Ya, ya, another review thread blah blah, stag 10, blah blah BCL problems blah blah 
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Ok now that that's out there, on to the very basic review, I will follow up with a range report once I get the goodies ordered and on there as well as get to cleaning it properly.
Ok, so, after the long wait (ordering it March 28th and receiving it yesterday) I have finally received my 102.
I grade this firearm on the below, which doesn't speak to its performance simply my impression of the firearm.
Fit: I broke this thing down last night to check out how it feels compared to my AR. I was happy to see the take down pins were not to tight or to loose, the front pin was much more snug than the back one but this, in my experience, seems to be typical of AR like firearms. Everything was clean and there was no play between the upper and lower or any gap with the dust cover (not sure why people were losing it over this anyway). The only thing I noticed, and maybe this is the norm with the new style BCL stocks, is that there seems to be some noise when you tip the firearm forward and back, like there is something loose inside the buffer tube. I'm not particularly worried about it although it is slightly annoying for my OCD I do plan to replace the stock ASAP and I will check out the tube when I do that.
Finish: After reading, for years, about the finish on the NEA and BCL firearms I had really low expectations. I expected to see machine marks and a "piss poor cerakote job". So upon wiping off the oil on this thing, I looked for any imperfections. I was able to find the ever so smallest what appears to me to be a machine mark on the front of the magwell. Other than that, I was really happy with it. The cerakote seems to be in great shape as it should be for a new firearm and I don't see any imperfections on the hand guard, barrel or anywhere else.
Quality: Again like the above I had low expectations from all the reviews over the years on here. I was happy with how the rifle cycled rounds through, the new trigger is really nice and crisp and the mag it came with dropped freely. The upgraded match barrel (which SFRC upgraded me for free) is VERY nice and although I was not to hot about a stainless barrel at the time I am stoked I got it and will just get it cerakoted down the road if I start to want it black. I do feel like for the price I paid (IOP sale $1705 to my door) I am very happy with the quality of the firearm and I feel it will hold up for what ill use it for, which will be mostly local hunting.
That being said, I have two issues though. Firstly the stock, this is the worst stock I have ever handled. It seems like its made of recycled 4L milk jugs. It feels cheap and fragile, I would honesly feel like if I took this hunting and dropped it the thing would shatter into 100 pieces like some car bumper that's been rear ended. The design is ok, I could live with it if I felt the quality was better but it will be the absolute first thing to go and for $75 its not the end of the world to get the stock I want on there.
Secondly, and this is not really a BCL thing (I don't think) the IMI mag that came with the firearm only loads 4 rounds, I feel like im going to break the thing if I try to jam the 5th in there, it has some movement but I cant get it loaded. Has anyone else experienced this? I have loaded thousands over the years, its not user error. I am wondering if its worth it to contact SFRC? Also on that note, which mags do you guys find you would buy 20 of?
Lastly, this is more for SFRC. They were really good to deal with, Ryan, Craig and the staff there are really good for how many people they have contacting them and the stress they have. I was getting pretty impatient toward the end of the wait but then I got a call asking if I wanted a free barrel upgrade and the gun was shipped out that day, I don't feel they piss around with these things. They get them in and ship them right out, that's pretty great service in my eyes so thanks guys, ill defiantly continue to buy from you.
The true test will be shooting this thing, I am meticulous with the care of my firearms because I usually expect a lot from them, so this will be run hard. Wish me luck.
Cheers.
. Ok now that that's out there, on to the very basic review, I will follow up with a range report once I get the goodies ordered and on there as well as get to cleaning it properly.
Ok, so, after the long wait (ordering it March 28th and receiving it yesterday) I have finally received my 102.
I grade this firearm on the below, which doesn't speak to its performance simply my impression of the firearm.
- Fit
- Finish
- Quality
- Function - will report this later on the range day.
Fit: I broke this thing down last night to check out how it feels compared to my AR. I was happy to see the take down pins were not to tight or to loose, the front pin was much more snug than the back one but this, in my experience, seems to be typical of AR like firearms. Everything was clean and there was no play between the upper and lower or any gap with the dust cover (not sure why people were losing it over this anyway). The only thing I noticed, and maybe this is the norm with the new style BCL stocks, is that there seems to be some noise when you tip the firearm forward and back, like there is something loose inside the buffer tube. I'm not particularly worried about it although it is slightly annoying for my OCD I do plan to replace the stock ASAP and I will check out the tube when I do that.
Finish: After reading, for years, about the finish on the NEA and BCL firearms I had really low expectations. I expected to see machine marks and a "piss poor cerakote job". So upon wiping off the oil on this thing, I looked for any imperfections. I was able to find the ever so smallest what appears to me to be a machine mark on the front of the magwell. Other than that, I was really happy with it. The cerakote seems to be in great shape as it should be for a new firearm and I don't see any imperfections on the hand guard, barrel or anywhere else.
Quality: Again like the above I had low expectations from all the reviews over the years on here. I was happy with how the rifle cycled rounds through, the new trigger is really nice and crisp and the mag it came with dropped freely. The upgraded match barrel (which SFRC upgraded me for free) is VERY nice and although I was not to hot about a stainless barrel at the time I am stoked I got it and will just get it cerakoted down the road if I start to want it black. I do feel like for the price I paid (IOP sale $1705 to my door) I am very happy with the quality of the firearm and I feel it will hold up for what ill use it for, which will be mostly local hunting.
That being said, I have two issues though. Firstly the stock, this is the worst stock I have ever handled. It seems like its made of recycled 4L milk jugs. It feels cheap and fragile, I would honesly feel like if I took this hunting and dropped it the thing would shatter into 100 pieces like some car bumper that's been rear ended. The design is ok, I could live with it if I felt the quality was better but it will be the absolute first thing to go and for $75 its not the end of the world to get the stock I want on there.
Secondly, and this is not really a BCL thing (I don't think) the IMI mag that came with the firearm only loads 4 rounds, I feel like im going to break the thing if I try to jam the 5th in there, it has some movement but I cant get it loaded. Has anyone else experienced this? I have loaded thousands over the years, its not user error. I am wondering if its worth it to contact SFRC? Also on that note, which mags do you guys find you would buy 20 of?
Lastly, this is more for SFRC. They were really good to deal with, Ryan, Craig and the staff there are really good for how many people they have contacting them and the stress they have. I was getting pretty impatient toward the end of the wait but then I got a call asking if I wanted a free barrel upgrade and the gun was shipped out that day, I don't feel they piss around with these things. They get them in and ship them right out, that's pretty great service in my eyes so thanks guys, ill defiantly continue to buy from you.
The true test will be shooting this thing, I am meticulous with the care of my firearms because I usually expect a lot from them, so this will be run hard. Wish me luck.
Cheers.
