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Posted: 12/11/2025 8:09:51 PM EDT
| I'm very interested in this upper. They're about 200 bucks, which includes a buffer and buffer spring. Has anyone shot one of these? They seem extremely simple, and the idea of a side charging handle that lets me push the bolt forward if necessary is attractive. It also appears to have a pocket in the upper and a BCG profile which would support an Arizona Regulator. |
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Originally Posted By Jake1989: I would opt for a CMMG or Borebuddy if you are planning to do anything more than shoot standard semi. I have both a CMMG and a Bore Buddy upper. They work reasonably well, but it's not like they're perfectly reliable. Rimfire is rimfire. |
| I prefer side charging over the standard rear charging. Can't say anything about the .22 uppers but I do have a 6.5 Manbun and 350 Legend uppers that work well. |
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Originally Posted By GaryM: I prefer side charging over the standard rear charging. Can't say anything about the .22 uppers but I do have a 6.5 Manbun and 350 Legend uppers that work well. Agreed. I prefer the side charge, especially if I’m using a scope. I have several BCA side charge uppers(and a couple other brands), and have had no problems with them. I do have one in 22lr and one in 22Mag. I have not shot them a lot. But, from what I have shot them, the 22Mag is a very accurate rifle. |
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The BCA 22 LR uppers have seen some quality control issues since they were initially released. There have been numerous barrels that had the extractor notch improperly machined so brass was filling the void upon firing. This improper extractor notch and out of spec chambers have randomly been reported. The main disadvantage to the side charger 22 LR is the charging handle needs to be removed to remove the bolt for cleaning. There have been reports of the charging handle bolts coming loose. I’ve seen it reported the BCA 22 LR uses a Ruger 10/22 pattern extractor with detent and spring. If there is an out of battery ignition it is likely the extractor, detent and spring will be damaged or lost. The CMMG pattern bolt used an extractor that is retained by a pin and usually doesn’t receive any damage from out of battery ignitions. BCA customer service seems to respond to customer problems but QC seems to be luck of the draw. |
| I have a 10.5" BCA 22LR Upper. I fired the first one I received and had no issues with it. I did notice however that the extractor cut was pretty aggressive and exposed a bit of the brass in the chamber. I contacted BCA CS and they replaced it with a barrel that had a good extractor cut. I like shooting the upper. It has a different bolt than the CMMG, RTB, BB - type bolts. It resembles the Nordic style bolt. If you're interested in seeing more I can share some pics but I think you can find them on here or on other forums. The bolt is a bit heavier and with the 10.5" barrel, standard velocity ammo doesn't reliably reset the trigger. Borebuddy offers a lighter recoils spring for this very problem, but I haven't procured it yet. You can't beat 'em for the price for sure. If your curious, I'd say go for it. |
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Originally Posted By Erik72: I have a 10.5" BCA 22LR Upper. I fired the first one I received and had no issues with it. I did notice however that the extractor cut was pretty aggressive and exposed a bit of the brass in the chamber. I contacted BCA CS and they replaced it with a barrel that had a good extractor cut. I like shooting the upper. It has a different bolt than the CMMG, RTB, BB - type bolts. It resembles the Nordic style bolt. If you're interested in seeing more I can share some pics but I think you can find them on here or on other forums. The bolt is a bit heavier and with the 10.5" barrel, standard velocity ammo doesn't reliably reset the trigger. Borebuddy offers a lighter recoils spring for this very problem, but I haven't procured it yet. You can't beat 'em for the price for sure. If your curious, I'd say go for it. Thank you much! |
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Originally Posted By VASCAR2: The BCA 22 LR uppers have seen some quality control issues since they were initially released. There have been numerous barrels that had the extractor notch improperly machined so brass was filling the void upon firing. This improper extractor notch and out of spec chambers have randomly been reported. The main disadvantage to the side charger 22 LR is the charging handle needs to be removed to remove the bolt for cleaning. There have been reports of the charging handle bolts coming loose. I’ve seen it reported the BCA 22 LR uses a Ruger 10/22 pattern extractor with detent and spring. If there is an out of battery ignition it is likely the extractor, detent