Their prices are even lower than PSA. Too good to be true? Just wondering if anyone here has experience with any of their products and service.
To be blunt. They are very slow usually and their quality control is pretty hit and miss. They will take care of you if something is wrong…just remember the original mentioning of slow.
Gave away barrels for veterans.
From my free one this year…they gave away over 3000 barrels.
Whatever ya gotta say…I love and appreciate my barrel and its as close to one of the nicest gifts I ever got.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
They may be nice to veterans and I appreciate the gesture, but if you are looking for quality stay away. They are lower end and I have heard of multiple issues with out of spec parts, barrel chambers and other issues
Occasionally do read a good review on a barrel and they are cheap but I prefer not to play roulette with something I need to depends on
They’re total trash and lots of people love their low prices.
I, too, have seen horror stories about their barrels. I have also seen some praising them. I can say the same things about some other barrels. When you buy because of cheap prices, you are playing with fire. I found this out one time with a Radical Firearms barrel. Never again will I buy cheap, unless a tried and true manufacturer has their quality barrels on sale and, even still, they are more expensive than the cheap barrels. Put your money where it counts. It starts with a good quality barrel. Be ready to spend around $200 or better for a good quality barrel from a well-known and reputable manufacturer. BCA and a few others do not fall into that category.
I don’t consider myself rich. I don’t even consider myself comfortable. Fortunate, no doubt. Maybe my perception is skewed. Maybe I’ve been burned too many times. Maybe I don’t get that high that some guys get when they score a good deal.
Whatever it may be, my life is so much easier when I don’t bargain basement shop.
I’m not just talking about guns, either. Do I drive a Lamborghini? No, of course not. But I also don’t drive a Pontiac Aztek. Or buy a used shit TV. I look for a good value in my cell phone, ceiling fan, garage door opener, toilet paper, etc (I bet some of these bottom feeder gun buyer types buy that cheap single ply stuff that tears every time you use it…)
If I want something and I can’t afford to get the quality version of it - it means I can’t afford it. How much do you really save buying a cheap barrel when you’re dealing with potential accuracy issues or it’s so over gassed you can’t even suppress it? Keep in mind I said potential. You might have bought cheap and gotten away with it. But don’t you people worry that one day maybe you won’t? If you bought three off brand barrels it only takes one bad one to lose all that money you saved not buying good ones to begin with, not to mention the most important aspect of life - your time.
Note that I’m not referring to people who wait for a good deal on an identical item. There’s nothing wrong with shopping around. (Although I don’t quite understand the extent some guys go to for that, either. What’s saving $50 mean to me when I can get a Sionics barrel delivered to my house by Friday instead of waiting for Black Friday next year?)
Good luck. I wouldn’t use one of their barrels even if it were free. Just like I wouldn’t drive an Aztek if you gave it to me.
This should be read twice. I mostly agree with what you say, frequently disagree with the delivery but this is gold. I feel this way about almost all purchases I make and your reasons why.
Kind of what I figured. Ain’t no free lunch. I just came across them and wondered. I knew the knowledge base here would illuminate things.
Barrel’s the soul of a rifle, for sure. No place to skimp. I just put a Ballistic Advantage barrel in an SPR build of mine, couldn’t be happier with it. (First learned of them from members of this site, what a find!) Worth every penny. More accurate than I am.
I’ve had good luck with what I’ve gotten from PSA so far, and BCAs prices were even lower. I guess like everything in life, you get what you pay for. Had no intention of buying from them until they were somehow vetted in my eyes.
A friend of mine just bought a 6.5 Grendel from them a month ago… 20"-24" Fluted SS barrel/Complete Upper… I Can’t wait to see how she shoots, but from a fit and finish stand point,
the Upper fit nice and Tight to his Lower… It looked Really NICE!
IF You’d like, I’ll report back how it shoots, when he gets back in town and we go run some rounds down range with it?
Peace
If it’s to good to be true, then it probably is.
Yep. I used to be one of them. Always looking for best pricing or better value stuff. Once you get burned once or twice with " just as good as" you learn quick. Whether it is headphones or a barrel but quality. Cheaper in the long run
I wouldn’t mind betting the people that Euro mention have a ton of trash instead of a few higher quality guns; yet they spent the same amount of money. I know guys who deal in this type of false economy. Drives me nuts and I have all but given up trying to get through to them.
I based my business model on this hundred plus year old Ruskin quote. The only complaint I got in 35 years was that I was expensive. Funny thing is they still give me work.
“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When
you pay too much, you lose a little money - that’s all. When you pay
too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you
bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The
common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a
lot - it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well
to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will
have enough to pay for something better.”
― John Ruskin
The guys at SOLGW in San Antonio get a lot of walk ins with AR’s and they have plenty of BCA stuff come through. I have seen some of their stuff come through my classes as well.
People are addicted to cheap shit. Whether it be the latest 95" 4K Ultra LCD TV, iPhone20 or firearm. When a barrel is being sold well below what it costs to have them made in quantity from known manufacturers that should be a clue.
Not wanting to hijack this thread, but what about AR STONER barrels? Are they still tied to the original company that invented the AR/M-16?
No they are not related to Gene stoner at all. They are in the same category as Bear Creek. Low end junk
They are Midway s house brand and is not an ethical name imo because of the false correlation some may be led to believe
Even for people on a budget there are much better options if you spend a few more bucks, just save up another month or whatever you gotta do. Sionics barrels are great and not much more in the long run. Green mountain and ballistic advantage are about as low as I would recommend. You can find them for not much more than $100 most of the time
The last place you want to cheap out on an AR is the barrel.
It determines the accuracy and half the function.
The other 3 critical parts are the gas block, gas tube and bolt carrier group.
All the important gas related functions are contained in those 4 components.
Bah…mines runs good…
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Honestly if you ever frequent TOS, there are lots of stories, and many horror stories, about BCA barrels.
I also find people’s fascination with the cheapest possible garbage, particularly barrels, completely bonkers, especially with the cost of ammo in mind. I don’t know why it is admirable to have bought an exceedingly cheap (and likely crappy) barrel and then use several hundred rounds trying to get it to run right and develop an accurate load. Without a doubt it would have been a better decision to get a good quality barrel that shoots everything much better.