From Factory to Field: Competition-Oriented Daniel Defense Delta 5 Pro Reviewed

Estimated reading time: 17 minutes

Daniel Defense is a well-known name in the industry that has exploded in popularity and size since selling their first AR in 2009. From there, Daniel Defense built a legacy of fine craftsmanship and durability. They were among the first to use the cold hammer forging process to create accurate and robust rifle barrels and they’ve now brought this legendary process to the precision world with the introduction of the Delta 5 bolt action rifle. Most recently, we got the Delta 5 Pro, a purpose-built chassis rifle designed to go straight from the shelf to the podium.

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Intrigued originally by long-range hunting, I’ve been well-practiced in the art of using a precision rifle at extended ranges. However, the equipment for PRS or other long-range oriented shooting sports is extremely different from the sort of rifles that I collect for hunting. Advertised as being a factory rifle with “custom features right out of the box”, and that incredibly impressive 0.5 MOA guarantee, I figured the Delta 5 Pro was the easiest route to getting involved in my local shooting competitions – and I think I was right.

About the Delta 5 Pro

The Delta 5 Pro is a bolt action precision rifle that is purpose-built with the best components in the industry to be competition-ready out of the box. This rifle may be Daniel Defense’s brain baby, but it also features products from Area 419 and Timney Triggers in order to provide custom rifle quality to this factory offering.

READ MORE: Daniel Defense Debuts 16-Inch Delta 5 Pro w/ .5 MOA Guarantee — SHOT Show 2022

With an adjustable buttstock, AR-style grip, and M-LOK attachment points located on the buttstock as well as the handguard, customizability for the end user is nearly endless. Mount a monopod or bag rider on the buttstock, night vision, or thermal clip-on devices on the handguard. Swap the grip for a vertical offering or leave it as is… You get the idea.

My Delta 5

My Delta 5 Pro, which is what this review is on specifically, is a 6mm Creedmoor with a 26″ varmint profile barrel. This rifle is available in six different caliber and barrel length combinations consisting of 6mm Creedmoor (26-inch barrel), 6.5 Creedmoor (18, 24, and 26-inch barrels), and .308 Winchester (16 or 20-inch barrels).

The barrel lengths and calibers were matched in order to deliver the desired amount of energy at specific (and varying) ranges. For example, the 16″ 308 Delta 5 Pro varmint profile barrel came about due to a law enforcement request for a precision rifle capable of delivering 500 ft/lbs of energy out to 500 yards. Both the Delta 5 Pro 16″ 308 and the Delta 5 Pro 18″ 6.5 Creedmoor are capable of delivering that requirement and are guaranteed to be 0.5 MOA at 100 yards with match ammunition.

My Criteria

I chose the 26-inch 6mm Creedmoor for my purposes because length and weight were not important factors while maximum velocity was desired for the flattest trajectory possible. All available options wear Daniel Defense’s own cold hammer forged barrels that are produced using a one-piece mandril, perfectly aligning the chamber to the bore. As evident when visually inspecting the brass, Daniel Defense has also taken liberties with the chamber design to further add to the consistency, reliability, and accuracy of the Delta 5 Pro.

Since some of these rifles are obviously designed with LEO use/application in mind, the weight and length of the Delta 5 Pro varies from 10.8 to 13.3 pounds and 36.5 to 46.25 inches in length. Even still, all Delta 5 Pro Models come in at the same MSRP of $2,499.00, but if you want the Pro Chassis Folding Stock Adapter like my rifle has, this will cost you $199.00 extra.

Delta 5 Pro Specifications (26″ 6mm Creedmoor)

• mounting system: M-LOK
• caliber: 6mm Creedmoor
• muzzle thread: 5/8×24 TPI
• barrel length: 26″
• twist rate: 1:7.5″
• barrel profile: varmint
• weight: 13.3 lbs
• overall length: 46.25″
• magazine: Magpul PMAG 10 7.62 AC
• case: Daniel Defense Full-Latch Impact Plastic Case
• manufacturer: Daniel Defense
• colors available: Coyote tan, Olive Drab, Black
• MSRP: $2,499.00

Interesting Features

I’ve already breezed over some features of the Delta 5 Pro, but some of them require specific attention in order to be described fully. The first is the chassis. This is the largest part of this rifle system and it is the interface between the shooter and gun, so the chassis and its design is incredibly important.