and spring will be damaged or lost. The CMMG pattern bolt used an extractor that is retained by a pin and usually doesn’t receive any damage from out of battery ignitions. BCA customer service seems to respond to customer problems but QC seems to be luck of the draw. that actually reads like AI quote... especially since the bolt handle getting loose was a thing with their gen 1 handle which has not be sold in 4-5 years....... current handles do not get loose and are very AK like, the old version was a barrel with a 5/32" cap screw running through it to hold it on... WHY people feel a need to post what their AI program found on the internet in a thread asking specifically to hear persons actual personal experiences? Is it something that just drives some people to respond to any thread regardless of actual knowledge on a subject or?? I actually do have several BCA side charger uppers (I'm an AK guy at heart lol) including 4 .22lr a 7.5" a 10.5" stainless barrel a 10.5" nitride barrel and a 16" all have been 100% reliable and both 10.5s are well into the thousands of rounds down range I use them mostly for getting new shooters used to the AR platform, All run very well even with cheap winchester bulk pack ammo BUT keep them well oiled.. with most other bulk 22 ammo they don't seem to be so finicky about running wet. VERY Accurate the 7.5 is my personal; favorite its running a suppresor and never a hiccup out of it Run standard power hammer/trigger springs I did a lightened competition set in one of the 10.5s and it started having light strikes put standard spring back in and it was back to 100% reliable ETA; Mine run a mix of black dog and S&W mp22 magazines (I add a filler plate to the s&w mags) I have the catch 22 bolt catch in all 4 but it seems to be hit/miss with some s&w mags for locking the bolt back otherwise all mags are totally reliable the later BD mags do hold the bolt back on last shot but its the follower holding it back so it closes when mag is released |
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Originally Posted By mech-monsoon:that actually reads like AI quote... especially since the bolt handle getting loose was a thing with their gen 1 handle which has not be sold in 4-5 years....... current handles do not get loose and are very AK like, the old version was a barrel with a 5/32" cap screw running through it to hold it on... WHY people feel a need to post what their AI program found on the internet in a thread asking specifically to hear persons actual personal experiences? Is it something that just drives some people to respond to any thread regardless of actual knowledge on a subject or?? VASCAR2 has been around AR22s MUCH longer than any of us have. Nothing in his post is not substantiated or discussed here or on other forums. It is factually correct, and I can assure you, not AI. He is a wealth of knowledge just passing on what he's learned. Personally, I don't find that removing the charging handle to remove the bolt is that much of an inconvenience. I did have the extractor cut issue he mentions but BCA CS made it right. 
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I’m just an old retired guy who spends a lot of time on gun forums because I enjoy and use firearms. Criticism is accepted and I will take it into consideration with future post. I have been around a couple early BCA 22’s and centerfire BCA uppers. I was just passing on my observations and what I’ve seen discussed on forums. I have no agenda and just try to provide information as it makes no difference to me what a forum members buy or use. |
| Was on the fence on a bca 22lr upper or build one. I ended up building one with a cmmg 17" barrel and psa bolt. Used a slick side troy upper. Paid a bit more but I'm very happy with it runs like a champ no issues with it so far. BTW psa has there 22lr bolts for $85 |
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Debating about venturing down the rabbit hole but going with a 3-4 inch barrel. Best to get a kit or buy items individually and assemble? Are you having to change springs and such? If so, the self-contained upper seems like the way to go to allow quickly swapping back to 5.56 upper. Any links? |
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Originally Posted By bondo: I have the 16" bca 22 upper. It's been very accurate, and reliable as long as i keep it reasonably clean. Check black dogs website, I got some blem mags for super cheap. This has been my experience. The side charger I have will run on every type of 22lr I have tried. Some are more accurate than others, but it works very well as a cheap plinker/ steel ringer. Mine is on an Anderson lower so it's a true budget build and works way better than I thought it ever would. Another +1 on the blem mags, I ordered several and they all looked good to me. |
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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