Bear Creek Arsenal Complete Uppers

[diddlyv]

AK Guy. You really don't want to be using the Mag as a rest when shooting for tight groups or just about any other reason outside of Hollywood gangsta. Anything from a small diameter rolled up sleeping bag or a day pack with a jacket or sweater or two inside can work also. If the Army knows anything they teach you to put a hand between the rifle and what ever you are resting it on as well to deaden the bounce off the rest. If you get back out on a decent day with a decent rest please let us know how the rifle shoots. Obviously you can put well aimed shots down range or the creadmore would group like rat shit in a dresser drawer

[BCHunter]

10-4, let us know if it helps, if you decide to do it...

I have been using Flitz metal polish on all my new guns the last ten years. It is a finer polish then jb. A tube will last you years and is under 15.00. I do wet patch dry patch usually 100 times on a new rack grade barrel. And on any other metal to metal parts I can reach, bolts, bolt race ways, I was skeptical about it when I started but it is great stuff. Also use it with an old tooth brush to clean the front of my cylinder of my stainless s&w 629. Takes powder residue off in seconds.

[ported45]

BCA strike two.

Got the upper back today finally. We an upper. It fit looser than the first one and the chamber throat is SHORTER than the first one. Loaded rounds have the bullets set back 0.035". Nosler 120 BT should have a col of 2.245" and they measure 2.205" just touching the lands. The loaded round must have been jammed into the rifling when it chambered.
the first barrel yielded 2.234" just touching the lands .

Suggestions?

[1Shot]

Have it sent back to them AGAIN. Call the warranty department and talk to the woman and tell her what is the problem and what has already been done etc. then wright a detailed letter of what is the problem and really give it to them about checking quality control on their products. Let them know that by their carelessness that they are putting out a barrel that you can't even shoot factory ammo in because their throat is too short. I would tell them if they can't get their act together then SEND YOU YOUR MONEY BACK. I personally will NEVER purchase any of their products again.

[Dcommoncents]

BCA strike two.

Got the upper back today finally. We an upper. It fit looser than the first one and the chamber throat is SHORTER than the first one. Loaded rounds have the bullets set back 0.035". Nosler 120 BT should have a col of 2.245" and they measure 2.205" just touching the lands. The loaded round must have been jammed into the rifling when it chambered.
the first barrel yielded 2.234" just touching the lands .

Suggestions?

I can't say I'm surprised given that my experience with BCA is limited to one upper, but I am disappointed that you're still having issues with chamber length. Have you shot it at all yet? I wonder because I never saw a need to check the chamber length on my barrel since it was putting out nice groups of Hornady Black from day one, but if yours shoots well with the short chamber, then I may need to rethink that so I'm not unwittingly setting bullets back in the case. I haven't noticed any overpressure signs on casings though.

[klr]

Suggestions?

Make a chamber cast so you know exactly what you have. Here are opposite sides of a barrel I bought from Classic Firearms:

[ported45]

Have it sent back to them AGAIN. Call the warranty department and talk to the woman and tell her what is the problem and what has already been done etc. then wright a detailed letter of what is the problem and really give it to them about checking quality control on their products. Let them know that by their carelessness that they are putting out a barrel that you can't even shoot factory ammo in because their throat is too short. I would tell them if they can't get their act together then SEND YOU YOUR MONEY BACK. I personally will NEVER purchase any of their products again.

A letter went back with the first upper for them to do nothing except lengthen the first throat an additional 0.025" to accommodate Nosler's recommended COL.

Instead of doing that, they sent a completely different upper. Not to mention, now that I am looking at the exterior, they did not send me back a BCA branded upper!!

[ported45]

I can't say I'm surprised given that my experience with BCA is limited to one upper, but I am disappointed that you're still having issues with chamber length. Have you shot it at all yet? I wonder because I never saw a need to check the chamber length on my barrel since it was putting out nice groups of Hornady Black from day one, but if yours shoots well with the short chamber, then I may need to rethink that so I'm not unwittingly setting bullets back in the case. I haven't noticed any overpressure signs on casings though.

