Post you AR Barrels and BCG Combinations

[InTheSwamp]

I didn't find any other thread about this. I thought it would be helpful for the forum to have one.
This is not intended as technical data, just what worked for you, or didn't -- And why, if you know.
Here are mine:

20" Faxon Big Gunner 6.5 CM + Aero Precision Black Nitride BCG -- Returned the barrel as it didn't pass the No-Go Gauge Test. Faxon shipped a replacement and all's well now.

20" Wilson Combat SS 223 Wylde + Toolcraft NiB No Logo BCG -- Works like a charm.

 

[Charlie98]

I've had issues with barrels, not so much the BCG's. I had a Ballistic Advantage barrel that the muzzle threads were not cut well... I had to run a die all the way down the threads to cut and clean them up.

 

[silicosys4]

BCM bolt and carrier, PSA FN CL 16" barrel, works fine
PSA premium bolt and carrier, PSA FN CL HF 18" barrel, works fine
RRA bolt and carrier, RRA coyote carbine upper, works fine
Colt chromed bolt and carrier, Colt A1 upper with unknown 24" heavy barrel, doesn't like steel cased ammo.

 

[mcb]

You guys know most AR brands currently don't make there own BCG and many of them don't make their own barrels. With a few exception where you bough it from is unlikely where it was made.

 

[InTheSwamp]

You guys know most AR brands currently don't make there own BCG and many of them don't make their own barrels. With a few exception where you bough it from is unlikely where it was made.

Known fact.

 

[Varminterror]

I’ve bought somewhere north of 400 BCG’s (I THINK still south of 600, but maybe more) in the last 20yrs, with most of them from Bushmaster, DPMS, Rock River, Toolcraft, Aero, Rubber City, Brownells/Azimuth, JP, BCM, not sure who I’m forgetting…

I’ve bought even more barrels than carrier groups; a lot of Shilen and Krieger, Black Hole Weaponry, Tactical Ordnance, Proof Research, Craddock/Bartlein, and a bunch of cheaper Faxon, Odin, Hanson, PSA, Daniel Defense, Ballistic Advantage/Aero, Bushmaster, etc barrels along the way…

Out of all of those different combinations, I have checked headspace on ALMOST all of them, and I can’t recall any which didn’t combine to create appropriate headspace which were because of an out of spec bolt. I’ve seen some sloppy chambers, and I have been shipped BCG’s which had the wrong bolts installed for example, I’ve received x39 carrier groups which had .383” bolt faces - 5.56 bolts - and I received two .458socom carrier groups which had .435” boltfaces (6.8spc) instead of .487”, which were simple inventory mistakes upon assembly. No harm, no foul, the sellers replaced them promptly.

Improper headspacing is a specification control issue, not a brand quality issue, as every brand can have mistakes slip through the cracks, or have a product right on the edge of defect which “passes” one test in house, bt then is found to “fail” when it is released into the wild and the test is done with a different device. Bad barrels and bad bolts can and do make it out to customers, from every brand. Online claims that one brand or another are LIKELY, or even MORE LIKELY than others to have issues are almost always BS brand bashing by inexperienced liars who simply want to sound like they know something to online people they’ve never met… and equally, I’ve never heard of any company not standing behind their product when a customer finds a bolt or barrel chamber to be out of spec (again, other than brand bashing liars online). AR’s are pretty hard to screw up.

I think this thread is chasing a bad idea, in general. Anecdotal, singular reports or brand bashing without even the reality of the singular experiences aren’t worthwhile in the vast universe of possible parts combinations.

 

[Robert]

My AR-15 sports a 20" Colt barrel and an unknown BCG. It's a very accurate setup and has never let me down, even after thousands of rounds.

My AR308 is an 18" Aero Precision barrel and Aero Precision BCG. It's a fairly new build so I'm still wringing it out.

 

[TonyAngel]

I've used a bunch if different barrels. I was on a ballistic advantage kick for a while. I'm using Criterion now. I started out using BCM BCGs. Tried LMT. Now I just grab Toolcraft BCGs when they go on sale for $69. They work fine.

When I put one together, I check headspace just to be sure, but I don't think I've ever had a problem. Not one that I can remember anyway.

 

[redneck2]

I personally knew a guy that owned a company that assembled the parts into BCG’s. He claimed that he produced somewhere around 230,000 per year. Due to NDA’s he couldn’t say who his customers were, but he said some were very large and well known companies

Do you really think AR companies make every little part themselves?

 

[rizbunk77]

Looking at a Mossberg 1:9 twist chrome lined barrel and a PSA custom BCG. Should be fun trying to wear that out. I was looking for something to eat a bunch of reloads without a hiccup.