Thank you for understanding.  Working as an engineer where many fellow employees (bosses as well as co-workers) speak English as a second language made me aware of how vague using only initials and acronyms can be at times.  The initials can lose their meaning when going through translation.

Not an expert, but I'd say a "stove pipe" would be one manifestation of a failure to eject where the casing is still in the firearm and is trapped between the bolt and the barrel or the ejection port and therefore looks somewhat like a stovepipe.  A couple other fail to eject manifestations with .22 ARs could be when the casing gets trapped up in the charging handle channel; and when the casing gets behind the rear of the magwell into the fire control group area.

As for getting dirty, I hear ya.  I think that brushing the contamination build up off face of the bolt with a wire brush every 200 rounds helps reliability, but I'm no expert.  Anymore with the cost of even .22 so high compared to what it used to be, I can't afford to shoot more than about 500 rounds at a session.   I shoot the AR .22 uppers mostly in full auto, so that's only about 30 seconds of actual operational trigger time. And after every session I now completely strip down and clean the bolt, and take special care to thoroughly clean the firing pin, firing pin spring, and firing pin channel which I believe helps prevent firing pin breakage.
Best of luck.
MHO, YMMV, etc.  Be well.

I thought FTE meant full time employee and FTF meant f**k those f**kers

J/k  appreciate the clarity as well

Holy cow, that's 10 times what I shoot in a single session, but I shoot almost every day.  I have a farm up in the mountains with targets behind the house out to 250 yards.  I usually shoot a box of 50 at a time unless I'm testing ammo.

Speaking of which, has anyone tried the new CCI AR Tactical .22lr ammo?  I just ordered a bunch to test in this BCA upper.  Round nose with a copper jacket with a claimed accuracy of 1.5 moa at 100 yds.  

Very jealous that you can just shoot behind the house.  If I did that I'd be arrested.

It's a 2-3/4 to 3 hr. (150 miles) drive each way to my brother's farm where I shoot.  I have to make each trip count, so the session is usually at least four hours long and includes multiple firearms and ammos.

As for CCI AR Tactical, I have some and it is as good or better than CCI MiniMag in the 4.5" bbl. and 9" bbl. AR pattern dedicated uppers that I have, both of which eat anything I've tried (though the (unsuppressed) 4.5" bbl. upper doesn't cycle weak ammo).  The AR Tactical feeds better than MiiniMags or anything else I've tried in my Intratec Sport 22 pistol so I tend to use the AR Tactical only in the Intratec pistol.

MHO, YMMV, etc.  Be well.

Serious question: what do you call it when the last round ejects and the next round loads but the bolt fails to reset the hammer?

That is what is happening when I shoot the cci quet .22 subsonic ammo. These are rated for semiautomatics and cycle my ruger mk I without issue.

What sort of accuracy should I expect from a .22lr upper?

I've only been shooting bolt action rifles for the last 20+ years where sub MOA is the norm for 50 yds and close to that for 100 yds.  I understand a fair bit of accuracy is lost with any semi auto, but with this BCA upper is 2 MOA considered pretty good?  I've got a 6" steel gong set up at 137 yards and with a 4-12x scope I can hit it 10 out of 10 shots with CCI Mini Mags.  Is that pretty good or just mediocre?

With a 4.5" bbl. unsuppressed AR upper, I have experienced that type of failure with a couple of low velocity brands of ammo that work just fine in an unsuppressed Colt Woodsman with a 4.5" bbl.  I refer to it as a "Fail To Cycle".  The "Fail To Cycle" also on occasion had an evil twin - "Doubling" - where the disconnector is not caught and the newly loaded round gets ignited as the hammer drops.  I only use such ammo in non-AR upper applications if for no other reason, it's a waste of time and ammo to use it in the AR.
Best of luck.
MHO, YMMV, etc.  Be well.

Thanks secondamend, makes sense.  

Heads up to anyone who is interested: BCA has 25 round cmmg magazines on sale for $15.19 with free shipping. Just ordered one so that I will now have two 25ers after removing the roll pin from the one included with the upper.  I'll do a quick inspection but I fully expect that the 10 rounder starts as a 25 rounder that gets the rollpin hot pressed in.

