I have been under considerable, prolonged "stress" on the two-way rifle range, and not once did I rely upon the Bolt Catch of my C8 FTHB service carbine to advise me of an empty magazine nor to charge the weapon after a fired-until-empty reload. I was taught at great expense to count my expended rounds such that if I could not maintain a precise count what with everything exciting going on around me, at least I could keep a general sense of how many rounds were remaining in my current mag so that I could proactively combat-reload before running dry. That was the aim - to reload without ever running dry, and without leaving too many rounds in a partially-expended mag. I also employed the old trick of 5 rounds of tracer ammo as the first rounds loaded in each magazine, thereby giving me a visual warning that I was running low in the event that plan "A" (counting your rounds) failed in the heat of the moment. I never relied upon my Bolt Catch to "send me a physical signal" that my firearm was empty. While that works when firing your rifle in a T-shirt as one of a small handful of firers shooting semi-auto, it is next to useless when you are insulated from the weapon's recoil by body armour and Load-Bearing Equipment (LBE), in the heat of battle with every loud noise and source of concussion imaginable assaulting your eardrums and rocking your world.
I also never used the Bolt-Catch to charge my weapon following the occasional empty reload, because that method does not apply the maximum stripping force to the top (eg. the most resistant) round in a full magazine. Full forward momentum of the Bolt-Carrier Group (BCG) is only attained when the Charging Handle pulled fully to the rear and then released. So, in order to ensure that one's fouled rifle feeds the first round fully into battery, the wise soldier uses the Charging Handle and relegates the Bolt Catch to its intended purpose of holding the BCG to the rear while clearing a complex stoppage (such as a double-feed, or a failure to eject resulting in an empty casing lodged between the Charging Handle and Gas Key). The Bolt Catch is also used for administrative confirmation that the firearm is clear, but that is all. It should have nothing whatsoever to do with charging the weapon/making it "ready", as this practice will eventually result in a stoppage (first-round failure to fully feed).
But hey, YMMV. All I know is what 32 years of infantry experience, and my fellow combat veterans taught me. As I said before, the lack of a BHO is not indicative of laziness on the part of the firearms designer. Some simply don't see a need, and I for one can understand where they are coming from. More parts = more complexity = more malfunction at the worst possible moment. If you don't use it to reload under combat conditions, just how relevant or necessary is this "convenience" called a Bolt Catch? The answer is, it's not. At all.
