Shoutout - Bear Creek Arsenal

kaiser715

kaiser715

Doing hard time
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Location
7, Pocket, NC
Bear Creek Arsenal in Sanford just pledged 2 million to the tool and die program at our community college, and to start a gunsmithing program.

rantnc.com

CCCC receives $2 million pledge from Bear Creek Arsenal owner

Central Carolina Community College has received a pledge of $2 million – the largest single donation ever for the college – which will be used for scholarships, beginning a gunsmithing …
rantnc.com rantnc.com
 
While that's all great, and I really mean it, it's been going on for years. Magnetti, moen, GKN. Then the school graduates mediocre pay button masher. All those places want is to hire parts changers that can maybe make a offset change. No programing, no manual matching skills or hands on experience. Thats how it worked when I went back in 03-04 before quiting.

Rant over
 
Junkyard Dog said:
While that's all great, and I really mean it, it's been going on for years. Magnetti, moen, GKN. Then the school graduates mediocre pay button masher. All those places want is to hire parts changers that can maybe make a offset change. No programing, no manual matching skills or hands on experience. Thats how it worked when I went back in 03-04 before quiting.

Rant over
Click to expand...

Yep...you saw how the said "a streamlined degree for set up technicians".

Had a guy come to the shop one time cause he needed some welding done. I figured, since he was a "welder" at caterpillar, I could just turn him loose. Turned out, all he did at work was clamp parts A and B into a fixture, and mash the "weld" button.
 
I think it is great they are pledging money but they make absolute junk ARs and parts. I just didn’t want someone here to be punished for wanted to pay back the kindness by buying something from them.
 
ponykilr said:
I think it is great they are pledging money but they make absolute junk ARs and parts. I just didn’t want someone here to be punished for wanted to pay back the kindness by buying something from them.
Click to expand...

CasterTroy said:
Yeah they produce crap...great gesture...so long as they aren't teaching or providing tooling...just funding
Click to expand...

Yep they produce junk and their facility is an absolute rundown wreck of a hole in the wall.
 
I must be missing something with all the complaints I hear about BCA.

Back in 2017 they gave away barrels as a promotion during veterans day. I got a 16" gov't profile .223 Wylde barrel. It looks about like any other barrel I've used and has shot as accurate as they claimed. The build I put it in has been dead nuts reliable. The only downside is that it is parkerized vs. melonite treated and not chrome lined (probably helps on the accuracy side).

Is it that their machine shop looks like a bunch of drunk monkeys? Do they suck at moving parts?
 
StretchASU said:
Here is a 2 million dollar donation to the community to look the other way while we continue to use illegals as labor. - BCA
Click to expand...
I didn't see any news on followup charges. The article mentioned that the workers were using false IDs for employment. I'm not saying BCA wasn't complicit. But it appears there wasn't enough evidence of it to charge them.
 
Southern_Transplant said:
I must be missing something with all the complaints I hear about BCA.

Back in 2017 they gave away barrels as a promotion during veterans day. I got a 16" gov't profile .223 Wylde barrel. It looks about like any other barrel I've used and has shot as accurate as they claimed. The build I put it in has been dead nuts reliable. The only downside is that it is parkerized vs. melonite treated and not chrome lined (probably helps on the accuracy side).

Is it that their machine shop looks like a bunch of drunk monkeys? Do they suck at moving parts?
Click to expand...
I am sure they have made a few things that are fine but the complaints on incredibly crappy stuff are too numerous to be ignored. Uppers being probably their worst (assembly issues but also BCGs that break, barrels with FUBAR rifling, headspace off, ect.) product.
 
ponykilr said:
I am sure they have made a few things that are fine but the complaints on incredibly crappy stuff are too numerous to be ignored. Uppers being probably their worst (assembly issues but also BCGs that break, barrels with FUBAR rifling, headspace off, ect.) product.
Click to expand...
If they're employing transit labor with fraudulent IDs, I can understand why they might have quality control issues..
 
