I was under the impression that BCM gets most of their parts from BCM Mfg., who does make some parts/components.
I am partial to DD, have two of their rifles. When I researched for my rifle the two candidates were BCM and DD. I decided to go the DD route for the reasons below:
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I wanted a LPGB, DD pin their LPGB and BCM doesn’t. They both pin the FSP.
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All DD barrels are CHF, BCM you would pay a premium to get them.
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Customer Service - I have heard nothing but good from both DD and BCM, I give the edge to DD because you call or email them and you get to talk to someone on the phone or get an email message almost immediatly answering your question.
Both are top quality, I would not hesitate getting either one. This is my experience and when I am on the market for another it will be basically between the two again (most likely a DD again 
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If you are set on parting your rifle together you can build a DD just as easily as you can a BCM. Thats what I did. I sure as hell didnt save any money though. I paid about 30% more than i would have buying a comparable rifle (but at least i have exactly what I want).
BTW: BCM makes nothing in house they just assemble. I n the few examples i’ve seen the DD’s have a better fit and finish which is not very important. Other than that, flip a coin.
DD has Gov. contracts as well.
What I meant was that you can buy the upper receiver groups without rails/handguards and put on whatever you like. From what I can tell, DD sell all their upper groups with rails. Not surprising since their rails are great, but if you wanted something else, or already had one, you’re paying for that rail whether you use it or not.
Personally, I’d rather buy once. I’d rather buy in parts to make the rifle I really wanted, than buy a complete rifle and change parts. That’s just me.
I’m also a BCM fan, so I’m admittedly biased. Don’t get me wrong. A DD is in my future also. When funds allow.
Gotcha.
Yeah I like DD just a little better for those last two reasons too. Maybe CHF barrels arent necessary, but I sure do like the reassurance. And I just got my DD upper that I sent in to let them look at a chip on the inside that I’m not sure how it got where it got to, and they replaced my whole upper receiver for nothing. Sent it out, got it replaced and back on my porch in 9 days.
Plus, I like the fact that I can call DD and talk to someone instead of hear “all our workers are busy, please send an email”. Granted when I sent an email to BCM once they got back to me very quickly but still, sometimes you need to talk to someone.
DD has better customer service if that means anything to you.
BCM here.
:lol:
I went with DD. I love my rifle. Had a rare problem with it so I emailed DD. They got back to me the same day and paid for shipping both ways, didn’t cost me a penny.
My first was a DDM4 v7 and I love it! But after training/competing with it I figured out what I really wanted. I had any choice and no real budget. I still went with Daniel Defense. I love their product and customer service. They deserve your business.
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I love my BCM uppers but the problem that I have is that they rarely have anything in stock. I don’t just mean uppers but just about everything else they have advertised on their site also.
Plus I like the human touch of being able to talk to a human on the phone. Why even bother having a phone number if you are never going to answer it?
For that reason alone I wont deal with them again.
I use a DD upper. I chose it over BCM because it was available to order in the configuration I wanted and I got in on Smartgunner back when it was a super good deal before last Christmas.
So far I’ve had a great experience with it, I haven’t done much serious accuracy testing or messing with hand loads to find the perfect loading or anything but using sandbags I can get consistently sub-moa or very near-moa (like 1.1") 10-shot groups with 75gr Hornandy TAP FPD at 100yds and around 2-3moa with 55gr AE XM193. That is good enough for me and about as much as I could ask from a chrome-lined pencil barrel. :happy: Might be able to do even better with someone who’s a better shot than I.
Don’t have much of a reliability test yet, only about 2000-2500 rds through it but no malfunctions so far and that includes muddy Oregon practical rifle matches.
thanks for the responses, im leaning towards dd. mainly bc when i have a question i wanna be able to call a companys phone number and have some one pick up, not wait for a email.
You won’t be disapointed. But for what it’s worth, the two times I emailed BCM, I had a response within a couple hours. Never tried to call them. I too appreciate being able to talk to humans when I have questions.
They are both great companies that turn out a solid product.
I own uppers from both companies.
To me, it simply came down to who had what in stock when I needed something.
FWIW, I prefer to simply buy what I want instead of swapping parts out later and have distinct preferences that I rarely go against, so finding exactly what I want can be problematic. There are many more good AR manufacturers than a few years ago, find the one that has the features you want and enjoy.
I fall on the side of BCM. I have built a couple of rifles for me and a few more for friends. BCM has given me great service and have been very fast at shipping. I have nothing but praise for their product.
+1…CS is second to none…
v3 here!
DD has the bEST CS ever! Simply put. I haven’t had problems with BCM though and they ship fast as hell.