Ultralight Ultralight Rifles

[PistolPete]

I just noticed this bolt action on the BCA website. It will be interesting to see what this will end up weighing!

New BC-15 Bolt Action Style Upper and Rifle at BCA!

Discover the BC-15 Bolt Action Style Complete Upper and Rifle—combining bolt-action precision with AR-15 versatility. Shop now at Bear Creek Arsenal!!

www.bearcreekarsenal.com

Very intriguing! But zoomed in, it looks like they used their chunky, overweight side charger upper. If only they'd put it on a diet. Hopefully I'm wrong!

 

[robtattoo]

If anyone else was building it, I'd pre-order.
However, my history with BCA is making it a hard no. Everything I've ever had from BCA has been utter garbage. From 'functional but poorly made' right through to 'It literally doesn't do any of the things it's supposed to do'
And their customer service is beyond atrocious.

 

[Luke S]

Hopefully this isn't garbage...

I ordered a Davis Defense side charger upper

Davidson Defense AR-15 Side Charging Billet Upper Receiver - Anodized

www.deltateamtactical.com

And a Recoil Technologies side charger bcg

Recoil Technologies AR-15 Side Charging 5.56/.223/.300 Blackout/.350 Legend BCG + Side Charging Handles x2

www.deltateamtactical.com

Probably won't be as light but I'm keeping things cheap. Hopefully I make up weight savings somewhere else.

 

[Thegman]

I just noticed this bolt action on the BCA website. It will be interesting to see what this will end up weighing!

New BC-15 Bolt Action Style Upper and Rifle at BCA!

Discover the BC-15 Bolt Action Style Complete Upper and Rifle—combining bolt-action precision with AR-15 versatility. Shop now at Bear Creek Arsenal!!

www.bearcreekarsenal.com

That's really interesting, thanks for posting that. Regardless of whether they'll make a good UL rifle (won't make a very good UL-UL from what I can see), BCA may be offering portless barrels for them which could be useful for everyone.

In trying to visualize how they work, I'm thinking the front right-side of the gas key track must be absent to allow the bolt carrier to rotate and lock the bolt handle in the lower position (?). Maybe some machining for the cam pin to rotate as well. There should be a lot of leverage to get the bolt to the unlocked position, but not sure how that will help with extraction. Might be a big help though {?}. This might be thought of as a good alternative to lightweight traditional bolt rifles, and could probably be lighter than those.

 

[Thegman]

If anyone else was building it, I'd pre-order.
However, my history with BCA is making it a hard no. Everything I've ever had from BCA has been utter garbage. From 'functional but poorly made' right through to 'It literally doesn't do any of the things it's supposed to do'
And their customer service is beyond atrocious.

Good to know. I still might get one just to check it out.

 

[Tailwind5sw]

That's really interesting, thanks for posting that. Regardless of whether they'll make a good UL rifle (won't make a very good UL-UL from what I can see), BCA may be offering portless barrels for them which could be useful for everyone.

In trying to visualize how they work, I'm thinking the front right-side of the gas key track must be absent to allow the bolt carrier to rotate and lock the bolt handle in the lower position (?). Maybe some machining for the cam pin to rotate as well. There should be a lot of leverage to get the bolt to the unlocked position, but not sure how that will help with extraction. Might be a big help though {?}. This might be thought of as a good alternative to lightweight traditional bolt rifles, and could probably be lighter than those.

I looked at x-calaber for a 6x45 barrel and they now have portless option on the drip down too.

 

[Thegman]

I looked at x-calaber for a 6x45 barrel and they now have portless option on the drip down too.

I think they've had that (Taudisio had them build his portless 6x45), but not sure they make it without a gas journal, not that that matters much.

