New Bear Creek Arsenal .22 WMR AR upper

[cathouse01]

Just got my new .22 WMR upper from BCA. Here is what it looks like on my Stag Arms lower with an cheap Athlon Talos 6-24x50 scope on it:


Can’t say how it shoots, since they forget to include the required custom buffer and buffer spring you need for your lower. Quick message to BCA and they immediately Fedex’ed it out, but I haven’t gotten it yet. Just as well, I’m building a dedicated lower for it. Just put it on the Stag to see how well it fit on a “standard” commercial lower.

Looking it over from a build quality point of view it looks pretty good for a $350 upper. We’ll have to see how it shoots.

ETA And they just sent me a 10% off coupon to make up for leaving out the buffer kit.
ETA And they just sent me another for 15% off, so I went ahead and used it on a .50 Beowolf upper just because. Got it for $289 total. They know a sucker when they see one.

 

[paulleve]

I've been waiting to see a review of these uppers. What type of magazine do they take?

 

[cathouse01]

I've been waiting to see a review of these uppers. What type of magazine do they take?

These : AR15 .22 Magnum

I order some extras from Black Dog when I ordered the upper. They are very well made 10 rounders. $24 each, similar to the cost of a CMMG .22 AR conversion magazine. Those in a free state can get a 14 rounder. They are already out of the smoke 10 rounders (those are the ones I got). I’m sure that they will be a run on them if BCA actually sells all 2500 uppers that they plan on manufacturing. Up until now there hasn't been a lot of .22 WMR uppers out there.

 

[paul73]

These : AR15 .22 Magnum

I order some extras from Black Dog when I ordered the upper. They are very well made 10 rounders. $24 each, similar to the cost of a CMMG .22 AR conversion magazine. Those in a free state can get a 14 rounder. They are already out of the smoke 10 rounders (those are the ones I got). I’m sure that they will be a run on them if BCA actually sells all 2500 uppers that they plan on manufacturing. Up until now there hasn't been a lot of .22 WMR uppers out there.

I saw them at bear creek, but the .22WSR ammo is now at 30cpr. Same price, if not more, of what it costs me to reload .223.

 

[cathouse01]

I saw them at bear creek, but the .22WSR ammo is now at 30cpr. Same price, if not more, of what it costs me to reload .223.

Yeah, there is currently no economic justification for a .22 Mag AR. I got it mostly to have something to go with my Henry Golden Boy and Ruger Sigle-Six Convertible. It also provides a step up from a .22 LR for the grand kids without going to a full blown 5.56.

 

[mac1911]

I've been waiting to see a review of these uppers. What type of magazine do they take?

I have a few friends with BC uppers not the rim fire models. For the price point they are pretty good. 4 uppers 3 are range bench plinkers the 4th has been dumping rounds through it ever chance he gets.

 

[paulleve]

I have a few friends with BC uppers not the rim fire models. For the price point they are pretty good. 4 uppers 3 are range bench plinkers the 4th has been dumping rounds through it ever chance he gets.

I've actually heard decent things about their uppers. I'm more curious about how a .22 WMR upper performs, given it has a new magazine design and far more power than the standard .22 LR.

Off on a tangent here - I've got some .22 Mag bolt guns, and I like shooting them, but ammo prices are crazy! Most places are $.40 cpr right now, and even Walmart is about $.35 for the milk carton variety CCI. We've reached the point where really cheap .223/5.56 costs less than higher end .22 magnum!

 

[cathouse01]

I've actually heard decent things about their uppers. I'm more curious about how a .22 WMR upper performs, given it has a new magazine design and far more power than the standard .22 LR.

Off on a tangent here - I've got some .22 Mag bolt guns, and I like shooting them, but ammo prices are crazy! Most places are $.40 cpr right now, and even Walmart is about $.35 for the milk carton variety CCI. We've reached the point where really cheap .223/5.56 costs less than higher end .22 magnum!

