14" BRT bbl/BCM Mk2 upper build

[opngrnd]

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Parts list:
SF Warcomp pin & welded
14" Black River Tactical barrel
BCM 13" MCMR
BCM Mk2 upper receiver
BCM KAG
Radian CH
BCM headspaced bolt/LMT Enhanced carrier
Sionics Gutless Lower
Radian single side safety
Geissele QMS trigger
BCM A5 receiver extension
BCM rifle action spring/Vltor A5H2 buffer
Forward Control Designs castle nut aka CNF
Vltor IMOD
Vickers padded sling
Aimpoint PRO/Midwest Industries mount/MBUS
Paint job done by me based one what was on the shelf for paint.

I have one of the original BRT 14" barrels pin & welded with a SF muzzle brake that serves as a dedicated suppressor host. While not especially lightweight, its handy size makes it a joy to shoot, although I don't like the muzzle blast when it's unsuppressed. When Clint asked what people would like to see, I asked for a 14" barrel somewhere between the previous medium contour and a lightweight contour...and he delivered. I ended up with a Mk2 BCM upper receiver, which tied me to the MCMR handguard since Mk2 uppers only seem to work with BCM handguards. This fits my goal of keeping it light perfectly. Radian CH because it has become my preferred CH at this point. I went with the Warcomp to get to 16.1" and serve as a backup host to the SF suppressor. I had ordered a Sionics gutless lower before the craziness completely crashed the industry, and because I have been happy with their products and customer service. The QMS trigger and Radian safety were purchased while browsing a local store and because they were available. I will probably replace both down the road. I had the Vltor IMOD on the shelf, and have had the padded Vickers BFG sling for a number of years(not pictured). I upgraded from the carbine RE to the BCM A5 version because I prefer the A5 system, and Forward Control Designs had A5 buffers in stock, while BCM had their A5 RE. And since I was ordering from FCD, I grabbed their castle nut as well. I chose the BCM KAG because I wanted a hand stop, and I don't need the additional length from a vertical foregrip. Sights are a simple tried and true Aimpoint PRO/MBUS combo. Rattle can paint job thrown on my me. I'll update how it shoots after my next range trip.

[rainman]

Congrats - nicely done!

Please let us know how it shoots.


-Rainman

[1168]

Sounds nice. BTW, for anyone considering a non-BCM handguard, URX 4 works fine with the Mk2 upper.

[Clint]

Looks Great!

[opngrnd]

Range report: 606 rounds thus far.

BLUF-This is the flattest, smoothest non-braked setup I own. Even my range buddies running 16" Optimum barrels and Colt 6920 builds were impressed today, as well as the coworker who just returned from a weekend of shooting rifle qual and then spent the afternoon shooting with me. It isn't just that it has less dot movement than other quality set ups, but simply how much smoother it cycles.

I started out last Monday with my usual break in of cleaning the barrel to remove any copper between each shot for 20 shots. At that time I still had the carbine RE with H buffer and Sprinco White. Once I was past break in I started to zero using 5.56 pressure ammo, but was having intermittent short stroking. My reloads (2970 fps from 16" barrels) also had issues with short stroking, seemingly from too little gas. Using a lower with A5 system didn't alleviate this, so I switched the NP3 carrier with an enhanced carrier from a different build. The 11.5 build with NP3 carrier ran fine from PMC Bronze to 5.56.ammo, and the new 14" MPC build ran the same using the enhanced carrier. Trying the upper in an A5 equipped lower also ran well at that point, so I switched the carbine RE with the BCM A5 RE, and threw in a BCM rifle spring and A5H2. I've run 326 rounds through the build since switching out to the A5, with no issues, and it yielded slightly better times during drills compared to the 11.5" and 16" builds on the range today. It's smooth to the point you almost expect it to fail lock back tests with weaker ammo, but it'll lock back on PMC Bronze and the rifle held loosely off the shoulder. I was surprised it wouldn't function how I intended at first, but am very glad it turned out how it has.

[CoryCop25]

Glad to hear you got your rifle running well. My 14" BRT is also currently my favorite rifle. I use a Springco white spring and an H2 buffer. It runs 100% suppressed and unsuppressed with 5.56 and 223 ammo.

Untitled by Cory Fluck, on Flickr

[gaijin]

Looking good.

[opngrnd]

Glad to hear you got your rifle running well. My 14" BRT is also currently my favorite rifle. I use a Springco white spring and an H2 buffer. It runs 100% suppressed and unsuppressed with 5.56 and 223 ammo.

Untitled by Cory Fluck, on Flickr

Very clean looking! It's just such a handy size.

[CoryCop25]

Very handy size even with the suppressor. I was skeptical of the Sandman K because it's not a very quiet can. I was able to try the Sandman K and Sandman S and the K was slightly louder but felt more balanced on the rifle.