Classic firearms has a good videi showing the difference between buffer weights. It also shows a way that you can tell if you're having issues, based on where your spent shell casing fly to. If you look at your first set of shots you can see all the casings going forward. With the h2 buffer they went side ways. From what i remember the optimal pisition is for the casting to shoot out more towards the back. If that's the case the h3 buffer might be the sweet spot. Obviously i wouldn't recommend anyone automatically take my word for it but i do recommend that video.
If your still having issues with it, file any burrs on your feed ramp, and take a dremel with a felt polishing bit and some metal polish to the feed ramp… I’ve got 2 uppers from bca and I’ve done it to both, they are a steal for the money so I don’t mind putting a little work into them… both my 350 and my 308 feed flawlessly now, hopefully this helps someone!
Excellent and fun review. Professional....no whining and petty negative comments. Just seeking a resolve and you did. Beautiful, powerful hunting rifle.I love Bear Creek Arsenal and Palmetto State Armory. Thank you for the excellent information. Stay safe, Cheers
Thanks for sharing your trouble shooting procedures. When I received my BCA 350 Legend upper from BCA I experienced failure to feed on the second round of a 5 round mag. . I put in two rounds instead of five it fed the rounds but failed to lock back the bolt. Since then I have changed out the buffer , magazine and stock . It seems to work fine now . The reason I to changed to a fixed stock the length of pull fits me better. Oh by the way the accuracy is great .
Something I found with the 5 round ASC mags that BCA sells is that they out a second follower between the base plate and spring. With the 2nd follower removed the 5 round mags are now 8 round mags that work as they should.
Dremeling out the front of the magazine into a quarter moon shape will help, there are also specific 350 Legend followers that do not have the hump like the 223/556. They are really only designed for the five and seven round magazines.
My BCA 350 legend is doing the same happy to hear it's an easy fix. Now I need to figure out why my BCA 308 is doing the same but only worse... Now my BCA 6.5 Grendel runs like a scolded dog zero issues with that.
Yes, was happy it was a simple fix and didn't have to mess with sending it back. I prefer to tinker and figure it out myself just from a learning aspect more than anything else. My BCA side charge 5.56 had no issues. I have since sold it but it ran great. 350 seems to be hit and miss from what I've seen. I don't have any experience with 308 but hope to get one someday and play around with that. Hopefully your 308 fix is as simple as this one was depending on what you've tried already.
I had to Dremel the feed ramps and polish the chamber to get mine to feed (after buying two different magazines and an H2 buffer ). It is cheap and ive had to polish the feed ramps on my bca 450BM as well. I buy them because I'm not worried about messing them up with my tinkering. If i botch them up too much they make really cheap replacement parts 😅. Bca is the reason I can tear down and replace or repair an ar-15 . From my .50 which needed to be properly head spaced. To my 300 blackout that needed a different buffer and an adjustable gas block installed before it actually ran. They should work for the senoran desert institute . Training gunsmiths since they opened. I love bear Creek i have about every AR- they carry. Its nice they have left hand receivers pretty cheap so i can make all my smaller caliber uppers left handed
I have the same exact 350 Legend. Different optic of course. This video is probably a savior for it. I would never sell it, but I can say I got tired of ripping my hair out trying to figure out why she wouldn't cycle. I will definitely buy that buffer and BCG and see if I get the same results. I do have to say I have been heart broken since the day I bought er. She belongs up there with the other AR's I have that cycle beautifully.
I went through the same crap with attempting filing cmmg mags with my 350 build for no reason. Lancer mags were a definite improvement. Gas adjustment and Lancer cured my issues. Odin works adjustable gas block on 3 builds has been well worth it on each.
I put my BCA 350 on a Rifle lower and haven't had any major problems and I got Duramags 20's and finally got them figured out and just came in from shooting
My research (I'm having the same problem) seems to indicate that being over gassed can also cause issues, so I went the adjustable gas block route instead of the buffer route (I have it on an SCR lower, so buffer tube isn't a thing). An adjustable gas block might also help you a bit.
Yes I think that for sure would help because there might still be a gas issue with mine but it seems to be mitigated. Overall now that this seems to be fixed I'm pretty happy with it.
I've had several bca uppers, psa uppers and some others.... all in different calibers ranging from 5.56 up to 50 Beowulf, also all different gas lengths from pistol up to rifle length. In my opinion and from all the testing I've done, bypass all buffers and just get h3. I run a giessle super 42 h3 with braded spring in my go to rig, but honestly any good h3 will work. The most common pair I use in other rigs is a springco blue spring with a bcm h3 buffer.
Definitely something to consider. I went with the H2 because I thought it would be a good middle ground since I use the same lower for both 556 and 350.
@@armorplatedadam yeah understandable, I figured it would be an issue too but I've had good luck runnin the same lower for my 556 and other calibers aswell. H3 just seems to work but that's just from my experience.... it's worth a try anways.
New subscriber here! Thanks for the info. Planning on buying a psa lower and bca 350 ledgend upper. We can hunt with single shot straight wall cartridges here in Mississippi during primitive weapons season. New owned an ar, so thought this would be a perfect gun for hogs and personal protection and go with my 350 single shot. Thanks again for the great info 😎👍
I've shot my BCA 350L AR a lot, using different mags and what not. It was a jammomatic at first but it has gotten better, but still the reliability is no where near on par as any other AR's I've shot in 5.56. I think the feed ramps they use, 300blk is a huge issue. The CMMG rifles don't seem to have the jam issues with a singular feed ramp. Even Ruger is using the larger feed ramp.
