AR BCG Choices

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BSA1

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I am looking to buy a complete AR Upper Assembly. My question has to do whether I should buy one with the BCG already installed or buy a Upper without the BCG (and CH)?

When checking out BCG's they are offered with a variety of different finishes/coatings. Does some (or one) of them stand out in smoothness of operation, corrosion resistance, ease of clean-up, lubrication, etc.

Or am I just as well as served saving some money and buy a Upper that has the BCG?
 
Nickel-Boron finishes are supposed to wipe clean, but the finish can be scraped off, rendering them ineffective, but costing more.

Nitrided/Melonited treatments give a surface-hardening and corrosion resistance, and are usually not that much more

Phosphating is the standard, and the rough surface works to retain oil for lubricity.

I would use either nitride or phosphate (all of mine are currently phosphated, but any future replacements will be nitrided). But, if the upper comes with any of the options, and isn't that much more, it should serve you well. For inexpensive add-on options, check out AIM Surplus or St. Croix Tactical Solutions.
 
I am looking to buy a complete AR Upper Assembly. My question has to do whether I should buy one with the BCG already installed or buy a Upper without the BCG (and CH)?

When checking out BCG's they are offered with a variety of different finishes/coatings. Does some (or one) of them stand out in smoothness of operation, corrosion resistance, ease of clean-up, lubrication, etc.

Or am I just as well as served saving some money and buy a Upper that has the BCG?
Have you checked at BCM?
I think you will find the carrier you are looking for is nitrated and sold at a discount with the upper you choose.
 
It's six of one, half dozen of the other. If the upper comes with a quality BCG at a discount, go for it. If it doesn't, buy one for around $100. Between Aim Surplus and PSA, it doesn't make much sense to pay more for that right now.

Phosphated will be the cheapest, retain lubrication the best and smooth out over time. I personally have never seen the need to get something slicker, and I don't do all that much when cleaning mine either. They will run indefinitely if you wipe the old lube off them and apply new lube. No scrubbing, special tools or dental picks required.
 
I have at least one of all three of the finishes mentioned. All work just fine. The nickel/boron one is the easiest to clean - the finish on mine is just fine and has no problems. The standard phosphate finished ones are probably the most difficult to clean of the three. My melonite one is relatively new, but if it is as tough as the melonite on rifles, it should be basically bulletproof.

If I were to go and buy a new BCG, I'd probably buy another nickel-boron one. Melonite would be my second choice.
 
A high-quality BCG will have a shot-peened, magnetic particle inspected and high-pressure tested bolt. Some of PSA's offerings include these, some don't. Check the specs on the upper you are intersted in, and look for descriptors of shot-peened and MPI/HPT. Also, FWIW, PSA's Freedom line is not "high" quality. It is good stuff, IMHO, but I would rate their "premium" line as their high-quality offerings, but their Freedom line is good for 99% of the population. I built an AR for my son using one of the Freedom uppers, and would use one again, without hesitation.
 
Personally, when I buy PSA uppers, I do not buy them with BCGs included. I wait for the Premium BCGs to go on sale and pick one up then.
 
I have multiple Fail Zero BCGs, NP3 BCGs, etc. My general thought is the milspec BCG is still the best value. You'd have to be in the top 10% of shooters by volume to notice any difference anyhow.
 
So is it a fair statement to say that a high quality upper such as PSA Freedom will also have a high quality BCG?

I've done it both ways and haven't noticed a difference. Neither in appearance or use, and all of the PSA BCGs have thousands on them. The difference between a Freedom BCG and a Premium BCG, or the older "M16" BCG is an excellent question. A Freedom upper has always meant a stainless/nitrited/phosphate barrel and opposed to a chrome lined barrel (Premium or CHF line of uppers). However, I haven't noticed any material difference between a Premium BCG or a Freedom one. I suspect that the difference is in the lack of a laser etching, and possibly fit and finish, but that is just my conjecture.

My recommendation is to pick the upper you want, and then buy the BCG if it doesn't come with one.
 
I guess they make a difference to someone. I use either mil-spec BCG's or the complete units from DPMS and the guns I build work better than most in accuracy and reliability.
 
Thank you for all of the replies/ It is very useful for me.

With the buyers market for AR's there are some very good sales at on-line stores. Being a bit of a cheapskate, er, frugal, I appreciate getting the best quality parts for the buck.
 
When I put together my AR-15 from PSA, I bought their freedom series BCG, I have 400 rounds on it so far and its been 100%.

I'd recommend that one.
 
There are some really, really deep discounts on Uppers right now. I recently saved $160 on a complete Upper (no that is not a mistype. It was marked down 32% off of regular price).

It is not hard to find Upper without BCG and CH marked down over $100.00+ hence my question about also buying a separate higher quality BCG for same amount as a complete Upper.

What surprises me is one type BCG doesn't stand out from the others. I opened the thread with the thought that plated bolts would be better.
 
First off, I like BCM. I respect what they stand for as a company, I think many of their "Gunfighter" products are well thought out and well executed, their complete rifles are assembled properly and with care, and they have good service to boot.

All that said, practically, what's the difference between the BCM BCG and the PSA Premium BCG? It costs 70% more... Is that ALL just paying extra for the name? They're made of the same materials and go through all the same quality tests.
 
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