The fact that you're asking the question, and the fact that others are recommending other brands of budget guns, might suggest waiting on the DB until there's a greater body of experience with that brand.
I have a DB 15. The gun is multi caliber, .223/5.56. Mine works flawlessly with .223 not so much with 5.56.
If I were currently looking for a rifle, the following is what I'd be looking at priced lowest to highest. All will be good dependable rifles.
Best gun in the lowest price range - Aero Precision OEM for $559. Throw on a stock for $40 and handguard of your choice for $50-200 depending on what you want. Tack on FFL transfer fee for $15, and you're in business for $664. And it actually has a good BCG and barrel.
Next step up - PSA premium. You can get a PSA premium rifle kit for $550-600, and build it on a PSA or Aero lower for another $50-75.
Next step up - Spikes ST-15. $700-800. Pretty much mil-spec. They're nice, but come with extra Spikes snake oil. They're also almost always out of stock for some reason.
Next step up - Colt 6920. You can get a 6920-oem for right at $750ish. Tack on a $40 stock, $50-200 handguard, $8 trigger guard, and a $15 FFL transfer, and you're in business for $863. And it's the definition of mil-spec. You won't ever NEED anything else.
Next step up - BCM. Get a BCM complete lower for $380 (or blems are $330), snap it together with a BCM upper for $570. $950 total.
I completely agree here. While I'm a huge BCM fan, I recently picked up a few Aero Precision lowers from Brownells and was very impressed with their fit and finish. PSA also has a solid reputation..... as long as you aren't in a hurry to get your order.
I'm a huge fan of Aero receivers. Their uppers and lowers are sold at a really really good price, and their machining on the forgings is every bit as good as anyone else. Plus, you can get a matched forged upper/lower from them for $120-150, and the fit on every set I've got from them has been perfect.
The one person that didn't have excellent fit with one of their matched set that I have read about, Aero shipped their receiver back to them, and matched it up with a new upper. I appreciate customer service like that.
Plus, my lowers came with an upper / lower fit adjustment screw. I assume they all do now as I don't think there was anything special about the ones I bought. I think I paid around $60 for each of them. Not bad at all for that price!!!
If I were currently looking for a rifle, the following is what I'd be looking at priced lowest to highest. All will be good dependable rifles.
Best gun in the lowest price range - Aero Precision OEM for $559. Throw on a stock for $40 and handguard of your choice for $50-200 depending on what you want. Tack on FFL transfer fee for $15, and you're in business for $664. And it actually has a good BCG and barrel.
Next step up - PSA premium. You can get a PSA premium rifle kit for $550-600, and build it on a PSA or Aero lower for another $50-75.
Next step up - Spikes ST-15. $700-800. Pretty much mil-spec. They're nice, but come with extra Spikes snake oil. They're also almost always out of stock for some reason.
Next step up - Colt 6920. You can get a 6920-oem for right at $750ish. Tack on a $40 stock, $50-200 handguard, $8 trigger guard, and a $15 FFL transfer, and you're in business for $863. And it's the definition of mil-spec. You won't ever NEED anything else.
Next step up - BCM. Get a BCM complete lower for $380 (or blems are $330), snap it together with a BCM upper for $570. $950 total.
I have two stripped gen 2 lowers, I pulled one out of the box and checked it with the fit on my aero upper, and it was tight. Obviously I couldn't get the leverage I can with a grip on the lower, but they are still nice quality. The upper and lower were not a match set either.The new gen2 forged receivers come with the adjustment screw to remove any slop/rattle between the upper/lower. Mine are all gen1.
With the adjustment screw, it makes me wonder if they're hand picking their receiver sets to get the tightest fit anymore (I have no idea if they are or aren't, but it seems like with the adjustment screw a true matched set isn't really needed to get rid of receiver rattle). My gen1's are really nicely fit and wouldn't benefit from an adjustment screw. I'd be interested to hear from someone with a gen2 set if the set is as nicely fit with the screw backed out.
Either way, you get a heck of a lot for your dollar with them. They're the only receivers I buy now.
I've become a big fan of Aero lately. They are my go to more so than PSA these days.
The new gen2 forged receivers come with the adjustment screw to remove any slop/rattle between the upper/lower. Mine are all gen1.
With the adjustment screw, it makes me wonder if they're hand picking their receiver sets to get the tightest fit anymore (I have no idea if they are or aren't, but it seems like with the adjustment screw a true matched set isn't really needed to get rid of receiver rattle). My gen1's are really nicely fit and wouldn't benefit from an adjustment screw. I'd be interested to hear from someone with a gen2 set if the set is as nicely fit with the screw backed out.
Either way, you get a heck of a lot for your dollar with them. They're the only receivers I buy now.