When I first got into shooting ARs, one of the common complaints I heard from a lot of shooting friends who were sticking to their traditional guns (pardon the pun), was that as fun as they might be to shoot, they all looked the same and were aesthetically clunky.

To them, they looked at the rich lacquered wood and smooth lines of a classic bolt-action and likened the difference between a traditional rifle and a modern one to that of comparing a mini-van to a luxury sedan. They both got you where you wanted to go and while the former certainly offered a lot of versatility, the latter was just plain more familiar and attractive.

I won’t lie. Even when my love for ARs began to flourish, a part of me agreed with my traditional gun friends that certainly, put one AR next to another and aside from a rail or a flash hider, they did basically look the same.

Perhaps that’s what drew me closer to Del-Ton’s display at the NRA Show, where I was when I first spied their DTI Evolution. Let’s just say it was as close to love at first sight with any AR I’d ever been. I just had to try one.

Rich in Features

The gun’s mid-length low-profile design was sleek, a look only enhanced by the comfortable Samson Evolution Free-Float Handguard. And it was light—an almost feathery 6.5 pounds—much more comfortable to hoist and aim than some of the bulkier versions of ARs I have shot over the years.

When the test DTI arrived, a rifle I learned had just been built the day before, I was won over even more by the gun’s aesthetics. This one sported a black upper and lower-receiver, as well as black barrel, but the barrel was shrouded in an earth tone Samson handrail with a matching earth-tone grip and six-position buttstock. The Samson Quick Flip Dual Aperture rear sight and folding front sight (also by Samson) were also earth-tone, providing a nice visual contrast with the A3 flat top receiver with white T-marks along the rail in the rear.

Del-Ton designed this rifle with 3-Gun and other shooting competitors in mind. This is a true 5.56 chambered firearm with a 16-inch CMV chrome-lined barrel with a 1:9 twist. It’s a mid-length gas system for fast functioning with a low-profile gas block. M4 feed ramps aid the feeding of the cartridge into the chamber, and the barrel is fitted with an A2 flash hider.

Both upper and lower receivers are mil-spec forged 7075 T6 aluminum that are hard-coat anodized. The construction aids in reducing the gun’s weight, while maintaining an excellent level of durability for high-volume shooting and abusive range and obstacle use.

On the Range

On the range, the Evolution, or Evo as some call it, was a joy to carry and shoot given its nimble weight and profile. The Samson Evolution 12.37-inch free-float rail didn’t chew the shooter’s hands up like some full quad-rail models will, and aided barrel cooling while running round after round through the rifle. In addition, the Magpul six-position buttstock and MOE+ grip are soft to the touch and textured for enhanced grip and cheek-weld.

For testing, I opted to go native and stick to the gun’s pure out-of-the-box performance, meaning no optics and using only the Samson flip-up sights. The rear is dual aperture; the front a single pin. The sights required only modest elevation adjustment out of the box. The windage was perfect.

Shooting the flip-up sights, I won’t lie, my eyesight at my age is in need of some optical help. Still, peering through a ring at a target a 100 yards off, I was able to reliably shoot boiler-room shots that grouped in the 3- to 5-inch room. Bring the target into 50 yards, however, and using a steady rest, I tightened some groups into under an inch. No doubt with a dialed in optic, this gun is nasty accurate. When advancing on frequent-fire staggered close-range targets, the rifle managed recoil effortlessly. Going from box to spitting out more than 200 rounds in a couple of hours, I never experienced a jam. On a follow-up shoot session, uncleaned from the first one, the gun delivered the same flawless performance.

The DTI Evolution retails around $1,300—pricier than some over-the-counter models, but much cheaper than similar competition-grade guns. Whether you plan to compete at 3-Gun or simply want a really nice AR for punching targets and scorching predators, the EVO is well worth your consideration.