They changed their name several years ago to get away from their crappy quality. Name changed, quality didn't.
 
I went to a friends house and he was shooting a 10" gong at 800 meters with an AR in 6.5 Grendel. It was a stock BCA 16" upper with good glass on it. He said they have not had any issues with the newer BCA stuff.
I have a .450BM pistol upper I bought from them and it was absolute trash. Rail did not line up with upper, chamber chewed up my brass, would not cycle and finish just looked "unfinished". I emailed them and they sent me a label to return it. Within 2 weeks I had a replacement in my hands that looks great and has been flawless. I was actually impressed enough that I bought a big bore rifle upper from them also. It looks great without any issues. This was all post ICE raid, so maybe they have gotten better.
 
Junkyard Dog said:
While that's all great, and I really mean it, it's been going on for years. Magnetti, moen, GKN. Then the school graduates mediocre pay button masher. All those places want is to hire parts changers that can maybe make a offset change. No programing, no manual matching skills or hands on experience. Thats how it worked when I went back in 03-04 before quiting.

Rant over
Click to expand...

I've been in all three of these plants as a fixture manufacturer and while you're right you're also wrong . Just like has been said in this thread, it's funny the amount of folks that come apply for a machinist job saying they have 10 years of experience when in fact they've only been a parts changer standing in front of a machine brainless. Every one of those companies you listed would absolutely love one of those employees to actually pay attention, learn what the machine is doing and take interest in how to program it and would pay good money for someone who could. This rant is something i hear all the time and annoys the shit out of me, i truly can't understand how someone can spend a decade of their lives standing in front of a machine and not be curious what the g code flying by in front of them actually means.
 
braxton357 said:
i truly can't understand how someone can spend a decade of their lives standing in front of a machine and not be curious what the g code flying by in front of them actually means.
Click to expand...
Ok, now I'm curious. What is this G code you mentioned? Does it have a specific spot, or does it kind of depend on the machine you're working your parts with?
 
Southern_Transplant said:
Ok, now I'm curious. What is this G code you mentioned? Does it have a specific spot, or does it kind of depend on the machine you're working your parts with?
Click to expand...
It does in fact have a specific spot. But once it's understood, the reader's expression immediately changes into the shape of an O.

EDIT: Thought I'd also add -- if that specific spot isn't found, it typically just ends in frustration and general discontent.
 
Last edited:
Scooter402 said:
It does in fact have a specific spot. But once it's understood, the reader's expression immediately changes into the shape of an O.

EDIT: Thought I'd also add -- if that specific spot isn't found, it typically just ends in frustration and general discontent.
Click to expand...
 
braxton357 said:
I've been in all three of these plants as a fixture manufacturer and while you're right you're also wrong . Just like has been said in this thread, it's funny the amount of folks that come apply for a machinist job saying they have 10 years of experience when in fact they've only been a parts changer standing in front of a machine brainless. Every one of those companies you listed would absolutely love one of those employees to actually pay attention, learn what the machine is doing and take interest in how to program it and would pay good money for someone who could. This rant is something i hear all the time and annoys the shit out of me, i truly can't understand how someone can spend a decade of their lives standing in front of a machine and not be curious what the g code flying by in front of them actually means.
Click to expand...

I get what your saying but that's not what they're training in the program, or wasn't when I went. I was fortunate enough to work at a small job shop where I was learning 10x a day what my instructors knew I felt like. To your point about button masters, if thats all they want to be that's all they will be. A large manufacturing company doesn't want to pay everyone $30-40/hr because they can program and give a shit. They just pay one or two and pay everyone else $20/hr to change and measure parts. From what I've seen around here.
 
I crashed the crap out of a machine once by playing with the G line.

I don't remember the details, it was 8 years ago and I was literally one of the guys ya'll have been talking about who just mashed buttons and tried to make proper offsets.

The running joke (until I left that company a few months ago) was that I was so terrible at being a machine operator and that the scrap rate was so high that they promoted me as a cost saving project.
 
Back
Top