I run a 5.4 ounce Kaw precision buffer, and a strike industries buffer spring in mine. I also noticed the Winchester white box 350 legend ammo has some issues being the rounds are very pointy. If you try Browning 350 Legend ammo in the yellow box the rounds are more rounded(almost like a 9mm/357 style round) and function flawlessly. Long story short after I got my rifle broken in I have had no issues with the cheap white box Winchester.(5 boxes) I also did an upgraded Wolf trigger spring that has stronger strikes.
I have a bca .350 . The 150 gr ballistic tip bullet will not feed. The tip hits the chamber wall before the rest of the cartridge leaves the magazine and doesn't allow the cartridge to tip into the chamber. Everything else feeds great. Thinking about removing the tip.
I opened up and ground down the feed ramps on my BC upper no need to polish, also it only had issues with pointed bullets, loading my own using 9mm round nose and not seating as deep worked flawlessly. I also own a CCMG 350 feed ramps on that barrel are larger with a slightly shallower angle then bear creeks. Both are very reliable now especially after 400 rounds which is typical for break in
Can never get winchester FMJ to run. Nose dives directly into the feed ramp and shoves the bullet back into the case. Hunting rounds like Hornady American Whitetail loads have worked best for me.
@ very interesting. I also had a savage axis that wouldn’t extract unfired Winchester deer season XP. No rifling marks on projectile, but something was off. I’m now using a CVA scout.
Good video. Adding a comment for a BCA 458 socom. I couldn't get anything to feed in my 458. Asked BCA what they wanted to do and they told me to just return it. I had already tried D&H, Hex and Lancer mags, modified and unmodified. The barrel extension lugs were really really rough, lots of burrs and very sharp edges. I went with Tromix for 458 and everything feeds fine now. I'll use my credit at BCA for another 5.56 or 308.
I can't fix that its a BCA but if you run into more trouble you can try a slightly stronger sprinco m4 buffer spring. H2 buffer improving things for you is from slowing down the rate of fire, giving the mag spring a little extra time, and adding mass to the BCG to brute force going into battery. I guess you could try craytexing the feed ramps, SOTAR has a video on how to do this to m4 ramps.
Yea typically the first round I racked myself would feed fine then it was hit and miss on the first round cycled after that. Run a couple rounds hang up again. Very frustrating but now after these changes works great.
I have one. Interesting results. I tried several types of ammo when I got it. I had feed failures. Originally I put in a captive spring H2 buffer. I ended up replacing it with a normal spring plus H1 buffer which seemed to fix the problem. I'm also using the same 10 round mags with the orange follower that you showed in your video. I'd like to ask if you tried the Federal special 180gr ammo? I had severe pressure signs from it including blown primers. Send a box back to Federal and they said it was fine. I'm testing hand loads now using the Hornady 170gr SP and 11FS powder. Usually putting only 3 rounds in the mag at a time. No feed issues and I'm loading down not near max (looking for accuracy).
Are you taking the soft point Federal Non typical 180 grain rounds? If so yes I have. Those have ran just fine through this. Hornady has worked too. Before this video nothing worked reliably.
@@armorplatedadam Yes. The Non typical 180s. The Browning 124gr seem to run fine but have flat primers. I think my chamber might be a little tight. As long as it keeps working I'm not going to mess with it. If I do have issues I might try a normal H2 buffer. Funny how I keep reading about over gassed and under gassed problems. I wonder if it might be worth while taking the upper apart and carefully examining the gas block squareness and hole size.
A lot of people have had to polish the chamber, using polishing compound and a drill. It seems to be a common problem because of the nature of a straight wall cartridge.
I don't recall what you said you were using for ammunition. Many of the 350 Legend AR'S don't care for Winchester FMJ. Try Hornady 170 gr Whitetail. My gun guy said the Hornady designed the bullet for function in an AR. No FTF in mine.
That exactly what I use for hunting rounds and they are great! I rechecked my zero for the upcoming season the other day and yes those Winchester FMJs were awful. Switched to the Hornady and it ran perfect.
Your real problem is you have too much gas at the port. Your bcg is running too fast and out running your mag. Get a adjustable gas block and slow down the bcg. That is why the bolt is on top of the cartridge when it is jammed.
From day one My BCA jammed constantly, I changed the lower and it did help a lot BUT it didn’t resolve the issue completely. It is also picky about ammo. It shoots Winchester 180 the best.
i have a 350 legend 18in upper shoot the Winchecter 147 150 and the 180s stove piped everyone. I polished the camber and ramps with mothers polish ran better. i reloaded 165 gr hornady FXT, to this date i have not have a stove pipe again.
Incase anyone is looking for magazine thar will run flawlessly ive been using the 5.56 35 round Torkmag for 350 Legend. No modifications are required either.
I know it's been some time since you made this video and I have not read all of the comments but it seems that your rifle is overgassed.You may find that adding an H3 buffer makes the rifle shoot even smoother and with less recoil. Just something to try.
The lower I use this on now has a Geissele braided buffer spring with H2 and it seems to shoot smoother now. Also put in a RA-140 trigger from Rise Armament and it's been great
180 gr soft points have been the best ammo for mine but mine only runs reliably with all 3 being used. NiB BCG, h2 buffer weight and 180 gr soft points. 🤷♂️
As a self defense cartridge the .350 looked really good on paper. However none of em seem to run (and this isn’t a BCA issue). So yeah interesting and all but it’s just not reliable like a typical AR. I’ve heard people claim ARs can’t feed straight wall cartridges. Kinda weird I’d never seen a .450 bushmaster do that? I think like the SFAR, these kinks can be overcome. However I am way way too poor to finance such an operation. I think I’ll just get an AR-10 in .243 and call it “close enough”???
not all buffer springs have the same amount of stiffness either. my bca 223 wylde upper functions perfectly , but several of my buffer tubes have lighter buffer springs and/ or lighter buffer weights. people used to tell me those jams were because using russian steel case, gun is new, etc, by playing with the buffer stuff, i now have had years of virtually no failures to feed, eject, lock back on last round etc. lot more fun when @#%$ works!
