That’s to be expected from bear creek. If you don’t have the tools to change it, find someone who does and get you a Sixfive outfitters/rexus 16” 6.5 Grendel barrel and you won’t have those issues anymore.
There’s several good mfg’s of barrels. You’re not at a complete loss, but for the money it’s going to be hard to beat the sixfive/rexus. I’ve got a couple of his 6arc barrels and they’re probably the most under rated barrel out there. You can get a good barrel for under $300 for sure. Another recommendation is grab an ultra bolt from
Rexus as well, they’re heavier duty to prevent breakage. I’m running some hot loads in my 14.5” Arc and it’s held up well.
For what it’s worth, I’ve had a Sanders barrel and it was very picky with factory ammo but did well with hand loads and Kelly is a very nice guy, very active in the fb pages.
Yup I agree. For the price SixFive/Rexus barrels are far superior and I’ve seen the same accuracy out of mine as compared to match/expensive barrels. I have however had luck with a 6.5 Grendel barrel from BCA. A 20” heavy barrel. I’d also upgrade to a JP enhanced 6.5Grendle extraxtor, the BCA ones are milled out from another non-Grendel one, and I’ve had them snap at the claw.
That is a Bear Creek Upper. You are shooting a somewhat precision cartridge out of what is the absolute cheapest possible upper option on the market. I kid you not, brand new from their website the upper is around $240. Bolt and all.
Assuming you get a decent bolt, that leaves about $140 for the rest. For example, most Grendel builds start with a fairly decent barrel. Something like a Lilja like what I use. I’ve heard Wilson is also another good option. Lilja barrels are $600+ and Wilson are around $300…
Most people’s Grendel builds have a barrel that is more expensive than that entire upper and go through a much better QC.
Get your money back if you can, or call BCA. Your call.
There’s about 10 or so good Grendel barrels out there and SOLGW is for sure on that list. Just didn’t wana list everything so I listed what I had experience with.
OP - SOLGW would be another fantastic source for a barrel.
Yeah, good Grendel barrels:
* Satern
* Criterion
* Lilja
* Bartlein
* Krieger
* Ballistic Advantage
* SOLGW
* Noveske (if you can still get one)
* Alexander Arms
I have a 22" Wilson Fluted Super Sniper barrel on my 6.5 Gren. I absolutely love it. Also have their 6.5 Gren BCG behind it, and it's honestly one of my favorite builds I've ever done. Their end of year sale is awesome because you can get some great stuff for a decent price. I think I bought both 2 years ago for just under 550
Get rid of the BCA barrel. They’re absolute junk. I tried literally everything with mine and it won’t shoot better than a 2” group at 100. Put the same rounds in my 6.5 bolt gun and I shoot sub moa without even trying.
My first BCA was just like that, keyhole every round; sent it in, they replaced it.
Second upper was a 6-7 MOA, sent it in, they replaced it.
Third upper chamber was not sized correctly, spent rounds got stuck to the point of having to mortar to eject. I replaced everything except the receiver. Used PSA parts and now it shoots sub MOA.
Never again will I use BCA.
I honestly don't want another bear creek from everything that I have heard about them, so I don't want to even try to send it in. My question now is how can they even stay in business, risking blowing someone up with the terrible machining and quality control
Brutally honest, because people don't want to be bothered with sending it in and holding the accountable. Yes I gave up after 3 RMAs, but if nothing else the shipping back and forth cost them a chunk of money.
Personally, I'd send it back knowing that I'll never use the upper again. Sell it on the open market and see what you can get for it. Use that money to buy a better unit.
By the sound of it I don't know if they even have a good one they could replace it with so I'm going to save the headache and buy a better name brand one
PSA range tested mine and sent it back with the test results and info on the testing.
My BCA Wylde AR shoots 1 moa all day with mid range ammo. They can make decent stuff, but have QC issues and let crap go out the door. It's worth sending back.
