How sad is it that more and more firearms makers are finding that there’s enough business in designing guns around restrictive gun control laws to justify producing products for those markets? Sad or not, where there’s a market, there will be companies that will try to meet the demand. Hence Dark Storm Industries‘ DS-10 “featureless” Typhoon rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor made for gun guys and gals who reside in places like California and New York. Here’s their press release:
The Dark Storm Industries Featureless DS-10 Typhoon in 6.5 Creedmoor
Dark Storm Industries (DSI), a New York based firearms manufacturer, may have gotten its start filling a void for sourcing and selling quality AR parts years ago, but soon found an underserved niche in manufacturing AR-style rifles for states with the most restrictive firearms ownership laws: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington D.C. and their own home state of New York.
Besides building standard AR style rifle models, DSI produces fixed magazine and what they call “featureless” models for the most restrictive states, thus ensuring responsible firearms enthusiasts can legally own an outstanding American-made rifle for sport or protection. The featureless models may not have a pistol grip or adjustable stock, but what they don’t lack is performance. The DSI Featureless DS-10 Typhoon in 6.5 Creedmoor is another example of DSI’s business philosophy to bring superior firearms design and production to responsible citizens in all 50 states.
The DS-10 Typhoon Featureless is a mid-length direct impingement gas system AR style rifle built from a DS-10 billet 7075 aluminum lower receiver and a DS-10 billet upper with a forward assist and ejection port cover. The lower is machined to work with the Thordsen FRS-15 rifle stock without the need for an adapter or spacer. The FRS stock was designed to address the restrictive laws in several states that characterize pistol grips and adjustable stocks as features of “assault rifles.” It replaces the adjustable stock and pistol grip with a super ergonomic stock that still gives the user a solid stock “feel” in shouldering with a rubber buttpad, checkered grip and multiple sling hard points. It comes with the Thordsen enhanced buffer tube cover which features QD sling sockets on both sides.
More DSI built features include a charging handle with an extended latch for improved grip, a DSI billet ambidextrous 90-degree safety selector and DS-10 nitride bolt carrier group. Additionally, the featureless Typhoon sports the DSI 15-inch Ultralight Narrow Profile M-Lok handguard Cerakoted in either black, FDE or ODG and ready to accept a variety of lights, scopes or laser options, as the DS-10 does not come with sights.
Although the featureless DS-10 Typhoon 6.5 Creedmoor was intentionally designed for the California and New York customer, many gun enthusiasts would find the unique stock just as comfortable as a traditional stock for hunting or tactical purposes. Dark Storm Industries also produces the Typhoon 6.5 Creedmoor in a fixed magazine version and a standard rifle version.
DS-10 Typhoon 6.5 Creedmoor Specifications:
Part Number: DSI-DS10-TYP-FL6 Caliber: 6.5 Creedmoor Barrel: DSI 18-inch 6.5 Creedmoor non-threaded nitrite barrel Twist: 1:8 Magazine: 10 round Magpul PMAG Overall Length: 37.25″ Weight: 9 lb. 4 oz. Finishes: Black, ODG, FDE
MSRP: $1,495.00 for Black and ODG finishes $1,545.00 for FDE finish
There are 8 million + gun owners in CA. Any business man that doesn’t try for a chunk of that market deserves his bankruptcy. Especially if the trump slump is real.
Not my cup of tea. It’s even uglier than my mosin.
Not only that but there’s likely little better way to give the pols and statists there the finger. I’m sure that a lot of people have a “break in case of glass” kit to make these rifles a lot more featured than previously sold as.
You can have a full-featured lower (pistol grip, telescoping stock, detachable mag) if you mate it with a gasless upper (i.e., not semi auto). You can have a full-featured upper (bayo mount, muzzle device, threaded barrel, fore-grip, etc.) if you mate it with a fixed-mag lower.