You are correct re: the 10 being a pinned 25. To un-pin, pull the bottom tab to release the spring tension then pull the 6 screws securing the body halves. I use a 3/32 pinch to tap the pin out, then reassemble.

Thought I'd share the results of my accuracy testing of the BCA 16" .22lr upper. Fifty yards from a bench, front bipod and rear bag, using a PSA milspec lower with polished milspec trigger (about 3 lbs). Here are my 5 round groups with CCI Mini Mags (3 MOA), CCI AR Target (1.5 MOA), Norma Tac22 (1.5MOA), Eley Target (1.5 MOA). Ignoring the one flier, the Eley's had 4 rounds inside of 0.8 MOA! Damn! Even the cheap CCI AR Targets did pretty darn good. Well done BCA!!

Navy, thanks for the objective and specific results.  Those are nice groups, and I'll be curious how much they shrink over the next thousand rounds.

Quick update:  I watched a video by the "School of the American Rifle" on youtube about what lube he uses and how he lubes his AR's.  I decided to give it a try on my BCA dedicated .22lr 16" upper.  I gave the entire BCG a generous coat of lube (except the bolt face that meets the primer).  Then I ran two full magazines of the CCI AR-22 ammo without a single hiccup.  Before the lube I would get one or two failure to ejects or light strikes per magazine.  Hope this helps!

Anyone successfully running subsonic ammo in these BCA 22 uppers? I have cci quite and it didn’t cycle but no surprise there. Did run cci standard with out issue.

Just picked up one of these a few weeks ago and love it!

anyone with experience on the 10.5 ? picked it up for suppressed shooting sadly the shorter versions were not threaded, arriving friday

That’s what I got. Having a hard time finding subs that sound good and will run it. Just found cci subs but they crack going down range but seem to run pretty good in my limited testing.

I have a stash of federal suppressor rounds 900 fps I hope stay subsonic but we will see  , cci quite 710fps won't cycle my tx 22 , single shot or bolt action use only .  still fun plinking and practice for my daughter

Keep me posted on the federal. I have some Winchester subs and they don’t work well in my tx 22 or my 22 upper. They may run in 10/22 oh can’t remember.

I shoot the cci quite out of my bolt action and it’s a blast. I just order 2nd 22 can since the collection is getting bigger.

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good day today

upper arrived before lunch
put it on a pistol lower i have and threw on a PA red dot , BCA added iron sights to the order free. im not sure if that's because i opened a new account with them or what


ammo used
federal american eagle 45gr 970 fps suppressor - functioned great until 300 rounds in and had a few failure to fire , added some lube as the gun was getting dirty only issue with the ammo. Stayed sub sonic in the 10.5 barrel. the sound of the casings falling onto the bench was louder than the shots.

blazer 22lr  40gr 1235 fps , supersonic but no issues from this lot

federal  auto match 40 gr 1200 fps no issues, supersonic

CCI stingers 32gr 1640 fps, first issue of the day every few rounds failure to fire , the extractor was not engaged with the rim , drop mag cycle bolt by hand and let it drop to engage rim fully , round will then fire, this was 20-30 percent rate my theory is the higher pressure rounds are causing increased bolt velocity and there fore bolt bounce where extractor is not engaged and bolt is not fully in battery for a good firing pin strike

CCI Velocitor 40gr 1435 fps , similar issues as with the stingers but with slightly better failure rate

with out any modifications it seems this upper will work well with select subsonic (only had 1 brand on hand) and most standard velocity rounds
I didn't realize until I was home that I do in fact have CCI standard velocity 40gr 1070 fps, Im curious if this will stay subsonic as well

also no issues at all with listed ammo from the TX22  can used CMMG Defcan in 22



@TC450

didn't get around to removing the pin from the 10 rd mag for full capacity i already have CMMG 25 rounders on hand no issue mag wise today

this is my first bear creek product i have been aware of the company and its reviews for some years

right out of the box was impressed with initial quality , didnt feel as heavy as i was afraid of from this profile barrel
no blems or obnoxious machine marks , bolt assembly is smooth and coated (phosphate maybe ?? a guess )
barrel is not lined i don't believe
the ejector is coated in a black finish and i did not detect any burrs.
initially the bolt was dragging on the ejector (not binding just dragging), i used a screw driver and lightly "tweaked" the ejector so as not to drag , no problems from here

these pictures are after the range trip and a quik clean so shiny spots are probably just fresh wear from first range trip