Buttstock and Cheek Risers

We’ll begin with the buttstock, which is highly adjustable for establishing the perfect fit with any shooter. The butt pad can be adjusted vertically about 2 inches up or about an inch down below the neutral position. The butt pad can also be extended out by approximately an inch and a half by loosening two friction screws and scrolling a thumb wheel, increasing the length of pull.

Moving on, the cheek riser is adjustable vertically, but also can be drifted left or right and even-toed in or out. This keeps a solid contact line with any shaped shooter’s cheek. The bottom of the buttstock, where most prone shooters would install a bag rider, has an M-LOK slot that would accommodate for mounting of possible future aftermarket bag riders for this gun, or a monopod. Daniel Defense also sells an aluminum block that mounts in the recess located in front of this M-LOK section, solving the bag rider problem that I would argue they created in its design.

But Wait, There’s More

Moving down the chassis, we find a few small quality-of-life additions. The first is an adjustable peg-like thumb stop that can be slid fore and aft about half of an inch. Next, a flared mag well, a streamlined magazine release lever located at the front of the trigger guard, a barricade stop in front of the magwell, and a tricked-out handguard.

This handguard rail is scalloped to accommodate mounting large optics low to the bore, but there is a bridge that can be utilized in mounting any sort of aftermarket device in front of your optic. For mounting other devices, the handguard features an Area 419 ARCA rail on the bottom. Oh, and let’s not forget the ample M-LOK slots and QD Flush Cup attachment points either.

The Action – A Pretty Importance Piece

The next portion up for discussion is the barreled action, which makes this rifle much different from other offerings on the market. To begin, The Delta 5 Pro comes with an R700 footprint Timney Elite Hunter trigger which comes set at three pounds but is adjustable from two to four pounds. Inside the action, a three-lug bolt provides slick operation and a 60-degree throw.

And attaching Daniel Defense’s legendary cold hammer forged barrel to the action is a proprietary barrel nut that allows the user to change out the barrel or caliber quite easily – in fact, I plan on buying a 16″ .308 Winchester barrel for this rifle system in order to expand its versatility.

Last but not least, the Delta 5 Pro barrel is threaded 5/8×24 TPI at the muzzle. Here, a three-port Area 419 Hellfire Self Timing Muzzle Brake efficiently tames the platform’s already low recoil impulse. Between the recoil reduction of this fantastic brake and the rifle’s significant mass, spotting shots impacting on target is incredibly easy.

New For 2023

The Delta 5 Pro has been on the market since 2020, but this year (2023) Daniel Defense released their folding hinge adapter for the bolt action rifle which happens to be my religion and reason for revisiting the now-proven rifle system. For the past few years, I’ve refused to buy any rifle that did not come with a folding stock/chassis.

This is a need that is deep-rooted because of my foundation in long-range hunting. The extra portability and decrease in footprint is sometimes required for easy transport in a rifle case for air travel, or to fit in a backpack without snagging on branches above your head while hiking.

The ability to fold the buttstock out of the way is still convenient on a rifle like this for transportation, cleaning, bore-sighting, and many other small tasks that one may take for granted. In short, folding rifles are definitely the way to go for any application and I think this should become a standard feature. This feature, alone, adds incredible versatility and value to the Delta 5 Pro.

Accuracy Report On the Delta 5 Pro

Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to get ahold of 6mm Creedmoor ammunition at the time of my testing. I scrounged up what I could, which mostly consisted of Hornady ammunition, but also found some Black Hills Ammunition (also featuring Hornady projectiles) on the web at Ammunition To Go.

During accuracy testing, I shot seven different ammunitions at a distance of 100 yards, measuring 5-round groups. The ammunition shot consisted of Hornady 108 Grain ELD-M, Hornady Custom 108 grain ELD-M, Black Hills Gold 108 grain ELD-M, Hornady Black 105 grain BTHP, Black Hills Gold 103 grain ELD-X, Hornady 103 grain ELD-X, and Hornady Varmint Express 87 grain V Max. Group sizes varied from 0.586 MOA (Black Hills Gold 108 grain ELD-M) to 1.722 MOA (Hornady 103 grain ELD-X).

A pattern became apparent and so I concluded that my Daniel Defense Delta 5 Pro shot the Hornady 108 grain ELD-M projectiles the best, and the Hornady 103 ELD-X bullets the worst. Below you can see all of the groups that I shot with the ammunition type and group size listed in the text box in the photo.