These changes you are making are fixing symptoms of the real issue. The issue is the incorrectly designed feed ramps. BCA uses m4 feed ramps on their 350 legend barrels and this simply will never work 100% properly. Take a look at the feed ramps on a cmmg 350 legend barrel. They are designed to feed the larger caliber. A .355 caliber bullet does not fit in the small grooves cut into m4 feed ramps. I had BCA .350 upper and it jammed constantly. Later I built an upper using the cmmg barrel and it feeds flawlessly.
I think it's more of a will not fix it. These fixes I think will have it functioning sufficiently for most needs. It's still a budget type of upper compared to others, however I start to question that when you get above $300. Maybe I'm cheap but for that price I still expect it to work without the extra effort and $20-$100 extra.
BCA has always had issues with feed ramps on 350 legend and 7.62x39 uppers. Yes you'll have to tinker with the feed ramps, and there is lots of info on you tube to show you what to look for and how to fix the issues.
Mine won't cycle. Going to play more with the feed ramps and say f it. I tried every mag, different lowers. It's a problem with the upper or the Chamber
Have a crack at the .556 Pmag mod, shave the two side wall lugs off and the 10mag will take 10 rounds of .350 legend. It will bind after about the 3rd-4th round if you don't shave these lugs down.
Wife is from Mississippi and went to Auburn. I'm from Iowa and went to Iowa State. So it's a wedding gift that has our home states with our Alma Maters logo on them.
Guess i got lucky I built a 350 legend with a Bearcreek upper never had any feed issues. STARTED out with an H3 buffer because the 350 has a little more punch and Bearcreek always runs a little overgassed
I'm not sure, did you say in the video what ammo you cycled for your test? I understand there have been some ammo in 350 legend that has been giving everyone trouble.
@@armorplatedadam Thankyou for your reply. My interest is in my own purchase of a 350 legend and along with that I bought 4 boxes of ammo - #2 boxes in winchester 180 grain and there practice ammo, #2 boxes in 145 grain which is what I have been watching on many videos and many were having problems cycling the lighter loads. Still waiting on weather to warm up to shoot my first rounds.
Just to let you know the 145 will be off one inch at the nine o’clock compared to 180 hunting rounds. Guess I just got lucky, mine runs flawlessly with whatever I put through it.
I cured mine by polishing the chamber. My chamber had horrible sharp tooling marks. Cordless drill some fine diamond compound and a 40 cal cleaning mop and she runs like butter
To be honest ever BCA ive dealt with has need the chamber polished. It's like they don't finish them, or their Qc just doesn't care. But with a lil time and love they have all performed just fine
I wish you would have only changed 1 thing at a time so we woiuld know which one fixed it. Im having similar issues with one and dont want to buy things i dont need.
I'm pretty sure it's the combo of new bcg and h2 buffer. I tried just the new bcg and it still had issues before putting in the new buffer. I didn't get it on film but I'll try it again and drop you another reply to verify. 👍
Need to slow down your bolt speed. The .450 Bushmaster guys had similar feed problems early on with over-gassing. Adjustable gas block, BCG weights, H3 buffer, heavier buffer spring...some combination will work. Not sure about the 350, but the 450 also turned out to be very sensitive to the vertical orientation of the bullet tip in the magazine. The 450BM has to be slightly "nose up" in the mag to feed properly, and some mags needed a couple of coils cut off of the mag spring to work right.
Did anybody else notice the cycling of the ammo? Most of the brass was ejecting to about the 4-5 o clock position and all the sudden he’d have one going straight at the camera at 3 o clock. Seems more like you’ve got an ammo problem than anything else.
Possibly, I was using Hornady 170 grain and some federal 180 grain or I used winchester 140 grain target ammo. Those were the main 3 I used throughout the troubleshooting process.
@@armorplatedadam Try a 300 Blackout magazine from Magpul. The spring tension on those is heavier to accommodate the projectile weight. Standard mags are designed for 55-77gr projectiles. The heavier projectile can nose dive a little when getting toward the top of the mag.
Here you go palmettostatearmory.com/toolcraft-non-logo-premium-5-56-nickel-boron-bcg-with-carpenter-158-bolt.html www.primaryarms.com/expo-arms-h2-ar15-carbine-buffer-fde
I have BCA15 in 7.62x39 right side charger that had light strikes, FTF and just irritated me. The solution was an H2 buffer, Black Rifle Arms enhanced firing pin (BCA one BROKE dry firing) and BRA heavy hammer spring. It ran well even on steel "Russian" ammo UNTIL I used lacquer coated ammo. The coating melted and glued the cases in the chamber. Could not pull the charging hand back. I had to disassemble it and drive out the case with a wooden dowel. Then I discovered the extractor FRAGMENTS in the locking lugs.. One email to BCA and a call back they sent a replacement 7.62x39 extractor FREE.
From what I've seen they will make things right and bend over backwards to do so but my major gripe with it is how many times they have to do that. Wish they would get it right before sending out their products. I'm 2/2 on having issues. And my brother had issues with his too which makes us 3/3
@@armorplatedadam DITTO. Used have a plaque that said "There always seems to be enough time to do it over, but never enough time to DO IT RIGHT, THE FIRST TIME." P.S. the 20"inch Wylde is RMA trip #2.
