BCM - Manufacturer or Assembler

[Belmont31R]

There isn't a single AR company out there that makes everything 100% in house.

Even if they source from the same company another as another manufacturer doesn't mean the parts are ordered to the same spec or how they handle the parts once received. Manufacturing is very nuanced in that the raw material suppliers or sub part suppliers all make stuff to different specs, and the recipient has to have an agreement on how reject lots are handled. Where I work we have QC just for incoming raw materials from within our own company and from external sources.

You don't know how their employees are trained or what the internal controls are for sending products out. You don't know the tools they have to assemble stuff or how experienced those people are. Just from my own experience its about like any other job. 20% really care and make the job their own personal mission to accomplish. The other 80% are there for a paycheck and don't care about knowingly sending out iffy product.

As for home assemblers or gun store assemblers good luck. Theres very few people I'd trust to put together a firearm. When I bought my last SR15 the owner of the FFL I did the transfer through tried to tell me he could build the same gun for $1000 less and I just had to brush it off and laugh to myself. Of course he sells a bunch of middle to lower tier products and was acting like I got shafted.

[1168]

Plus the tools to properly measure and gauge every component like Bcm does will cost you many times more than the average rifle.

The average homebuilder does close to zero of this. They might check headspace or gas port diameter. Many just chuck it in a vice and start torquing. Speaking of which, a shocking amount don’t even own a torque wrench.

BCM produces a consistent product, OTOH.

Paul and team make good stuff. My two favorite AR's are both BCM. One of my best friends will hopefully be graduating soon from a local police academy.

His graduation present? A BCM carbine and a set of Danner boots.

That's what I think of BCM. I trust my life and the lives of my best friends to their gear.

Dude. Did I tell you that I’m graduating something soon?

[MegademiC]

There isn't a single AR company out there that makes everything 100% in house.

Even if they source from the same company another as another manufacturer doesn't mean the parts are ordered to the same spec or how they handle the parts once received. Manufacturing is very nuanced in that the raw material suppliers or sub part suppliers all make stuff to different specs, and the recipient has to have an agreement on how reject lots are handled. Where I work we have QC just for incoming raw materials from within our own company and from external sources.

You don't know how their employees are trained or what the internal controls are for sending products out. You don't know the tools they have to assemble stuff or how experienced those people are. Just from my own experience its about like any other job. 20% really care and make the job their own personal mission to accomplish. The other 80% are there for a paycheck and don't care about knowingly sending out iffy product.

As for home assemblers or gun store assemblers good luck. Theres very few people I'd trust to put together a firearm. When I bought my last SR15 the owner of the FFL I did the transfer through tried to tell me he could build the same gun for $1000 less and I just had to brush it off and laugh to myself. Of course he sells a bunch of middle to lower tier products and was acting like I got shafted.

It always amazes me how many years a person can spend in and industry, and still no nothing about it. We have guys with 40 years operating the same machine.

Forty. Years. And they dont know whats going on. Punch in. Punch out. Paycheck.

Nothing wrong with it, just something to keep in mind when people throw out “years of experience” as some kind of quantifier for knowledge.

As for your comments on manufacturing- spot on. People think same factory=same product. Thats not how it works, assuming the company is run decently.

Doing a lot of stuff in-house doesnt make financial sense.

[creedal]

I bought the Recce MCMR because it seemed to me the best in class for the price point. I do not believe much money would be saved by homebrewing. And more importantly, I know the skill and processes BCM has in designing, specing, sourcing, and above all QCing. I want this thing to work like a champ, at first and until the end.

BCM clearly has the capacity to do all things the typical guy who builds a.r.'s doesn't have. Frankly, I don't even think my friend Andrew Barnes makes as good a rifle, and he makes virtually every piece of his guns on his machines at Barnes Precision. Not knocking him, either.

I was merely curious how much they fabricated in house, because I heard Sootch say they make every part in a review video, and read some guys on bARFCom say otherwise. There are still guys, and they may be dipshits, who say BCM just assembles guns.

What is obvious, Rhino, is that this not the case.

[Hulkstr8]

The first question should be, "do they know what they're doing?"

The distinction between manufacturer and assembler is just insulting.

[alx01]

The first question should be, "do they know what they're doing?"

The distinction between manufacturer and assembler is just insulting.

There are two major advantages for the manufacturer:
- they can innovate faster. If a company has their own production facilities they can prototype and improve product faster in house as well as produce new products.
- they can adjust their processes/qc faster to issues to fix/prevent them in the future. One good example here was LMT with the firing pins failing in New Zealand (or Australia) rifles. Most likely they got a bad batch from their supplier.

I don't think it's realistic or efficient for any company to run and produce everything in house from the scale, economy, facilities, people, knowledge, and etc. standpoints. Even established companies with large manufacturing capabilities like Colt, LMT, S&W outsource a lot of their parts.

Everyone can produce a lemon, it's either a mistake or a pattern. What matters is, if it's a systemic issue how quickly a company is willing to fix it. Some companies are very good at it, others don't particularly care.

I think assembly & exit QC is more important than the parts quality. This is not to say parts quality won't matter. You can assemble a good working gun from about average parts (i.e. not failed or rejects), but if you don't know what you're doing you won't build a functioning rifle with a good quality parts.

[creedal]

And to be sure, while BCG, barrel and fcg are essential, and I believe BCM has its own made either in or out of their building, the things like charging handles, rails, grips, and so forth that BCM designs are among the best in the industry. They just work great. Look great. Function great.

[mack7.62]

Yaah, well is BCM now guaranteeing their lowers will accept Gen 3 PMAG's? That whole debacle with them playing the mil-spec card kind of put me off them.

[prepare]

Yaah, well is BCM now guaranteeing their lowers will accept Gen 3 PMAG's? That whole debacle with them playing the mil-spec card kind of put me off them.

I don't get how BCM (or others) can call their AR15 lowers mil-spec in the first place. The trigger pocket is not dimensionally mil-spec and semi auto only triggers aren't either.

[Cold/Bore]

I like to build my own rifles. But I’m not under the delusion that my builds are of the same quality as a factory BCM rifle. I don’t have all the gauges to QC every part before assembly, but I generally choose parts from companies that do. Instructor Chad from SOTAR will show you what you need to do to insure the components in your builds are up to par:
https://youtu.be/kADQX_xmrSY
Watch his videos and even the most experienced builders will realize they are just amateurs.