HD Defense Revelation AR

20ravens52 · Feb 16, 2021

Due to the continued assault on our gun rights I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase an M4 style rifle. I picked up this seemingly pretty solid rifle build over the weekend. They're built somewhat locally in Mechanicsburg, PA and the forum search here yielded no results. Does anyone have any experience with these rifles?

HD Revelation Technical Specifications:
Stock: Black 6-Position Locking and Collapsible Rogers SuperStoc
Receiver Extension: 7075 Aluminum USG MILSPEC Contract
Handguard: 15″ Hybrid Free Floating Handguard
Metal Finish: Type III Class II Hard Coat Anodized
Muzzle: A2 Flash Hider
Receiver Material: Forged 7075 Aircraft Grade Aluminum
Sights: Optics Ready
Barrel Description: 16″ 4150CMV 1:7 Twist Melonite Coated Mid-Gas WYLDE/5.56 NATO Chamber
Bolt Carrier Group: High Precision M16 Bolt Carrier Group with Melonite Coating and MPI Inspected Bolt
Trigger: Made from 8620 Steel Investment Casting then final ground as per MILSPEC

Ganegrei · Feb 17, 2021

The fact that they are calling melonite a "coating" gives me pause.

teratos · Feb 17, 2021

Ganegrei said:
The fact that they are calling melonite a "coating" gives me pause.

Many places that do melonite call it a coating.

Does it have a heavy profile barrel?

Catch-10-22 · Feb 17, 2021

They offer a MD compliant version. 2A Sales posted them for sale on their Facebook page the other day.

20ravens52 · Feb 17, 2021

teratos said:
Many places that do melonite call it a coating.

Does it have a heavy profile barrel?

They call it a MD complaint barrel but the rifle is very balanced

alucard0822 · Feb 18, 2021

The big question is who is their supplier. Have seen expensive builds with BCA and Davidson Defense crap for parts, have seen moderately priced stuff with Aero and a couple in-house manufactured things. The more buzzwords they use, without actual specs or manufacturer, the more leery I am.

SkiPatrolDude · Feb 18, 2021

There are alot of rifles like this popping up these days... with it being near impossible to stock well known factory rifles, shops are beginning to assemble and sell their own complete rifles (or by someone "local"). Nothing inherently bad about them, and perhaps some are excellent, but there are a lot of unknowns here. A simple list of parts/specs doesn't tell the whole story, especially for the shops that aren't willing to share where said parts came from. Additionally, it makes me wonder who is assembling these rifles... a qualified gunsmith or some shop owners kid or helper in the back that watches too much Garandthumb.

The fact that it's at least a melonite barrel is a good thing. It really bothers me to see complete rifles being sold at a premium with the unlined BCA crud barrels. But not all nitride barrels are good, either. Nitride will do a great job of trapping and "fossilizing", for lack of a better term, imperfections of the bore. I've seen Nitride barrels with significant burrs at the gas port that would have likely otherwise lapped itself smooth with barrel break in.

slsc98 · Feb 18, 2021

20ravens52 said:
Due to the continued assault on our gun rights I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase an M4 style rifle. I picked up this seemingly pretty solid rifle build over the weekend. They're built somewhat locally in Mechanicsburg, PA and the forum search here yielded no results. Does anyone have any experience with these rifles?

....

No but I am really curious to hear some range reports. Reason being I know there are positively some top-notch small scale “build shops” out there but, it’s during market cycles like this one that I recall another MDS member’s thread containing his cautions about how market cycles like this one are ripe for lesser quality parts and completed assemblies flooding the market.*

Typical of market cycles like this one (conditions including but not limited to panic, crazy inflated prices, low inventory, gun-banner anxiety, etc.) I get sporadic calls or texts from friends, neighbors and acquaintances who’re either online or in a gun shop and looking at some off brand AR “for a great price” and, “What do you think?”

(Lately there seems to be a sh*t-ton of AR’s out of “Turkey” and “Czech Rep.” filling local gun shops shelves, where top tier names sat just 6-12 months ago ...

I always tell ‘em, “if it’s a great price right now it’s only because the top tier brands are selling at a premium and that’s for a reason - Caveat Emptor!!!!” And I’ll take a moment and run down just a few issues that often arise and after which they will possibly have spent the same or even more on fixing than they would have, pre-panic, on that top shelf brand and model, either new or used ....

OP, if your rifle turns out to be flawless for 500 or so rounds please let me / us know ...

