Sorry if this has been asked previously. I’m a former Marine Scout Sniper and Police Officer in a very large Department. I’m looking to purchase a rifle to use on duty. I have a BCM standard carbine for personal use but I want to buy something specifically for work. Since I really like my BCM, I’m leaning heavily towards buying another one of BCM’s offerings, and am pretty much going back and forth between the BCM EAG Rifle or one of their KMR offerings. Ultimately, I’ll be running an Aimpoint, a light, and possibly a VFG.
The EAG seems like a really solid, no nonsense rifle. It is priced higher than what I would be spending for some type of KMR build, but that is not a deal breaker.
I know a big advantage of the KMR is weight. Keep in mind that this rifle will spend most of its time riding in the trunk of a Patrol car, although I do plan on taking advantage of some of the tactical training courses that the Department runs, as well as local courses in my area.
Just wondering if any Police Officers could chime in and offer some opinions, or anyone who has experience with the EAG rifle. I know that the KMR rails are durable, but I would “guess” the Larue rail on the EAG is slightly stronger. Thanks for any thoughts/opinions.
I would be happy with either one. My PD issues DPMS, RRA with A2 sights. Personal guns are not authorized.
My personal preference would be to set up the gun to be as lightweight as possible. I have a personally owned BCM M4 with a Troy rail and Vortex 1-4. It is a bit portly.
Not sure of your timeline but the KMR uppers are currently unobtainum. Per BCM they should have new “options”, most likely KMR rails that are all aluminum, in the next few months.
Depends what the rack is like in your vehicle. Before going crazy on rail length; might want to first check what will fit. I know on the rack in the impalas trunk I never would have been able to fits 15" hand guard for example.
Between the two hand guards you mentioned: I would ONLY go with the Larue if I COULD NOT use keymod. Otherwise KMR every single time. I believe if more people knew how strong a mag-alloy blend can be: they would be shunning 6061 rails.
My departments squad rifles have MI rails, but my personal rifles all have KMR rails. We are not allowed to use personal guns for work, but I would have no problem using a KMR rail on a duty rifle.
I shoot a lot of 3 gun with my rifles with KMR rails. They get banged on barriers, thrown into dump barrels, and get high round counts put through them. No issues whatsoever yet.
I’m not a police officer, so I can’t speak for what would work best for you, but one thing to keep in mind is the EAG comes with a CHF 14.5" barrel, Troy rear sight, light, light mount, vfg, rail panels, a sling, QD mounts, and $200 off an EAG course. Purchased separately, that’s about $450 or so worth of stuff, plus the certificate, so if all that stuff works for you, it’s pretty much plug and play, and that’s really the price difference between it and the RECCE/KMR.
I’ve used similar setups (BCM BFH with a mid-length A2 FSB and 9" MI free float quad rail, and later on, same rifle with a KMR13), and to me, the biggest considerations would be;
Do you want an A2 or not?
Do you prefer having the real estate of the KMR, and are okay with a rail-mounted front sight?
Are you okay with the permanently-attached muzzle device on the EAG?
Do you like the gear that comes with the EAG?
Like I said, I’m not an officer, so I have no insight on considerations outside of the rifles themselves (such as Turburglar’s point on rifle racks).
For what it’s worth, my KMR has been rattling around the back of the Jeep for a few months now, with no ill-effects.
Awesome, I appreciate the help everyone. I’m going to continue to do some research and see what I think would work the best. We have no racks or anything like that, most officers just throw their patrol rifles in a soft case and place it in the trunk and call it a day.
Id have no problem carrying my BCM KMR on duty. I was a bit skeptical about the durability of the KMR at first. However after doing some research and talking with one of our reserves (an engineer for a very well known company and owns his own machine shop) those fears were put to rest. I dont think its overall as strong as my Geissele Mk1 but I think it strikes a great balance of weight and strength.
Skip to around 4:15 on this video. Not the most extensive test of the KMR handguard but its definitely more than Im going to do to my rifle intentionally.
I am not a Police Officer, and my thanks to all of you who serve our Country. Of my three rifles my BCM 14.5" ELW w/13" KMR is my favorite, followed by my LE6920. Have you considered a Colt AR6720 for a lightweight, solid, dependable rifle?
If you pause that video at 4:51, as he is about to insert a mag, you can see the KMR is dented pretty badly. Almost to the point I wonder if the front iron sight is still zeroed.
Honestly, this is a bigger problem than which BCM to chose. Racks up front are THE way go. That rifle in the soft case in the trunk can be VERY far away if you need it.
While I love my KMR for personal use I would never want it for a duty gun. It just isn’t robust enough. I agree with samuse and would take the EAG model all day long, out of the two options your looking at. My other suggestion would be to look at BCM’s uppers with the DD lite rail III setup. I personally feel that it is a better rail than the LaRue at this point. That would make you a very good duty upper that is robust enough to handle anything you can throw at it.
Quite honestly, unless you absolutely need a rail, a solid upper with the Magpul SL MLOK handguard is very solid. After I installed mine on a carbine upper, I couldn’t believe how solid it was.
I’d also be very curious to know how many cops are going to abuse their carbine to that point. Not many if any. The average patrol officer is firing less than 500 rounds per year from the weapons from what I am hearing in my classes.
There’s always going to be a compromise somewhere (weight, mounting system, cost, etc…).
The BCM EAG is a solid offering, and has the superior rail, if the EAG setup (14.5 middy) is what you’re looking for. DDs offerings using the LITEIII should not be overlooked.