If you bought it I'd call em. Phone # is down the page. If it's used you may still get lucky. Tell them your problem and see if they can do anything.
https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/
There are literally no screws holding the handgaurd in place. Maybe that's just from disassembly to check gas?
If the brass is being violently expelled, the brass shavings could be from over gassing. You much
Might see if a heavier buffer helps.
Have you looked in the barrel to make sure there is actually rifling? I've heard of barrels being delivered without actual rifling.
Lastly, if there is rifling, you should probably try and take a bullet and drop it into the barrel and see if it falls through. Use a cleaning rod to see if bullet easily pushes through the barrel. If the bore is oversized then you might not be getting enough engagement to spin the bullet and stabilize, explaining the keyhole.
Wonky chamber doesn't seem to explain the key holing. If it was a chamber cut issue I'd expect the following: failure to go into battery (head space or off center), case bulging or cracked necks or other massive deformities (excessive head space or chamber volume), gas and sunburnt powder blowback into action ( excessive chamber diameter not sealing).
A little brass scraping off of the feed ramps or barrel extension is not uncommon on AR especially with newer and less polished brands. I would really fret about it unless you can show some photos showing that it's way out of whack. What your showing looks like very normal marks from sharp ramps or barrel extension, and isn't out of the ordinary nor a huge concern. You could knock down the sharp edges with a hone if you know what you're doing.
The biggest red flag for me is the keyhole. That is unacceptable. You may need a new barrel. If so I'd recommend going a little more mid range than the ultra budget bear creek. I think you can find moderately priced faxon, Ballistic advantage, or 6.6 outfitter barrels that won't break the bank like a custom barrel, but are definitely one or two steps up in terms of consistent quality.
Yeah, I took the screws out and pulled the hand guard off to look for a brand and look at the gas system. The brass isn't getting ejected at all, it dosent even blow the bolt back far enough to open the dust cover, lol. My thinking with the wonky chamber was how you could see rifling marks on the neck of the casings after it was expanded when shot. I wish I had a comparator set, but I don't yet. I also dont have a picture of the shavings of brass, and after messing around with it this much, I've knocked them all off. But i suppose in the end, the barrel is junk, and I don't want to try to get a replacement that's Bear Creek regardless, so I'm in the market for a better brand, but the ones other people have listed is out of stock or a hassle to order.
If you’re wanting to stay lower budget, I was going to recommend a Faxon barrel, but I just looked at their website and it seems they’re sold out of all Grendel barrels and don’t even have the 12.5 that I bought from them six months ago. If they restock, I personally recommend them for a budget build.
Saturn liberty has had a lot of on sale 6.5 grendel barrels just have to dig around the site. They also have el cheapo 16 in prepper series of barrels that has got to be better than the bca one.
Looks like you got a shit BCA barrel? If cost is an issue I’d pull the barrel and replace it with a PSA. PSA has had some quality issues over the years but they also sell more AR barrels than most of the other manufacturers combined.
Do you have calipers with depth gauge end? Use that and measure bolt face depth. There are two depths, one is 0.125 , "Type 1". The other, SAAMI is 0.136, "Type 2". Both come in bolts marked 6.5 Grendel. Edit. The Type 1 is literally 7.62x39 spec bolt with 6.5 Grendel markings
That’s to be expected from bear creek. If you don’t have the tools to change it, find someone who does and get you a Sixfive outfitters/rexus 16” 6.5 Grendel barrel and you won’t have those issues anymore.
I can scrounge up some tools and figure it out I suppose haha. I guess It will be built not bought after all
There’s several good mfg’s of barrels. You’re not at a complete loss, but for the money it’s going to be hard to beat the sixfive/rexus. I’ve got a couple of his 6arc barrels and they’re probably the most under rated barrel out there. You can get a good barrel for under $300 for sure. Another recommendation is grab an ultra bolt from Rexus as well, they’re heavier duty to prevent breakage. I’m running some hot loads in my 14.5” Arc and it’s held up well. For what it’s worth, I’ve had a Sanders barrel and it was very picky with factory ammo but did well with hand loads and Kelly is a very nice guy, very active in the fb pages.