😀
My last build is a gasless side charging bolt action. Being such, I can have all the scary stuff I want on it. Just for sh*ts and grins I’m going to hang all of my surplus parts wherever I can find room on it. Take a picture and send it to Sacramento with instructions on where they can shove it!
There are things more important than money. Defending the principles of the 2nd Amendment is one of them. Cut off these states and their anti-gun laws.
I’m Californian, by the way. We deserve to be disarmed.
This is sad, and even much sadder is that this “AR-15” looks like a$$. Not o add salt to the wound but another tragedy is that this “AR-15” costs more than a “Plain Jane” AR-15.
It IS hideous, but it’s actually pretty comfortable to shoot. Granted, I only have a mags worth of experience, off bags on a square range.
“featureless” rifle
I see how it gets around the inane POS CA (D)bag laws. . .
uh… NO, I DON’T.
This is the same sh_t as the bump-fire. It’s allowed because you didn’t write the law right? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MF -ERRRRRRRRRR
It’s allowed because it’s “ARMS” stupid.
So damn close to open season.
Sad yes. But even a New Yorker and Kalifornian who choose to stay there. Deserve to have some fun and whatever guns they can have legally. Is better then no product at all.
Plus with the 35-45 million folks between the 2 sad states. That’s a lot of potential even if partially denied business for anyone to give up on.
They will keep the real guns at home until they are needed.
“They will keep the real guns at home until they are needed.”
You can still buy stripped lowers in NY, order everything else off of the internet, and assemble your own AR-15. Since the SAFE Act was vomited out by the rats in Albany, several FFL’s I’ve talked with have stated the demand is high and they can’t keep stripped lowers on the shelves. So now there are more AR-15’s in New York than ever before. Those are the “closet guns” that stay at home until needed. That compliant rifle at the top is what the guy who already has his illegal, R-rated AR-15 built and tucked away buys. Goes to show what a complete joke the SAFE Act has turned out to be.
You can no longer build an AR in California unless it is featureless or mag locked. And the lower must be registered. 80% builds are also illegal unless you get a serial number and engrave the lower the same as required of manufacturers under the federal law. Recently, however, the Patriot Button (which operates the mag release when the halves are partially split) has been determined to comply with the law.
One must engrave an 80% lower by ATF guidelines with any serial number one wants before 7-18, after, you will need to get permision to build, and get a serial number from CADOJ. All 80%s need a serial number by 12-31-18, whether it’s your number or the CADOJ’s. If it is not an “AW,” serialized before 7-18, it does not need to be registered with CADOJ. At least, that’s how I read it from several sites…
Haha, because you just know the types of people that mill their own lowers are going to line up to serialize them…
“How sad is it that more and more firearms makers are finding that there’s enough business in designing guns around restrictive gun control laws to justify producing products for those markets?”
What’s sad is that the people who make that statement dismiss and deride States like California Massachusetts New York and New Jersey. They balk at what’s going on behind enemy lines and talk about ho free they are in their home States. They write off States like California as lost causes. But they’re just whistling past the graveyard
exactly.
Agree completely.
I am seeing a lot of the “California compliant” AR-15s at the Range I frequent. Recently, while in a local Gun Store Chain shop I saw a lot of these (with other than the Thordsen stock) in their sales rack, so I asked the Sales Person I was working with how they are selling and he said they were selling about on par with standard AR’s and that sales had been picking-up steadily in the past couple of months. Californians are adapting to the new rules just fine, apparently.
How sad is it? Not sad at all. It means those of us who live in those places can still buy ARs. They may look a bit strange, but they work just fine. By the way, the featured stock is the old style Thordsen. The new stock is much better looking.
Ar10’s and the like are not restricted in Maryland. Cash and Carry all day. Just no hi cap mags unless you go to VA or PA and buy some. Then it’s legal. I got all types of 20-30 round mags for my rifles. AR15’s with a heavy barrel are cash and carry here too. The stupid ban they put on the AR’s was for any AR15 with a not heavy barrel. Stupid.
