The Daniel Defense Delta 5 is their entry into the precision bolt action rifle arena. Initially offered in 308, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 6mm Creedmoor, the Delta 5 offers a lot of features in the package for less than the cost of a custom rifle. Wolverine Supplies lent me this rifle for review and they carry the Delta 5’s in Canada.
Daniel Defense Delta 5 Specifications
The rifle shown and reviewed is a Delta 5 Pro in 308 with a 20″ barrel in heavy palma profile
- “Pro” versions come with an aluminum chassis with ARCA lock rail, qd sling attachments, and m-lok all over, adjustable buttstock, bigass muzzle brake, etc and an accuracy guarantee of 0.5 MOA.
- Regular versions come with a carbon fiber reinforced polymer stock and an accuracy guarantee of 0.75 MOA.
- 20″, 24″, and 26″ hammer forged barrel options
- Easy change barrels (uses a barrel nut w pre-set headspace)
- Adjustable Timney Elite Hunter trigger
- 20 MOA scope rail
- Uses AICS style magazines
- 3 lug bolt with 60 degree throw
- 9-13.3 lbs depending on the one you pick
Shooting the Daniel Defense Delta 5
For a gun that’s supposed to be used for PRS, I do like the 60 degree bolt throw/3 lug combo: it leaves lots of room for the scope eyepiece and it’s less movement. That’s important on a rifle like this because there’s actually a cutout of the top of the forend to allow you to mount the scope lower if you want. The forend also has 2 QD sling cup spots on both sides (but you need to install a cup adapter in the spot), MLok rails all over, and a large serrated locking-style Arca rail on the bottom. Of course, it offers a generous free float around the barrel.
The stock adjusts easily to wherever your head needs to be with an adjustable cheek rest, adjustable length of pull, and a buttpad that can be slid up or down to get better fit with your shoulder pocket. The stock also offers 3 anti-rotation push button QD sling attachment points on each side, an MLok slot on the bottom and there’s a tapped section on the bottom that I’m not quite sure what it’s for.
The grip is an AR style, slightly more vertical as is popular on PRS rifles these days. What’s different from an AR is that there’s a post to rest your thumb on the same side as your hand: keeping you from imparting torque on the grip, yet still allowing you to press down on the rear of the rifle into a barricade.
The magazine release is similar to a Walther pistol: you press down on either of 2 wings on the front of the trigger guard to release the mag. This means you can release the mag with your right hand and it’ll drop free: leaving your left free to grab another fresh mag. The front of the magwell has some mild serrations on it to give some traction against barricades. The magwell is very well beveled, so feel free to just ram that magazine home and expect it to just figure it out.
The barrel is a hammer forged unit with a big, bad break at the end of it. On these rifles, they either get an accuracy guarantee of 0.75 MOA or 0.5 MOA depending on the version.
Conclusion
For the price ($3500), this rifle competes head to head with some custom and semi-custom rifles. But, you’re not likely to get a custom rifle with this many features/quality at this price point.