Something To Remember

If you’ll take note, none of these groups that I shot with this Delta 5 Pro were under 0.5 MOA. However, this is the performance that Daniel Defense guarantees with this rifle! There is a caveat: the accuracy guarantee is based on three-round groups and I shot the (better) standard of five-round groups for my testing.

Statistically speaking, with the accuracy that this rifle showed during this test, it would be extremely easy to shoot sub 0.5 MOA groups if I limited things to three rounds. This said, I have definitely shot five-round groups that were tighter than 0.5 MOA using Hornady 108-grain ELD-M ammunition, but I refuse to cherry-pick groups to only show you my best ones.

Noteworthy Accuracy Notes For The Delta 5 Pro

Some noteworthy observations to conclude my accuracy report: some lot numbers of Hornady 108 grain ELD-M ammunition were consistently shooting 5-round groups in under a half of an inch at 100 yards (<0.5 MOA) while other lots were less consistent, stacking 3 to 4 shots with a flyer or two that slightly opened the group up. This can actually be seen in the first photo here which shows how the ammunition stacked 4 shots with a single flyer.

This was consistent in some lots and totally nonexistent in others. This confirms to me that it is not something that can be blamed on my shooting. Also, out of my own curiosity, I hand-loaded a few different combinations of Hodgdon H4350 powder and Sierra 107 grain SMK projectiles and saw some fantastic performance of the sub-MOA type. However, I did not chase this down the rabbit hole, so that is all I will say about this.

Competing With the Delta 5 Pro

As mentioned, I became interested in the Delta 5 Pro because I desired to become involved in local long-range competitions but didn’t want the effort or cost (but mostly effort) of parting together a custom rifle. These monthly competitions are “belly matches” where the shooter gets a set amount of time to shoot ten shots from a prone position at 400, 600, 800, and 1000 yards. Being new and shooting a factory rifle using factory ammunition did not hinder me a bit and I finished slightly above mid-pack.

I’ve been changing the accessories and gear I’ve been using as I see where things can improve. Currently, my Delta 5 Pro is wearing a Zero Compromise ZC527 optic and mount and is supported by an MDT Ckye Pod.

As I Alter my gear and practice, I am working my way up the rankings and I think that this rifle has the capability to land me in the top positions. Eventually, I also plan on getting involved in local PRS competitions and the Delta 5 Pro would suit me just as well in that crowd.

Final Thoughts

The Daniel Defense Delta 5 Pro is a fantastic rifle in many different ways. It’s accurate, feature-packed, ergonomic, and competition-ready. In fact, I thought this rifle was impressive enough to spend my own hard-earned money on it.

Still, there are some aspects that I believe Daniel Defense could have done differently in order to make this the perfect gun: the grip and trigger. After purchasing the Delta 5 Pro, I changed the Daniel Defense pistol grip to a Black Collar Arms Priapus Grip. This swap to a vertical grip is my own preference that I think many shooters would share.

However, Daniel Defense chose between pleasing some and pleasing no one, going with the latter, knowing that the swap to your preferred grip is easy and made possible by the use of an AR grip mounting interface.

One Critique

The other change that I made to the Delta 5 Pro after my testing was the trigger. The Delta 5 Pro comes with a Timney Elite Hunter, which is a fantastic hunting trigger but is not ideal for precision/competition-style shooting. Like the grip, this was a simple remove-and-replace operation where I installed an 8-ounce Timney Remington 700 HIT Trigger.

Because the Daniel Defense Delta 5 Pro accepts Remington 700 drop-in triggers, this swap was simple and only required that I remove the bolt stop from the new unit before installing it. Being my only gripes, these issues are purely a mismatch of preference and by no means diminish the value, quality, or capabilities of the Delta 5 Pro.

Conclusion – Delta 5 Pro Is Dripping With Features

All things laid bare, I still see the Delta 5 Pro as a competition-oriented and competition-ready rifle that is dripping with features that are desirable for such applications. The accuracy of this system using factory ammunition is above average for its price tag (queue the one guy that always comments, “But my Ruger American…”) and the action feels like a top-shelf custom action while bringing switch barrel capabilities to the table.

Learn more about the Daniel Defense Delta 5 Pro HERE.

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Other Images of the Delta 5 Pro