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Posted: 2/27/2011 7:51:19 AM EDT
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I'm narrowing down my decision on what I will eventually get. It will be a 16" [either carbine or mid length], with medium weight barrel and probably some sort of lighter weight free float tube. In what way do I plan on using this upper?
I plan on having a scope on this upper, mostly. I don't know if I will be running sightes or not. Perhaps eventually some sort of small reddot on a 45 degree rail as a backup. I would like to have a barrel capable of [at the most] 1" groupings at 100 yards. The tighter the better, but I'm not after a "one hole upper". I would like it to be robust and long lived, however, I don't have a lot of cash, so most of my shooting won't be of the "rapid fire" type. However, I'd like it to be able to hold up IF I do. Most of my ammunition is in the 60 gr area. Some 55 gr. One box of 69 gr. So, keep that in mind as for the twist rate. I know that most are going with the 1/7 twist so heavier projectiles can be used, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get any ~77gr products. Mostly, this will be a "fun day at the range" rifle, . . . . with the possibility of standing up to the SHTF scenario. I don't need top quality, but do need it to last, . . . and have very good accuracy. Thanks. I look forward to reading your replies. |
Not sure if you want a stainless or CL barrel but my 16" stainless middy from BCM is very accurate. It's a 1/8 twist and handles pretty much anything I have shot so far...Also with the Vtac handguard it isn't that heavy and balances very well how I have it set up.
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Nice picture of that rifle. Looks close to what I may want to do, actually.  Thank you... It balances almost perfect with the stock extended and just slightly nose heavy with the stock collapsed. I also picked up a smaller QD sling mount for the Vtac handguards to save an ounce or two and picked up a Noveske QD sling plate for the rear of the reciever for what should be slightly better handling for me. I was suprised how accuate the barrel is for the price...It's right up there with my Noveske 18" that cost a lot more. |
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I seem to be coming back to that BCM SS Mid length system. It appears to be my best choice for quality and price. I COULD save some money by going Delton or even [a bit more] Rock River [and their Wylde barrel], so my final choice is still yet to be finalized.
What is the length of that VTAC upper, by the way? |
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I seem to be coming back to that BCM SS Mid length system. It appears to be my best choice for quality and price. I COULD save some money by going Delton or even [a bit more] Rock River [and their Wylde barrel], so my final choice is still yet to be finalized. What is the length of that VTAC upper, by the way? It's a 9" Vtac...So you know if you plan on running a 1-4 scope like I do you can see the front sight on 1 and 1.5 power kind of like a RDS. I don't mind this but I know a lot of people do. You could just as easily go with a longer handguard like the 11" or 13" and ditch the FSB....Personally I just prefer the FSB on my rifles. |
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I seem to be coming back to that BCM SS Mid length system. It appears to be my best choice for quality and price. I COULD save some money by going Delton or even [a bit more] Rock River [and their Wylde barrel], so my final choice is still yet to be finalized. What is the length of that VTAC upper, by the way? It's a 9" Vtac...So you know if you plan on running a 1-4 scope like I do you can see the front sight on 1 and 1.5 power kind of like a RDS. I don't mind this but I know a lot of people do. You could just as easily go with a longer handguard like the 11" or 13" and ditch the FSB....Personally I just prefer the FSB on my rifles. Been looking at the BCM middy in SS Sounds like a winner Fixed FSB are a must for me as well |
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I seem to be coming back to that BCM SS Mid length system. It appears to be my best choice for quality and price. I COULD save some money by going Delton or even [a bit more] Rock River [and their Wylde barrel], so my final choice is still yet to be finalized. What is the length of that VTAC upper, by the way? It's a 9" Vtac...So you know if you plan on running a 1-4 scope like I do you can see the front sight on 1 and 1.5 power kind of like a RDS. I don't mind this but I know a lot of people do. You could just as easily go with a longer handguard like the 11" or 13" and ditch the FSB....Personally I just prefer the FSB on my rifles. Been looking at the BCM middy in SS Sounds like a winner Fixed FSB are a must for me as well The BCM's are hard to beat for the price...I think I'm right around $750 in the upper with the Vtac rail not including the sling. Like I said earlier I did order the QD sling mount for the Vtac from Mount-N-Slot and it should be here in a couple days. I think it will work much better than the rail QD slot especially since I like how smooth the Vtac is I think the rail just gets in the way. BTW the stories about how hard it is to remove a FSB from a BCM rifle are very true... 
