Sourcing BCL-102 or RDB in 308 - Where oh Where can they be?

[d12guage]

I think Easthill Outdoors has then in stock you can give them a call, they are about an hour or so east of Toronto. There is tons of good deals on the EE that I would consider if buying one. For the records I like mine and have had minimal issues with it.

 

[beltfed]

There is no comparison between a BCL102 and a Stag 10, aside from the fact that both are chambered in .308 cal.

Well if we're going to be honest, both chambered in .308, yes.
Both follow a direct impingement AR-10 style, gas operated, magazine fed rifle.
Both feed from the same DPMS style of magazine.
Both utilize readily available AR-15 and AR-10 style components.
Both currently enjoy non-restricted status.
Both are going to offer roughly the same level of accuracy and dependability for the price point and apples to apples comparison that one is going to put to them.
Did BCL initially take advantage of the Non-restricted, 'only show in town' status, and priced them accordingly? No arguement here.
Does Stag offer up a generally better product? Probably overall - I would not dispute this.
Is it miles ahead as some claim? No. I have a stag and I have a BCL and there isn't the wide gap that some believe. IMHO.

Anyone suggesting that the build quality is comparable betwèen the two rifles is delusional in the extreme.

BCL put out an entry level AR-10 style gun at a reasonable price (reasonable is highly subjective - it was probably high due to their 'only show in town' status as mentioned, but when compared to other AR-10s on the market it was still a price that was 'swallowable' for most).
Stag has their entry level guns too, and when comparing apples to apples, they are not that far off. I would expect with the Stag competition that the prices of the BCL should be coming down a few hundred to stay within the price point pecking order.

I have handled both and taken a good, long look at their fit and finish as well as their respective features. Compared to the Stag, the BCL is "amateur hour" at best.

I agree that some of what BCL did leaves one shaking their head, and there is no question some niggly issues have been encountered, but "amateur hour" or not they seem to work and work ok for what they are.

Anyone who would purchase a BCL over a Stag nèeds to seriously revisit their decision-making process, as they have clearly consumed the wrong Kool-Aid. With the Stag 10 now available, anyone who buys a BCL richly deserves whatever rifle problems befall them.

I like to think supporting a Canadian venture is a worthy cause for firearms rights in this country. It betters the shooting sports and advances the industry here. Not suggesting it is done blindly, but if companies are willing to put it out there and work toward a better product at reasonable prices, I'm all for it. I certainly wouldn't wish ill will to those people or their property that do the same.

 

[cr5]

I think the part that the BCL pro guys are forgetting and what I think we can all acknowledge is that while BCL is capable of making a good rifle which is obvious by the positive reviews, the problem is that they are not consistent. One guy got a good one but then the next guy in line got one with machining issues that caused problems and he has to pay to ship his brand new rifle back for warranty just to get it back from "being repaired" to find that it wasn't actually repaired and he now has to either pay to return it again or eat it and start buying aftermarket parts to fix it himself just to get a functioning rifle.

This wouldn't be a huge issue if it was one out of every few hundred with problems but when it's 3-5 per hundred (there are probably more) rifles made it becomes a higher failure rate which becomes frustrating to new owners and makes people regret supporting the Canadian company. I like to support local but I expect it to be built better than an imported product, our labor force should be better trained and they should be working in better conditions with better equipment in North America so I expect the quality to be high if the price is going to be more than the import stuff.

I haven't felt that NEA/BCL is much better than a Norinco for a few years now. You don't hear as many complaints about Norinco as you do with BCL so what does that tell you? A 12 year old Chinese kid is better at building a rifle than a grown man in in the BCL shop?
The 102 had so much potential, unfortunately BCL once again drops the ball in the QC department just like they did for years as NEA.

 

[beltfed]

I wouldn't consider myself pro anything, as I try to stay as objective as I can.
Norinco quality is what it is and I think people expect to see a less than stellar level of quality to begin with. This may explain some of the quiet regarding quality.

Like I said, NEA and now BCL have done some pretty odd and asinine stuff and there is no defending it.
However, while we may expect Canadian quality to be head and shoulders above foreign made products, I think that can be chalked up to having an unrealistic expectation of some of the goods we produce on the whole.

 

[cr5]

I wouldn't consider myself pro anything, as I try to stay as objective as I can.
Norinco quality is what it is and I think people expect to see a less than stellar level of quality to begin with. This may explain some of the quiet regarding quality.

Like I said, NEA and now BCL have done some pretty odd and asinine stuff and there is no defending it.
However, while we may expect Canadian quality to be head and shoulders above foreign made products, I think that can be chalked up to having an unrealistic expectation of some of the goods we produce on the whole.

By pro I only meant that you have a positive experience to share.

You're right, people that buy Norinco for the most part know that they are buying a product made in China with some pretty loose tolerances and relaxed QC. There are however still people out there that do zero research and just walk into a store and see a gun they can afford that looks cool and they buy it only to find out later that the company is known for inconsistent manufacturing. To me those people deserve what they get but at the same time those products should have never made it to the shelf to begin with.

I don't think it's unrealistic to expect a manufacturing company in a first world country that is staffed by educated and ticketed tradesmen to be able to use modern CNC equipment to produce a product that is consistent and built to some pretty tight tolerances and for their QC department to be able to identify many of the issues we've seen on customers rifles before they ever got out of the factory.
I have a buddy who works in a machine shop and from what he tells me they are meticulous about QC and their failure/return rate is almost zero for thousands of parts. It's about taking the time to do it right the first time to build a reputation to ensure those multi million dollar contracts keep coming in.

I'm not sure what BCL's long term game plan is but like you said there's no defending it and it will come back to bite them, it has to a certain extent but I think they're going to get a real kick in the teeth now that the Stag 10 is out and there really is no reason to buy a BCL any more.

 

[TacticalCanuck]

Lots of opinions and offers, and I thank you all.

I've made my hunter/bench rig purchase, and I have to thank everyone for chiming in. There were a few unbiased and objective view points and I thank those people especially. I had a beauty of a .308 and sold it. Regretted it and went looking for something else. I thought the semi auto market would be great - an AR style rifle that is non-restricted? I should buy that just to support that portion of the industry, and get us more of the same. I mean, I love my Tavor and it's really actually better than an AR in terms of size portability and function. So ya, bring us in more variety. I support that 100%.

Cheers all.