School me on BCL 102s

55recce said:
Gentlemen, particularly cr5 and Wal Mart Greeter - do you speak from personal experience? Have you owned a BCL102?
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No. I just found it funny that you listed all those accessories and saw the opportunity for a joke.

I have owned NEA stuff though, so I'm not totally talking out my ass.
 
hawk-i said:
Taken advise from a minimum wage flunky...oh yeah baby, thats what we need! :)
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Minimum wage flunky? By that logic, since we're judging people by our internet names, you are a predatory bird typing with your talons?

PS: It's "taking advice" not "taken advise" FYI. But what do I know I work at wal mart.
 
DILLIGAF said:
Ive build 3 BCL 102s and ever since the Stag10 came out there is no need to even bother looking at the 102s unless they start selling the complete rifles for 500$ ;)

I posted plenty of pictures last year with side by side comparison on the chitty BCL parts to the Stag parts its night and day !
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Can I please get a link? Thank you
 
55recce said:
Gentlemen, particularly cr5 and Wal Mart Greeter - do you speak from personal experience? Have you owned a BCL102?
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Not a 102, but I do own NEA products and have owned some of their stuff that was not to spec.
I've handled a couple and they do look good from the outside but with so many people having issues I know they're not a quality firearm.

I am also capable of reading and when I read thread after thread after thread from new owners having problems and showing pictures of the problems I can conclude that they are not worth spending money on.
You got one that works, great, I'm happy that you're happy but how about you come back in a year after putting a couple thousand rounds through it and we'll see if you're still happy.
 
I would be curious to know how many rifles have been sold and what the warranty returne rate was. I know we will never know. How meny people have these rifles and like them and have zero issue come on here and say that? Why would you when your going to get blasted for not hating bcl/nea. Like i said its all the same people who have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to bcl. All i know is i own a 102 first gen and its great i also own multipul built and bought nea ar15 non of which have ever failed me.
 
870supermag said:
I would be curious to know how many rifles have been sold and what the warranty returne rate was. I know we will never know. How meny people have these rifles and like them and have zero issue come on here and say that? Why would you when your going to get blasted for not hating bcl/nea. Like i said its all the same people who have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to bcl. All i know is i own a 102 first gen and its great i also own multipul built and bought nea ar15 non of which have ever failed me.
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I've asked that before and the numbers I was given seem unbelievable. There are too many reports of problems for the % to be as low as they claim. And there are way too many claimed to be in circulation considering how slow they were filling the orders. I had heard that there were 77 rifles in the Gen 1 batch, many of those had issues. I lost interest in the rifle when the gen 2 came out and they had changed a bunch of stuff to make it harder to add aftermarket parts.
Like you said though, we mostly hear about the problems and rarely about the good stuff. All I know is that when these were the only player available in the $2k zone there seemed to be at least one but usually more than one new thread a day with someone else having issues. Now they've all slid back to page 3 or further but there are a lot of threads showing how many guys got one with issues.

I think the main reason we're hearing less about problems is that people are not buying them anymore. If the sales hadn't dropped off they would still be $1700, now I've heard there are places selling them new for under $1500.
Since the Stag 10 was released here it has completely taken over the market that BCL once had and even expanded by selling to guys who wanted a NR AR-10ish rifle but refused to have anything to do with BCL.
This is also the main reason that they sold as many as they did, when they were the only affordable option guys had to risk it and buy if they wanted a NR AR-10 but now everyone but the new guys or the guys that are willing to risk it are buying them because they are the cheapest option.
At least they have a good warranty. It's not really a huge risk, more of a pain in the ass if you get one that isn't right.

Personally, I'd rather not take that risk just to end up with a decent rifle at best. For less than $500 more I can have a quality rifle made by a well known US company that has a long history of building quality products. I don't think Stag make the best rifles on the market but they are good quality and have been doing this a long time.
I'm not buying a Stag either, I already own a Modern Hunter with Proof Research barrel so neither the 102 or the Stag are of much interest to me other than I love AR-10's and 15's so follow along to see if there is something worth buying. If I thought the Stag was as good as my MH I'd sell the MH.