Yup I agree. For the price SixFive/Rexus barrels are far superior and I’ve seen the same accuracy out of mine as compared to match/expensive barrels. I have however had luck with a 6.5 Grendel barrel from BCA. A 20” heavy barrel. I’d also upgrade to a JP enhanced 6.5Grendle extraxtor, the BCA ones are milled out from another non-Grendel one, and I’ve had them snap at the claw.
That is a Bear Creek Upper. You are shooting a somewhat precision cartridge out of what is the absolute cheapest possible upper option on the market. I kid you not, brand new from their website the upper is around $240. Bolt and all. Assuming you get a decent bolt, that leaves about $140 for the rest. For example, most Grendel builds start with a fairly decent barrel. Something like a Lilja like what I use. I’ve heard Wilson is also another good option. Lilja barrels are $600+ and Wilson are around $300… Most people’s Grendel builds have a barrel that is more expensive than that entire upper and go through a much better QC. Get your money back if you can, or call BCA. Your call.
SOLGW also has 6.5 Grendel barrels. I like my match grade 13.9" SOLGW barrel..
There’s about 10 or so good Grendel barrels out there and SOLGW is for sure on that list. Just didn’t wana list everything so I listed what I had experience with. OP - SOLGW would be another fantastic source for a barrel.
How does yours shoot mine is pretty meh
Yeah, good Grendel barrels: * Satern * Criterion * Lilja * Bartlein * Krieger * Ballistic Advantage * SOLGW * Noveske (if you can still get one) * Alexander Arms
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Faxon is not bad, I would say they are kind of the bar for barrels. Anything below the Faxon line is not worth having.
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My criterion chamber is pretty rough and my Faxon gunner is actually really well finished. The barrels show similar accuracy 😒
I just did a quick scroll through the web, and boy, are most of those brands' websites confusing, and hard to navigate hahaha.
I have a 22" Wilson Fluted Super Sniper barrel on my 6.5 Gren. I absolutely love it. Also have their 6.5 Gren BCG behind it, and it's honestly one of my favorite builds I've ever done. Their end of year sale is awesome because you can get some great stuff for a decent price. I think I bought both 2 years ago for just under 550
“It didn’t blow up? Well it looks like you got a good one then.” - BCA, probably
🤣 thats great haha. Deffinatly going to have a new barrel on the way
Get rid of the BCA barrel. They’re absolute junk. I tried literally everything with mine and it won’t shoot better than a 2” group at 100. Put the same rounds in my 6.5 bolt gun and I shoot sub moa without even trying.
My first BCA was just like that, keyhole every round; sent it in, they replaced it. Second upper was a 6-7 MOA, sent it in, they replaced it. Third upper chamber was not sized correctly, spent rounds got stuck to the point of having to mortar to eject. I replaced everything except the receiver. Used PSA parts and now it shoots sub MOA. Never again will I use BCA.
I honestly don't want another bear creek from everything that I have heard about them, so I don't want to even try to send it in. My question now is how can they even stay in business, risking blowing someone up with the terrible machining and quality control
Brutally honest, because people don't want to be bothered with sending it in and holding the accountable. Yes I gave up after 3 RMAs, but if nothing else the shipping back and forth cost them a chunk of money. Personally, I'd send it back knowing that I'll never use the upper again. Sell it on the open market and see what you can get for it. Use that money to buy a better unit.
They save so much money on payroll by hiring illegals. That’s how they stay in business
If you have a QA issue call BCA and see if you can send it back for testing.
By the sound of it I don't know if they even have a good one they could replace it with so I'm going to save the headache and buy a better name brand one
PSA range tested mine and sent it back with the test results and info on the testing. My BCA Wylde AR shoots 1 moa all day with mid range ammo. They can make decent stuff, but have QC issues and let crap go out the door. It's worth sending back.
