My BCL 102 build review

Dr. Hunter

Dr. Hunter

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I finally had a chance to put some rounds through my BCL. It was my first AR style rifle built from scratch. I've had others where I modified parts here and there but none off a receiver set. My build was the following:

Ranier arms gas rifle length gas tube
SLR 16 inch helix hanguard
SLR adjustable gas block
BCL 102 Receiver set
Strike industries dust cover
Geissele ssa-e
Faxon 6.5cm/308 BCG
Faxon 20 inch heavy fluted match barrel
Tacmod stock
JP captured buffer
Geissele charging handle
Ergo Grip
DPMS lpk
Phase 5 bolt catch
Insite arms 6.5 muzzle brake
Radian talon safety

I had some troubles initially with an SLR gas tube not fitting well in the SLR gas block so switched brands. Not sure if the tube wasn't in right, gas block not oriented or gas block not working. Wouldn't cycle. For the next range trip, I had replaced the gas tube and gas block. The gun cycled fine and tuned the gas block. Had problems sighting in and not sure cause my scope wasn't mounted right or the muzzle brake was causing issues. So for the next range trip, remounted the scope and changed out the muzzle brake since needed it for another build and had a spare. Finally paid off was able to cycle fine for the most part and shot really well.

Easy sub moa like the modern hunter was supposed to be and almost closer to half moa. Still need to load develop but had some factory rounds that I decided to burn off and ended up shooting really well.

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I've got a decked out JP LRP07 in 6.5cm coming in. Planning to do a comparison between the two. The JP will likely destroy my homemade bcl but so far pretty happy with its performance.
 
Dr. Hunter said:
I finally had a chance to put some rounds through my BCL. It was my first AR style rifle built from scratch. I've had others where I modified parts here and there but none off a receiver set. My build was the following:

Ranier arms gas rifle length gas tube
SLR 16 inch helix hanguard
SLR adjustable gas block
BCL 102 Receiver set
Strike industries dust cover
Geissele ssa-e
Faxon 6.5cm/308 BCG
Faxon 20 inch heavy fluted match barrel
Tacmod stock
JP captured buffer
Geissele charging handle
Ergo Grip
DPMS lpk
Phase 5 bolt catch
Insite arms 6.5 muzzle brake
Radian talon safety
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Do you mind sharing where you picked up those parts? I can't find any Faxon barrels in stock north of the border. Also how much does she weigh?
 
Most of those parts from Brownells and some from rdsc and ctsc. Theres an ass tech armoury that imports faxon barrels. I can send a link if you don't know who I'm talking about jut pm me with your email. There's a gunner profile that's cheaper but not sure how it performs but the weight isn't too different.

It weighs 13 lbs but can shed a lot of weight easy

Rmr 1.2 oz
Foregrip 1.2.oz
Scope 36 oz
Cadex falcon lite bipod 0.88 lbs
Sling I don't know 5 oz
Cadex mount maybe 10 oz
Changing tacmod stock/tube to a ctr with buffer would drop it from 30 to 13 oz

With those changes I think it'd weigh about 7.6ish pounds no optic.
 
Dr. Hunter said:
I've got a decked out JP LRP07 in 6.5cm coming in. Planning to do a comparison between the two. The JP will likely destroy my homemade bcl but so far pretty happy with its performance.
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I doubt it will destroy it. A good barrel, trigger and ammo is pretty much is all the secret sauce needed for a precision AR10 to shoot well. What you have right now looks to be doing well. A bit more tweaking and I think you will be very happy. I hope the JP LRP07 does though as it's always a good feeling when something truly lives up to expectations.

I'm a dinosaur and stuck on the 308! :redface:

What are the optics on your BCL build?
 
I put a bushnell dmr 2 and a side mounted rmr. The rmr was more as a backup optic since I had trouble sighting in last time. If it continues to shoot as well I might upgrade the optic if I'm trying to reach out really long range.

I have some spare atacr, minox, and s&b scopes not mounted. It's obviously not as nice as those scopes but for the money I think it's one of the best bangs for your buck especially if you get one on one for those 30% rebate bushnell sales.
 
Dr. Hunter said:
I put a bushnell dmr 2 and a side mounted rmr. The rmr was more as a backup optic since I had trouble sighting in last time. If it continues to shoot as well I might upgrade the optic if I'm trying to reach out really long range.

I have some spare atacr, minox, and s&b scopes not mounted. It's obviously not as nice as those scopes but for the money I think it's one of the best bangs for your buck especially if you get one on one for those 30% rebate bushnell sales.
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Figured it was the DMR 2. Nice setup.
 
Gen 2 receiver set. Only thing I had to modify was the charging handle. Not sure why they haven't been able to get the specs right for that...
 
My BCL 102 is now ready. I just need to hit the range in the next few weeks.

The magpul bipod just arrived. I really hate MLok when initially trying to attach stuff. It's great once you have it attached. Anyways all ready to take to the range.. .

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Ya mlok stuff really is a pain to attach, I always thought it was just me hahaha. Let us know how it shoots, I wonder if you got one of the new barrels
 
Epoxy7 said:
My BCL 102 is now ready. I just need to hit the range in the next few weeks.

The magpul bipod just arrived. I really hate MLok when initially trying to attach stuff. It's great once you have it attached. Anyways all ready to take to the range.. .

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Let us know your thoughts about the Magpul bipod too.
 
