BCA bolt action upper has arrived!

[rickyrick]

1st point as to the concern Tangolima brought up in another thread is that it doesn’t seem to have primary extraction.

Great. Please let us know how it goes. My concern is its primary extraction. Looks like the bolt engages the lugs on the barrel extension just like in an AR. There is no primary extraction cam as in any bolt action rifle. The sheer force from the gas system does all the job.

Without disassembling it,
it appears the be a chopped down and modified M16 bolt carrier.
The entire BCG rotates with the bolt handle.
The bolt appears to be a standard AR bolt, sized for .450bm.
The bolt does not have a “cam” action but does slide fore and aft and is also spring loaded in some way. If the handle isn’t Locked, the bolt carrier would be pushed back, making an out of battery discharge unlikely.
This does look like you can change the upper to any AR15 caliber you desire.

I will post some photos in the coming days, and I anticipate firing it on Saturday.
I’ll give an honest assessment as to the function and practicality of this configuration, I’m a little skeptical as others are, but hey, I had some money to blow.

The appearance and finish is decent.

[tangolima]

Wonderful! Just the way I would test it,

Fire a shot. Lift the bolt handle with whatever force necessary. Lightly tug on the handle to pull it back to extract and eject. There shouldn't be much strength needed to complete.

A more in-depth test. When turning down the bolt handle to close the action, observe closely the bolt movement. Put a finger on it to feel it if need be. Is the bolt moving forward, however minute amount, when the handle is being turned down? Is it moving backwards when the handle is turned up to open the action?

Thanks.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[stagpanther]

I told you guys to go with Tromix--but nooooooo.

[tangolima]

Tromix doesn't seem to have bolt action.

The spring loaded back and forth movement of the bolt may be their way of "hammering" the spent brass loose, in lieu of the traditional primary extraction cam. Does it feel stout? Does the bolt has a "hammering" action when bolt handle is lifted up?

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[stagpanther]

True dat. My interest lies purely in "what if" all rifles were suddenly ruled illegal in semiautomatics how reliable an alternative would this be. My guess is that the fire-control (trigger) system would need to be "neutered" as well.

[rickyrick]

The spring loaded bolt doesn’t seem too strong.
I put it on a random lower just to see how the action feels. Seems well built and smooth.

I do see that toting it through brush may be problematic as the bolt doesn’t lock with the safety as was mentioned in the semi auto forum.

I do find it nice that the only proprietary parts seems to be the bolt carrier and the upper receiver. So, I’m not stuck with .450bm if I loose interest. (I do have a 6.8spc barrel that never played well with a gas system)
I’m still inclined to think there’s no primary extraction without having disassembled the BCG yet. Just peeping through the port, I expect to see a slot in the carrier instead of a cam.

[rickyrick]

Not much to it as you can see.
Just a short proprietary bolt carrier
An additional spring
No gas rings
Proprietary upper receiver

I see no type of cam action

All the rest appears to be standard AR parts…

Now I will walk out back and test fire…

If I don’t post an update by tomorrow, it probably blew up and I have no fingers left to type with.














Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rickyrick]

Well,

Seems to work fine
Took ten shots at 50yds standing unsupported without attempting to zero.
I put a beater scope on it for testing, didn’t get the eye relief just right, but that’s easily remedied.
Extracted and ejected just fine.
Feeding is good but takes a little oomph, maybe needs a little break-in.
The bolt handle wasn’t as awkward as I anticipated.

I had to steal the panzer brake from the Radical upper. Because a silly gun needs a silly muzzle brake, haha it came with a flash hider.

I like the slim handguard, it’s the first I’ve had that skinny.

Now, the recoil packs quite a wallop when compared to the semiautomatic iteration.

Overall I think I like it. It’s not a cheap caliber to shoot, so it’s suitable for a bolt action.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stagpanther]

That's impressive for freehand--I can get that with my 458 socom--but not without support. No doubt the deer and hogs in your woods have good cause to be very nervous! It looks to me like the slots cut in the side of the receiver and bottom are intended to dump gas pressure in the event of a kaboom.

[tangolima]

The slot in BCG, the cam pin goes through it, right? Looks like it is the hammering action of the BCG, powered by the spring, that does primary extraction. Interesting. It is weak, but apparently it works.

I probably will get one when they have more caliber options. .458 socom is indeed interesting. Will see.

