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BCA bolt action upper for $350? (Page 15 of 21)
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Originally Posted By Outrider: Nearly there. I've got a Steiner 1-4 I'll put on it to wrap it up but I think I need a scope mount. Faxon 6" .300 BLK Sig SRD762 Ti Chinesium 10" rail https://i.imgur.com/McPZAgz.jpeg UTG Accusync is gtg and doesn't break the bank. CDoes kinda made me try one out. The QD ones are g2g too. |
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Originally Posted By AL1EN: That’s strange, I don’t have the need to push left on mine. Only issue I really have is when driving the bolt forward if not done in a quick forceful motion it will not lock up and I’ll have to pull back and shove forward again. Same here. I think a little polishing makes that "need" to push left to cycle go away. You gotta get a run at it to get the extractor to snap over the rim. The ar10 size is much worse. |
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Originally Posted By bendigo78: Same here. I think a little polishing makes that "need" to push left to cycle go away. You gotta get a run at it to get the extractor to snap over the rim. The ar10 size is much worse. Agreed. Polishing the key for me eliminated the left push requirement. |
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Originally Posted By AL1EN: I never thought of that, I wonder if I used a weaker extractor spring, if that would help. I looked at that for a minute once. I think I struggled with the extractor for a few minutes before I gave up. Lol You shouldn't need as much extractor tension because the extractor isn't trying to break the cartridge to chamber wall friction under pressure like in a semi. |
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Originally Posted By AL1EN: That’s strange, I don’t have the need to push left on mine. Only issue I really have is when driving the bolt forward if not done in a quick forceful motion it will not lock up and I’ll have to pull back and shove forward again. Do you have an earlier upper? Sometime before the end of April 2025 BCA added a chamfer cut to the bottom of the port door so that it doesn't support the lower right bearing surface on the carrier. (I'm guessing they did this to accommodate large bore rounds, but their chamfer is much larger than what is necessary to eject .458 SOCOM.) Because of this, the carrier naturally slides right, allowing the lugs of the bolt to catch on the barrel extension, unless it is pushed to the left during extraction. This effect is much worse cycling it empty. Once there's a round in the chamber, it holds the bolt centered better, and there is less, but it doesn't eliminate it. The upper that I purchased during the winter doesn't have this problem. The two I purchased over the summer do. No chamfer cut (winter 2025 production), but edge rounded by hand:  Chamfer cut (Summer 2025), reducing support for carrier:  Clear gap between carrier and receiver lower right while cycling:  LOL, if anyone knows where to get an earlier production upper, or wants to trade an earlier production one with a full shelf on the lower port door bottom for a current production one with the chamfer, I've got a spare chamfered upper kit just sitting here -- I think I even trued the receiver. If I could get my hands on two of the earlier ones, I'd also swap out the receiver on my .338 ARC upper as it is built on an upper with the chamfered port door. I really prefer the earlier uppers. |
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Originally Posted By TSH77769: Based on my experience every Bear Creek upper is a single shot or bolt action . I have a side charging 556 upper, and a 22LR upper from them and they both run well. The dedicated 22LR upper is not super accurate but it will run any type of ammo I feed it. Other than the few bolt action variations, I have those are the only semi-BCA uppers I have. No plans to buy anymore. I have enough at this point. |
Originally Posted By ar-jedi:
SO MUCH WIN IN ONE POST IT COULD CRASH ARFCOM !!!
SO MUCH WIN IN ONE POST IT COULD CRASH ARFCOM !!!
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Originally Posted By AL1EN: Not intentionally, I do aggressively cycle the bolt. So, you described your cycling approach as aggressive, but aggressive isn't a force direction or hand position. What does your cycling look like? Do you use an open palm push it up and back? Do you wrap your hand around the handle to cycle? I'm truly curious about how you are avoiding this issue. |
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Originally Posted By PreacherOfGadget: So, you described your cycling approach as aggressive, but aggressive isn't a force direction or hand position. What does your cycling look like? Do you use an open palm push it up and back? Do you wrap your hand around the handle to cycle? I'm truly curious about how you are avoiding this issue. Same methodology my grandfather, he was a Doughboy in WW1, taught me. Yeah, I’m that old. 
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Call the tune and let's dance; but beware that the devil is the piper and the tab for that soiree will be hell to pay.