I never shoot any firearm until I check the chamber dimensions and there is NO way that I would shoot this one as is.

Measure a loaded round, chamber, eject, and measure it again. If it is shorter, you have a big problem like me. If it is not shorter, still check the bullet to see if it is coming in contact with the rifling at all.

[1Shot]

Sounds like it is time for a SEND ME MY MONEY BACK talk with them. I guess that I somewhat got lucky with my experience with BCA at least mine is serviceable. After shooting it about 50 rounds it is starting to group around 1 1/2" with certain loads. I hope it will continue to tighten up as I do some more load work. It does have a different throat than my OdenWorks barrel. Depending on the bullet the BCA can be longer. BCA measured with comparator with 123 SST is 2.740 but Oden is 2.734 . With 120 Nosler BT BCA 2.787 Oden is 2.790 . With 120 Sierra Pro Hunter BCA 2.795 Oden is 2.796 . With 130 Sierra Gameking HPBT BCA 2.766 Oden 2.771 .

If you are tired of dealing with BCA you can do what I plan to do if I can't get my BCA to shoot like I want. For the cost of the BCA complete upper you can not purchase the parts separately if you throw away the crappy barrel. I am going to get a good barrel and use the BCA parts to complete. I will probably get a 20" OdenWorks since I have an 18" already that is a tack driver. I have not found a 1 MOA guaranteed barrel for less price. I have learned the hard way that it pays to pay for a good barrel up front instead of spending that much or more in ammo, gas to range and frustration trying to get a crappy cheap barrel to shoot. Matter of fact I am going to build a 223 with 18" 8 twist upper in the next couple months and am going to get an Odenworks barrel. I wish you good luck in what ever you decide to do.

[NightFisher]

Has anyone had problems with the extractors on the Grendel bolts they put in their uppers? My son bought one and it really chews up brass, comparing his bolt to mine from both JP and the Group buy here it looks like the extractor tips in a lot closer to the center of the bolt on the BCA bolts.

[BCHunter]

Has anyone had problems with the extractors on the Grendel bolts they put in their uppers? My son bought one and it really chews up brass, comparing his bolt to mine from both JP and the Group buy here it looks like the extractor tips in a lot closer to the center of the bolt on the BCA bolts.

Yes there is a thread on extractor mod, as well as a johnny reloading youtube video. It is a somewhat common problem with 6.5 grendal. The tips of the extractor biting the brass. Easily fixed by pulling the extractor and lightly sanding the tips

[Gunn]

I beginning to wonder if I want to do business with Bear Creek. I have been reading a lot of reviews that would lead me to believe they produce a good product, however; not to sure about their customer service. Their website states they offer a military discount and to email their customer service for details. I did that 2 days ago with no reply. Am I being unreasonable thinking I should have gotten some kind of reply by now? What if I ordered and received one of their products and had a customer service question?

Their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I bought a 243 AR10 upper. It short stroked like crazy. I finally ended up sending it back for warranty. They do take a long time to answer emails if at all.

[1Shot]

Speaking of "customer service" and I use that term lightly. It only took me one e-mail, one fax, and 4 phone calls just to receive a UPS pickup ticket to send my faulty upper back to them. But it did only take 10 days to get it back but then again they are only about 280 miles away from me.

[Keef]

I must be lucky both the upper and the bare barrel I got from them shoot great. I put the red dot back on to get ready for turkey season tomorrow. Shot this at 126yrds after zeroing. American Gunner ammo.
IMG_20180413_074110-1125x1500.jpg
The gun.
IMG_20180410_204146-1500x1125.jpg

[ported45]

Took the super short throat to the range today and put some deep seated rounds through it. All I can say is that it functioned. 120 BT shot at 2" and 129 ABLR could be loaded to mag length, but have 3" groups at 100 yards.
This thing would not be able to use most 120-123 factory loads because of the incredibly short throat.
Don't really think giving them a third try will help.