By Jim Dickson | Contributing Writer
Images courtesy Bear Creek Arsenal
In 2013 Bear Creek Arsenal was founded by Eugene Moore and it remains a family owned and operated business today.
This was not a new manufacturing venture because they already had over 40 years of experience in manufacturing in the highly competitive automotive industry where cutting edge state of the art manufacturing techniques are mandatory for success. Their factory in Sanford, N.C. now covers over 435,000 square feet filled with the most modern production machinery available.
There are over 400 CNC milling machines and the tolerances are constantly checked by CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machines), which measure the tolerances in all directions insuring consistent quality. The CMM machines can measure up to 15 millionths of an inch and every part they make is checked on these machines. The majority of the parts are to 5 thousands of an inch but some are made to 4 ten thousands of an inch. Having all the parts precisely alike means that all the guns will be equally accurate and reliable with no lemons.
The factory is state of the art with modern robotics incorporated wherever appropriate. There are 40 spindles on the barrel boring machines that run 24 hours a day turning out high quality barrels from 4150 carbon steel (a better grade than the normal 4140 steel found in barrels and the same steel S&W uses for their revolver cylinders) and 416R stainless steel. They make rifled barrels using the traditional button rifling method but they have also invested heavily in a cold hammer forged barrel rifling machine. Cold hammer forging is recognized as the method that produces a superior barrel to those made by either the cut rifling or the button rifling method.
This machinery is so expensive that there are only 10 or 12 cold hammer forging barrel machines in the entire U.S. This reflects their commitment to quality. They expect their rifles to all shoot minute of angle groups at 100 yards with match ammo. That requires intense quality control as AR15-type rifles are not normally that accurate unless special care has been taken in their construction. This commitment to quality and the care of their customers is shown in the lifetime warranty for any defects other than normal wear and tear that they put on their guns.
In order to keep the quality up and the price down they have had cut out the wholesale distributors and sell directly to the dealers. Distributors add a big mark up to the price that can be one third of the price you pay. Often manufacturers are forced to cut quality a bit to offset this mark up and keep the price down to saleable levels. Bear Creek Arsenal passes the savings on to the customer and the result is that it is even possible to get a totally accurate and reliable AR15 for as little as $350 from them.
American Derringer Company in Waco, Texas had to do the same thing and cut out the wholesale distributors in order to keep the price of their hand made double Derringers in .45 Colt/.410 affordable without cutting quality. The downside of this is that the manufacturer is now without the massive marketing efforts of a distributor. Customers who appreciate companies that put quality and customers first should support the companies that take this risky step.
Bear Creek Arsenal has had over one million customers so far although not all of them bought complete guns. They do a thriving business in selling AR uppers in different calibers as well as lower receivers. They are tops when it comes to variety and have over 200 configurations of their standard rifles and pistols available.
They use 775 T6 aluminum for the upper and lower receivers of their AR rifles. Bolts are made from 9130 steel. Their AR line up consists of the following guns and calibers:
- The BC-15 comes in 15 calibers: 5.56 NATO, .223 Wylde, .300 Blackout (Highly recommended for those who want a suppressor on their rifle), .350 Legend, .450 Bushmaster, .458 SOCOM, .224 Valkyrie, 6.5 Grendel, 6MM ARC, 7.62X39, 12.7X42, .22LR, .22WMR, .17HMR, and .410 shotgun.
- The BC-10 comes in five calibers: .308 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, .243 Winchester, .22-250 Remington and 8.6 Blackout.
- The BC-5 Huntmaster comes in four calibers, .30-06, .300 Winchester Magnum, 7MM Remington Magnum, and .270 Winchester. At last there is an AR in .30-06. Long America’s favorite hunting caliber there are more factory loads available for this round than any other that I have seen. I have shot one of these extensively and it functioned flawlessly and was superbly accurate.
- The PCC comes in three pistol calibers for those who hold to the time honored tradition of both the pistol and carbine in the same caliber. There is the BC-9 in 9MM, the BC-10 in 10MM, and the BC-45 in .45ACP.
In addition to AR rifles they also male a conventional .22 semi-auto rifle that accepts most aftermarket 10/22 parts. These are available in either .22LR or .22WMR and come with both unthreaded barrels and barrels already threaded for a suppressor. They are extremely accurate and have match grade 416R stainless steel barrels with an 11-degree target crown. A standard Picatinny Rail makes scope mounting easy. This is a precision tack driver quite unlike most semi-auto .22’s. It is a match grade rifle for the man who wants a precision shooter.
Pistols are not forgotten, for they have the Grizzly 9MM handgun that comes in a full size version with 17-round magazine and a compact version with a 15-round magazine. This a modern polymer pistol with bear fur stippling and a 20-degree grip angle. Designed for reliability and ergonomics it sells for a mere $295 yet it is more precisely made than most, if not all of its competitors. You won’t have to worry about the rare, mysterious blow-ups that have occurred with one of its older, more famous and expensive competitors when you are shooting a Bear Creek Arsenal Grizzly 9MM. That alone would make me choose the Grizzly over it. Ultimately they will offer about 100 options on the Grizzly 9MM pistol.
Bear Creek Arsenal is coming out with a radically modernized lever action rifle with a lever action bottom and an upper receiver that can be swapped out for different calibers like an AR. It will initially be chambered for .450 Bushmaster, 5.56 NATO, and .350 Legend.
They are also planning to introduce 12- and 20-gauge shotguns in the AR10 platform so you can use the same lower receiver for multiple rifle calibers and both shotgun chamberings.
More bufferless AR options are on the way for those who want a folding stock on their rifle.
Bear Creek Arsenal is determined to give their customers the most gun for the least money possible. Their state of the art precision manufacturing puts them ahead of most, if not all their big name competitors enabling Bear Creek Arsenal to deliver more consistently uniform guns than previous generations could imagine. This means more consistent reliability and accuracy with all their guns performing equally well so the customer knows exactly what he is getting with no surprises. They deserve your support and I think that they will be around from now on.
