics hopefully later tonight.

Big thanks to the guys at Oakland Tactical for making this a nice easy purchase!!
I also got to fondle the MDR while I was there and have to say I was quite impressed!
I could see myself picking one up in a few mths after they have some more reviews out there.

Welcome! I have a covert as well. I use my 300WM for hunting. Let your barrel collecting begin! Haha I've got the .308, 6.5 creed, .223, and 300WM.
I must say you have to look into the .223 conversion. It's so much fun to shoot!

Enjoy your covert!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Can you send me a picture or link to the older one that is more effective? Thanks

Here is one from the europtic site. They have the new brakes listed as well at the link below .....
Old brake
http://www.eurooptic.com/desert-tec...-assy-338-lm-clamp-style-dt-srs-br-004-a.aspx
New brake
http://www.eurooptic.com/DT-SRS-BR-004-BAN-B-Desert-Tech-DT-SRS-QD-Muzzle-Brake-Assy-.aspx

I think the new brake has less overall area, larger ports which reduces gas velocity and less ports.

One other analogy here for seeing how a can will reduce the recoil energy. Have someone toss you a watermelon and catch it in a sack. The sack being your suppressor and the watermelon being high velocity gas. You dump all that hot high velocity gas into your suppressor and you get out lower velocity cooler gas so the energy had to go somewhere. Its just physics and not magic. Brakes work the same way with the addition of getting a little more work out of the gas.....at least in some cases. Some brakes are no better than nothing.

Hope that helps

Frank
 
Thanks a lot for all of that info! The brake makes sense; gas being redirected to somewhat pull the rifle away from you. I just couldn't figure out how the suppressor could reduce recoil, except by weight alone. So it sounds like a suppressor could help manage the recoil? Maybe I should get one now, so that it'll be available for me when I was planning on getting the rifle in February or so. I didn't wanna go with the longest, but it sounds like that would be better.

There were a lot of guys at the shoot who had MONSTER rifles, weighing 60+ pounds each. They were the ones saying the HTI wasn't accurate, but it was the AR50 shooter who said it was too light, so I figured if I could get it closer to the weight of his rifle (30 pounds) it would be better, because I shot his and it wasn't too bad.

I'm looking into the idea of just getting the chassis, and a custom barrel. I need to contact DT and see what the weight of the 50bmg conversion is, and what the maximum thickness of berrel can fit into the chassis. If I can get a Lothar Walther barrel (or any other) so someone like Short Action Customs, maybe we can make something happen. Like you said weight isn't gonna make a huge improvement, but if using a longer, thicker barrel can make a small difference, it's worth looking into, I feel. Granted, that would take away from the lightweight and compactness of the rifle, which would be somewhat counterproductive. Just things to consider, and I've got about half of a year to think. Kinda funny that the AI AX50 has a 2" shorter barrel, and is 6 pounds lighter.

I dunno, if I could get that HTI to shoot with comparable recoil to the AR50, I'd be happy. Whether that's from a thicker or longer barrel, better brake, suppressor, or any combination of those, that's what I think I'll do.


Regarding recoil, I have a 30" no-contour straight-pipe barrel for my SRS-A1 in 300 Norma Mag and the barrel alone weighs just over 9 lbs. Without a brake or suppressor,it kicks about the same as my 6.5 Creedmoor. Chassis, barrel, scope all come in around 19.5 lbs.
 
Anyone modify a rail to mount the bipod while having a RRS tripod mount attached? I'm thinking of ordering one from Primal Rights and seeing if I can't make it work but thought I would see if anyone else has tried it.