Following substantial growth from a 2002 U.S. Army Special Forces grant for M4 upper receivers, Daniel Defense expanded in 2009 and moved into a new manufacturing facility in Black Creek, Georgia, where it is now based.

[4] The company adopted a direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales model and offered "buy-now-pay-later" plans, allow consumers to acquire costly weapons immediately and pay in installments over time.

[1][4] In its early years, Daniel Defense manufactured rails, the components of firearms to which scopes, laser sights, and other accessories are attached.

[3] In 2014, Daniel Defense sold DDM4 rifles to Missouri State Police and North Dakota Highway Patrol, making its first sale of that gun to law enforcement agencies.

[1] The company initially was located in Garden City, Georgia, sharing space with Daniel's other business making overhead doors and fireplaces.

[9] The formal ribbon-cutting for the new Black Creek facility which employs 210 people, held in May 2018, was attended by Georgia's governor, Nathan Deal, and other state and local officials.

[14][15] The NFL responded to the claims by denying any involvement in the rejection of the advertisement, but it did confirm that its policy does ban commercials with firearms in them, and in the end, it was not accepted or aired.

[4][17] On May 24, 2022, a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7, an AR platform rifle, was used by the shooter who fatally shot nineteen students, two teachers, and wounded seventeen others in the Uvalde school shooting.

[22] On June 3, 2022, the attorney representing the father of one of the victims requested information from Daniel Defense about their marketing strategy to teens and children.