Muzzle brake problem

[treeclmr]

Hello y'all
First post and first Grendel rifle. I bought a BCA AR-15 Complete Upper Assembly, 18" 416R Stainless Steel Heavy Barrel, 6.5 Grendel, Mid-Length Gas System, 1:8 Twist w/ 15" MLOK Split Rail and fired three rounds of 100gr Wolf through it over Christmas. Afterward, while I was cleaning my rifle, I saw that the muzzle device was chipped or peeled symmetrically at the muzzle end of all five cuts. IMG_20191229_145130 (4).jpgI know this isn't supposed to happen, but I am wondering what exactly caused it. Has this happened to any of you?

[mdram]

bca QC strikes again?

call them, send them pics, and see what they say

[A5BLASTER]

Ok best thing you can do is remove that junk and get a set of accuwashers and a new brake from a diffrent company and move on.

Good luck with BCA products, they are junk.

[treeclmr]

Ok, do you have any 18in uppers that you can recommend?

[Popeye212]

What A5 said I took all the crush washers off mine and replaced with Accuwashers. Next replace the barrel with a group buy or another barrel from a quality manufacturer. I run Gamma VG65's (muzzle brakes) on mine.

[A5BLASTER]

Ok, do you have any 18in uppers that you can recommend?

What's your budget?

Honestly I would just get the tools and a group buy barrel and accuwashers and new brake and change it out myself.

[lazyengineer]

Wow.

Just... wow.

If ever there was a glaring demonstration on why BCA is viewed as a sloppy provider - this is it. I actually was thinking about buying some stuff from them. Uh.... maybe not so much now.

Just take it off, throw it in the trash, and start over. I personally LOVE the GAMMA .300 BO brake on the Grendel. Works amazingly well, yet is no bigger than an A2 flash-hider in dimension (And are much better made than BCA apparently!). Don't pay the $70 retail, you should be able to get it for about $40 if you shop around hard enough.



As to alternative brands for Grendel gear - I like PSA. My 20" complete upper cost me $299 delivered to the door, and doesn't jam. I won't say accuracy is great, but it's about on par for most non-premium Grendels (and better than many). That, and they do stand behind their gear.

[CJW]

Trees,
I?ve got a VG6 as well, works great.

Look at Palmetto State Armory....I?ve had much better luck with their uppers.

I am not a fan of BCA products...

Chuck

[FLshooter]

El cheapo BCA flash hider.Chuck it.Does not do anything anyway.
If you want a nice muzzle break.Gamma VG65.$59 on Brownell.Free Ship.
As far as the BCA barrel,how does it shoot? They are budget priced mass produced barrels ,so it is hit or miss.Some guys claim their BCA barrels shoot sub moa consistently.I did not have that luck.I could not get consistency out of my BCA barrels.So,I replaced one with a Criterion.The other with a Bartlein.so it depends on what you want to spend.As far as PSA.Their barrels are a little better,but still not great.
I would still shoot the BCA barrel,just to see how accurate it is.After all,you own it.

[treeclmr]

I have only shot three rounds out of the barrel. (Desk pops over Christmas) I saw this and decided to wait until I could figure out if it was the ammo or BCA. I am going to some family land out in Alabama next week so I will let you know.

[Popeye212]

Might check the diameter of the muzzle brake almost looks like it was too small for the bullet and striking it? Course it may be shot out enough for the bullet to pass by now.

[just_john]

The pic just shows poor CAD and poor workmanship / quality. No evidence of bullet impact, just breakout where the metal was too thin. If the brake is concentric with the bore, run with it. For mounting muzzle things, I have started using jam nuts - clock the muzzle thing where you want it and tighten the jam nut against it and go play.

[grayfox]

Get bad stuff out of your picture and off of your rifle. period.
Double dog ditto's on the VG65 gamma's.
Get a decent barrel, like a group buy, faxon, ballistic advantage, or step up a bit to criterion etc.
Ex-communicate all crush washers and use only jam nuts or accuwashers so the toruqe is evenly applied and not too high on the muzzle tip.
Final note, I personally would want a rifle length gas system on my 18"-ers, or at a minimum, the intermediate.

[treeclmr]

Ok thanks for the feedback, I have a VG on the way and I am shopping around for a new barrel/upper. Any good deals going on rn for 18in?

[grayfox]

The upper (minus the barrel and minus the MB) might be ok to use, some guys do that with bca stuff.
As for barrels,

https://www.armorally.com/product-tag/ba-barrels/?filter_platform=ar15&filter_caliber=6-5-grendel

has 2 nice 18" BA barrels, good site to deal with.
You can get a good upper assembly from using either Aero upper Rcvr or BCM's, then use a matrix HG from joebob's.
Add gas tube and GB and you're off to the races.
Aero even has some complete uppers but I build my own.