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+--- Thread: 20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper (/showthread.php?tid=18638)
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Hollis - 03-29-2019
I'm new to this forum and I'm sorry if this topic has been addressed previously (I'm sure it has), but I wanted to get input from those who have experience with 6.5 Grendel uppers from BCA. I just bought one with 20" Nitride fluted barrel (https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=UA6.5RHB2018). It has all the specs I wanted at a great price. I'm hoping for the best, but I know you generally get what you pay for and this was a lot cheaper than everywhere else I was looking.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Rosecrans1 - 03-29-2019
As you have read here and online elsewhere, there are far more bad stories than good. My experience was far from good. BCA appears to have a great front office though so if your upper shoots poorly, keep sending them back and you may get a good one. remember that few barrels shoot well from the start and clean it well including the chamber VERY well before firing.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - slip357 - 03-29-2019
I was having the same thoughts when i built my first grendel, i had a spare upper receiver from a disappointing 300 BLK and didnt want to invest a lot of money in a barrel in a caliber i didnt know that much about.
I ordered a 20 inch fluted AR stoner barrel from Midway USA , i was a little disappointed with the factory rounds i was getting right at an inch with hornady black box at a 100 yards. Then i tried my first reloads for 6.5 and the combination i came up with just because of what powder i had on hand and i was getting 1.5 incg groups at 300 yards and never looked back.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - 1Shot - 03-29-2019
All I can say is good luck. With BCA it is a roll of the dice. I went the "cheap" route also and as the old saying is "live and learn". The 20" upper I got from BCA shot like a shotgun. I had to do phone tag for over 2 weeks before I got to talk to the warrantee person to get a pick up ticket to send it back. Turn around was 10 days and they replaced the barrel. After my shoot and clean brake in routine and then putting 60 rounds through the bore it started to shoot consistent without a flier just under 1" five shots at 100 yards with certain hand loads. It is picky as to what it wants to shoot. In the process of playing UPS tag with BCA I built another rifle from the ground up. I used an 18" Oden Works barrel package and it shoots really well but the barrel cost more than the whole BCA upper but you get what you paid for. Only thing I can tell you is that if the barrel will not shoot to suit you I would just get one of the group buy barrels that you can find on this forum and use your BCA parts and just replace the barrel. You can change the barrel yourself easy with very little tools. Check out YouTube and see how to do it.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Keef - 03-29-2019
The two I bought have been great! One complete upper and one barrel. I will buy from them again.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Jeepster18_88 - 03-29-2019
I'm sure you read my response on the other post about BCS. My suggestion would be to fit it up and shoot it right away to see if it shoots. Mine did great at 40-50 yards but it couldn't group at 100 yards which doesn't make any sense to me. I too have great products from Radical Firearms and was hoping that BCA would be similar quality but that definitely wasn't the case. I think you misread the warranty because it doesn't guarantee 1moa groups. It merely states that they aim for that. I'm going back and forth with BCA right now to get mine replaced, but in the meantime I bought an upper from Diamondback and I'll be shooting it today to test it out. It was a little more expensive, but it also came with a magazine and is lighter weight than 16" RF guns even though it has 2 more inches of barrel. Good luck and I hope you have a better experience with BCA.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Hollis - 03-29-2019
Sounds like great advise. I appreciate it! I want to get deeper into building/fixing rifles, so changing the barrel might be a fun project, but, hopefully, I'll get lucky and this won't be necessary.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Hollis - 03-29-2019
This is what I hear from many, as well as horror stories. I hope I have the same result as you. I'll keep you posted.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Hollis - 03-29-2019
Yes, I did read your other posts, which led me to start this post specifically on this topic.
I have heard from multiple places that they do guarantee 1 MOA with no modifications. I'll go back and verify. I appreciate your input.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Wanderson - 03-30-2019
I guess I got lucky with my 20” stainless BCA upper. No functional issues.
My shooting skills are pretty mediocre so I’m not a good benchmark for MOA but my BCA shoots Wolf steel & Hornady Black as well as my PSA 12” upper and both group better than my BCM 14.5” pencil barrel 5.56 upper.
So for $240 for a complete upper that’s a good deal. But I’m also not crazy enough to expect Porsche performance for a Kia price. There’s a reason top shelf barrels sell for more than a complete cheap upper.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - FANGGHOSTWOLF - 03-30-2019
Does it seem the BCA 416R barrels out doing the 4150cm? That is as to coming to the user with good results? I'm still happy with my 24" SS set up.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Jakegsxr11 - 03-30-2019
416R barrels are inherently more accurate than an identical 4150 counterpart due to its better machinability. 4150 is better at high heat situations (full auto) and wear resistance (barrel life). So if that is what we are seeing with BCA that would make sense.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - CaptnC - 04-01-2019
I don't have one of their complete uppers, but I do have two of their side charge uppers (6.5 Grendel and 7.62X39) with their BCG. Both have been perfect.
I also have 4 barrels. 16" SS 7.62X39, 18" SS, 20" CM and 24" SS 6.5 Grendel.