 

[KyleR1985]

BC-15 | 5.56 NATO | 16" Parkerized Light-weight Barrel | 1:7 Twist | Carbine Length Gas System

BC-15 | 5.56 NATO | 16" Parkerized Light-weight Barrel | 1:7 Twist | Carbine Length Gas System This Bear Creek Arsenal AR-15 16" light-weight contour, parkerized 5.56 barrel has a carbine length gas system with a 1:7 twist. Our 5.56 parkerized rifle barr

www.bearcreekarsenal.com

I threaded the existing gas port hole with a 2-64 tap, and dropped in a cap screw with rocksett.

Twisted it on, and pulled out a box of AAC 77tmk. Shots 7-17, as fast as I could shoot, shot right at 2” at 100 yards with a 4x scope.


2530 fps average across the first 6 shots.


I’m not saying it’s the best thing ever. But it’s 65.00…


This is with the BCA side charging BCG too.

 

[Thegman]

BC-15 | 5.56 NATO | 16" Parkerized Light-weight Barrel | 1:7 Twist | Carbine Length Gas System

BC-15 | 5.56 NATO | 16" Parkerized Light-weight Barrel | 1:7 Twist | Carbine Length Gas System This Bear Creek Arsenal AR-15 16" light-weight contour, parkerized 5.56 barrel has a carbine length gas system with a 1:7 twist. Our 5.56 parkerized rifle barr

www.bearcreekarsenal.com

I’m not saying it’s the best thing ever. But it’s 65.00…

...and apparently the lightest AR barrel on the market.

 

[Taudisio]

I looked at x-calaber for a 6x45 barrel and they now have portless option on the drip down too.

It’s been that way, they did recently add the option to omit gas port, but dimple the correct spot.

 

[KyleR1985]

Got lucky i got the group on paper. Middle bull at 15 yards to get on paper.

Couldn’t see my hits at 100 with 4x, and now I know why haha, barely had em on!

Barely tore top of paper with one round.

...and apparently the lightest AR barrel on the market.

Just crazy how simple cheap and effective this can be. It’s not rocket surgery.

 

[goalie]

It would be cheaper if the Solo 300 action would get in stock so I could buy one. I've already changed out my trigger to a CMC single stage and the grip to a Hogue 15* lightweight as well as ordered a titanium grip screw because, well apparently they exist.....

Once I have it together and am shooting I can channel my OCD to ammo/reloading.

 

[180ls1]

That's really interesting, thanks for posting that. Regardless of whether they'll make a good UL rifle (won't make a very good UL-UL from what I can see), BCA may be offering portless barrels for them which could be useful for everyone.

In trying to visualize how they work, I'm thinking the front right-side of the gas key track must be absent to allow the bolt carrier to rotate and lock the bolt handle in the lower position (?). Maybe some machining for the cam pin to rotate as well. There should be a lot of leverage to get the bolt to the unlocked position, but not sure how that will help with extraction. Might be a big help though {?}. This might be thought of as a good alternative to lightweight traditional bolt rifles, and could probably be lighter than those.

I could also see them offering this in other calibers 22 arc, 6 arc, that would certainly make things interesting to get a plug and play system from them that is reliable.

 

[goalie]

Well, I really like the CMC single stage trigger. I haven't used a "cartridge" trigger before, and I had to shim it to make it tight with zero play, but it's about perfect for a hunting trigger.

I also like the 15* UL Hogue grip.

 

[Trackselk]

...and apparently the lightest AR barrel on the market.

Confused, I see it listed at 1.5lbs vs shaw 1.1lbs. Don't tell me I have to buy a 4th barrel chasing ounces (before I even have one gun built lol)!
Update:
-Green mountain blank has shipped from LRI, will report back soon.
-had to buy a portless shaw in the meantime because it's going to end up lighter. Too bad that wasn't available before I went with a blank to LRI...

 

[goalie]

Confused, I see it listed at 1.5lbs vs shaw 1.1lbs. Don't tell me I have to buy a 4th barrel chasing ounces (before I even have one gun built lol)!
Update:
-Green mountain blank has shipped from LRI, will report back soon.
-had to buy a portless shaw in the meantime because it's going to end up lighter. Too bad that wasn't available before I went with a blank to LRI...

