BCL102 First day at the range.

RAConnol

RAConnol

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My brother and I took my RA XCR-L and my new BCL102 to the local gun range today.

This range is limited to 250 yards, so long range testing was not possible today.
I also cheated by installing FAB Defense G-Shock with a Mono-Pod Buttstock and FD T-POD-G2 Rotating Tactical Foregrip & Bipod.
The BCL was shooting HIRTENBERGER 308 WIN (7.62×51) 146gr FMJ (Lead Core) from Tenda Canada.
I was "kinda" following McGowen Precision Barrels strict break-in procedures.
After for each of the first ten rounds, I ran a Bore Snake three times down the barrel. And then after every 5 rounds for next 5 mags of 5.
At that point, we were just starting running rounds through the BCL.

After reading about issues here, when the BCL arrived, I gave it a good cleaning and then got the BCG wet with synthetic oil.

We took turns shooting and spotting and exchanging rifles.
No issues at all the BCL. Not a single hiccup, misfeed or problem. After I got the Bushnell Elite Tactical LRS 5-15x40mm sited, we could hit Loonie sized targets at 200 yards with ease.

We also had properly sized targets set up at 100 yards, and each shot several sub MOA groups with some effort. The loose nut behind the trigger was the only cause of issues.

My brother, shown in the picture, fell in love with the BCL. He also owns a Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 Sport .22 LR and M&P M&P 15 .223 both of which he shoots well. He struggled with the XCR-L today (also first time shooting the RA). However, the BCL in this configuration works very well for him, and he was shooting the BCL like he was born to it.

Neither one of us are "professional" shooters, so take this review for what it is.
However, I have zero complaints. The .308 does upset the rifle more then the 5.56 of the XCL so solid second shot is slower with the BCL; however, I expect more practice will help with that user problem.

Rick

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Yup, the BCL is completely stock: barrel, trigger, BCG, charging handle, etc..
Scope, mount, BiPod and Buttstock are the only upgrades.
 
Just curious what gen your BCL? Looks like you have a stainless match barrel? Non- match barrels are black to my understanding.

I just received mine with a stainless match barrel (apparently from SFRC). I put 60 rounds of Barnaul to try it out and had ten stove pipes and 3 fail to hold bolt open. Granted it was first time out and did nothing but inspected the gun before using it. Also did my shooting in the bush with a quad as a bench to get it on paper so a long range day is required. I hope to put it through its paces soon. Was a little disappointed though!

Still happy with the purchase just finding time is the issue. Hoping I can dial it in for hunting season!!
 
armilaria said:
Just curious what gen your BCL? Looks like you have a stainless match barrel? Non- match barrels are black to my understanding.

I just received mine with a stainless match barrel (apparently from SFRC). I put 60 rounds of Barnaul to try it out and had ten stove pipes and 3 fail to hold bolt open. Granted it was first time out and did nothing but inspected the gun before using it. Also did my shooting in the bush with a quad as a bench to get it on paper so a long range day is required. I hope to put it through its paces soon. Was a little disappointed though!

Still happy with the purchase just finding time is the issue. Hoping I can dial it in for hunting season!!
Click to expand...

Try something besides Barnaul. It's pretty crappy ammo. May sure it's well lubed and if you have any other issues please let us know.

Ryan
 
I shot mine immediately after picking it up out of shear excitement and had the same issues. I brought it home and gave it a good cleaning and oiled it up, it shot great the next time I was out. Seems like they like to run pretty wet
armilaria said:
Just curious what gen your BCL? Looks like you have a stainless match barrel? Non- match barrels are black to my understanding.

I just received mine with a stainless match barrel (apparently from SFRC). I put 60 rounds of Barnaul to try it out and had ten stove pipes and 3 fail to hold bolt open. Granted it was first time out and did nothing but inspected the gun before using it. Also did my shooting in the bush with a quad as a bench to get it on paper so a long range day is required. I hope to put it through its paces soon. Was a little disappointed though!

