Which BCG?

[Accountable1]

I am finishing up my Noveske Infidel build and need a BCG... I was have heard good things about BCM and Spikes NiB.. Does anyone have experience with the Noveske/ Rubber City BCGs? I don't know what to go with and could use some help.

[Fathom_Arms]

Try our Enhanced Nitride BCG. We haven't let down anyone yet!

[Ride4frnt]

Fathom BCG's seem nice. Haven't used one. Never had a problem with my WMD NiB BCG's. Rainier phosphate is gtg, and I just bought a AIM surplus NiB for $100

[DutyUse]

Fathom gets my vote

[toolboxluis00200]

i have a spike BCG so far it is running really well
i all so have a Umbrella Corporation BCG and so far no issues

[toolboxluis00200]

Fathom BCG's seem nice. Haven't used one. Never had a problem with my WMD NiB BCG's. Rainier phosphate is gtg, and I just bought a AIM surplus NiB for $100

did you get the GEN I or GEN II ?? from AIM
i herd that there GEN I had issues

[Ride4frnt]

did you get the GEN I or GEN II ?? from AIM
i herd that there GEN I had issues

The new one that thy are selling for $99. Just got it a few weeks ago so I assume gen 2.

AIM on top, WMD on bottom.

[odmichael]

Both Spikes and BCM have served me well, zero issues with either. You can't go wrong with both of those companies.

[FortTom]

I have Spikes, Fail Zero, BCM and Raineer Arms, The Raineer arms has been the only one to fail me yet. For a break in, it was well lubed, and seeing how Ni(B) the nickel in the mix will turn blueish purple, just like chrome pipes on a bike, mine looked completely black over half of the bolt. It also sticks, and I've put others in to see if the same conditions occurred in the same gun. The Ranieer Arms (at least the one I got, is going in the garbage, and I will be purchasing another Spikes or Fail Zero. I don't know who makes theirs (RA's) but mines a piece of crap. I'm not going to do a back and forth email campaign, sending it back for inspection or whatever. It just isn't worth my time or effort. My modus operandi, unless it's something very expensive, is just live and learn and don't buy from there again.

Now, I may be the only person on this forum that that has happened too. But with today's quality control engineers, and numerous testing, rigorous SPC, etc, it should have never got out of the plant. Your experience may be just fine. They (RA) are known for their quality parts, so make of it what you will.

FT

[UWone77]

I have Spikes, Fail Zero, BCM and Raineer Arms, The Raineer arms has been the only one to fail me yet. For a break in, it was well lubed, and seeing how Ni(B) the nickel in the mix will turn blueish purple, just like chrome pipes on a bike, mine looked completely black over half of the bolt. It also sticks, and I've put others in to see if the same conditions occurred in the same gun. The Ranieer Arms (at least the one I got, is going in the garbage, and I will be purchasing another Spikes or Fail Zero. I don't know who makes theirs (RA's) but mines a piece of crap. I'm not going to do a back and forth email campaign, sending it back for inspection or whatever. It just isn't worth my time or effort. My modus operandi, unless it's something very expensive, is just live and learn and don't buy from there again.

Now, I may be the only person on this forum that that has happened too. But with today's quality control engineers, and numerous testing, rigorous SPC, etc, it should have never got out of the plant. Your experience may be just fine. They (RA) are known for their quality parts, so make of it what you will.

FT

FT,

Don't trash it. Send it over, and I'll make sure you get another one or a phosphate one. They had a bad batch.

[RiverRat]

I don't know what to go with and could use some help.

BCM is the gold standard, in my opinion. You would not regret purchasing it - I sure didn't, either of the 2 times (so far) that I have

I also have both NiB and nitrided BCGs from AIM. Both have been flawless and I trust those folks to stand behind their products - but I still lean towards BCM when reliability is the objective. FWIW, I prefer the nitride version personally - but I freely admit my preference for this finish on most parts.

I seem to remember RCA having some early problems and that their response left me feeling a little cold towards the company. As far as the relationship with Noveske adding credibility for RCA's product.....well, I'm not exactly perfectly confident on that front either. I think Mr. Dillion has some work ahead of him if he wants to get that company back to pre-disaster status.

[JGifford]

I am finishing up my Noveske Infidel build and need a BCG... I was have heard good things about BCM and Spikes NiB.. Does anyone have experience with the Noveske/ Rubber City BCGs? I don't know what to go with and could use some help.

I would go with V7's QPQ BCG for a QPQ "standard" unit.
I would choose Fathom Arms BCG for an "enhanced" type unit, also QPQ.
I would choose a Colt BCG for the phosphate "known quantity already proven" unit.

All run $200 +- $25.

[JGifford]

BCM is the gold standard, in my opinion. You would not regret purchasing it - I sure didn't, either of the 2 times (so far) that I have

I also have both NiB and nitrided BCGs from AIM. Both have been flawless and I trust those folks to stand behind their products - but I still lean towards BCM when reliability is the objective. FWIW, I prefer the nitride version personally - but I freely admit my preference for this finish on most parts.

I seem to remember RCA having some early problems and that their response left me feeling a little cold towards the company. As far as the relationship with Noveske adding credibility for RCA's product.....well, I'm not exactly perfectly confident on that front either. I think Mr. Dillion has some work ahead of him if he wants to get that company back to pre-disaster status.

I'll shed a little light on Noveske, as much as I can...I know this thread is not about Noveske, but I feel like the BCG thing has been hashed out pretty much, and in other threads, so I'll deviate a bit, here, and hope the mods don't frown too hard on it.