Funny that you say that. I consider myself lucky that I didn't see this thread until after the portless Shaw barrel was available.

 

[Thegman]

Confused, I see it listed at 1.5lbs vs shaw 1.1lbs. Don't tell me I have to buy a 4th barrel chasing ounces (before I even have one gun built lol)!
Update:
-Green mountain blank has shipped from LRI, will report back soon.
-had to buy a portless shaw in the meantime because it's going to end up lighter. Too bad that wasn't available before I went with a blank to LRI...

A couple of guys posted that the BCA pencil barrel was under 17 oz. If you add a reversed gas block that would up the weight a little, probably about like the Shaw. The Shaw is probably a much nicer barrel though and certainly cleaner not having a port or gas journal, and they're not too expensive. If I was just starting and wanted a 223 barrel, I'd go with the Shaw before anything else available. (But hell, for $65 the BCA would be worth trying as well, just to check one out).

 

[KyleR1985]

A couple of guys posted that the BCA pencil barrel was under 17 oz. If you add a reversed gas block that would up the weight a little, probably about like the Shaw. The Shaw is probably a much nicer barrel though and certainly cleaner not having a port or gas journal, and they're not too expensive. If I was just starting and wanted a 223 barrel, I'd go with the Shaw before anything else available. (But hell, for $65 the BCA would be worth trying as well, just to check one out).

Can confirm the weight.

And you could go the gas block route.

Or just tap existing gas port 2-64, and thread in a cap screw with rocksett. Now that I’ve confirmed it’s worth my time, I’m going to heat fit a sleeve with a notch cut in it for the bolt head so ot can’t back out. Aluminum should be just right for the task. Probably don’t need it nut why not. A spot weld with a tig gun would probably do it too.

And it was sub 2moa the 7-17th shots down the tube at 100 yards with a crappy shooter off a pack on a bench with AAC tmk’s which apparently aren’t all that great.

 

[Thegman]

Can confirm the weight.

And you could go the gas block route.

Or just tap existing gas port 2-64, and thread in a cap screw with rocksett. Now that I’ve confirmed it’s worth my time, I’m going to heat fit a sleeve with a notch cut in it for the bolt head so ot can’t back out. Aluminum should be just right for the task. Probably don’t need it nut why not. A spot weld with a tig gun would probably do it too.

And it was sub 2moa the 7-17th shots down the tube at 100 yards with a crappy shooter off a pack on a bench with AAC tmk’s which apparently aren’t all that great.

~2 moa is what my buddy got with the AAC TMKs from his Solo with the Faxon 223 Wylde Match barrel, so it definitely sounds like it would be worth a try if you want to try what's also one of the cheapest barrels available. I'd try one, but I can't see it actually replacing my Shaw for any reason...I could get bored later this winter though. Definitely would try one if they offered it portless for their upcoming bolt action rifle.

 

[Trackselk]

A couple of guys posted that the BCA pencil barrel was under 17 oz. If you add a reversed gas block that would up the weight a little, probably about like the Shaw. The Shaw is probably a much nicer barrel though and certainly cleaner not having a port or gas journal, and they're not too expensive. If I was just starting and wanted a 223 barrel, I'd go with the Shaw before anything else available. (But hell, for $65 the BCA would be worth trying as well, just to check one out).

Thanks, not sure how I missed those posts. If you wanted to get really crazy, and shave another Oz (?), you could thread,bolt, weld, and then have a smith mill most of the gas block off, but, I think we're down at the point where they shouldn't be any lighter. Like you mentioned way back with potentially making the stock even lighter.
Although, especially for us suppressor dudes, weight off the barrel helps with the front heaviness/balance disproportionately. I'll probably stick with my shaw if it shoots well and sell my LRI milled green river blank, unless it somehow miraculously came out lighter than the shaw. Should have it on the scale any day now.