Still happy with the purchase just finding time is the issue. Hoping I can dial it in for hunting season!!
Click to expand...
 
When I received mine, I cleaned it and generously applied BFCLP on the BCG. I tightened the screw that hold in place the ejection door cover pin and shother it.

I shothink 80 rounds and it runner flawlessly. I inspected afterward and saw no sign of wear except the habitual wear on the charging handle.

I think that theses rifles need to run wet, really wet to run well.
 
My injection door screw almost fell out after 60 rounds. Did not think of checking that prior. I asked SFRC if Barnaul would be ok in the BCL and they said it should be good. So I bought 250 rounds... I guess I will move on to my Norinco crate and see how that does before dialing it in with my Hornady hunting rounds. I Will give it a good clean and lube before next outing.
 
Scotty454 said:
...You're saying you shot 1/2-MOA at 200 yards "with ease", using Hirtenburger ammo, out of your BCL102...??

:rolleyes:
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Who are you asking??!?!

My quote from the first post above is: "We also had properly sized targets set up at 100 yards, and each [of us] shot several sub MOA groups with some effort. The loose nut behind the trigger was the only cause of issues."

Which is very different than the reference within your question.

Rick
 
RAConnol said:
Who are you asking??!?!

My quote from the first post above is: "We also had properly sized targets set up at 100 yards, and each [of us] shot several sub MOA groups with some effort. The loose nut behind the trigger was the only cause of issues."

Which is very different than the reference within your question.

Rick
Click to expand...

I was referring to this part:

We took turns shooting and spotting and exchanging rifles.
No issues at all the BCL. Not a single hiccup, misfeed or problem. After I got the Bushnell Elite Tactical LRS 5-15x40mm sited, we could hit Loonie sized targets at 200 yards with ease
Click to expand...

A loonie is about an inch in diameter. Id be absolutely blown away if you could shoot loonie sized targets at 200 at will with a BCL102 and hirtenburger ammunition.

My FNAR is a known accurate semi auto 308, and the best I can do with it and cheap ammo is about a minute and a half.
 
Perhaps a more specific answer would be helpful?

My brother and I could shoot sub moa at 100 yards with a great deal of effort on our part. The issue appears not to be the with rife as if we took the time to focus really, monitor our breathing and time our shots, sub moa at 100 yards occurred for every group. We were also new to the .308 round, so the recoil took some getting used to. It is my firm belief that any group at 100 yards that was not sub moa, was the fault of the shooter, only the shooter with and not an issue with the 102.

You will never find either a politician or salesman take responsibility for an error or mistake, and I just did. :)

Rick
 
Scotty454 said:
I was referring to this part:



A loonie is about an inch in diameter. Id be absolutely blown away if you could shoot loonie sized targets at 200 at will with a BCL102 and hirtenburger ammunition.

My FNAR is a known accurate semi auto 308, and the best I can do with it and cheap ammo is about a minute and a half.
Click to expand...

Agh, thank you for the clarification.
And yes, after some practice we both popped off shoot loonie sized targets at 200 at will with a BCL102 and hirtenburger ammunition, with ease.
To be fair, look at the setup in the picture. The 102 is totally squared up with 3 points of contact to the shooting platform.
I would be very surprised if any quality firearm could not shoot as well.
 
Not trying to come off as being cocky this is a totally serious question. Do you know what MOA is Rick? If you and your brother can shoot MOA or better groups “more than one shot” out of your bcl102 with a stock trigger and barrel using ball ammo you just won the lottery people will line up to buy that rig. Me included.
 
