Which BCM middie should I buy?

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
1

My lower is finished and now it is time to purchase my upper. Should I get a BCM 16" middie lightweight or standard weight barrel? This will be my only carbine for the next couple of years, and I plan on shooting it often. This will be for a class next year and for defense purposes. Thanks.

2

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?p=638819

FWIW, I went with a LW middy on my recent build. I really enjoy the balance of it.

3

I’d stick with the standard length barrel but YMMV.

4

I received my BCM Mid Length upper (Standard Profile) earlier this week, I fired it yesterday, not as much as I would’ve liked but.

I like the Standard Profile, for my uses, they work great.

Does anybody know the difference in the weights of the barrels?

Just out of curiosity.

5

sammage, thanks for the link. Great info. I guess that I didnt search enough. :slight_smile:

6

This:
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-16-Mid-Length-LIGHT-WEIGHT-Upper-Receiver-p/bcm-urg-mid-16lw%20ddox9.htm

or, This:
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-16-Mid-Length-LIGHT-WEIGHT-Upper-Receiver-p/bcm-urg-mid-16lw%20vtrx11.htm

I have no knowledge on the VTAC handguards. Are they a good piece of kit??

7

The only AR I have to date is a light weight, for a carbine I really don’t see why one would need the extra weight.

But then again if this is just going to be used on a bench with a rest it really dosen’t matter.

8

The V-Tac handguard is based on the Troy TRX Extreme handguard. It has bolt-on rail sections instead of permanently attached quad rails in order to save weight.

9

LW.

C4

10

Personally, I’d go with as heavy as barrel as I could, in 11.5’’ or 12.5’'.

If I was going 16’’ though, I’d run it lightweight.

11

Interesting. Why is that?

C4

12

I’m more comfortable with short barrels, 12.5’’ is my favorite profile, and I normally run my rifles suppressed.

I could be wrong, but thicker barrels would provide me with a gun that wouldn’t heat up as fast and would be more rigid.

The barrel IMO, is the weakest part of the AR platform. If you can make it thick. Do it. I like shooting my LWRCi more than my KAC for yet another reason, because my KAC barrel heats up really fast.

LWRCi doesn’t because it has a thick barrel on it.

Also… M4 barrel cuts are retarded.

13

If it was me, I’d go for the LW barrel and some DD rails.

14

I like SBR’s are well (10.5 is what I run). There are no issues with short barrels and cans on a semi-auto weapon.

C4

15

It could be me being delusional, but when I run suppressors, my barrels (at least the KAC 11.5’’ light (kinda) barrel) heats up a lot faster.

When I run my heavier barrelled LWRCi it runs pretty damn cool.

16

Your barrel getting hot really isn’t an issue as sem-auto fire cannot get them hot enough to cause any issues.

C4

17

The VTAC is a good FF rail. I would pick it over the Omega configuration primarily because of weight and size. If you need alot of rail space for lights, lasers, grips, then the Omega is a better option.

18

This

19

Are heavier barrels more rigid/accurate?

I can pull tighter groups on my M6A3 than on my SR-15, I don’t know if it’s the difference in trigger, or the barrel.

20

I believe BCM stated its around 4 lighter. Keep in mind this is weight taken off the end of the barrel, shifting the balance of the weapon a lot towards the shooter. Taking off the weight off the end of the barrel, makes it feel like more was taken off.

I have both standard and LW BCM middys and you can feel the difference.