I got a really good deal on an Aero receiver set. This is not my only rifle, I have a couple Colts. I would like to build this on a budget but I don’t want junk. What would you guys recommend for a BCG that strikes a good balance between price and quality?
Right to keep and barearms.com had Toolcrafts BCG for like $69
Palmetto
Not really into Palmetto or Anderson but toolcraft looks like a good option.
Toolcraft from WC armory with .mil cage code and 158 bolt are under $90. Cryptic coatings sells a nitride toolcraft mpi/hpt for 110. You can find them as low as $68 but I would recommend one with 158 bolt over the 9310. Some vendors buy the complete bolt from toolcraft and others just buy the carrier and add a bolt of unknown quality. 9310 can have issues if not heat treated properly
monmouth reloading has Toolcraft C158 BCG’s for $74.99
Their site is down for maintainence. I went through their facebook page to get this: http://www.monmouthreloading.com/shop/ar15-toolcraft-black-nitride-bcg/
I’d also consider using the search feature since this subject has been asked and answered multiple times. Be prepared for the shit storm of responses ranging from the bizarre to the Trumpian.
Nothing wrong with Brownells M16 BCG.
The bolt is made of 9130 and some folks get concerned about proper heat treat on 9130. Don’t know if it is justified or not.
Several years ago I bought a couple of Brownell’s bolt kits as I wanted to be able to say I had completely assembled every aspect of the rifle. Each part in the kit came in a separate plastic bag as if they had been taken from inventory to assemble the kit. The parts were from varied manufacturers, some of whom aren’t regarded well on the forum. IIRC correctly, the bolt head and the carrier body were the only parts that did not have some indication as to manufacturer.
Based on this, I might be concerned about the ‘pedigree’ of the parts in the Brownell BCG. Since that experience I have shied away from ‘Brownell’ assemblies. I still buy lots of parts from them, but only if they list the mfg.
While it is certainly possible to find a quality BCG for a song these days, why skimp on what is perhaps the single-most important component of an AR?
Not an attack, a genuine ?
What does “Trumpian” mean? I am a fan btw, but again this is not a fight, but an honest ?
interested in the term
I got a really good deal on some Aero stuff. I would like to finish on a budget but I don’t want junk. I already have a couple Colts and this is just a fun gun or something to trade off down the road. I don’t want to invest a bunch of money into this when I could have a Colt OEM as cheap as they are now. Short of a Colt, BCM, LMT the Toolcraft sounds like a good option.
Bought several toolcraft myself, hell of a deal and good quality too.
Toolcraft does indeed make them for the military. That said, they also make them for other buyers and the specs might be different. Just read the specs (like C158 vs 9130 for instance) on the specific Toolcraft you’re looking at. Monmouth has some damn good pricing and IIRC they meet the mil-spec…best of both worlds!
Bizarre= Every cheap piece of shit BCG on sale that people think is “MILSPEC”. Trumpian= Super Duper Uber High Speed BCG’s that cost a lot of money.
Once again (because this has been discussed before) Toolcraft does not make bolts. They make the carrier assembly. Bolts are supplied by another vendor.
Why try to skimp on the BCG or Barrel for an AR? It’s like trying to save money on a gaming PC by downgrading the GPU or monitor… ABNAK nailed it.
If you’re really trying to scrape pennies, spend a lot of time with the search feature and if need be some Khan Academy courses on statistics as they related to quality assurance processes, and then decide which portions of the HPT/MPI testing, your willingness to restake carrier keys yourself, and general need for overall reliability all works out to, then buy the BCG that makes sense for that application.
For my part, my time became worth enough that I am partial to the no-frills ones from quality sources (Colt, BCM, LMT, KAC, Noveske), just because of my experience troubleshooting one cheaper one. Took $50 of ammo to really sort out that my idea of saving $20 on a BCG wasn’t working out too well.
This^^^, Fail Zero for around $130 and that is as budget as I would spend for the quality demanded.
Sons of Liberty Gun Works BCG appears to meet the spec requirements and is on sale right now for $119