Mine runs fine with just the NIB BCG, I can drop in any of my other Nitride BCG's and it jambs besides another NIB I have. Seems to me that it just happens to like them better, My 300BO wont work with some of my Nitride BCG's either, so I run a NIB in it as well. I always see comments about all these people hacking up their parts when something simple is usually the cause.
H2 slows the bolt -not a good idea NIB carrier increases lubricity-good idea Running a cartridge with a shorter overall length -best idea Try Winchester 185 grain Grey box
I think I paid around $150 for my BCA 350 legend back in 2018ish(?), but I think I had to put it together. If you bought yours assembled, check the gas block. I can't remember if it's pinned or set screws, but you might have some alignment issues if it's making it's way loose. Mine runs perfect, but then again, I was the one to assemble the upper. I'll have to dig it out of the safe, but I'm pretty sure I pinned my gas block along with dimpling the set screws. Aside from assembling it myself, I haven't had to do any modifications for it to run like a raped ape.
My BCA rifles all work great but 7.62 x39mm will break lugs and extractors at around 1000 rds but i just keep spare bolt for when it happens not if. but i love BCA. I cant help it.
The buffer weight should have been the first, and easiest change. Put your old BCG and mags in the gun, and try it now, to verify its only the new Buffer, that is the fix. Glad you got it running!
Thanks I'll try that next. Right now it's running great with both and using winchester 180 grain soft point. Deer season is this weekend so I'll tinker with that part after. 👍
I would say that's a fair conclusion. As common as this problem seems to be maybe bear creek should put on their website to try a heavier buffer when using a 350 upper on an existing lower lol
@@armorplatedadam There are so many variables in ar builds that buffer springs, bufferweights and adjustable gasblocks all enter the equitation. I like BCA since they are affordable to do a built. I can buy one of their uppers, replace the barrel and still be ahead of something from aero precision. Your milage may vary
you know, there is VU meters for audio in the video editing software that tells you how loud your audio is, would be nice if you matched the music and your speaking to the same level. the music is way too loud while your talking portion is way too low.
Nice, that's what I'm running in mine but was having some troubles with them. I actually think they work fine and the other issues I addressed were what was causing the issues.
Classic firearms has a good videi showing the difference between buffer weights.
It also shows a way that you can tell if you're having issues, based on where your spent shell casing fly to.
If you look at your first set of shots you can see all the casings going forward.
With the h2 buffer they went side ways.
From what i remember the optimal pisition is for the casting to shoot out more towards the back.
If that's the case the h3 buffer might be the sweet spot. Obviously i wouldn't recommend anyone automatically take my word for it but i do recommend that video.
I have one, never jammed and very accurate. Very happy with mine. Have several of their uppers all good
I have had similar issues, but never thought about the buffer. Going to grab an H2 now! Great video. Glad I came across it!!
Awesome, thanks for watching!
If your still having issues with it, file any burrs on your feed ramp, and take a dremel with a felt polishing bit and some metal polish to the feed ramp… I’ve got 2 uppers from bca and I’ve done it to both, they are a steal for the money so I don’t mind putting a little work into them… both my 350 and my 308 feed flawlessly now, hopefully this helps someone!
Excellent and fun review. Professional....no whining and petty negative comments. Just seeking a resolve and you did. Beautiful, powerful hunting rifle.I love Bear Creek Arsenal and Palmetto State Armory. Thank you for the excellent information. Stay safe, Cheers
Really appreciate the feedback glad you enjoyed it, You stay safe as well!
Thanks for sharing your trouble shooting procedures. When I received my BCA 350 Legend upper from BCA I experienced failure to feed on the second round of a 5 round mag. . I put in two rounds instead of five it fed the rounds but failed to lock back the bolt. Since then I have changed out the buffer , magazine and stock . It seems to work fine now . The reason I to changed to a fixed stock the length of pull fits me better. Oh by the way the accuracy is great .
Something I found with the 5 round ASC mags that BCA sells is that they out a second follower between the base plate and spring. With the 2nd follower removed the 5 round mags are now 8 round mags that work as they should.
Oh cool that is great info. Thanks for sharing!
Dremeling out the front of the magazine into a quarter moon shape will help, there are also specific 350 Legend followers that do not have the hump like the 223/556. They are really only designed for the five and seven round magazines.
My BCA 350 legend is doing the same happy to hear it's an easy fix. Now I need to figure out why my BCA 308 is doing the same but only worse... Now my BCA 6.5 Grendel runs like a scolded dog zero issues with that.
Yes, was happy it was a simple fix and didn't have to mess with sending it back. I prefer to tinker and figure it out myself just from a learning aspect more than anything else. My BCA side charge 5.56 had no issues. I have since sold it but it ran great. 350 seems to be hit and miss from what I've seen. I don't have any experience with 308 but hope to get one someday and play around with that. Hopefully your 308 fix is as simple as this one was depending on what you've tried already.
I had to Dremel the feed ramps and polish the chamber to get mine to feed (after buying two different magazines and an H2 buffer ). It is cheap and ive had to polish the feed ramps on my bca 450BM as well. I buy them because I'm not worried about messing them up with my tinkering. If i botch them up too much they make really cheap replacement parts 😅. Bca is the reason I can tear down and replace or repair an ar-15 . From my .50 which needed to be properly head spaced. To my 300 blackout that needed a different buffer and an adjustable gas block installed before it actually ran. They should work for the senoran desert institute . Training gunsmiths since they opened. I love bear Creek i have about every AR- they carry. Its nice they have left hand receivers pretty cheap so i can make all my smaller caliber uppers left handed
I have the same exact 350 Legend. Different optic of course. This video is probably a savior for it. I would never sell it, but I can say I got tired of ripping my hair out trying to figure out why she wouldn't cycle. I will definitely buy that buffer and BCG and see if I get the same results. I do have to say I have been heart broken since the day I bought er. She belongs up there with the other AR's I have that cycle beautifully.