NEA/BCL did not get this bad reputation for no reason, there have been problems with every product line that has come from their shop since the start. They've always had a higher % of crap parts getting to the customer than any other brand I've ever heard of. They do make a decent entry level product when they do it right but they mess it up and ship it anyway way too often for most people to ever trust them again.
 
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This conversation is interesting given the number of people in Canada that believe Stag Arms has excellent QC in general. From what I've read, our US counterparts seem to view Stag as the BCL of their respective market. The Stag Arms manufacturer section of a particular US forum is a literal dumpster fire of complaints.
 
Yup, But the high en AR10s are restricted here so the Stag10 is the best option if you build your own off a stripped receiver set. Not one single issue has been discussed here on the stripped sets. Only complete rifles, But some of the issues were user error and im still blown away by some of them...lol...
 
mclmm said:
This conversation is interesting given the number of people in Canada that believe Stag Arms has excellent QC in general. From what I've read, our US counterparts seem to view Stag as the BCL of their respective market. The Stag Arms manufacturer section of a particular US forum is a literal dumpster fire of complaints.
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Canadians are willing to buy complete ####. It will be nice when we can just take ar15s out.
 
I got my BCL 102 Gen2 on a trade. Overall I am very happy with it. Zero issues and decent accuracy. If I were to buy, I would look at a Stag, but if I knew I was getting a BCL like the one I have now, I’d buy the BCL. I imagine the Gen 3s have fixed a lot of the bugs.
 
I own a Stag 10, I love it. it is a lower 4000 serial #...when I first got it had an angled/loose gas block and a stripped handguard bolt head, like totally. Would have been an easy fix if the bolt head wasn't totally stripped making removing the handguard with what tools I have at home, difficult.

Arms East took it back and they covered the shipping both ways and it was quickly fixed and sent back to me. They removed and replaced the messed up bolt for me and lined/tightened everything up and *touch wood* it has worked great for me ever since.

Round count to date is only 185 rounds since Halloween 2018 but none of the ammo is what I would consider high end/quality ammo...120 rounds of Barnual 145gr FMJ (cheap, lacquered steel cased), 39 rounds of Aguila 150gr FMJ (dirty) and 26 rounds of Federal "blue box" 150gr soft points (exposed lead tip doesn't always feed well in semi autos)

Function was perfect and the bolt locked to the rear after the mag ran empty each time, magazine always drops free too. Accuracy was fine, was using irons only and shooting off a block of wood, kept all my hits in the human sized "kill zone" of my targets, AKA upper center mass from 0-300 yards with no problems and I shoot fast and am far from a sniper :p

When you get any NEW gun you should tear it down, clean/inspect it, learn it and get familiar with it and then finally oil/lube it. Work the action, trigger and any safeties/buttons LOTS, it helps to smooth things out, throw in an action movie or two and play along :p Then before your first range trip, clean and oil/lube it up once more!!! THIS WILL HELP!!!


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Any Stag 10 "issues" I have seen/read all seem to be about poor ASSEMBLY of the parts/lack of tightening things down (gas block and handguard mostly)...probably due to rushed timelines and many orders...and not so much about breaking/broken or out of spec parts.

Stag Arms did even add a 3rd shift to make enough Models 10s to get them into Canada in a decent time, I think QC probably slipped a little during all this, sadly.

Even Arms East said most returns were "fixed" by just a good cleaning/oiling of them and maybe tightening down a handguard bolt or two and they test fired to confirm function before sending them back. Or simple cosmetic only ones, like an angled (but working perfectly) gas block. BUT I understand the customer, for $2,000+ you want it to look nice too.

Any other "issues" seem to be owners lacking any real knowledge on the rifles, Google, Youtube and of course CGN are here to help you!!!

Also keep in mind "AR10/AR10 STYLE" rifles (and there is like 5+ common variants, and not all parts work interchangeably) are a bit more tricky to make and get running then AR15s, its not just a simple AR15 scale up and done when making them. Both the increased size of the gun/parts and the much larger and more powerful ammunition may require some tuning and almost definitely a break in period, proper oil/lubing is also a must.