Dr. Hunter said:
Ya mlok stuff really is a pain to attach, I always thought it was just me hahaha. Let us know how it shoots, I wonder if you got one of the new barrels
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I hope I did. I received mine a few months ago now. It's in the high 1400 range just below 1500. Everything seems decent on this one and a buddy's rifle that arrived at the same time. Small bit of non perfection on the finish down near the bottom right magwell fence. This was on both, but you had to look in the right light to reflect the slight orange peel.

I looked over a slightly earlier version and it was about the same. The finish on that one which was a "black" more a cool black/grey/blue, looked perfect. I immediately noticed the BCG on that one looked much nicer than the photos I had seen of the earlier ones. The main difference I noticed on the BCG for the ones I received was the replacement of the cotter pin style firing pin retainer. It's now a pin like the LMT or even the DPMS ones (at least the nickel coated ones). It was an improvement. Looking over the guns it seemed they addressed and improved upon the various complaints from the earlier versions.

I suspect this was one of the new barrels as they had sent out some random SS barrels with the shipment that mine came from. Unfortunately mine wasn't one of them.

Pax+Caritas said:
Let us know your thoughts about the Magpul bipod too.
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I can give you my initial thoughts. It seems to be build decently. The legs extend for height by notches and a flat button on both legs. To rotate the legs from horizontal to vertical for shooting, you just pull the leg down. Unfortunately due to the slight V shape design you can't easily pull both legs down at once. You get a binding force that blocks this. You need to do it one at a time. Or work on a way of offsetting your hand/arm to maybe get it to work. So not as quick to deploy as the Harris. But does come with the much preferred notch legs (not a fan of the wheel ones that some of the Harris bipods come with. Notches all the way). There is a round button for each of the legs up near the top. You need to push those in order to get the legs back up to the horizontal position under the barrel. Again one at time. You only need to use those after the bipod is deployed as it locks the legs.

There is a little bit of play. Which seems to be designed into the bipod for pre loading. It seemed right. I don't like a lot of play as it makes a bipod seem flimsy and unstable. This was good.

The bipod also has tilt and pan functions. Worked well. I tend not to want to use too much of this stuff as you end up spending more time fiddling with the bipod. But when shooting off uneven ground etc, this bipod will offer you all the adjustments to get your rifle level. The knurled knob works well for adjusting the tension and ultimately tightening it up if you want the bipod set at that position. Or you can leave it with tension and still have the ability with however much effort you want for tilt/pan.

The negatives:

The most compared to bipod will be the Harris. Of course Atlas owners will likely snub you. Although I actually never liked the Atlas bipod as I felt it had too much play, along with the price to play. So the Harris will be the main comparative here.

Looks. It's a bit clunky looking compared to the Harris. The Harris is slim and fairly elegant. I happen to really like the look of the Harris on a tactical rifle. I often have one on certain rifles, even if I plan on shooting off a bag. The Magpul is thicker and looks like it could use a diet. However it uses a lot of polymer vs metal so it's not heavy, but it is a bit bulky looking.

Positives:

I'm far from a bipod expert but I liked it. I will have to see how it is when shooting. But initial look over is positive. It seems well built, offers all the functions most tactical bipod users would want and is relatively cost effective. There are also multiple attachment methods.

I went with the MLok for my BCL 102 as it's an MLok rail and I wanted the bipod as close to the handguard as possible for stability and even looks. However if you plan on removing this bipod often, then look at some of the quick release solutions. With the MLok, you won't be installing or removing this quickly.

So really after my initial look over and some dry firing, the only negative I can come up with is that it's not as nice looking as some other options. That's pretty good. I'm fairly critical. But I will have to see how it does when shooting. Also how it holds up. So this is only an initial look over.
 
Thanks Epoxy7 for the Magpul bipod overview.

For now, I might stick with the Harris, especially since it installs and removes quickly and easily.
 
Pax+Caritas said:
Thanks Epoxy7 for the Magpul bipod overview.

For now, I might stick with the Harris, especially since it installs and removes quickly and easily.
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No problem.

I would never fault anyone for that! I have a few myself and I won't be getting rid of them.

The main reason I went with the magpul for this rifle were 1) Cost, 2) It's new and therefore cool 3) direct connect to the rail

By the time I bought a specific Harris and a decent MLok to harris stud adapter the cost was less for the Magpul. I ordered it from Brownells and used the $10 US off etc for it. So it worked out fairly cost effective. Also it's complete. I don't need to buy an extra lever for tightening or an adapter. Plus it offered all of the features in the more expensive Harris model.

That being said, I already have some Harris bipods and with those adapters I can quickly switch them to other rifles as I have been doing. So which is better? Depends. If staying on the rifle then the Magpul is a decent and cost effective option. If wanting to swap around or if you prefer the function/looks of the Harris then stick with the Harris. I think for some rifles I'll go with magpul and for a lot of others I'll stick with the Harris. On a few Cadex ones I actually have their Falcon bipod. But that's at another level and much higher price point.
 
Dr. Hunter said:
Most of those parts from Brownells and some from rdsc and ctsc. Theres an ass tech armoury that imports faxon barrels. I can send a link if you don't know who I'm talking about jut pm me with your email. There's a gunner profile that's cheaper but not sure how it performs but the weight isn't too different.

It weighs 13 lbs but can shed a lot of weight easy

Rmr 1.2 oz
Foregrip 1.2.oz
Scope 36 oz
Cadex falcon lite bipod 0.88 lbs
Sling I don't know 5 oz
Cadex mount maybe 10 oz
Changing tacmod stock/tube to a ctr with buffer would drop it from 30 to 13 oz

With those changes I think it'd weigh about 7.6ish pounds no optic.
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Looks awesome! I am planting the same scope on my BCL102, what height is your scope mount?
 
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