Thanks for sharing the info.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[rickyrick]

Stag, I consider myself a decent shot at short ranges, been doing that since I was a small boy, but I’m not much of a long range shooter. I’ve carved out a 50yd range a 3 minute walk from my house. It was a considerable amount of work living in a dense southern forest. Had to clear the range space and a foot access path. Now I can shoot anytime I have spare time. I have some shooting tables but haven’t taken them out there yet, probably today though.

@tanglima, yes the cam pin is installed exactly like normal, except there’s a straight slot instead of a cam slot and there’s a small amount of free travel after the bolt unlocks. It does seem that there’s a slide-hammer effect. Extraction isn’t difficult at all.

Firing an AR in which the action doesn’t cycle was odd the first time, my first thought was “what happened?” The recoil is sharp and authoritative, it left a mark from my suspenders through a Carhart, but not so punishing that I couldn’t spend a few hours shooting it.

Overall it’s well made. I feel that they took the path of least resistance in the design of the action. This has a has benefit of making for easy caliber changes. Someone could also use this as a bed to test barrels and loads.

For me it’s more fun to shoot than a short-stroking upper. It solved my problem. I gave the Radical made upper a decent chance, tried every trick in the book and could only get it to about 70% reliability. A rifle gas system on a .450bm just won’t work. Lesson learned.

So again in summary, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it would be good for someone with hunting restrictions for sure. It’s only $344, worth it I believe.

[stagpanther]

Where I live even 50 yards hunting is a rare shot in our dense woods.

[taylorce1]

Thanks for the follow up! I'll get one as soon as their available in a cartridge I want. I just don't want to buy one, just to swap the barrel to .223, 6X45, or .300 BO. At this time I'm really not interested in adding a new cartridge to the stable. When the AR-10 uppers come out a .308 and 6mm Creedmoor would interest me greatly.

I doubt they'd add it anytime soon but a .358 Win would be another I'd want. I'd probably buy a custom barrel for that one. I miss having a .35 Caliber rifle, and haven't had one in almost 10 years, but I'm not interested in a straight wall cartridge.

[stagpanther]

I doubt they'd add it anytime soon but a .358 Win would be another I'd want. I'd probably buy a custom barrel for that one. I miss having a .35 Caliber rifle, and haven't had one in almost 10 years, but I'm not interested in a straight wall cartridge.

I agree--I think .358's are great close to mid-range options that have been sidelined by "sexier" new cartridges. Both .358 win and 35 whelen have a viable niche IMO (I shoot both).

[taylorce1]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

Both .358 win and 35 whelen have a viable niche IMO (I shoot both).

I've had both, sold the last Whelen off when I was out of work for a year with my shattered leg. I also had a .35 Rem Marlin 336 for awhile, I didn't find much occasion to hunt with it. So I traded it for something elese.

[tangolima]

OP. Forgot to ask. Does the barrel have gas port? If it does, how do they plug it?

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[rickyrick]

It there’s not a gas port. I figured if I ever replaced the barrel, I could just flip over a cheap gas block

[stagpanther]

OP. Forgot to ask. Does the barrel have gas port? If it does, how do they plug it?

That's a good question that I've long thought about--in other words can a GI AR be simply converted into a bolt action while retaining the barrel with gas port. I'm guessing there's no reliable way to simply plug it up the port itself--on the other hand how much difference would it make if it simply bled off into the air? Presumably you'd need some way to make sure you don't end up holding onto the port while firing.

[tangolima]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

That's a good question that I've long thought about--in other words can a GI AR be simply converted into a bolt action while retaining the barrel with gas port. I'm guessing there's no reliable way to simply plug it up the port itself--on the other hand how much difference would it make if it simply bled off into the air? Presumably you'd need some way to make sure you don't end up holding onto the port while firing.

No much concern of speed loss, but the dangerous hot gas jetting around. At least I want to have it deflected. Inverting screw type gas block sounds a good idea. The main set screw jams into the gas port to plug it shut and keeps the setup from moving.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[stagpanther]

It does raise the intriguing possibility of balancing muzzle flip (?).

[misser]

for now i'll stay with my UPR

[tangolima]

Originally Posted by misser

for now i'll stay with my UPR

Uintah precision rifle. Of course, if I have that sort of money to spend.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[rickyrick]

It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, for me it was a lazy solution for a problem I was having.

It seems well made and it functions exceptionally well for what it is.

[misser]

ya well 5 years ago the UPR was cheaper

[rickyrick]

BCA has a 6.5G bolt action version now