***Stag makes many receiver/lowers for other US based companies too. They did/have been getting some "heat" and anger lately over selling a (Chinese and poorly made) charging handle that copied the Radiant Arms ones. Overall the rifles they make ARE nice ones and overall most people without a personal vendetta agree with that but many in the USA find them a little $$$ compared to other brands***
 
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So as I suspected some people are basing their opinions on others rather their own personal experience with weapon ownership. This tends to magnify the bad press significantly beyond that which is actually happening.

These forums can be great but have to be taken with a huge pinch of salt. I wish everyone would carefully read previous posts/questions, state their experience and knowledge up front and only thoughtfully speak on issues that they are qualified to venture an opinion on.

Of course it could be that I am just a grumpy old twit with the experience and knowledge to back this opinion of myself up......
 
I bought one on Boxing Day for $1300 shipped. I figured for that price, why not. Everything looked good, but when I took the rifle out for the first time, I had major ftf and fte issues. The cam pin roller was coming in contact with the upper reciever, making it damn near impossible for the bcg to cycle. I’m not an AR guy, but I think the barrel or barrel nut was not indexed properly? The flutes on the barrel didn’t line up with the upper receiver and they do on the new receiver.

Anyway the rifle was sent back to BCL. Comms were good and I had my rifle back with a new upper receiver in 2.5 weeks. The thing seems to be a good shooter now and I’ve had one fte in 100 rounds which is probably a break in thing. Overall I’m now happy with the purchase and BCL stood 100% behind their warranty. They also covered shipping both ways.

That being said I can definitely understood some of the past frustration. It sounds like communication was really horrible in the past and when you pay 1700-1800$ for a rifle you’ve waited months for, you kind of expect to be kept in the loop if you have to return it for warranty work. The anticipation and build up about this NR unicorn and then to realize you got a flaming pile is crushing and maddening. I know it made me more then a little poopy and I didn’t have to wait months to receive mine and got a smoking deal.

It’s good to see BCL has gotten their 💩 together, but it’s going to take some work on their part to build / rebuild their reputation.

If I was to do it again, I would still buy a BCL for what I paid and I think it’s important to support “Made in Canada” if I can. But I’m not some fan boy and side by side the Stag-10 is hands down the nicer rifle,but it obviously comes at a greater cost. I do really like my BCL and do believe their claim that this is a 1 moa shooter. At least the one I own seems to be. I think with the right handloads it has the potential to be sub. Time will tell.
 
55recce said:
So as I suspected some people are basing their opinions on others rather their own personal experience with weapon ownership. This tends to magnify the bad press significantly beyond that which is actually happening.

These forums can be great but have to be taken with a huge pinch of salt. I wish everyone would carefully read previous posts/questions, state their experience and knowledge up front and only thoughtfully speak on issues that they are qualified to venture an opinion on.

Of course it could be that I am just a grumpy old twit with the experience and knowledge to back this opinion of myself up......
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You should follow your own advice, it seems like you're unwilling to accept that there may be some truth to BCL making inconsistent products just because so far your rifle is functioning fine.
I don't think that anyone has said that every item that comes from their factory is junk and out of spec, only that it's a higher probability your going to need warranty than with other brands. When they do it the way they're supposed to they can make a decent product. Problem is that even when they do build it right it's still an inferior product compared to the other options.
I personally don't think these rifles will last even if you got a good one.
Scan back through 4-5 pages of the black rifle and battle rifle forums and start reading everything posted with 102 in the title. Is it all made up lied to sink the company or did guys have legitimate problems with their rifles.

People don't have to buy one in order to know what's going on with a new to market rifle.
You can read other people's experiences and figure it out. I know enough about AR's after owning and building more of them than I can remember that I usually know when the problems people are having are user error and actually a problem with the rifle.

Paul something about them ironing out the bugs by gen 3, don't hold your breath. NEA/BCL has been doing this since the beginning.
 
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I bought a BCL in January and have put about 300 rounds through it. The first 80 rounds were a bit rough with about 15-20 FTEs. Maybe it was a break-in period but after that’s it’s been totally smooth without a single issue. I got worried early and contacted BCL and they sent me a new BCG but I haven’t used it yet since everything is now fine with the old one. I wasn’t told that a BCL needed a break in period but I suppose every gun needs one. My BCL has turned into a smooth cycling machine now, even when using 10 round pistol mags. After some intital headaches I’m glad I own a BCL.
 
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