BCM - Manufacturer or Assembler

[creedal]

I bought a new Recce 16 MCMR recently. Really impressive rifle. Love it.

I saw a few threads over the years in which some folks have stated, as if it were a well known fact, that BCM is a mere retailer and assembler, that they don't make their own components. That is certainly not what I thought.

I think indeed they do make from scratch, or at least design and spec to other fabricators, most of the key parts. They also test for QC and spec all key pieces. The furniture and MCMR alone are all clearly proprietary. And the bcg, barrel seem highly spec'd and tested by BCM. I don't care who extruded the springs and pins. Not sure I care who made the buffer, for instance.

So I emailed BCM yesterday and simply asked what parts in this gun they made. They got back to me very quickly. They wouldn't say precisely. Not sure why they just won't say, but I can respect that the gun is very nicely made, and I trust the real shooters who trust BCM.

Basically they say they design and produce a great many things, though they will not divulge the provenance of every single piece in the gun, regarding that as a trade secret. Fair enough.

I can live with that. The gun is sweet, and for $1350 or so, it's everything I would want.

[n8vmind]

BCM is a mid tier system builder that assemble completed rifles or sell components build to their spec. BCM doesn't make their own barrels. Either sourced from Criterion and/ or maybe FN.

Love my BCM regardless and don't really care where all parts came from. If anything, it is BCM's quality control and meticulous attention to detail. Properly aligned handguard and castle nut staking. That being said, an experienced DIY builder can probably accomplished the same at lower price point.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

[26 Inf]

Personally, I think they are continuing to increase their in house production capabilities.

You don't need this much room for shipping and assembling:

Bravo Company.jpg

[titsonritz]

What does it matter if what they're are doing is doing it right?

[GH41]

Personally, I think they are continuing to increase their in house production capabilities.

You don't need this much room for shipping and assembling:

Bravo Company.jpg

Are they still in that building? I found a listing for it that was 1 1/2 years old.

[ST911]

I don't know what the technical definition and criteria are for "manufacturer". I don't know that it matters much, given all that goes into a BCM product both visible and not. If making all or most of your own stuff from scratch was it, few people in most industries would meet it.

I just received one of these BCM rifles from G&R Tactical: https://www.gandrtactical.com/BCM-MK...OVT_p_825.html. Easy process, fast ship, arrived as ordered. I opened the box, mounted an optic, threw some lube on it, and am at about 1000 rounds of several types of ammo without malfunction. The list of guns I expect that from is pretty short.

[wetidlerjr]

I don't know what the technical definition and criteria are for "manufacturer". I don't know that it matters much, given all that goes into a BCM product both visible and not. If making all or most of your own stuff from scratch was it, few people in most industries would meet it.

That's the "long and short" of it. Producing everything in house in any industry is almost impossible today.

[1168]

That being said, an experienced DIY builder can probably accomplished the same at lower price point.

I’m not convinced thats true. I’ve assembled lots of rifles at this point, and by the time I count up all the parts, plus shipping on some of them, I’m past BCM pricing territory. I get a lot of stuff from the EE to keep that down. Add in tools, and time, and the notion that “building” is cheaper is mostly insurgent math. I think a lot of people lie to themselves. And a lot of people assemble garbage.

I think that with a business account, and the economy of larger orders, it is possible for a company to assemble a rifle for the same price as I can, or less, and still have room for a modest profit, or at least to pay the guys for their work.

[RHINOWSO]

They wouldn't say precisely. Not sure why they just won't say...

You obviously aren't into produce creation, manufacturing, or the business of selling things. It's not nearly as simple as that.

[ST911]

That being said, an experienced DIY builder can probably accomplished the same at lower price point.

It might be close, but not equivalent. You lack the proprietary technical and test data used in component selection and combination, the stuff that separates pros from others. Also, "experienced DIY builder" more often than not...isn't...for purposes of this discussion. (See also: "experienced DIY reloader")