Las Vegas, Nevada –-(Ammoland.com)- Daniel Defense’s most exciting addition to their line of rifles is their Integrally Suppressed Rifle, the DDM4-ISR. The rifle is built to Mil-Spec standards but also features numerous additions that give the rifle that famous Daniel performance and finish.
This is a second generation rifle that has updated the baffle system on the suppressor and shortened the barrel length from 10.5 inches to 9 inches. The ISR was released in mid-summer 2016 with conversion kits available for those who own the first generation rifle.
Daniel Defense also released some SBR configurations, such as their SOCOM rail in a 10.3″ length which is new to the civilian market. But, the rifle that matters most to me is the DDM4-ISR. There are so many reasons to be excited by this rifle, some of the reasons have to do with the current political atmosphere. Overall this rifle is awesome and has the potential to become a staple in the AR market, both in caliber, suppression, and usability.
During Industry Day at the Range, I had the opportunity to squeeze off few a few rounds of 300 Blackout fired from the DDM4-ISR. It was love at first trigger pull. I could rattle off the reasons I like the rifle, and there are a ton, but the main reason is that the rifle is integrally suppressed. After taking down some lethal plastic targets and clearing my magazine, I was feeling pure joy, but the further I walked down range the more I missed this beauty.
First off, this rifle is built to Mil-Spec standards but it also features numerous additions that give the rifle that famous Daniel performance and finish. The DDM4 has been available to the market for some time and is among the most popular 5.56 rifles offered by the company. The DDM4-ISR is currently chambered in the more powerful 300 Blackout round. Combining the 300 Blackout and the integral suppressor makes for an amazingly smooth shooting rifle that offers the shooter the ability to fire either subsonic or supersonic ammunition.
The DDM4-ISR is built on a 9-inch cold hammer forged barrel that is chrome lined and constructed of chrome moly vanadium steel. The twist rate on the barrel is 1:8 and is mil-spec heavy phosphate coat. The DDM4-ISR utilizes a pistol length gas system in conjunction with a specialized Daniel Defense ISR Integrated Gas Block. Although the barrel is only 9 inches long, this rifle is not a short barreled rifle because of the integral suppressor.
The suppressor extends the barrel to 16 inches, which means the DDM4-ISR only requires one tax stamp for the suppressor.
The day after Industry Day I went by the Daniel Defense booth to get another glimpse of these warlocks, which only made me love this rifle more. I also had a chance to speak with one of the designers of the second generation rifle at the Daniel booth. The DDM4-ISR has received a flood of positive feedback from law enforcement, military, and especially from civilian markets. In fact, the rifle was designed with home defense in mind.
So let’s go back to where I said that the current political situation added an extra layer of excitement to shooting this rifle. The passage of the Hearing Protection Act is far from certain. But, if it were to pass this rifle could become a standard choice for those in the market for a new AR.
If the act passed, integrally suppressed rifles could, I say COULD, become far more popular than standard rifles without suppressors. In my opinion, and it is just that, I would much prefer an integrally suppressed rifle over a rifle with an attached suppressor. Stand-alone suppressors could possibly be considered a suitable substitute for some shooters. Some may prefer the option to switch between non-suppressed and suppressed, being confined to a suppressor may be too restrictive.
I only ever want to shoot suppressed, every day all day and twice on Sunday.
For myself, a guy from the beach in New Jersey only gets to shoot suppressed every so often. I can only see the positives of shooting an integrally suppressed rifle. With these systems and this rifle especially, it is promising that these technologies have the popularity to continue growing into a product that could permanently change the market.
About Brian D. Johnson:
Brian Duncan Johnson is a graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. His focus of studies was on History and Government. Duncan is a regular contributor to AmmoLand and assists in the everyday gun-news publishing as an assistant editor.