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These sights are a bitch to get zeroed !!
I dropped them onto my GF3 since i wanted a red dot for the 22 upper



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just kidding but i will confirm that the BCA sight set is probably for a railed gas block upper not continuous railed upper as the front sight is about 1/4 inch taller
a bit bulky and cheezy but had they been on the same plane i would have found a use for them

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I'm really starting to like mine I think it just needs a break in so far I've had best function and accuracy with Winchester 333 bulk packs. I was able to put 20rounds into the quarter sized group at 25yrds (off the bench with a bipod)

Anyone else waiting on one of these?
Ordered for $260 on Feb 20 while "in stock" and still waiting.  Was contacted by BCA to ask if still interested about 2 weeks ago. Not in much of a hurry but wish their website was a bit more accurate.

i got mine today 16 inch 22LR upper , i have several uppers from Bear Creek Arsenal.
i am impressed with the product for the cost, i run the piss out of mine
they never fail, the 22LR is a nice addition for $299, bought 2 more 25 rounders
took it to the bench today too windy. BUT i scoped it with an old weaver 3x9
shot thunderbolt -  some333-  federal blue box - and aguila yellow box did not have any issues just a few FTF
shot 6 mags full, once i got the scope adjusted @50 YARDS i was happy with the groups at rapid fire 3 inch or less
toward the end the groups got better ... i have had good service from  Bear Creek Arsenal.
my .224 valkyrie is lights out  with 88 eld -m ..
i would say BCA nailed it on the .22 uppers for the price  its so fun.

oh the first 3 magsi shot the upper was oiled .. cleaned it spray down and boresnake
no lube it ran fine also on the last 3 mags.... i am happy

Anyone do anything to reduce bolt bounce? Also, any extractor upgrades?

// dont see a need to //

Sadly that’s not my luck. Had to take a brass rod this weekend and knock out a stuck round and getting light strikes that I think is caused by bolt bounce. Clean it seems to run better but because I am running it suppressed it gets dirty fast and starts acting up.

@Sebspeed
Did you ever get to testing a stock upper against your reset ones? I'd sure be interested to know, if there was any appreciable difference in accuracy. Also, what your best accuracy achieved was.
Best Regards and God Bless, Col

Eyeballing that 22 Mag upper from BCA. Has anyone got that 10 percent off customer code?  Did anyone try out that upper?  This code did not work?  MCNEW10

2nd outing , .22 LR shot fed target auto loads and remington target, upper ran great no issues at all
this upper is so much fun for the money,
just wondering how many people shoot the thing
instead of bashing it.  if u really have issues call or email  bca send it back or sell it to me!

really you cannot find a bett3r upper than this for the price and quality.
i run my dry except for the bolt guide rod,  pull spring back just a light coat of 3n1 oil
and i run the piss out of it..i do not see or feel and so called bolt bounce i have none .
so far ammo remington thunder bolt.. federal blue box , win 333 , aguils yellow,
federal target auto. remington target, 20 yr old as fud federal lightning  lol  still had some
no issues with these.

wished i could post pics,
do you have to upload from a web site ?????????????????

If your a paid member you can directly upload.    I use the free Flickr web hosting service but other sites like Imgur and postit let you to get a BBC Code and direct link to your photo.  You upload your photos for online storage on the web site then use the bbc code.   Google photos won’t hot link but you can post a link in your narrative.   Using a bbc code lets the photo show up in the thread instead of just a link.

thanks.. seems like the more i shoot this awesome upper the tighter groups arei dont understand why the BCA haters on here
not everyone wants to spend 900.00 on a .22 cal upper just to be a  branding boy

BCA is luck of the draw.  I have seen post where BCA has produced some really good low priced uppers.   I’ve also scene so many post of people getting numerous lemons and having to return poor quality uppers.   By the time you burn your ammo and trips to the range only to find you got a turd then the low price doesn’t seem to be such a bargain.


