My AR expertise began within the Marine Corps. My first rifle was an M16A2 and finally an M16A4. I had an M4 for concerning the blink of an eye fixed, and I keep in mind my first impression of the carbine as that it was a lot rougher capturing. I’ve since realized an in-depth distinction between AR fuel techniques. As a fan of rifle-length fuel techniques and brief barrels, the Dissipator concept appeared so cool.
The thought of Dissipator dates again to Colt and Vietnam. Troops needed a shorter rifle for jungle fight. Colt took an M-16 and minimize the barrel on the fuel block to about 15 inches, slapped a muzzle gadget on, and referred to as it the Colt 605. Supposedly, a number of of those weapons went to Vietnam, however they didn’t carry out properly. A long time later, folks found out you may make a Dissipator extra dependable by enlarging the fuel port.
Disspator Origins
The Dissipator’s namesake got here from Bushmaster, who marketed their handguards as Dissipators as a result of they dissipated warmth. In some way, that title obtained connected to any rifle that used a rifle-length fuel system with a 16-inch barrel. Today, I’d argue it might apply to any rifle that makes use of a fuel system that’s longer than it needs to be for barrel size. An 11.5-inch barrel with a mid-length fuel system might arguably be a Dissipator.
The advantage of an extended fuel system is much less recoil and a smoother capturing gun. Whenever you mix a rifle-length fuel system with a 16-inch barrel, you arguably get one of the best of each worlds. A brief barrel with much less recoil? Who might hate that?

The Dissipator market is flooded with pretend Dissys. Pretend Dissys use a mid-length fuel system and a pretend entrance sight fuel block. Actual Dissys are uncommon within the fashionable period. Actually, solely Del-Ton and Anderson produced actual Dissipators, and now each Anderson and Del-Ton aren’t any extra. As Anderson introduced their closure, I flew to the web to safe a Dissipator. I at all times needed one, and my alternatives gave the impression to be drying up.
Anderson’s Dissipator – The Final of the Poverty Ponies
Anderson has at all times been a finances model, and the entire Dissipator price me 600 {dollars}. That’s not a horrible worth, but it surely looks as if the worth went up a hair since Anderson introduced their closure. I might swear these had been $499 flat at one level. Anderson payments these as a retro rifle, which is odd.

I suppose something with a entrance sight base and stuck inventory may be thought of retro lately. The higher is an A4 flat-top design. The inventory is an A2 sort with that wonderful A2 size of pull and the Skittle compartment. The entrance sight base is a conventional FSB, and Anderson even tossed in a rear Magpul sight, which is a pleasant contact.
Should you’re an iron sight fan, the Dissipator provides you a rifle-length sight radius, which makes correct capturing simpler. Nevertheless, I tossed on a Holosun ARO for my capturing and testing. The entrance handguards are these traditional A2 design, that’s plastic with an built-in steel warmth defend. The A2 pistol grip can also be a traditional, however I at all times hated that little hump.

The Anderson Dissipator is all normal AR. Commonplace journal launch, normal security, normal charging deal with, it’s simply all Mil-Spec fashion controls and ergonomics. Apart from the rifle-length fuel system and carbine-length barrel, the Dissipator is as plain because it will get.
The Dissipator At The Vary
As a Dissy fanboy, I do know this isn’t as plug-and-play as different AR-15s. Even with the bigger fuel port, the shorter dwell time may cause points. Your greatest guess is to stay with M855, M193, and full-power .223 Remington hundreds. You’re prone to have higher luck with 5.56 within the reliability division.
Since I’m reviewing the gun, I introduced a mixture of ammo. This features a choice of my remaining steel-cased Tula and Bear ammo, M193, M855, 55-grain .223 PMC, and a few AAC 77-grain OTM ammo. I obtained the efficiency I anticipated.

