Stupid question possibly....AR Bolt

champ198

champ198

Member
Got a line on a used BCA 350L upper for a cheap price.
Is a side charger upper.

Plan is to buy it then do a barrel swap to a 6mm Arc.
Barrel I was looking at is a Satern 20" and the description from Satern is it comes with a head spaced bolt.

I have read a few things on here about the reliability of the BCA stuff and the reason I can get this 350L cheap is the guy says it wont cycle after the first shot.

I don't really need another 350L as I just put one together but with all the stuff about the BCA issues should I trust the BCG and just swap in the 6-Arc bolt?
Or buy a whole new BCG?
 
The 'side-charge' BCA ( upper only ) that I built on is holding up great for function, and is a hammer . I actually grew pretty fond of it for a accurate shooter . The BCA side-charger is pretty beefy and rigid for an upper . your BCA Will Most likely be a little loose in trying to get a tight dry barrel fit, So If your quality barrel is a little loose fit when mounting, make sure to Bed it with some Permatex sleeve retainer.
If it were me .. I would check over the BCG you get from them real good . The BCG that came with my upper, I replaced firing pin and extractor. I used my own Bolt.

.
 
I was thinking Gas or Mag issue also.
Doesn't matter to me either way as ill probably pull the 350L barrel anyway and put a 6mm Arc on it.
 
Unless you are getting it really cheap, you can buy the whole upper from BCA for under $300 unless you want a 20'', they are a little over $300.
 
Only issues I've had with bca is a few what I believe to be bolt carrier issues that cause it to be under gassed with the proper gas port size. Also hit and miss on how loose the barrel extension fits as was stated by another member. I've swapped gen 1 carriers with gen 2s etc to get proper cycling. I would say there are any durability issues.
 
DoubleLungRage said:
Unless you are getting it really cheap, you can buy the whole upper from BCA for under $300 unless you want a 20'', they are a little over $300.
Click to expand...
but you missed the part with OP mentioning he wants a satern barrel.

bca uppers make great building kits, so OP's plan is solid.


OP: its almost certantly a mag issue. 350L has been plagued with them since its inception. it was so bad for a while there that CMMG would replace bad mags with nothing more than an email and proof of purchase (copy of online receipt, etc)
 
So I have passed on this BCA upper.
The reason being is the 350L I already have has been nothing but problems.
I have 100% gave up on it and the 350L that I have now will be getting a barrel change.
I have tried everything that I can think of and that has been suggested from polishing feed ramps, to swapping out for different mags and also modifying mags that I already have and the 350L i have will not feed worth a dang. So its been put back in the safe for a later time and will end up getting a Barrel change.
I have zero confidence in the round in this particular setup.
 
champ198 said:
So I have passed on this BCA upper.
The reason being is the 350L I already have has been nothing but problems.
I have 100% gave up on it and the 350L that I have now will be getting a barrel change.
I have tried everything that I can think of and that has been suggested from polishing feed ramps, to swapping out for different mags and also modifying mags that I already have and the 350L i have will not feed worth a dang. So its been put back in the safe for a later time and will end up getting a Barrel change.
I have zero confidence in the round in this particular setup.
Click to expand...

LoL Hey man, we have all been there. I have a lot of friends that use Stealth Cams. I refuse to use them because I have never had a single one make it through a complete deer season.
 
Here is my experience with BCA builds using side charge. The BCGs all are very inefficient but will function. Example, bolt tails are undersized, bolt support oversized etc. I have seen Multiple gas keys come loose which will cause cycling issues, all leak to some degree. I had one reciever where the bcg sat in it turned a tad, gas key didn't line up with the gas tube port so basically the gas tube was slightly bending everything the gas key engaged it, another inefficient defect. The barrels are rough, generally shot ok with a lot of fouling. Extractor spring weakness is common. Handgaurds are solid.


Most of the stuff you can work with. It's Chinese stuff so the quality isn't there but you don't pay a lot for it. I probably won't use their stuff anymore but I have 2 side chargers that run great. I recommend a side charger like Gibbs that can use a milspec BCG. Hind sight 20/20.
 
G boy bought a PSA AR10 308. Won't cycle. Swapped everything (upper/BCG/mags/factory/reloads/etc) never got it to work. Never did find the problem. So he bought mine. Unfortunately he's dating a gal that doesn't like guns, had to hide them all last time at the ranch. Well, his problem, don't make it mine.
 
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