So a loonie's an inch, 1 moa is 1.047 inches at 100 yds. so if we take a bit of a liberty you'd be shooting a bit more than 1/3 moa, give or take. Now I heard that BCL released some 102's with match barrels, if this was the case and you got one, maybe, just maybe, I had a lot of Norc .308 that shot extremely well for a few rounds, then a couple sub, then all bets off. So I guess maybe.... I too have a BCL 102 and am no slouch ( Not a world Champion shooter, but I do alright.) and I couldn't consistently get sub moa groups out of my stock barrel, with an aftermarket trigger. I'm getting closer, mind you I did change the barrel out for a 6.5 Creedmoor Flaxon Match barrel and already tighter overall groups even with loads I know aren't optimum ( No flyers on the first or fifth round, like on the stock barrel.). So I don't know, maybe post some pics and we can see. I'm not slagging you, nor am I slagging the gun, The reviews for the Stag AR10 for example show similar accuracy results to the BCL, which is similar to most AR platforms that aren't match grade. Bu I think you might want to check your measurements and if accurate, good on you.
 
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1 MOA spreads about 1″ per 100 yards. ( actually 1.047″) and 2” at (2.094”)

I have a date, yet to be confirmed with a member of the local department and someone to teach us, a retired but still competitive sharpshooter. We have had to reschedule due to weather, vacations, etc. so it may be September before the stars all align again.

The plan is to learn how to shoot up to 1000 yards with the 102. I have never shot the far in my life, so this should be both entertaining and educational.

I will take some proper MOA marked targets, I hope to at least put holes in paper at 500 yards, and I will take pictures. I guess that beyond 500 yards, the targets this side of a barn door would be safe from any harm. :)

Honestly, guys, I am not trying to prove anything, I shoot for fun nothing more. Both my brother and I were taught to shoot by our mother's side of the family. My Grandfather, Frank Kozler, was born and raised in the Elk Valley region of BC, (Natal, Sparwood). Frank (pictured below) was a coal miner by trade, an avid hunter, and during WWII was a trained sniper for Canada. He also had, what the war considered a much more difficult and important skill. Frank was also a versatile musician, so every time he was packed and ready to be deployed to Europe, orders from above receded the deployment. Morale was considered vital, and the army bands play for the soldier’s weddings and at their funerals, and Frank shooting skills were kept to the instruction of other soldiers. The army’s view at the time was that they could teach competent snipers in about a year. It took several years to teach someone to play several popular songs well in a band.

From a very early age, brother and I always wanted to go hunting with our grandfather, but before we shoot at a live animal, he taught us to learn to shoot with a 7mm Ruger Number One.

His standard was that we had to be able to shoot a target the size of an Elk's eye, at 200 yards, for every shot, before we would be permitted to fire a weapon at a live animal. This training went on for years, during our summer vacations is the Elk Valley. By the time we became teenagers, we had held our own; however, having seen how majestic male Elk is during the fall, I could never bring myself to kill one. My brother also feels the same way.

Gophers were another matter, and we spent our youth working on a farm near ArrowWood Alberta, and my Mossberg bolt Action .22 was always at my side. The farmers were thrilled we liked to shoot the little rodents and proved all the HV .22LR round we could shoot.

Frank's sons Gordon and Cougar (Francis) Kozler were also competitive handgun shooters (1911s), and those two taught us how to shoot .45s. If we know anything about shooting it is due to these gentlemen spending countless rounds and hours with us. These names could be familiar to some real OLD timers here. Old as in before the internet.

Shooting is a perishable skill, and my handgun shooting is in need of serious time up at our range on the Malahat. For some reason my grandfather’s long gun teaching has always stuck with me, at least shooting from a bench. My Kiwi brother-in-laws have lost several little shooting contests. I love shooting (super sonic rounds) with a silencer. I am not big on subsonic rounds. Oh I also have zero issues killing a wild pig.

If you see me at VFGA, stop and say hi, and I am happy to let any interested party try out my 102.

Maximum Respect.

Rick

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BTW this arrived in the mail while I was off in Calgary.

Normally when I looking forward to shooting the living crap out of something, it is because the product sucks.
I think this is the nicest looking piece of kit I have wanted to point my rifle at.

Big thank you to Glenn @Range Rabbit for answering all my questions and doing so in a very responsive manner.

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