I had a handful of failures to load and cycle the steel-cased ammo. Metal case ammo doesn’t increase within the chamber, so this reduces stress, which, when combined with the dwell time of the Dissipator, doesn’t play properly. The malfunctions had been 99% failures to cycle fully. I had one malfunction that required me to manually eject the gun to free a spent cartridge.
With brass-cased ammo, there wasn’t a single failure. It ran flawlessly, even with the PMC .223. The Dissipator is a brass-cased beast, and that’s actually to be anticipated with a Dissipator.
Taking pictures Straight
Since weare discussing ammunition, we will additionally talk about accuracy. The most effective accuracy was achieved with the 77 Grain AAC ammo. Utilizing a purple dot, a relaxation comprised of a backpack and a barrel, I used to be capable of obtain 3-inch teams with 5 photographs fired per group.

The Dissipator isn’t a precision rifle by any means, however for a $600 rifle, I don’t anticipate a lot. It’s not outfitted with a free-floating barrel or something that falls within the realm of precision AR. With fundamental M855, I noticed 4 MOA teams at greatest. It’s adequate for many makes use of, however not stellar by any means.
The most effective factor concerning the Dissipator comes right down to {smooth} capturing. That rifle-length fuel system does a fantastic job of decreasing recoil and making the gun deal with easily. It’s the smoothest 5.56 carbine I’ve ever dealt with. The management results in glorious outcomes up shut and afar.

Much less recoil and a smoother recoil impulse lead to much less dot motion at longer ranges. It jumps a hair and settles proper again the place I need it. This makes it a bit simpler to get fast photographs on track at longer ranges.
Up shut, that lack of recoil does an excellent job. From a low prepared, I can shoot a Invoice Drill in 1.65 seconds. That’s quite a lot of 5.56 fired shortly and precisely at shut vary. The little dot simply buzzes a bit between photographs. There’s a main distinction between the recoil and muzzle rise from the Dissipator and a regular carbine.
It’s In regards to the Really feel
The Dissipator weighs a mere six and a half kilos. It’s mild and useful. The easy polymer furnishings does wonders for weight and never a lot else. The handguards get sizzling shortly and turn out to be a bit much less enjoyable to shoot with. I’ll give them credit score for having that odor. Should you’ve ever shot a bit with these old-school polymer handguards, that after they warmth up, they get a really distinct odor.
The inventory is simply too lengthy, and the size of pull is a bit foolish for contemporary capturing. It really works high quality, but it surely’s not a fantastic inventory by any means. I plan to swap the inventory and handguard for some Magpul MOE furnishings. The mounted inventory and two-piece M-LOK handguard will probably be a welcome improve to the Dissipator.

Ergonomically, the controls and design are high quality. It’s fundamental AR controls. I’d swap the charging deal with and pistol grip, too. I don’t want a ton of fancy stuff, however I like a bigger charging deal with, and I wish to ditch the hump on the A2 grip.
The Anderson Dissipator isn’t a foul gun; it’s only a $600 gun. It’s not all that correct, and the furnishings feels dated, however the advantage of the Dissaptor stays. The Dissipator is extremely {smooth} capturing with low recoil. Avoid the steel-cased ammo, and also you received’t run into any reliability points. It’s a fantastic working rifle and a enjoyable plinker, however in all probability not my first alternative for a precision gun.
Specs
Barrel Size – 16 inches
General Size – 35.5 inches
Weight – 6.5 kilos
Caliber – 5.56/.223 Rem
Star Rankings (out of 5 Stars)
Accuracy – ***
A 3 MOA rifle will get three stars. It’s high quality, not spectacular, and for many shooters, 3 MOA is sweet sufficient. Only a few folks want something that’s 1 MOA, and even fewer can shoot 1 MOA within the first place.
Reliability – ***(and a half)
With brass-cased ammo, there aren’t any reliability points, however steel-cased ammo slows it down and chokes it. I think about any light-loaded .223 isn’t going to run properly with the Dissipator.
Ergonomics – ***
Once more, it’s high quality. Nice will get three stars. The inventory size might be the largest draw back. A budget handguards aren’t nice, and whereas AR ergonomics are high quality, the gun doesn’t excel.
General – *** (and a half)
It’s powerful to evaluate this gun. I prefer it personally as a result of I believe Dissipators are cool. I like rifle-length fuel techniques, and I like the graceful capturing design of the Dissipator. Nevertheless, since persons are studying this and making buying selections, I’ve to place my bias apart. It’s a high quality rifle, but it surely’s not stellar by any means, and three.5 stars appears honest.



















