If you’ve been eyeing a Bear Creek Arsenal’s Base AR-15 because of the price, you’re not alone. The brand’s budget-friendly rifles have gained a huge following, and almost as many skeptics.
Before you hit “add to cart,” it’s worth knowing exactly what you’re getting for the money.
In this review, we’ll cover how the rifle performs at the range, what impressed us, where it falls short, and which upgrades can turn it into a solid performer.
Whether you’re building your first AR or looking for an affordable backup rifle, this hands-on look will help you decide if Bear Creek Arsenal’s AR-15 really delivers on value or just looks good on paper.
Bear Creek Arsenal AR-15 Review
With so many AR-15s out on the market today, it is hard to research them all. Plus, you will see many comments on the internet about what is “best” and how you should spend a ton of money on a rifle. That is simply not true.
The fact is, there are plenty of budget friendly AR-15s that are of decent quality. Of course, any product will receive a bad review sometimes, but that review can come from anyone for any reason.
With any budget focused product, it is important to understand that there will always be a level of compromise. For AR-15s, that will come in mainly three areas. Furniture (stock, grip, handguard), material quality, and build quality.
Since AR-15s are made to a standard, you are not compromising on the design of the rifle. It has been thoroughly tested and proven over the years, perhaps more than any other firearm. All manufacturers are working from the same set of drawings, so it comes down to how well they follow the drawings and their manufacturing processes/quality checks.
Our Testing of the BCA AR-15
For this review we tested the most basic AR-15 rifle that BCA offers, the BC-15.
Here are the specs of our rifle:
- Caliber: 5.56 NATO
- Barrel: 16” Parkerized M4, 1:8 Twist
- Carbine Length Gas System
- 15″ MLOK Rail
- Forged Upper and Lower Receiver
- BCA AR15 Bolt Carrier Group
- Standard BCA Flash Hider
- Standard Rear Charging Handle
- Mil-Spec Trigger
- M4 Style Stock
- A2 Style Grip
At the time of this article this rifle is available for around $400!
One item to note is that we went with the Carbine length gas system. As a general rule, we recommend going with a mid-length gas system. Mid-length gas systems run at a lower pressure, resulting in better reliability over time and less felt recoil.
We went with a Carbine length for testing purposes since it will run harder and potentially be less reliable. We wanted to put this rifle through the paces so this will accelerate the process somewhat. Here is the link to the rifle we tested.
Note that this rifle does not come with any sights or optics. For testing, we used a Holosun 510C red dot and the Primary Arms SLx 1-6×24 LPVO scope (see our full Primary Arms SLx 1-6×24 Gen IV Scope Review here!)
Initial Impressions
Overall, this is a good looking rifle. I did not see any blemishes in the fit or finish when I first opened the box. The finish between the upper, lower, and handguard was all consistent and the same overall color. The controls all function well without any noticeable play or resistance.
I really like the low profile handguard. It has 2 inches of picatinny rail on the top, both at the breach and at the muzzle end. In the center of the handguard, there is no pic rail which makes it comfortable to hold without any filler plates.
I also has M-Lok slots all the way around, so I can attach any accessory that I want. We ran the new Viridian 4LUX Duo foregrip on it for a while and it was easy to attach. I would have liked the slots to extend a little farther towards the barrel, but didn’t really have any issues with it.
The only big negative was the grip. I just don’t like the angle and the shape of the A2 grip. But, for about $25, I purchased an upgraded grip and was able to easily change it (see our recommended upgrades below).
The stock is just the standard M4 stock, which isn’t amazing either. It is OK and works fine, but if you plan to spend a lot of time at the range with this rifle, a better stock is not expensive and worth it.
The trigger is just a standard MIL spec trigger, and feels like it. There is a little bit of creep before it breaks, but nothing out of the ordinary. It is heavy, so I think it did affect my accuracy somewhat. It’s not the rifle’s fault, I am just used to an upgraded trigger.
The charging handle is again, just a standard charging handle. Nothing special about it, and it works fine.
The controls are not ambidextrous, which can be an issue for a left handed shooter. Again, this is a standard, basic rifle.
For a budget rifle, I would say it is on par with what I would expect. The handguard is nice, and everything else is just standard MIL spec hardware.
At The Range
After giving the rifle a once over, we went right to the range. We did not do any initial teardown or cleaning, and wanted to experience how it functioned right out of the box. We threw a little oil on the BCG, mounted our optic, and went right to it.
We went through about 20 rounds to zero the Holosun 510C, and then went through about 250 rounds of Federal and Fiocchi M193 Ammo in less than 10 minutes. We did not experience any malfunctions whatsoever.