Awesome, glad this helped!
Why not just try the H2 first? Save some money and see if that does the trick.
The first clip of the gun shooting it was overgassed . After the buffer install the brass was ejecting 3 to 4 o'clock which is right.
Magazine
Lol no i ment the first part of the video. Youll never catch me call a magazine a clip. The only thing uses a clip is an m1.
I went through the same crap with attempting filing cmmg mags with my 350 build for no reason. Lancer mags were a definite improvement. Gas adjustment and Lancer cured my issues. Odin works adjustable gas block on 3 builds has been well worth it on each.
I put my BCA 350 on a Rifle lower and haven't had any major problems and I got Duramags 20's and finally got them figured out and just came in from shooting
Try lantac domed cam pins- in all your ARs-- youll be AMAZED !
My research (I'm having the same problem) seems to indicate that being over gassed can also cause issues, so I went the adjustable gas block route instead of the buffer route (I have it on an SCR lower, so buffer tube isn't a thing). An adjustable gas block might also help you a bit.
Yes I think that for sure would help because there might still be a gas issue with mine but it seems to be mitigated. Overall now that this seems to be fixed I'm pretty happy with it.
One in this vid looked over gassed throwing brass 1 to 2 o clock.
I built mine using hitman barrel. I use a h2 buffer. Never had any issues
I've had several bca uppers, psa uppers and some others.... all in different calibers ranging from 5.56 up to 50 Beowulf, also all different gas lengths from pistol up to rifle length. In my opinion and from all the testing I've done, bypass all buffers and just get h3. I run a giessle super 42 h3 with braded spring in my go to rig, but honestly any good h3 will work. The most common pair I use in other rigs is a springco blue spring with a bcm h3 buffer.
Definitely something to consider. I went with the H2 because I thought it would be a good middle ground since I use the same lower for both 556 and 350.
@@armorplatedadam yeah understandable, I figured it would be an issue too but I've had good luck runnin the same lower for my 556 and other calibers aswell. H3 just seems to work but that's just from my experience.... it's worth a try anways.
New subscriber here! Thanks for the info. Planning on buying a psa lower and bca 350 ledgend upper. We can hunt with single shot straight wall cartridges here in Mississippi during primitive weapons season. New owned an ar, so thought this would be a perfect gun for hogs and personal protection and go with my 350 single shot. Thanks again for the great info 😎👍
Awesome glad you liked the video! The heavier buffer and the antitilt followers in the mags seem to be the main things that increase reliability.
I've shot my BCA 350L AR a lot, using different mags and what not. It was a jammomatic at first but it has gotten better, but still the reliability is no where near on par as any other AR's I've shot in 5.56. I think the feed ramps they use, 300blk is a huge issue. The CMMG rifles don't seem to have the jam issues with a singular feed ramp. Even Ruger is using the larger feed ramp.
I run a 5.4 ounce Kaw precision buffer, and a strike industries buffer spring in mine. I also noticed the Winchester white box 350 legend ammo has some issues being the rounds are very pointy. If you try Browning 350 Legend ammo in the yellow box the rounds are more rounded(almost like a 9mm/357 style round) and function flawlessly. Long story short after I got my rifle broken in I have had no issues with the cheap white box Winchester.(5 boxes) I also did an upgraded Wolf trigger spring that has stronger strikes.
Very nice. I love the Browning BXR rounds. They are my go to hunting round. That round is pointy but seems to cycle fine.
I've had issues with Hornady not chambering, hanging up all diff directions, but not in a BCA.
I have a bca .350 . The 150 gr ballistic tip bullet will not feed. The tip hits the chamber wall before the rest of the cartridge leaves the magazine and doesn't allow the cartridge to tip into the chamber. Everything else feeds great. Thinking about removing the tip.
Reset your trigger when you shoot. Polish ramps and keeping the camber clean worked the best for me.
Thanks, I'll work on that. Appreciate the comment. 🙏
I opened up and ground down the feed ramps on my BC upper no need to polish, also it only had issues with pointed bullets, loading my own using 9mm round nose and not seating as deep worked flawlessly. I also own a CCMG 350 feed ramps on that barrel are larger with a slightly shallower angle then bear creeks. Both are very reliable now especially after 400 rounds which is typical for break in
Nice, I'm closing in on 400 rounds so that might have something to do with it too. We'll see.
It took about 250rds of Winchester FMJ before mine was reliable. It now runs flawlessly every single time with anything I put in it
Can never get winchester FMJ to run. Nose dives directly into the feed ramp and shoves the bullet back into the case. Hunting rounds like Hornady American Whitetail loads have worked best for me.
@ very interesting. I also had a savage axis that wouldn’t extract unfired Winchester deer season XP. No rifling marks on projectile, but something was off. I’m now using a CVA scout.
Good video. Adding a comment for a BCA 458 socom. I couldn't get anything to feed in my 458. Asked BCA what they wanted to do and they told me to just return it. I had already tried D&H, Hex and Lancer mags, modified and unmodified. The barrel extension lugs were really really rough, lots of burrs and very sharp edges. I went with Tromix for 458 and everything feeds fine now. I'll use my credit at BCA for another 5.56 or 308.
