New BCA 6.5 Grendel first range outing.

[VASCAR2]

My Son in Law bought a Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel upper about two years ago. He assembled a stripped Anderson lower he already owned and used a single stage mil spec trigger and lower parts kit. He has been so busy with work, family and kids sports he hasn’t had time to shoot this rifle. He had a set of Midwest Industries back up sights he threw on the upper.


My Grandson came to my house for a few days and we planned on shooting. My SinL sent along his BCA for me to sight in. Before shooting the BCA 6.5 Grendel with a 20” Stainless Steel 1:8 Twist barrel I inspected the barrel and ran a bore snake through the barrel three times. Everything looked good to the naked eye and the barrel/hand guard appeared to be tight.

This upper is a side charger and to remove the bolt and carrier you have to remove the charging handle. There is also a threaded thumb screw which encloses the opening for a traditional charging handle in the top of the upper receiver. You have to remove this thumb screw before trying to remove the bolt carrier.

I measured the bolt and inspected the carrier. The 6.5 Grendel bolt looked to be of good quality with the .136” bolt face depth and proper overall length 2.810”. The firing pin was in spec at 3.276”. The staking on the carrier key looked acceptable.

I used my Stoney Point style Hornady C.O.A.L. gauge and measured the chamber as I have done with other 6.5 Grendel barrels. All bullets appeared to within the range of acceptable compared to other barrels I’ve checked. I lubed the BCG with CLP and reassembled the upper.

I test fired the BCA 6.5 Grendel at 50 yards off the bench using the MI back up sights. I started off shooting S&B 124 grain FMJ using an ASC fifteen round magazine. I chambered the first round and ejected it. The S&B ejected fine and had no unusual marks on the bullet or case. I chambered the round again and it fired. The spent brass was ejected to about 4 O Clock with typical distance. I loaded three more cartridge and proceeded to fire them without issue. The primers looked normal and there were no marks or pressure signs on the spent brass.

I noticed the rifle shot extremely low at 25 yards off hand when I wanted to make sure I’d be on paper. After fiddling with sights and being unable to zero the sights I realized the front sight was intended to be used on a railed gas block and not on the hand guard 1913 rail.

I mounted a spare Vortex Diamondback Tactical scope onto the BCA upper. I had difficulty mounting the scope mount as it appeared the gap in the 1913 was out of spec on the small size. With a little effort I got the scope mounted. I switched to some of my reloads using 107 grain SMK with IMR 8208XBR and CCI 450 primers in Hornady cases. Again these rounds functioned perfectly and showed no signs of pressure. I shot the rifle off hand at 25 yards to get on paper. The rifle shot high left and I made adjustments to get the scope zeroed on paper.

The BCA shot decent at 50 yards but I saw no reason to fire any additional rounds since my SinL will need a different front sight or an optic. I think my SinL bought the upper before Christmas on sale for about $275. I guess my SinL did OK in the BCA lottery.

Here is a picture of the current BCA with the supplied muzzle device.

[A5Blaster Number 2]

Cool deal. Hope he falls in love with the grendel and end up with a safe full of them lil monsters.

[VASCAR2]

He bought his first 6.5 Grendel in around 2009 to 2010. He bought a Lothar Walther barrel 6.5 CSS with a 22” barrel. He has got a couple safes full but he hasn’t got much time to shoot. My Daughter and SnL have four sons and they are getting old enough two grandsons definitely have shown an interest in shooting. Number four turned six last month so just waiting for the opportunity to get him on the range. The oldest grandson killed his first deer last year on a youth hunt.

From my reading on gun forums and watching videos I have noticed fewer barrel issues with BCA stainless steel barrels. I wouldn’t have recommended BCA but the SnL can be enticed to buy if he finds a good deal.

[A5Blaster Number 2]

He bought his first 6.5 Grendel in around 2009 to 2010. He bought a Lothar Walther barrel 6.5 CSS with a 22” barrel. He has got a couple safes full but he hasn’t got much time to shoot. My Daughter and SnL have four sons and they are getting old enough two grandsons definitely have shown an interest in shooting. Number four turned six last month so just waiting for the opportunity to get him on the range. The oldest grandson killed his first deer last year on a youth hunt.

