As requested by another member here, I decided to share my thoughts of the Black Creek Labs TRX Bronco Scout 12.5” after almost 2 years of ownership. I hope some will find this helpful. Let me start by saying, this wasn’t a torture test. I didn’t throw sand in the action to see how it would react, I didn’t drive over it with a tractor to see how it would hold up. I treat my equipment well so it treats me well.
I hunt from a ground blind 90% of the time and there were steps every morning that were required after getting settled in my Ameristep dog house blind. Make sure the chair is angled right, besure my rifle was on my lap the proper way as not to hit the blind upon shouldering etc. At the time, I was using a Kimber 270wsm. I love that gun, it has served me well but at 6”3, a long rifle, small blind…… it was a bit of nuisance. I went on the hunt for a compact rifle that would fill the requirements I was looking for.
I came up with the BCL TRX Bronco. Although I prefer a more traditional style rifle, the Bronco checked off all the boxes.
After some ammo testing,I wasn’t surprised to see the Hornady Black 168gr do well in this gun. Most 3 shot groups were MOA or under. That being said, Federal Ascent 175gr were just over MOA. I experimented with some hand loads and came up with a combo that worked well. Unfortunately, experimenting with COL is limited using some bullets. I found with the AMAX bullet, COL had to be under 2.80” to cycle properly. Moving forward, I installed a economical compact scope , the Vortex 2-7-32 Crossfire II and got rid of the picatinny rail extension as it made wiping down the barrel difficult and was not required for my needs.
I’ve used this gun exclusively for bear and deer. In the small ground blind, it makes things much easier.
The trigger, bolt and magazine are nice. The Trigger Tech trigger is exceptional for a hunting gun. The large trigger guard gives room for wearing gloves. The bolt removes and installs easily. It’s probably the smoothest bolt gun I own. The magazine is very easy to load and feeds the gun perfectly. The safety is easy to use and surprisingly quiet.
It handles very well, even for my lengthy stature. The aluminum stock is cold on the hands even on mild days. Nothing that a good pair of gloves can’t fix. I did notice the coating wearing off in front of the magazine housing. That would be due to carrying. But it had wore off rather quickly.
I’m approaching roughly 400 rounds with no hiccups. I’m more than happy with the Bronco. I’m even happier that it’s built in Canada. I know some have had negative experiences with BCL and we are more likely to hear those experiences vs positive ones. I hope moving forward, we can see more positive feedback by owners.
Feel free to ask if you have questions. I’ll try by best to answer them.
I hunt from a ground blind 90% of the time and there were steps every morning that were required after getting settled in my Ameristep dog house blind. Make sure the chair is angled right, besure my rifle was on my lap the proper way as not to hit the blind upon shouldering etc. At the time, I was using a Kimber 270wsm. I love that gun, it has served me well but at 6”3, a long rifle, small blind…… it was a bit of nuisance. I went on the hunt for a compact rifle that would fill the requirements I was looking for.
I came up with the BCL TRX Bronco. Although I prefer a more traditional style rifle, the Bronco checked off all the boxes.
After some ammo testing,I wasn’t surprised to see the Hornady Black 168gr do well in this gun. Most 3 shot groups were MOA or under. That being said, Federal Ascent 175gr were just over MOA. I experimented with some hand loads and came up with a combo that worked well. Unfortunately, experimenting with COL is limited using some bullets. I found with the AMAX bullet, COL had to be under 2.80” to cycle properly. Moving forward, I installed a economical compact scope , the Vortex 2-7-32 Crossfire II and got rid of the picatinny rail extension as it made wiping down the barrel difficult and was not required for my needs.
I’ve used this gun exclusively for bear and deer. In the small ground blind, it makes things much easier.
The trigger, bolt and magazine are nice. The Trigger Tech trigger is exceptional for a hunting gun. The large trigger guard gives room for wearing gloves. The bolt removes and installs easily. It’s probably the smoothest bolt gun I own. The magazine is very easy to load and feeds the gun perfectly. The safety is easy to use and surprisingly quiet.
It handles very well, even for my lengthy stature. The aluminum stock is cold on the hands even on mild days. Nothing that a good pair of gloves can’t fix. I did notice the coating wearing off in front of the magazine housing. That would be due to carrying. But it had wore off rather quickly.
I’m approaching roughly 400 rounds with no hiccups. I’m more than happy with the Bronco. I’m even happier that it’s built in Canada. I know some have had negative experiences with BCL and we are more likely to hear those experiences vs positive ones. I hope moving forward, we can see more positive feedback by owners.
Feel free to ask if you have questions. I’ll try by best to answer them.