Yup, the only reason I bothered with the BCA .22 WMR upper is I happen to already have stocked a ton of it back when I could get it for $.23 a round. Though even back then it wasn’t really competitive with.223/5.56 cause I also picked a ton of that up at $.26 a round during the same time period.

 

[mac1911]

I've actually heard decent things about their uppers. I'm more curious about how a .22 WMR upper performs, given it has a new magazine design and far more power than the standard .22 LR.

Off on a tangent here - I've got some .22 Mag bolt guns, and I like shooting them, but ammo prices are crazy! Most places are $.40 cpr right now, and even Walmart is about $.35 for the milk carton variety CCI. We've reached the point where really cheap .223/5.56 costs less than higher end .22 magnum!

22mag 17hmr has always been a bit pricey . The only people I knew shooting anything above 22lr rim fire where actually hunting with them .

 

[paulleve]

Yup, the only reason I bothered with the BCA .22 WMR upper is I happen to already have stocked a ton of it back when I could get it for $.23 a round. Though even back then it wasn’t really competitive with.223/5.56 cause I also picked a ton of that up at $.26 a round during the same time period.

I picked up quite a bit of WMR back when it was that price as well. Plus I have a small stash that my dad bought back in the late 70's and early 80's, the most expensive of which was $0.14 cpr! Here's a pic of some of the older stuff:



.22 WMR is fun in a semi-auto. A buddy of mine has a Kel-Tec CMR-30 that ran well and was a blast to shoot. It's always surprising to see the extra power of a magnum round after you've been plinking with LR. Depending on the accuracy and dependability reviews of the BCR upper, I may order one to have some fun with.

 

[cathouse01]

Still waiting for the buffer kit. BCA sent it out right away, but they unfortunately ship via FedEx ground. It’s already been “delayed” once, lost in the wilds of Connecticut.

 

[paul73]

Still waiting for the buffer kit. BCA sent it out right away, but they unfortunately ship via FedEx ground. It’s already been “delayed” once, lost in the wilds of Connecticut.

are you sure it is not going to cycle with a standard buffer?

 

[paulleve]

are you sure it is not going to cycle with a standard buffer?

This upper is direct blowback, and the buffer and spring they provide are calibrated for .22 WMR. A standard buffer is too heavy, and standard spring too strong. According to BCA, it will fire, but will not cycle with standard components.

 

[cathouse01]

This upper is direct blowback, and the buffer and spring they provide are calibrated for .22 WMR. A standard buffer is too heavy, and standard spring too strong. According to BCA, ir will fire, but will not cycle with standard components.

This^^^^. When I communicated to BCA they were quite explicit that it needed the custom buffer and spring to cycle properly. Otherwise it will be a single shot.

 

[cathouse01]

Just got a notice from FedEx:

We made a delivery attempt: 04/09/2022 01:50 PM. Delivery will be attempted again on the next business day.

Was home all day, dogs never barked (they always do when anything thing even goes by the house). They obviously never made a delivery attempt. It really irritates me when they out and out lie. I wouldn’t mind it as much if they were honest and just said “your house is too far out in the boonies, so the driver just decided to wait a day or two until we have more deliveries out in your neck of the woods”.

 

[92G]

Interesting project although considering 22wmr and 223 are similar cost I have use for such a rifle.

 

[cathouse01]

Finally got the buffer kit via FedEX (they were only “delayed” 3 days. I can see why they said you needed it. When I first picked up the box it was so light I thought it was empty “S**t, they forgot to put the kit in the box!”. Nope, the thing is that light. The buffer only weighs 1.7 oz and the spring is significantly truncated. Here it is next to a standard carbine buffer/spring:


You can see that it is so short that it will only work with a carbine extension tube. Though one of the reviewers was able to use an A2 by building a filler for it.
The kids and grandkids are all visiting for Easter so it will be awhile before I can get its dedicated lower built.