From my reading on gun forums and watching videos I have noticed fewer barrel issues with BCA stainless steel barrels. I wouldn’t have recommended BCA but the SnL can be enticed to buy if he finds a good deal.

Agreed and I personally would still be hesitant too suggest them. But it seems they maybe making something worth having now.

Maybe few more good reports from their products will change my mind set on them.

Good on you for getting the youngsters involved in shooting. I often think back to my rifle lessons and hunting lessons from my grandfather.

So many things he taught me that are applicable to every day life, not just shooting and hunting.

[Theroman]

Glad to hear he got one that works. For a short time I had one just like yours on a lower with a carbine buffer, wouldn't shoot well at all. Swapped it to a rifle buffer and that was apparently the move. Best of luck.

[rickt300]

I bought a BCA 223 Wilde upper to rebarrel to 300 Ham'r and test a crapload of magazines I have for reliability. Must have put 1200 very old rounds of various cheap steelcased stuff and surplus from decades ago through it. Fired every time no problem, got that barrel HOT more than once. Still shoots great, built a different upper but used the BCG which turned out to be just fine with the Ham'r. I bought a charging handle and another BCG for the 223 Wilde upper and it's back in action. I have had several BCA uppers and only one needed any real work on it to run.

[v4lu3s]

I bought a BCA 223 Wilde upper to rebarrel to 300 Ham'r and test a crapload of magazines I have for reliability. Must have put 1200 very old rounds of various cheap steelcased stuff and surplus from decades ago through it. Fired every time no problem, got that barrel HOT more than once. Still shoots great, built a different upper but used the BCG which turned out to be just fine with the Ham'r. I bought a charging handle and another BCG for the 223 Wilde upper and it's back in action. I have had several BCA uppers and only one needed any real work on it to run.

I bought a 223 wylde bca barrel and a BA barrel at the same time. The BCA barrel shot 1.5 inches at 100 for the first 3-5 shots, then the next ten were 3 inches and by the time I hit 30 rounds it was 5 inches at 100. I sent it back and got one that did 2-2.5 in groups all day with any ammo. Sold it as soon as possible. I had similar experiences with 300 blk barrels. I figure that paying more is not a guarantee, but so far it seems to be the case that I have to get at least a BA or similar barrel to have a chance at a good barrel. not to say the BA stuff didn't work, it just couldn't hold center due to a sloppy chamber. As I have become a better shooter I have less tolerance for poor tolerances!

[rickt300]

I bought a 223 wylde bca barrel and a BA barrel at the same time. The BCA barrel shot 1.5 inches at 100 for the first 3-5 shots, then the next ten were 3 inches and by the time I hit 30 rounds it was 5 inches at 100. I sent it back and got one that did 2-2.5 in groups all day with any ammo. Sold it as soon as possible. I had similar experiences with 300 blk barrels. I figure that paying more is not a guarantee, but so far it seems to be the case that I have to get at least a BA or similar barrel to have a chance at a good barrel. not to say the BA stuff didn't work, it just couldn't hold center due to a sloppy chamber. As I have become a better shooter I have less tolerance for poor tolerances!

Presently I have 2 BCA Grendle barrels and the mentioned 223 Wilde upper. They are all MOA or better. Oh forgot I have a 350 Legend upper, this upper took some work to get functioning but it is a shooter. 1.5 inch groups with cast bullets. Have fired factory ammo just for the brass and fooled with some pistol bullets in it but it shines as a cast bullet shooter. Some people are just lucky I guess.

[JoeyAmmo]

I took a chance and re-did an upper with an 18” BCA SS 6.5 Grendel barrel and bolt. 1st range trip it was shooting 1 MOA. A few range sessions later, still shooting 1”- 1 1/2” . Still experimenting with powders, primers, bullet weights and charges. Had one bad bullet (129gr SST 2nds) shoot horribly no matter what. I am happy with my $110 barrel.