+1
Maryland doesn’t ban features either. It only regulates that you can’t have a flash suppressor and folding stock (not an AR collapsible stock, those don’t count) on at the same time.
You can have as many pistol grips, bayonet lugs, and other regular features as one wants.
+1
Thanks for the added info. MD is stupid. But don’t tell the legislature they couldn’t get it right. They effectively took AR’s off of the regulated list. It used to be regulated and had to wait 7 days. With their “ban”, it took AR’s off of the regulated list and made hbar rifles cash and carry. I LOL everytime I buy another rifle.
And by hbar, I mean no m4 cutouts in the barrel. No pencil barrels either. Just a thick looking barrel basically.
I am seeing a lot of the “California compliant” AR-15s at the Range I frequent. Recently, while in a local Gun Store Chain shop I saw a lot of these (with other than the Thordsen stock) in their sales rack, so I asked the Sales Person I was working with how they are selling and he said they were selling about on par with standard AR’s and that sales had been picking-up steadily in the past couple of months. Californians are adapting to the new rules just fine, apparently.
I still ask the question,why can’t an enterprising entrepreneur update the SKS? Monte Carlo stocks for SKS available US-made AK variants are widely available. Based on my limited knowledge, the action is simple. It needs a much better trigger, but Tapco has taken care of the AK trigger problem. To my understanding, an SKS is inherently SAFE Act compliant so long as it has a traditional stock and original-style magazine, and lacks the bayonet lug. As many US companies manufacture AK’s, why can’t they adapt the SKS in the same way? Am I missing something in the gunsmithing and engineering, or are they?
SKS’s are more complicated and have way more parts, tiny ones at that, that need to be made that are more finely machined.
Domestic companies still struggle to make a basic AKM right so I won’t hold my breath with them getting the SKS right.
That depends on what you mean by “right”. They’re generally functional, but most don’t seem to hold up to intentional abuse as well as some of the com-block versions. That said, the PSA GB2 AK -47 did pass the torture testing of AKOU.
For a time in CA we were getting saiga sporters which were just ak’s with a more traditional stock, no pistol grip and modded to take their own 10 round mag. My son had 2 of them and they were reliable with steel cased fmj. Never tried them with anything else.
Haven’t seen them in years. I guess they don’t import them anymore.
What is sad is manufacturers go out of there way to go above and beyond what Maryland allows while being completely pig ignorant about its gun laws. Why not include Colorado it has a 15-round limit like New Jersey.
Maryland does not ban any features. It only regulates that you can’t have a collapsible stock and a flash suppressor on at the same time.
People are so ignorant when it comes to Maryland laws it drives me nuts!!
What is sad is how many manufacturers are still ignorant when it comes to Maryland’s gun control laws and lumps them in with the rest of the ban states.
It is 2017 people it isn’t hard to find out what they are!!
Here is some free knowledge as a former Marylander:
Maryland DOES NOT BAN ANY FEATURES!!! It only regulates that you can’t have a flash suppressor and folding stock on at the same time. No, AR collapsible stocks don’t count as folding stocks in Maryland’s laws. This rifle is a joke and a slap in the face to all Maryland gun owners forced to buy a rifle way above and beyond what Maryland calls for at a minimum.
So quit selling them out and doing exactly what the anti’s want!!
if you listen closely you can hear the rifle screaming in its mind please please kill me
I’m OK with that rifle being legal in california just as long as its illegal everywhere else
for purely aesthetic reasons
This is a double edged sword. By making these kinds of products you are allowing gun ownership in some states but you are also condoning those states laws. What would happen if these product weren’t available? Would the gun owners in those states organize and vote these “politicians” out or would they just continue to be a rabble and attack each other?
The other way such products could hurt is that they could be used to justify a ban on all semi-autos. Of course, the civilian disarmament movement will push for that regardless of what manufacturers do.
Oh man, Fightlite needs to come out with a 308-based version of their SCR real soon…