300 Blackout uppers

[sghart3578]

Hello guys,

Are you sick of 300 BO questions? If you are I apologize and I will try and make it up to you. Here is where I am:

A few years ago my son built me an AR15 since I he figured every man needs one and I was too stubborn to buy one. I told him that my 5.56 days ended when they handed me a DD214. But he is my son after all and the kit from Palmetto State Armory is fun to shoot and accurate. But I like cast boolits and don't want to try those little .225 sized molds.

I have been looking at 300 Blackout uppers for my AR. I already cast the Lee 312-160 for my son's Mosin and a 312299 for my 03A3 so that end is covered. I have some gun related stuff posted for sale here locally and a guy wants to trade me a complete upper in 300 Blackout.

The thing is it is a Bear Creek Arsenal side charging handle. I was leaning towards the standard upper with the traditional charging handle and BCG.

My question is: Do any of you guys have experience with side charging handle AR's? How do they compare with traditional? How are Bear Creek Arsenal products?

Any guidance you can give me would be appreciated. I look forward to your replies.

Thanks,


Steve in N CA

[JimB..]

I would build what you want, that’s what the AR platform is all about, but that said I’ve been wanting to try a side charger.

[fcvan]

I built my first 300 from a Model 1 Sales kit, and a pistol too. The last bunch of ARs have been from either Palmetto State Armory or Daytona Tactical. I went to that Bear Creek Arsenal site and looked at the upper of which you spoke. Like you said, there is no provision for a traditional charging handle. There was only one review posted below

"Beautiful, Robust upper
This is the most robust upper I've ever seen. Note, "stripped" means no gas key plug is included (put it where the charging handle would normally be). I've about 100 rounds of 150 grain FMJ handl oads through it without a single issue. This upper was build from an existing Anderson "slick" upper which had a too long hand guard (a liitle past muzzle break). Off a bench, this setup can hit steel plates at 100 yards. and leave all the brass in a neat pile. Next one will be for my Grendel build!"

I Suppose you could do the trade, swap out for a standard upper with forward assist, and then horse trade the BCA upper. Currently, BCA is out of stock on that upper, might make for a quick turn-around.

[Texas by God]

Whatever you do you'll love the .300 blackout. So much fun!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Moonie]

We like the 300 BO here, we have 3 AR's, 2 16" and an SBR with a 8.5" barrel. We also have a suppressor that goes on any of them, I also have a 7.5" full 1" bull 300 BO Encore Pistol barrel, threaded for the same suppressor. All of them are a serious blast to shoot. The pistol is rather heavy with the suppressor and it shoots 240gr subs with the recoil of a 22...

[Elkins45]

I can’t speak to the side charger (other than to say that as a lefty I would like to try one) but as a caster I love the 300 Blackout. Be careful or you’ll be buying a silencer to go with it.

[DCM]

You will want either the side charging handle or a pistol length gas system if you plan on using subsonic ammo as they will make it more fun than pulling the charging handle an awful lot.
300 BO is a great fun choice especially for cast.

No experience with Bear Creek though.

[popper]

Go for the side pull, you can revert to normal with just a different carrier. Note big removal requires removing the side pull bolt.

[Earlwb]

The side charging setup works best with large scopes and night vision setups that have a short eye relief. These types of devices get in the way of a charging handle. The wings aren't far enough apart to reach effectively to get a good grip with to pull the bolt back. If you use a cheek riser or rest it blocks the charging handle too. A stock mounted external battery pack for a night vision scope blocks the charging handle as well. Also one can pull the bolt back manually without having to lose your sight picture too. But it is still a personal preference though. It does have the disadvantage of you needing a hex wrench tool to remove the charging handle to field strip the AR15 for cleaning etc.

Anyway there is nothing wrong with the conventional charging handle. I like them too. They have a number of different types with longer wings to them as well. I was used to them from my old USMC days as well. A longer eye relief scope doesn't interfere with the charging handle of course.

[Sig556r]

I used BCA components (ARs & Glocks) all the time for cheap, but not their barrels.
I got a couple of BCA sidechargers, one with a rear plug on my 6.5G & another with a regular rear charger (.277WLV). Plugged one works wonder suppressed (less gas blowback)
Good thing about them is you can manually rack the bcg without taking your eyes off the target. Bad thing if you're a lefty (unless you have the ambi upper cut.
One thing though, the sidecharging handle cycles with the bcg & can get loose.
There are sidechargers that are passive but costs pretty penny compared to BCA

[Baltimoreed]

Watch where you put your hand but the bolt handle cycles on the m1-m1a and mini’s and you don’t get your fingers hurt. I don’t like the ARs rear charging handle so my AR .45s have forward charging. Good luck with your build.

[Moonie]

You will want either the side charging handle or a pistol length gas system if you plan on using subsonic ammo as they will make it more fun than pulling the charging handle an awful lot.
300 BO is a great fun choice especially for cast.

No experience with Bear Creek though.

I've seen this said many times about pistol length gas and subs. We have had 2 carbine length uppers that have never had issues with subs, with or without suppressor. Powder selection is key.

[nekshot]

I sure want a side charger but funds don't agree for one as of now. I did buy a Bear Creek on sale for an insane cheap price. I heard alot of comments about their barrels so I took this one (nice finish on it) and buffed the ramps till they were like a mirror. Then I cleaned the barrel with acetone and gave it that barrel kote stuff I have. Then I hand lapped the barrel until all the machine marks were either gone or I could not see them any more. The barrel shoots cloverleafs all day if I do my part. It does not put em all in one hole but seeing the tight clusters is good enough for me. Let the snubs spent their money on better barrels but these economy ones work for me.