The 7.62X39 is a night vision rig that I only plan to shoot 100 yards with. The three 6.5 Grendel ring 8" steel at 400 yards without even trying.
Personally I'm thinking they have gone too cheap on their "mil-spec" uppers and something is not plumb. I have been reading up on accurizing AR's and making sure the upper is square has has been one way to shrink groups down.
I ask the guys here if anyone has pulled an upper apart to see what was going on...but all I have gotten was crickets.
I from a generation that repaired things, so I tend to try and do that with anything I'm having an issue with.
Yes I know..."Warranty!" Well if you can't take it apart inspect what you've got and can't put it back together...I guess your stuck with having someone else fix everything for you...
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - FANGGHOSTWOLF - 04-01-2019
BCA barrels are nitrate finish only. No nitrate bore. My first barrel was a 4150 20". Had a bad spot in the chamber but shot fair. Replacement was the 24" 416r. It came out of the box shooting much better than the first. No at 100 yards and still braking in it will shoot 1moa if I do my part. Warranty was smooth and fast. Not the best barrel on the market but is doing the job for me. THANKS
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - 6.5grendelpaul - 04-02-2019
im a newbie to this group and i also built an ar 6.5 grendel from bca. a 24 inch barrel, bedded,and weaver 6.5-20 scope . right out with hornady black shoots moa and just under . thought that was outstanding without being broken in. ive made up some rounds using 120grain noslers and h335 and 8208 xbr ,ill let you know how it shoots when we get some decent weather but im sold so far on bca ..not bad for us poor folk
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Hollis - 04-04-2019
It arrived two days ago (very quick turnaround from time ordered to my front door!). It looks great and feels nice. The staking of the gas key is a bit light, but other than that, it looks very solid. They added the holes on either end of the hand rail for QD strap connect. I really like that.
I'll take it to the range tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some video and share how it goes with anyone interested.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Hollis - 04-04-2019
FANGHOSTWOLF: Are you sure about the nitrate finish only. I thought the nitrate process doesn't allow for a finish - it is a bath that completely modifies the molecular structure. I'm not sure how you can "finish" only the outside of the barrel and not also treat the bore. I chose the 4150 nitrate model over the stainless since my research indicated that the 4150 is significantly more durable and questionable regarding accuracy inferiority as compared to the chrome line (and I think it also compared it to stainless, but I'll have to go back and check).
I asked the question regarding nitrate 'finish" to BCA customer service, but I'm not impressed with their customer service and doubt I'll get a reply unless I put it in the review section. They monitor that section and quickly address any potential negative remarks. After I take it to the range and get some feedback on accuracy, I'll do a review and ask this question and see what they say.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - Hollis - 04-05-2019
I got out to the range today. I had thoroughly cleaned the barrel the night before. Was able to zero scope in 2 shots. Started shooting with Wolf 100gr ammo. It was all over the place! But I kept cleaning and switched to some Hornady Black 123gr. Then I was able to shoot tighter groups, but not MOA. I went out to 200 yards and was able to consistently hit within a couple inches of bullseye on almost every shot. That's all I had time for today.
The jury is still out on how accurate this is. With the initial break-in over, I'll take it out to the ranch and try to go out to 400 yards. I wasn't able to get any video today, but will try to share the results when I get back after Easter.
I sure hope that I can manage some acceptable groups with the Wolf ammo. I can't afford to practice with Hornady! And I do want to spend some time shooting with my Grendel.
The operation of the upper along with the mags (AR Stoner 10 & 25 round from Midway USA) was flawless. Very happy how little the recoil from the Grendel-much less than my other upper shooting 7.62x39.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - CaptnC - 04-05-2019
Is it just me, but it doesn't seem very many here have much luck getting Hornady's Black ammo to shoot very good.
I've only shot two boxes of their ELD-M and it was about 1.5" groups. While reloads have all been much better.
20" Bear Creek Arsenal 6.5 Grendel Upper - FANGGHOSTWOLF - 04-05-2019
Hollis Wrote:FANGHOSTWOLF: Are you sure about the nitrate finish only. I thought the nitrate process doesn't allow for a finish - it is a bath that completely modifies the molecular structure. I'm not sure how you can "finish" only the outside of the barrel and not also treat the bore. I chose the 4150 nitrate model over the stainless since my research indicated that the 4150 is significantly more durable and questionable regarding accuracy inferiority as compared to the chrome line (and I think it also compared it to stainless, but I'll have to go back and check).
I asked the question regarding nitrate 'finish" to BCA customer service, but I'm not impressed with their customer service and doubt I'll get a reply unless I put it in the review section. They monitor that section and quickly address any potential negative remarks. After I take it to the range and get some feedback on accuracy, I'll do a review and ask this question and see what they say.
Late to the show. Per BCA NOT. OD only? Thought the same. Reason I did not ream the chamber 0n my 20". Went 24" 416R. At 20" dressed out still a bench gun for me. I'll take the extra 4" and SS.