* In the mean time, one of these days I need to find that thread ...

SkiPatrolDude · Feb 18, 2021

slsc98 said:
No but I am really curious to hear some range reports. Reason being I know there are positively some top-notch small scale “build shops” out there but, it’s during market cycles like this one that I recall another MDS member’s thread containing his cautions about how market cycles like this one are ripe for lesser quality parts and completed assemblies flooding the market.*

This is a true statement. But what I have found is that there has been little to no variation in pricing from top tier parts manufacturers like BCM and Daniel Defense (emphasis on parts, not complete rifles), but Anderson, PSA, even Radical (cringe) have skyrocketed.

Aero has gone up alittle, but to me Aero quality is justified. They were really the first to market explicitly to builders, so they deserve to have the demand that they have right now.

So my advice for getting an AR? Build something with parts sourced by only the premium brands, because right now your total build will only be a few hundred more VS going with the known bargain brands, but you will have a much better rifle to show for it.

In January of 2020 you could build a high quality bare-bones AR around a Ballistic Advantage barrel for around $600. Currently that same rifle is about $1000 in parts.

Yet I can currently build an ultra quality AR around a Criterion barrel, BCM bolt, quality stock and handguard for around $1300, which is nearly the same as it was before 2020.

Keep in mind this is a bare rifle not including optics or sights.

atblis · Feb 18, 2021

I would use the work "assembled" more so than built or made. I know, semantics...

Turkish and Czech ARs, where?

I have a $50 Stoner barrel that is a solid 2 MOA barrel. Can't complain really.

SkiPatrolDude · Feb 18, 2021

atblis said:
I would use the work "assembled" more so than built or made. I know, semantics...

Turkish and Czech ARs, where?

I have a $50 Stoner barrel that is a solid 2 MOA barrel. Can't complain really.

So much BGOS in this one.

Well according to google they are all synonyms of each other. Somebody, call the cops!

If this is what keeps you up at night......

Also, I have an unlined BCA barrel that shoots well... it was a takeoff from an old rifle and I accumulated enough spare parts to make a complete rifle

. It headspaces fine and has never malfunctioned, but there are still so many better options. Plus, lots of known legit QC problems that are not just cosmetic. BCA had a run of barrels that were labeled 5.56 chambers but only cut to .223 dimensions. That is a problem.

atblis · Feb 18, 2021

Exactly what is the difference in headspace between a 223 and a 5.56?

SkiPatrolDude · Feb 18, 2021

atblis said:
Exactly what is the difference in headspace between a 223 and a 5.56?

https://www.forsterproducts.com/pdf...es Sheet_NATO-001_Issue 4_July 2018_print.pdf

Page 2.

The primary differences between .223 and 5.56 are in the throat, and not in min head space.

Catch-10-22 · Feb 18, 2021

atblis said:
Turkish and Czech ARs, where?

Yes, where are the Czech ARs? I demand you tell me because everything from the Czech Republic is generally awesome and high quality!

atblis · Feb 18, 2021

Turkey makes good stuff too (Czechs more so though).

atblis · Feb 18, 2021

SkiPatrolDude said:
https://www.forsterproducts.com/pdf...es Sheet_NATO-001_Issue 4_July 2018_print.pdf

Page 2.

The primary differences between .223 and 5.56 are in the throat, and not in min head space.

I see you edited your post. Now we're getting somewhere. Exactly what issues did these "cut to .223 dimensions" chambers cause in the BCA barrels?

Magnumite · Feb 18, 2021

Using 5.56 heavy bullet ammo raises pressures because of the shorter throat lead. I’ll hand the remainder over to the others that are more AR affluent. Published or not, the potential for mishap was (is) there.

babalou · Feb 18, 2021

hmmm

SkiPatrolDude said:
https://www.forsterproducts.com/pdf...es Sheet_NATO-001_Issue 4_July 2018_print.pdf

Page 2.

The primary differences between .223 and 5.56 are in the throat, and not in min head space.

maybe it is me but seeing head space and throat in the same sentence makes me wonder. lol

newb14 · Feb 24, 2021

This may seem like a dumb question, but is it designed for a 5.56? Its like a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle isn't a square. You can shoot .223 in a 5.56, but it could be disastrous shooting a 5.56 in a .223. I haven't been able to find any literature on this gun as to which it is designed to shoot.

gun_nut · Feb 24, 2021

Should be stamped on the barrel.

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