Training&Trigger Time are more important than chasing a hardware Holy Grail
Training&Trigger Time are more important than chasing a hardware Holy Grail
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Originally Posted By AL1EN: So the bolt will hang here https://i.imgur.com/s83V1Wy.jpeg But I can just use my finger and a slight bit of rearward pressure and it will slide strait back. https://i.imgur.com/BIXnRb3.jpeg I use the force on the forward stroke with my palm so it chambers the round. What did you print your spacers out of? Mine don't seem to last very many cycles before they start cracking. |
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Originally Posted By Normlizer: Just got my 762x39 upper I seen 2 decent burrs around the gas port should I try and get them out using a cleaning brush? I tried using a bore snake but wouldn't remove the burrs. Mine had the same. A round or two through it and they were gone. |
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Got one of the .458 Socom bolt action uppers late last week. I will admit that I haven't read thru the entire thread. I haven't even made ammo for it yet because I wanted to make sure the Starline brass would work in it since I've heard horror stories about BCA quality. Brass fits, but it really takes a hard push to clear the case rim, but I think I can fix that. Took it apart and checked tightness of stuff and everything looks good there. The barrel itself is my concern. I swear it looks furry inside the barrel!! I have run cleaner and patches and brushes and I do believe it has gotten worse looking. Is it just parker residue and I should shoot it or is there a problem. I have never owned anything BCA. I have never seen a new barrel look like this out of all my builds. |
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Originally Posted By ar-jedi:
SO MUCH WIN IN ONE POST IT COULD CRASH ARFCOM !!!
SO MUCH WIN IN ONE POST IT COULD CRASH ARFCOM !!!
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Originally Posted By thederrick106: With that being said all mine work and make nice basic utility guns. |
Shoot straight and tell the truth!
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Didn't buy it expecting high end. It just seems like a great novelty piece to smack steel subsonic occasionally. I bet it would put a wallop on a deer!! I just wasn't sure if I needed to just shoot it or scrub it until the rifling was gone!! LOL If it is just park residue, it should come out. Ill check it again after a few rounds. |
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After leaving a heavy coat of oil in the barrel the night before, I tried cleaning it again last nite. Bore is actually shiny now after a really good scrubbing with brass and vinyl brushes and bore mops. Still not beautiful with nothing but rifling, but I am no longer worried about it. I hoped to have more flexibility on making subs with the 350 gr bullets, but published loads are few and the only loads I have found that I have powder are Titegroup and 5744. Was really hoping for a Unique or 1680 load. I think most published data is under the guise of operating the gas system which is obviously not a concern for me. |
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Originally Posted By WyattC: I wonder if a KAK dual ejector 5.45 bolt would fix the weak 9MM ejection issue some have had with that configuration. If they made one that is. It’s not the ejector that’s the issue. The 9mm chamber ends before the the edge of the receiver and the case isn’t long enough to have lateral pressure kept on it until it makes it to the ejection port. So it essentially weakly ejects right into the interior of the upper prior to the port. If you pull the bolt quickly to the rear it’ll dump the shell out. Ultimately the fix will be a fixed ejector and removing the spring loaded ejector entirely, but that’s a lot of work for a niche project. |
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Has anyone had their upper fire out of battery? I was sighting in my 350 upper and while trying to push past some rough chambering, it fired out of battery. Luckily the palm of my hand held the bolt handle with the round in the camber but it wasn’t closed. The bolt handle bent pretty good. I’m not 100% certain the trigger wasn’t touched, but the lower has a Larue two stage in it and I can’t physically reach the trigger while cycling the action with my right hand. I wasn’t able to replicate the incident unfortunately. |
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Originally Posted By jrtatonka: I just stumbled on these. Why is the bolt cut short. Wouldn't an extension allow it to engage a buffer/spring to have it auto return into battery? |
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Originally Posted By D_Man: It would be awkward, you'd still have to rotate it manually to lock it. If you just let the bolt fly forward under a buffer spring it would have terrible bolt bounce because there's no way for the bolt to lock unless you manually rotate it down. Originally Posted By D_Man: Originally Posted By jrtatonka: I just stumbled on these. Why is the bolt cut short. Wouldn't an extension allow it to engage a buffer/spring to have it auto return into battery? Oh, so I'm assuming that there is no cam pin/cam pin slot in the receiver. |
