I had occasion to be in the city of Deland on the fourth of July this year for some things, and decided that while I was here, I should at least take a drive by Tactical Machining’s place of business. Not expecting to find them operating on an American holiday, I rolled up to find the doors wide open with people hard at work. I got out of the car and walked up, expecting to be chased off, but was instead met by a friendly group of guys. They were busily operating CNC machines that were producing – what else – AR15 lowers and uppers. It was like being a kid in a candy store.
Again, expecting to be ushered away, I was pleasantly surprised when an amiable gentleman welcomed me in and offered to give me a tour of facility. I later learned that this was Darren Peters, the owner of Tactical Machining. He gave me a tour of each station, kindly allowing pictures of each step. I met several of the people working there, and it was amazing to witness the skill and workmanship delivered on their products; they are clearly proud of what they make, and for good reason.
My first thought as I viewed their line of billet AR15 components was to shove my hand into my wallet pocket and yell “Shut up and take my money!” Unfortunately, they have not yet released that particular product, though Mr. Peters did inform me that they should be hitting the market sometime in 2013. I would love to have just left with “one of everything”, but I restrained myself. I did purchase a few things, and plan to return again one day soon to make some more additions to my collection as I really need one of their billet 308 uppers to complete a build.
In my days I’ve visited more gunshops, AR15 armorers, AR builders, et cetera, than I can count; nothing against them, but these guys at TM are the REAL DEAL. They don’t just take pre-made lower/uppers and assemble them, they MAKE the parts. And then assemble them. Based on the volume of product they are outputting, I can only assume that many other local companies actually use them as an OEM to build their parts. Tactical Machining also offers quite an impressive line of 80% lowers and jigs, for those “do-it-yourself” guys, and they are rumored to be working on sponsoring a “build party” model for the newbie builders to attend and build with the help of a seasoned builder. Again – “Shut up and take my money!”
I’m blessed to live in Central Florida’s active AR15-producing world. I can drive an hour in any direction and be at any one of 7-plus AR producers, but Tactical Machining of Deland, Fl is best kept secret in the business. Darren is a great guy to work with, as well as being a (relatively) new Ham Radio guy, and a pilot. Most importantly of all, he has a love for firearms, which should drive his company straight and true.