We used various Magpul magazines and did a few basic drills. Recoil was as expected, and the carbine length gas system felt like it was tuned as it should be.
I love that there was no break-in period needed and it ran from the very first shot. I will admit I expected something to go wrong, but it never did.
We even did two fast mag dumps at the end and got it pretty hot. It still ran fine with no issues. You can see where the barrel got hot on our teardown below.
While we were not shooting at a super long range, we did find that accuracy was similar to our other standard AR-15 rifles.
In our following range sessions we put another 300 rounds through it while we tested the Primary Arms LPVO and other grips. Again, no malfunctions or issues.
Full Teardown and Inspection
After our first 250 rounds, we did a full teardown and inspection just to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. Note that all of these pics were taken just after shooting it without any cleaning.
The take down pins were snug but not too tight. The front lug was right on size, but the rear seemed to be just a hair loose. There was just a small amount of play between the upper and lower at the rear, but nothing dramatic.
In the rear of the lower receiver there was an area that appeared to not be finished properly. It doesn’t affect the function of the rifle, but we will keep an eye on it.
First, I looked for any abnormal wear or metal chips or shavings. This is usually a big tell after the first 250 rounds or so that something isn’t right. I did not see any around the buffer, trigger, or BCG.
The Bolt Carrier Group (BCG) is made from 9310 Steel, which is better than mil spec Carpenter 158 steel. The gas key is staked like it should be.
The hand guard is attached with eight button head screws. It is sturdy and stable, and I like the overall design. Instead of using cheap set screws, I like how the barrel nut incorporates the mounting of the true free float handguard.
Three of the screws were not very tight. They were not loose, just not as tight as I would have liked them to be. There was no Loctite on them either.
The gas block set screws were tight and looked fine. I could tell that we got the barrel hot though. You can see how the finish is a little faded. We will see over time if this is an issue or not.
The castle nut is not staked. While this is usually a topic of debate, I prefer mine not staked so I can make changes and then I will stake it if I want to myself. I did notice the end plate had some pitting around the edges. Probably just cosmetic from the manufacturing process but we will watch it.
For the most part there were no major issues found in our initial teardown. There are a few things we will keep an eye on (like the barrel finish) and over time we will update this review with our findings.
Recommended BC-15 Upgrades
While this is a decent rifle out of the box, there are some upgrades that we would consider.
The first is the grip. The standard A2 grip is not the most ergonomic or comfortable grip, and it is easy to replace. Our favorite is the Magpul K2+ grip. See our full AR-15 Grip Guide for all of our favorites and tips for picking the best one for you.
The second is the stock. The standard M4 is a little loose and is not very comfortable. For shorter range shooting we like the Magpul SLK stock, and for longer range shooting we like the Magpul DT-PR stock. See our full AR-15 Stock Guide for all of our favorites and tips on which on is best how you plan to use your rifle.
The third is of course the sights since this rifle doesn’t come with any. Our favorites are:
- LPVO Scope: Primary Arms SLx 1-6×24 LPVO scope
- Microprism Scope: Primary Arms 1x SLx Microprism
- Red Dot: Sig Sauer Romeo 5
- Holographic Sight: Vortex AMG UH-1
Our Thoughts on the BC-15
So far we have had a good experience with the Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15. Considering the price is less than $500, it is lower than the cost of other AR-15s. It makes a great starter rifle that can be upgraded as you gain more experience and learn your preferences. It worked for us right out of the box with no issues. We think an upgraded grip is a must, and you might as well upgrade the stock too.
It appears that the materials that Bear Creek used are just as good or better than MIL spec. In the end this is the real difference between budget and high end rifles. Time will tell on the reliability, but after 500 rounds it has worked flawlessly.
While this rifle wouldn’t be my first choice to take into a war zone, I don’t plan to use it in a war zone. It works great for training and I don’t have to worry about keeping it in pristine condition.
We plan to use this rifle as a workhorse to test optics, sights, grips, magazines, suppressors, and all the other AR-15 related upgrades. Be sure to sign up to our newsletter for updates as we plan to really put this rifle through its paces, and more.
Also read our AR-15 Basics Guide to learn more about the operation and parts of the AR-15.
If you would like to build your own, check out our Budget AR-15 Build. We built one cheaper than this rifle that is just as good if not better!
We would like to thank AmmunitionToGo.com for providing the ammo that we used to test this rifle at the range. We used Fiocchi M193 5.56 ammo for most of our testing since it is a standard NATO round.
Now, take a look at our other Self Defense Guides and Reviews for more AR-15 related guides like the Best AR-15 Flashlights!