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Originally Posted By jrtatonka: Oh, so I'm assuming that there is no cam pin/cam pin slot in the receiver. The carrier itself does not have a rotational cam path for the cam pin, it's just straight so once the bolt is seated the carrier can continue forward until it's face is on the barrel face. There's no surfaces that would force everything to rotate into lock either, you need to add the clockwise rotation with the bolt handle to lock the bolt. Some good pics on page 5 here: https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/BCA-bolt-action-upper-for-350-/121-789087/?page=5#i8719032 |
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Originally Posted By ScottyPotty: I have a AR10 6.5cm with the side charging, been thinking of picking up the BA upper. So I FO or hold off awhile? Definately Fo. There's really not anything ground breaking they're gonna change to make it worth waiting. Plus it's only a couple hundred to swap. |
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Originally Posted By YoungGun92: It's not the ejector that's the issue. The 9mm chamber ends before the the edge of the receiver and the case isn't long enough to have lateral pressure kept on it until it makes it to the ejection port. So it essentially weakly ejects right into the interior of the upper prior to the port. If you pull the bolt quickly to the rear it'll dump the shell out. Ultimately the fix will be a fixed ejector and removing the spring loaded ejector entirely, but that's a lot of work for a niche project.  9mmBoltAction |
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Just so everyone knows... you can make a 45 acp bolt action out of these. Please do not think you can just buy parts and assemble it like legos and it will work. Parts list -WPA AR45 Lower - Glock mags -BCA Bolt Action Upper - .450 Bushmaster -Midwest Series One 15" handguard -AAC Ti-Rant 45 ACP Suppressor -Magpul BTR Pistol Brace -Custom 8" barrel was turned from a 45 ACP barrel blank. This is more of a proof of concept that I could get it to function. -Milling the carrier and barrel extension is required also. I am going to install a strike industies rear buffer picatinny and run a side folder(nfa paperwork waiting). I think the plug will reduce the travel of the bolt and help with ejecting brass. I might have to cut some of the carrier off for clearance but time will tell. Where is everyone buying nylon washers? First test fire video... Literally the 2nd time shooting 3 rounds. https://imgur.com/a/tKXxVP8 
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Originally Posted By amphibian: Correct...and yes a lot of work. I just did all the work....  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsKHElzxyTgI love that you went for it - and got it working! I still have the build with the barrel you cut down for me. At some point I’ll dig it back out of the safe and give it a try myself |
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Originally Posted By jdmae86: Just so everyone knows... you can make a 45 acp bolt action out of these. Please do not think you can just buy parts and assemble it like legos and it will work. Parts list -WPA AR45 Lower - Glock mags -BCA Bolt Action Upper - .450 Bushmaster -Midwest Series One 15" handguard -AAC Ti-Rant 45 ACP Suppressor -Magpul BTR Pistol Brace -Custom 8" barrel was turned from a 45 ACP barrel blank. This is more of a proof of concept that I could get it to function. -Milling the carrier and barrel extension is required also. I am going to install a strike industies rear buffer picatinny and run a side folder(nfa paperwork waiting). I think the plug will reduce the travel of the bolt and help with ejecting brass. I might have to cut some of the carrier off for clearance but time will tell. Where is everyone buying nylon washers? First test fire video... Literally the 2nd time shooting 3 rounds. https://imgur.com/a/tKXxVP8 https://i.imgur.com/lvUsryx.png Would it be possible to share the bolt measurements after you chop it down? I was thinking of getting a SI rail adapter as well honestly. |
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Has anyone else had issues with the 450/458 bolt head, where the extractor doesn't want to snap over the rim? It takes a very healthy whack/push with my palm, and sometimes multiple tries to get the extractor over. Should I take out the extractor and polish the claw a bit? Or repeatedly force it to snap over an empty brass rim to smooth it? I also ordered a 10" Bear Creek barrel for this upper, which will make a smaller, quiet thumper. Thanks! |
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Originally Posted By ELittlefield: Has anyone else had issues with the 450/458 bolt head, where the extractor doesn't want to snap over the rim? It takes a very healthy whack/push with my palm, and sometimes multiple tries to get the extractor over. Should I take out the extractor and polish the claw a bit? Or repeatedly force it to snap over an empty brass rim to smooth it? I also ordered a 10" Bear Creek barrel for this upper, which will make a smaller, quiet thumper. Thanks! You can absolutely contour and polish the extractor. The 308 version is bad about getting the extractor to snap over the rim. I put the bolt handle relocator bracket that moves the handle back and that helps reaching it to give it a pop. It must be a bigger case head issue. Just sighted the 308 in last weekend for supers to give it a try to it deer hunting next week. |
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They were there a couple of hours ago. I had a 20" in my cart... https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/223-w-20-ss-heavy-1-8-twist-15-mlok-msr-bas-upper.html |
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BCA bolt action upper for $350? (Page 15 of 21)
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