I can't fix that its a BCA but if you run into more trouble you can try a slightly stronger sprinco m4 buffer spring. H2 buffer improving things for you is from slowing down the rate of fire, giving the mag spring a little extra time, and adding mass to the BCG to brute force going into battery. I guess you could try craytexing the feed ramps, SOTAR has a video on how to do this to m4 ramps.
Thanks for the input!
My 300 blackout from psa had the feed lips stick out and i noticed because my polymer tips on 110gr v max were chewed up every one that cycled.
wont load the first round right. first bca im ever had a problem with. but shoots wonderful
Yea typically the first round I racked myself would feed fine then it was hit and miss on the first round cycled after that. Run a couple rounds hang up again. Very frustrating but now after these changes works great.
Seemed like the 1st roumd ran good until there was less pressure on the spring in the mag. Maybe try stiffer springs in mags.
I was going to bring up the scope mounting but it appears others did.
I have one. Interesting results. I tried several types of ammo when I got it. I had feed failures. Originally I put in a captive spring H2 buffer. I ended up replacing it with a normal spring plus H1 buffer which seemed to fix the problem. I'm also using the same 10 round mags with the orange follower that you showed in your video. I'd like to ask if you tried the Federal special 180gr ammo? I had severe pressure signs from it including blown primers. Send a box back to Federal and they said it was fine. I'm testing hand loads now using the Hornady 170gr SP and 11FS powder. Usually putting only 3 rounds in the mag at a time. No feed issues and I'm loading down not near max (looking for accuracy).
Are you taking the soft point Federal Non typical 180 grain rounds? If so yes I have. Those have ran just fine through this. Hornady has worked too. Before this video nothing worked reliably.
@@armorplatedadam Yes. The Non typical 180s. The Browning 124gr seem to run fine but have flat primers. I think my chamber might be a little tight. As long as it keeps working I'm not going to mess with it. If I do have issues I might try a normal H2 buffer. Funny how I keep reading about over gassed and under gassed problems. I wonder if it might be worth while taking the upper apart and carefully examining the gas block squareness and hole size.
A lot of people have had to polish the chamber, using polishing compound and a drill. It seems to be a common problem because of the nature of a straight wall cartridge.
I think it’s the ammo as well it doesn’t consistently fly the same
Very well could be
I don't recall what you said you were using for ammunition. Many of the 350 Legend AR'S don't care for Winchester FMJ.
Try Hornady 170 gr Whitetail. My gun guy said the Hornady designed the bullet for function in an AR. No FTF in mine.
That exactly what I use for hunting rounds and they are great! I rechecked my zero for the upcoming season the other day and yes those Winchester FMJs were awful. Switched to the Hornady and it ran perfect.
I have a 16" BCA .450 bushmaster. I tried all of the thing you did, but the fix was to open the gas port to .032".
You should try the old BCG with that H-2 Buffer just to see ? it may still work?
Very possible, I'll give it a try and leave the result in a pinned comment. 👍
Your real problem is you have too much gas at the port. Your bcg is running too fast and out running your mag. Get a adjustable gas block and slow down the bcg. That is why the bolt is on top of the cartridge when it is jammed.
I have the 20 round dura mags no issues 100 rounds so far
From day one My BCA jammed constantly, I changed the lower and it did help a lot BUT it didn’t resolve the issue completely.
It is also picky about ammo.
It shoots Winchester 180 the best.
Yes, that has become my go to ammo.
Great vid ty for the info. I'm calling you CLP!
i have a 350 legend 18in upper shoot the Winchecter 147 150 and the 180s stove piped everyone. I polished the camber and ramps with mothers polish ran better. i reloaded 165 gr hornady FXT, to this date i have not have a stove pipe again.
just get 350 legend Lancer mags they have the heavier springs already installed
Thanks I'll see if I can get some. Only been able to find some CMMG ones around me. Might order some.
I just ordered two I believe they were 15 round clips. I hope the work.
Peace brother 🙏
@@70bluesvilleit’s not a clip it’s a magazine.
Incase anyone is looking for magazine thar will run flawlessly ive been using the 5.56 35 round Torkmag for 350 Legend. No modifications are required either.
I know it's been some time since you made this video and I have not read all of the comments but it seems that your rifle is overgassed.You may find that adding an H3 buffer makes the rifle shoot even smoother and with less recoil. Just something to try.
The lower I use this on now has a Geissele braided buffer spring with H2 and it seems to shoot smoother now. Also put in a RA-140 trigger from Rise Armament and it's been great
PSA lower on mine not a single miss feed about 600 round Drives nails at 150 yards with 180g soft points
180 gr soft points have been the best ammo for mine but mine only runs reliably with all 3 being used. NiB BCG, h2 buffer weight and 180 gr soft points. 🤷♂️
As a self defense cartridge the .350 looked really good on paper. However none of em seem to run (and this isn’t a BCA issue).
So yeah interesting and all but it’s just not reliable like a typical AR.
I’ve heard people claim ARs can’t feed straight wall cartridges. Kinda weird I’d never seen a .450 bushmaster do that?
I think like the SFAR, these kinks can be overcome. However I am way way too poor to finance such an operation. I think I’ll just get an AR-10 in .243 and call it “close enough”???
You can just add tungsten weights to the buffer.Get duramags and be done with mag question
How about trying the new buffer with the old bolt carrier??? Could work better?