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I seem to be coming back to that BCM SS Mid length system. It appears to be my best choice for quality and price. I COULD save some money by going Delton or even [a bit more] Rock River [and their Wylde barrel], so my final choice is still yet to be finalized. What is the length of that VTAC upper, by the way? It's a 9" Vtac...So you know if you plan on running a 1-4 scope like I do you can see the front sight on 1 and 1.5 power kind of like a RDS. I don't mind this but I know a lot of people do. You could just as easily go with a longer handguard like the 11" or 13" and ditch the FSB....Personally I just prefer the FSB on my rifles. I was going to use my Nikon Coyote scope on this rifle. I'm not sure if the FSB would be in the way with a higher power scope. What I WOULD like is to have a good quick detach base for the scope and a retracting rear sight. |
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I seem to be coming back to that BCM SS Mid length system. It appears to be my best choice for quality and price. I COULD save some money by going Delton or even [a bit more] Rock River [and their Wylde barrel], so my final choice is still yet to be finalized. What is the length of that VTAC upper, by the way? It's a 9" Vtac...So you know if you plan on running a 1-4 scope like I do you can see the front sight on 1 and 1.5 power kind of like a RDS. I don't mind this but I know a lot of people do. You could just as easily go with a longer handguard like the 11" or 13" and ditch the FSB....Personally I just prefer the FSB on my rifles. I was going to use my Nikon Coyote scope on this rifle. I'm not sure if the FSB would be in the way with a higher power scope. What I WOULD like is to have a good quick detach base for the scope and a retracting rear sight. I just checked again and once I get up to around 2x power the FSB pretty much is not visible in the scope. I have a Primary Arms mount that isn't really QD but with a little force I can unscrew the mount with my fingers or a quarter. Of course you could get a QD Larue mount and have one of the best mounts available on the market. |
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That's good to know. My scope is 4.5-14.
That may be the best bet [the Larue QD], but if I can get something less expensive that will keep zero, the more money saved the better. Also, it may be best to have the FSB and a rear sight rather than some sort of 45 degree reddot. Batteries eventually die and if one characteristic is "the potential SHTF scenario", I wouldn't want to rely on a battery. So, . . . thus far, I have a 9" VTAC and a Mid Length upper with eventually getting a quality QD scope base and a rear sight system. I think I like those component ideas the best. |
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So, I guess my decision has been made. A mid length BCM upper with the Ionbond SS barrel, and getting a VTAC handguard as well as a Smith Vortex.
The similarly setup Rock River would be about $140 less in price, but it seems that everyone agrees that the 410 of the BCM is superior to the 416 SS of the Rock River. |
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The similarly setup Rock River would be about $140 less in price, but it seems that everyone agrees that the 410 of the BCM is superior to the 410 SS of the Rock River. Really? RRA uses Wilson stainless barrels. I know as an overall platform BCM would be considered superior, but RRA stainless uppers have a very good reputation. I'm sure you'll be happy with either, but if you want to save $140 you might want to peruse some other forums or information resources. |
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Honestly you probably wouldn't ever notice. But having said that, if you think the BCM is better go with that. I don't know how often I've bought the cheaper one first then gone back and changed it out just because it wasn't what I really wanted the first time for some imagined increase in quality.
Its how I ended up with 3 Spr rifles for example. If you like the BCM, go with it. |
| Well, I am set on going with a 1/8 twist SS barrel. I see that as my best choice for the ammo I have, and if I wanted to try a few higher gr. bullets. The reason why I think that I'd go with the more expensive option is because I want that dark color on the barrel that the Ionbond seems to give. The Rock River SS barrel would be too shiney for my liking. Nothing wrong with the look, and I DO like the look, such as the picture above. I just want something more satin, so the Ionbond of the BCM is more what I would want. |
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