Noveske had a rough transitional period when John passed away. Not only did they have a bad time of restructuring the company, but for whatever reasons (lets not speculate, or point fingers, it does not good and the outcome is the same), some of the leading minds there also split off at that time to form V7. Not only did they lose the person who started the company, they lost others who helped start the company. They lost a fair amount of innovative minds.

To compound this issue, Noveske didn't make any chips aside from barrels. They had their uppers and lowers machined out of house, anodizing out of house, etc. etc. etc. Next to nothing actually came from Noveske themselves. They simply spec'ed, assembled, and sold.

Things were hectic, and to top it all off, they got some out of spec parts around that time, and they slipped through QA/QC. It happens. Not only that, but their CS at the time was overburdened, and in the wake of what was going on internally, CS claims were not handled the best, in my opinion. To top THAT all off, demand for product was at an all-time high. The Newtown shooting and other events around that time made sure that even junk rifles like DPMS couldn't be kept on shelves at any price.

So what happened? Bad product slipped out. Poor CS pissed people off. Part of the brain trust left. John Noveske had died.

What was the result? Noveske made a few videos with some tits (which, really, while I don't have the honor of having known John Novekse, I do know those who do, and all things told, he loved to have a good time, so while it seems a bit shoddy on the outside, yeah, it was a pretty HONEST tribute video to the man. I respect that, but as a company, it sent the message "We don't care anymore about product...BUT TITS! BUY OUR SHIT! At least, that's what it said to me, YMMV)

So what has changed? What is the result of all of this?

Well, several projects that the V7 braintrust was working on got pushed back, obviously. A few* angry customers had to be properly satisfied, and the company had to clean up its image from a flailing has-been to a strong and reliable "is and will-be".

***Tim Dillon was contacted months ago, and it led up to his being hired on as CEO of Noveske. Mr. Dillon has run (successfully) STI, and Brownells divisions. He understand quality product and customer service are what drive long-term success. Also, he has an OAF beard, which doesn't hurt the cause!

***VLTOR is a great company, but not known for hitting deadlines, as many of you who have wanted their stuff in the past are aware. Also, Noveske was tired of getting out of spec parts from vendors. They were tired of people complaining about purple anodizing (and rightfully, on both accounts). What did they do? They started cutting metal. The Gen 2 lower is Forged. It was very costly to make. It also wasn't as easy to control the dimensions of, either. The Gen 3 lower and Gen 3 upper are both billet. We can argue about directional strength and grain all day long, but at the end of the day, I have not seen a broken 7075 T6 billet upper or lower that doesn't have a story behind it... Manufacturing these items in-house, and then cerakoting them has solved the issue with getting out of spec parts, and non-matching anodize (which matters to people at Noveske's price-point). The quality is well in-hand. I spoke to one individual who was responsible for taking an order of 87 Gen III Noveskes. Each and every one of them runs like a top. That's pretty darn good, in my book.

***Noveske began reaching out to customers who fell between the cracks during this period. I personally am one of them. I got burned as hard as anyone could have. I had a Gen II SBR with an out of spec lower. It would not accept anything but the upper it came with, and another VLTOR upper from the same batch that my dealer had. I swapped him when I picked the SBR up (identical Noveske uppers, just one was 10.5" and no SB, which I wanted that one). I thought nothing of it as THAT SPECIFIC upper fit. Then I found out it was out of spec when NO OTHER UPPER would fit on it, including over half a dozen Daniel Defense uppers. Daniel Defense even measured MY NOVESKE LOWER and told me SOL, we can't mate an upper to a lower that out of spec. So, I was "meh". I called Noveske and pretty much got a cold shoulder. Well, I had an upper that worked. I thought. So I went and shot it. It jammed copiously. I couldn't make it through a mag without 3-4 FTF's. The POI shift suppressed was 6-8 MOA. It was a total soup sandwich.

FFWD a few months, and Noveske reached out to me, asked for the SBR back, and has completely replaced it. All of it. They paid for a new tax-stamp. I paid shipping to Noveske (they would have if I had asked), and that's it. They have kept me 100% in the loop every step of the way. Their CS has been nothing short of phenomenal.

So don't think I'm a Noveske customer because "I got lucky", or "I was drinking buddies with John Noveske", or any other crap. I am a Noveske customer because they had a rough time, they sent me crap, they gave me crap, and then they apologized, took FULL responsibility, and are fixing the situation the best way they can without hopping in a time machine. Tim Dillon is a solid leader. The people at Noveske are happy and positive about everything going on. The Gen 3's are hitting the ground and running like scalded dogs.

It will take some time for people to get over the rough patch, but the company is alive and well, and doing nicely.

Now, as to Noveske and the RCA BCG...Noveske lists them as out of stock. RCA lists them on their personal site as in-stock. That tells me that Noveske is in no rush to buy more. Take it for what it's worth. If you want a QPQ BCG, buy the one from V7. I did not like my RCA BCG's lugs peening, having to nearly mortar the weapon to administratively clear it, or the attitude from Chris. V7 has my money for a few bucks more, if you want a mil-spec dimension BCG.

[Stone]

Not all NiB coatings are equal. There is a reason why the WMD runs around $225 and the AIM is $95. To me, the BCG and the barrel are the heart and soul of the AR platform and its one place I would not go with cheaper parts. Some company's care about price points more than quality so the old saying you get what you pay for still stands true.

[DutyUse]

Good post J.