Fortunately I do most of my shooting at home so I don’t have much travel expense in shooting.  If I had to pay range fees plus travel and ammo it gets very expensive to have poor quality products.

@Nightmareone , sorry for late reply. Unfortunately I haven't been able to take them out back to back yet. The wezther is finally coming around so we'll be getting together to shoot more in the coming months. My build is currently sighted in at 50ft for backyard squirrel use, it shoots sligthly under dime size groups with the CCI AR22 ammo at that distance. I realize that distance isn't very impressive, but that's the max of my local indoor range. When I get back outside with it I'll stretch it out again.

I ended up ordering a total of 11 of these uppers for myself and friends. Every single one came out of the box and ran 3 rounds from a mag without issue, without anything being done to them.

I'm not a big fan of the engraving that BCA decided to add to the receivers, so I'm glad I got in early with mine.

I've drawn lucky six times then, We run their .300 BLK or .350 Legend uppers on our hog guns and I just ordered a .22 LR pistol length upper.

I just placed an order for the rear charger .22 upper that BCA had on sale this week. I'm sorta familiar with their stuff so i assumed there would be a need for tweaking...but i'm glad i found this thread...hopefully i can get by without too much work. I may snag that adapter to run 15/22 mags later on..it looks handy

I shoot squirrels out of our fruit trees with subsonic 22's. My colt simply functions as a bolt action rifle and doesn't even atempt to cycle.

I must have drawn unlucky this time.  I have a couple centerfire barrels that have been fine from them.  

I picked up both a 22lr and 22 mag to try out.  Firing pins are a little bit strange, seems one is not cut correctly, but others have the same profile so who knows.


My range session with the 22lr upper was very short lived – 19 rounds total before I put it back in the truck so no one would get hurt.  It death jammed on round 2 (case stuck between CH and bolt, requires using a tool to pull the bolt back to free the shell) and then catastrophically ruptured a case on round 7 and a second case on round 19.  There were several partial ruptures between that were not immediately noticeable.

Death jam:


The pin did consistently light off the primers, but I do also have an full power trigger group (Palmetto enhanced) in the lower I was using:


Unfortunately, the upper was rupturing casings, sending some pretty large brass fragments flying out of the ejection port, one of which ended up in my knee and was dug out with a knife.  Notice the swelling on all the non-ruptured or partially ruptured cases:








The issue seems to be a partially unsupported chamber at the extractor groove:




I did notice the extractor cut when the upper arrived and thought momentarily “that looks like a case rupturing machine” but figured it must be part of the design to have the case partially supported by the extractor.  I'm still unsure whether all the 22lr chambers are cut like mine by design or whether this is a QC issue and I just got unlucky.  The upper did have powder residue inside of the upper when it arrived that had been partially cleaned away, but not on the bolt, almost like it was a return that had the bolt replaced and then re-sold.  Although there seems to be a fully supported chamber on the 22mag, I lost my nerve to shoot anything else from BCA yesterday, so I just packed it up and called it a day after 30 min on the range.

CHECK YOUR CHAMBERS AND BRASS! Post up a photo so we can see if this is just my rifle or if all of them are unsupported.  Even if you have not had a rupture, if there is any swelling it is cause for concern.[/b]  Ambient was 95F, and in my experience (with a 17hm2 upper mostly) ruptures are highly temperature dependent when there is something borderline in the system (unsupported case, premature extraction, etc) -- the HM2 will rupture pretty consistently at 110F but run like a sewing machine at 60F.  I probably could have shot the BCA with only swelling had it been 50 degrees cooler.

Looking at the reviews on BCA's product page, this does seem to be a widespread problem, so I can't help but suspect that the unsupported chamber is in the design.  I just can't see these barrels passing even a quick visual QC check (even at BCA...) if the chamber is supposed to be fully supported.  I have heard of a gen 1 and gen 2 of these BCA uppers, but I am not sure which I have.  I ordered these uppers in mid-April.  