I did try that and it still had hiccups. The magic ticket ended up being the bolt and buffer. Runs great now.
not all buffer springs have the same amount of stiffness either. my bca 223 wylde upper functions perfectly , but several of my buffer tubes have lighter buffer springs and/ or lighter buffer weights. people used to tell me those jams were because using russian steel case, gun is new, etc, by playing with the buffer stuff, i now have had years of virtually no failures to feed, eject, lock back on last round etc. lot more fun when @#%$ works!
Very good points. I'm beginning to think it is an overlooked area of the gun and I'm definitely guilty of that.
These changes you are making are fixing symptoms of the real issue. The issue is the incorrectly designed feed ramps. BCA uses m4 feed ramps on their 350 legend barrels and this simply will never work 100% properly. Take a look at the feed ramps on a cmmg 350 legend barrel. They are designed to feed the larger caliber. A .355 caliber bullet does not fit in the small grooves cut into m4 feed ramps. I had BCA .350 upper and it jammed constantly. Later I built an upper using the cmmg barrel and it feeds flawlessly.
It's ashame that I can easily identify the issue and BCA either cannot or refuses to fix it.
I think it's more of a will not fix it. These fixes I think will have it functioning sufficiently for most needs. It's still a budget type of upper compared to others, however I start to question that when you get above $300. Maybe I'm cheap but for that price I still expect it to work without the extra effort and $20-$100 extra.
BCA has always had issues with feed ramps on 350 legend and 7.62x39 uppers. Yes you'll have to tinker with the feed ramps, and there is lots of info on you tube to show you what to look for and how to fix the issues.
Mine won't cycle. Going to play more with the feed ramps and say f it. I tried every mag, different lowers. It's a problem with the upper or the Chamber
Mine will not cycle polymer tip rounds. But runs 100% with hunting lead soft tip rounds. Mines less than a month old.
Have a crack at the .556 Pmag mod, shave the two side wall lugs off and the 10mag will take 10 rounds of .350 legend. It will bind after about the 3rd-4th round if you don't shave these lugs down.
I might give that a try. I've always been apprehensive about potentially ruining a Pmag tho for this haha
Why is there a poster behind you with the Auburn logo on a silhouette of Mississippi?
Wife is from Mississippi and went to Auburn. I'm from Iowa and went to Iowa State. So it's a wedding gift that has our home states with our Alma Maters logo on them.
Guess i got lucky
I built a 350 legend with a Bearcreek upper never had any feed issues. STARTED out with an H3 buffer because the 350 has a little more punch and Bearcreek always runs a little overgassed
I'm not sure, did you say in the video what ammo you cycled for your test? I understand there have been some ammo in 350 legend that has been giving everyone trouble.
I used winchester target loads, hornady soft point and some federal atypical soft point and they all seemed to work this time around.
@@armorplatedadam Thankyou for your reply. My interest is in my own purchase of a 350 legend and along with that I bought 4 boxes of ammo - #2 boxes in winchester 180 grain and there practice ammo, #2 boxes in 145 grain which is what I have been watching on many videos and many were having problems cycling the lighter loads. Still waiting on weather to warm up to shoot my first rounds.
Just to let you know the 145 will be off one inch at the nine o’clock compared to 180 hunting rounds. Guess I just got lucky, mine runs flawlessly with whatever I put through it.
I have the 223 wylde and never an issue
I cured mine by polishing the chamber. My chamber had horrible sharp tooling marks. Cordless drill some fine diamond compound and a 40 cal cleaning mop and she runs like butter
I might still do that in the future. Got some other changes I want to try as well to get it running perfect.
To be honest ever BCA ive dealt with has need the chamber polished. It's like they don't finish them, or their Qc just doesn't care. But with a lil time and love they have all performed just fine
I had to polish my 7.62x39 chamber in order to run steelcased ammo.
I wish you would have only changed 1 thing at a time so we woiuld know which one fixed it. Im having similar issues with one and dont want to buy things i dont need.
I'm pretty sure it's the combo of new bcg and h2 buffer. I tried just the new bcg and it still had issues before putting in the new buffer. I didn't get it on film but I'll try it again and drop you another reply to verify. 👍
Was the BCG from Trybe defense? If so, good for you! I caught a sale and got 4!
Nope it was a Toolcraft NiB BCG. Best $100 I've ever spent
@@armorplatedadam niiiiiceee
Need to slow down your bolt speed. The .450 Bushmaster guys had similar feed problems early on with over-gassing. Adjustable gas block, BCG weights, H3 buffer, heavier buffer spring...some combination will work. Not sure about the 350, but the 450 also turned out to be very sensitive to the vertical orientation of the bullet tip in the magazine. The 450BM has to be slightly "nose up" in the mag to feed properly, and some mags needed a couple of coils cut off of the mag spring to work right.
H2 buffer solved it for me. I'm sure there is other stuff I can do but for now it's not broke so I won't fix it further lol
Did anybody else notice the cycling of the ammo? Most of the brass was ejecting to about the 4-5 o clock position and all the sudden he’d have one going straight at the camera at 3 o clock. Seems more like you’ve got an ammo problem than anything else.
Possibly, I was using Hornady 170 grain and some federal 180 grain or I used winchester 140 grain target ammo. Those were the main 3 I used throughout the troubleshooting process.
I want a 350 ar, but seems everyone is having problems getting them to run 😢
They are a problem but with some fine tuning and swapping out parts they work great! 🙄
@11:59 first time seeing that wall of hay had me 😮
A lot of jams are caused from week, magazine springs
I might try sticking a 30 round spring in the 20 round mag and putting the 20 round mag spring in the 10 round mag to see if that helps even more.
@@armorplatedadam Try a 300 Blackout magazine from Magpul. The spring tension on those is heavier to accommodate the projectile weight. Standard mags are designed for 55-77gr projectiles. The heavier projectile can nose dive a little when getting toward the top of the mag.