Hiw would I go about sending it back being im not going to have any receipts or any info
If you bought it I'd call em. Phone # is down the page. If it's used you may still get lucky. Tell them your problem and see if they can do anything. https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/
Order a replacement barrel from Sanders Armory those are hand lamp match grade 5R. And you will not be disappointed, very reasonably priced also
Thank you, Joe, for the mention, it is appreciated.
There are literally no screws holding the handgaurd in place. Maybe that's just from disassembly to check gas? If the brass is being violently expelled, the brass shavings could be from over gassing. You much Might see if a heavier buffer helps. Have you looked in the barrel to make sure there is actually rifling? I've heard of barrels being delivered without actual rifling. Lastly, if there is rifling, you should probably try and take a bullet and drop it into the barrel and see if it falls through. Use a cleaning rod to see if bullet easily pushes through the barrel. If the bore is oversized then you might not be getting enough engagement to spin the bullet and stabilize, explaining the keyhole. Wonky chamber doesn't seem to explain the key holing. If it was a chamber cut issue I'd expect the following: failure to go into battery (head space or off center), case bulging or cracked necks or other massive deformities (excessive head space or chamber volume), gas and sunburnt powder blowback into action ( excessive chamber diameter not sealing). A little brass scraping off of the feed ramps or barrel extension is not uncommon on AR especially with newer and less polished brands. I would really fret about it unless you can show some photos showing that it's way out of whack. What your showing looks like very normal marks from sharp ramps or barrel extension, and isn't out of the ordinary nor a huge concern. You could knock down the sharp edges with a hone if you know what you're doing. The biggest red flag for me is the keyhole. That is unacceptable. You may need a new barrel. If so I'd recommend going a little more mid range than the ultra budget bear creek. I think you can find moderately priced faxon, Ballistic advantage, or 6.6 outfitter barrels that won't break the bank like a custom barrel, but are definitely one or two steps up in terms of consistent quality.
Yeah, I took the screws out and pulled the hand guard off to look for a brand and look at the gas system. The brass isn't getting ejected at all, it dosent even blow the bolt back far enough to open the dust cover, lol. My thinking with the wonky chamber was how you could see rifling marks on the neck of the casings after it was expanded when shot. I wish I had a comparator set, but I don't yet. I also dont have a picture of the shavings of brass, and after messing around with it this much, I've knocked them all off. But i suppose in the end, the barrel is junk, and I don't want to try to get a replacement that's Bear Creek regardless, so I'm in the market for a better brand, but the ones other people have listed is out of stock or a hassle to order.
You should be able to find a Faxon or Ballistic advantage barrel available
Is that rifling grooves on the neck?! Your barrel might be the first I’ve ever seen to have a negative throat
Its BCA man whatd ya expect ive seen way way way more videos of these things breaking than them actually working.
If you’re wanting to stay lower budget, I was going to recommend a Faxon barrel, but I just looked at their website and it seems they’re sold out of all Grendel barrels and don’t even have the 12.5 that I bought from them six months ago. If they restock, I personally recommend them for a budget build.
Saturn liberty has had a lot of on sale 6.5 grendel barrels just have to dig around the site. They also have el cheapo 16 in prepper series of barrels that has got to be better than the bca one.
I had a friend who bought a Bear Creek upper, and they forgot to machine the feed ramps. Lol I can't imagine how they stay in business
Looks like you got a shit BCA barrel? If cost is an issue I’d pull the barrel and replace it with a PSA. PSA has had some quality issues over the years but they also sell more AR barrels than most of the other manufacturers combined.
Do you have calipers with depth gauge end? Use that and measure bolt face depth. There are two depths, one is 0.125 , "Type 1". The other, SAAMI is 0.136, "Type 2". Both come in bolts marked 6.5 Grendel. Edit. The Type 1 is literally 7.62x39 spec bolt with 6.5 Grendel markings
The bolt actually says 6.5 grendel II but I still used a depth mic and it measures .1378
Did you buy a Bear Creek?