I hope I got a lemon and the rest of you guys have fully supported chambers and no ruptures.  I'm also hopeful BCA will resolve this quickly and I'll have another neat little upper for the collection.  I REALLY wanted to love both of these uppers...

Well, I was following this thread for more info and wish this didn't happen. I'm a sucker for a cool .22, just not a cool dangerous one.

I'm trying to get Bear Creek to tell me whether the unsupported case is a feature or a flaw, but they are being rather coy and want me to go through the warranty process for repair/replacement without further discussion.  I'll end up sending it back, but I really want a couple questions answered before I wait however many weeks to get another one back with unsupported chamber as well.  Hopefully it is just a QC issue, which is still bad and should be addressed since there are lots of reviews about these blowing up now.  QC issues are forgivable (and expected?), but if the unsupported chamber is a design feature, I'll be getting a refund since I'll never trust it.  

Hopefully some folks with these uppers will start chiming in and providing photos of the chambers and/or spend cases.  I really wanted another style of 22lr upper in the stable, but I also prefer to not have to pick brass fragments out of myself and/or others more than exactly once for a known issue, so until then, my BCA uppers are shelved.  The only other time I have had something similar happen was about a decade back when I bought a case of a bad lot of Hornady 17HMR ammo (their admission) which blew a CZ452 up.  I got a few brass bits in the cheek (still in there) and several large pits in the lenses my safety glasses (thankfully I was hunting with eyepro that day...) and Hornady was very anxious to hear all the details and replace the rifle and all my ammo with new.  I'm not expecting such stellar customer service from BCA, but we shall see.

BCA has a supported chamber on their dedicated 22 LR upper barrels.  Their barrel has a collar with an ejector attached to help close off the chamber end of an AR-15 receiver.   I’d suspect your experiencing out of battery ignition where the rimfire case is not completely seated in the chamber when it goes off.   If the chamber is short, rough or out of spec this can contribute to an out of battery ignition (OOB).

The BCA 22 LR is designed for ease of manufacture but I’m unsure how the collar is secured to the barrel stub.   Tactical Solutions used a snug fit with glue.  Gunsmiths who built 22 LR uppers of this design prior to the manufacturers producing dedicated 22 LR uppers threaded the breach end of the barrel to accept the collar.   This collar permits the 22 LR bolt face to seat against the end of the barrel, provide a feed ramp and is used to attach an ejector.

Look at page 2 of this thread.  There are pictures of the BCA 22 LR barrel removed from the upper receiver.   The pictures of your brass shows signs of not being completely chambered when they are firing.   This is why the brass is swelled close to case head rim and why one  the case head/brass ruptured.

The case was fully seating on my upper, and blowing out at the extractor cut, which is clear in the photos.  The ring around the rest of the case matches the generous chamfer around the chamber and does not seem to be an issue.  Were the cut not there, the cases would not have ruptured.  If you look at the pictures on page 2, the chamber on that barrel is also unsupported in the extractor cut, but perhaps not quite as deep.  Interestingly enough, I did get confirmation from BCA today by email that correct chambers "will look the same as what you have", which gives me a tad bit of pause, but I'm going to send it back for replacement and see what is different with the replacement.

Here's an M&P15-22 chamber:





Here's the BCA chamber:






Here's the result of that same BCA chamber:




The issue is not OOB as assumed by others having this problem, note the chamber accepts an unfired round and it drops right in and right out by gravity alone.  The real problem seems to be the unsupported chamber in the BCA design.  

I’ve seen extractor groove wear through on barrels and have seen brass cases swell from the lack of support in that area.  I have never seen a case rupture and I suspect the chamber is oversize on your BCA Barrel.

I’ve never seen a 22 LR barrel relieved to the extent of your BCA.   Most 22 LR barrels are more like the picture of the 15-22 barrel you have pictured.   Another example of BCA, to bad.

That has to be a machining error.

CMMG.