@@PickettsMillArmory thanks for the advice I'll give it a try.
Link to the bcg and buffer ?
Here you go
palmettostatearmory.com/toolcraft-non-logo-premium-5-56-nickel-boron-bcg-with-carpenter-158-bolt.html
www.primaryarms.com/expo-arms-h2-ar15-carbine-buffer-fde
@@armorplatedadam wow that was fast. Thank you sir.
Haha I'm Sitting in a pit snow goose hunting all day and its been slow so far so I have a lot of time on my hands right now.
@@armorplatedadam Sounds like beautiful fun. Enjoy every moment.
put the spring from a thirty round mag in the twenty round mag with the anti tilt and polish ramps and chamber , never had another jamb
Thanks for the tip!
I have BCA15 in 7.62x39 right side charger that had light strikes, FTF and just irritated me. The solution was an H2 buffer, Black Rifle Arms enhanced firing pin (BCA one BROKE dry firing) and BRA heavy hammer spring. It ran well even on steel "Russian" ammo UNTIL I used lacquer coated ammo. The coating melted and glued the cases in the chamber. Could not pull the charging hand back. I had to disassemble it and drive out the case with a wooden dowel. Then I discovered the extractor FRAGMENTS in the locking lugs.. One email to BCA and a call back they sent a replacement 7.62x39 extractor FREE.
From what I've seen they will make things right and bend over backwards to do so but my major gripe with it is how many times they have to do that. Wish they would get it right before sending out their products. I'm 2/2 on having issues. And my brother had issues with his too which makes us 3/3
@@armorplatedadam DITTO.
Used have a plaque that said
"There always seems to be enough time to do it over, but never enough time to DO IT RIGHT, THE FIRST TIME." P.S. the 20"inch Wylde is RMA trip #2.
Mine runs fine with just the NIB BCG, I can drop in any of my other Nitride BCG's and it jambs besides another NIB I have. Seems to me that it just happens to like them better, My 300BO wont work with some of my Nitride BCG's either, so I run a NIB in it as well. I always see comments about all these people hacking up their parts when something simple is usually the cause.
Sounds like it was a gas problem.. not so much the block or tube.. but the reaction of the bcg and BSA.. 🤷🏽♂️
I had similar problem with mine but all I did was I polished the front of the bolt so the case would slide easier and problem solved
Nice, changing buffer weight seemed to solve the problem for me.
Heavier buffer cured my bear creek feed issues
H2 slows the bolt -not a good idea
NIB carrier increases lubricity-good idea
Running a cartridge with a shorter overall length -best idea
Try Winchester 185 grain Grey box
Sweet I'll give it a try. Almost deer time again. Thanks.
How many ounces is that buffer?
4 ounces
I think I paid around $150 for my BCA 350 legend back in 2018ish(?), but I think I had to put it together. If you bought yours assembled, check the gas block. I can't remember if it's pinned or set screws, but you might have some alignment issues if it's making it's way loose. Mine runs perfect, but then again, I was the one to assemble the upper. I'll have to dig it out of the safe, but I'm pretty sure I pinned my gas block along with dimpling the set screws. Aside from assembling it myself, I haven't had to do any modifications for it to run like a raped ape.
Thanks for the info, I'll take a look at it sometime. 👍
A heavy buffer and a braided buffer spring will take care of your ills.
My BCA rifles all work great but 7.62 x39mm will break lugs and extractors at around 1000 rds but i just keep spare bolt for when it happens not if. but i love BCA. I cant help it.
I'm a big fan of their side charging uppers. Nice break from the norm and good price compared to others.
Somebody say the lancer mag work perfectly
I just ordered a black 350 ledgend upper, Are those standard 556 mags?
No, these are CMMG 350 legend mags.
The buffer weight should have been the first, and easiest change. Put your old BCG and mags in the gun, and try it now, to verify its only the new Buffer, that is the fix.
Glad you got it running!
Thanks I'll try that next. Right now it's running great with both and using winchester 180 grain soft point. Deer season is this weekend so I'll tinker with that part after. 👍
So really there was nothing wrong with the upper receiver it self. AR's can be finicky when you start swapping uppers in different calibers.
I would say that's a fair conclusion. As common as this problem seems to be maybe bear creek should put on their website to try a heavier buffer when using a 350 upper on an existing lower lol
@@armorplatedadam There are so many variables in ar builds that buffer springs, bufferweights and adjustable gasblocks all enter the equitation. I like BCA since they are affordable to do a built. I can buy one of their uppers, replace the barrel and still be ahead of something from aero precision. Your milage may vary
you know, there is VU meters for audio in the video editing software that tells you how loud your audio is, would be nice if you matched the music and your speaking to the same level. the music is way too loud while your talking portion is way too low.
Thanks I'll work on it. 👍
Mine runs great. CMMG mags.
Nice, that's what I'm running in mine but was having some troubles with them. I actually think they work fine and the other issues I addressed were what was causing the issues.
I have one jammed and one not
U can’t put your scope on like that it will not hold zero
Try C Mags
polish the chamber. That is the fix for this problem.
War Eagle
If your using 145 gr flat point ammo, that's the problem
Yea those suck
Over gassing like a sombich watch the smoke come from buffer tube
eye pro dude setting a bad example
You are a guy with a bridged optic mount trying to give advice on guns....fuddtastic.
It's bca so
MAG SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why don't you show what you're shooting at I mean it's pretty boring
I usually try to incorporate some of that in my videos but this one I was mostly concerned with showing reliability and how the gun was cycling.