I am looking to do a BCM build, and have read around on their site, plus looked through some threads here. I know most of the options I want, except that they have 3 different types of barrel steel and I’m hoping somebody here can help clear up the options.
For starters, looks like they have 3 barrel types:
BFH: their most expensive, hammer forged barrel.
Standard: this is their typical barrel, used on the widest variety of their builds.
SS410: this is their stainless barrel.
I assume that the BFH is probably the strongest, best steel overall. It looks like on their longer barrels, such as on their Mk 12 builds and the forthcoming “Sam-R” builds, they use the 410 stainless. On many of their middy and carbine-length uppers, they use the “standard” or the “bfh” depending on price point.
My questions:
Are the 410 stainless and “standard” barrels considered to be ‘adequately strong/reliable’ barrels if you plan to use them in a defensive rifle build?
If you do use the stainless or standard barrels, what practical differences if any are there compared to the BFH barrels, aside from strength/reliability?
Why is BC not making the higher quality BFH barrels available in all their builds?
Part of the reason I ask is not just price point, I’ll gladly spring for the BFH barrels if I need to in order to get reliability. But some of the BCM configurations I’m interested in, such as the Mk 12, only offer the stainless or standard barrels, the BFH is not even an option.
youll get reliability with any of their barrels… they dont make un un-reliable, or even less-reliable barrel, period. the difference between stainless and cmv is accuracy, and the difference between the hammer forged and standard barrels is mostly durability and some accuracy. the forged barrels seem to be generally more accurate, and i’ve seen qualified estimates that they’ll last almost twice as long as the standard barrels.
the longer i’m in this game, the less opinionated i get about these things. there’s no absolutes… there’s no accuracy guarantees nor durability guarantees- not written, implied, or experienced. spring for the forged barrel if you feel like it, otherwise get the standard cmv barrel and never know the difference. or if long-range shooting is something you do, get the stainless barrel and plan to replace it “sooner.” but i can’t tell you when “sooner” will be- somewhere between 7,000 and 30,000 rounds, depending on how you shoot it and what kind of accuracy you’ll expect/experience/utilize.
What’s the purpose of your AR you’re ‘building’ aka assembling?
The three types BCM offers have some different benefits.
BFH my preferred barrel, as accurate a chrome lined 1x7 twist barrel that you’ll probably ever find.
Chrome-lined, still very accurate and very durable for a 1x7 twist at a lower price point vs. BFH.
SS410, surgically accurate and very durable for a stainless barrel with the USMC SAM-R chamber and in 1x8 twist, very nice when shooting 75-77gr ammo as it gives slightly more velocity vs. 1x7. I used mine to place 1st civilian 2nd overall at the Quantico Combat Shooting Team match this May.
GotM4, I am looking at the BCM Mk12 or Sam-R uppers (when they are available). I am setting this up as a secondary rifle for defensive use. But I already have a 16" middy and wanted this longer-barreled configuration for the extra velocity so it will be more flexible for some of the long-range target shooting and hunting that I do. It’s a better deal for me to set up this rifle to do “double duty”, rather than have to set up a whole separate rifle for long-range target or varmint shooting, and then it only gets used 2 or 3 times a year.