Aero vs BCM Braced Pistol Which to Choose...

$500 for a roll mark...

I have found both to make quality parts. I have used both BCM and Aero stuff in the past. Primary is running a 12% off sale right now.
 
It's debatable whether one is "better" than the other but there is no debating having an extra $500 in your wallet to play with when you're done!
 
Last edited:
$500 for a roll mark...

Mmmm not quite

Aero is a much better brand than say PSA or whatever, but there are some differences in the parts here. The BCM barrels are excellent.

The M4E1 sets are excellent and I like the S-One rail mount but in this case, I personally don’t like the partial picatinny top rail
 
Mmmm not quite

Aero is a much better brand than say PSA or whatever, but there are some differences in the parts here. The BCM barrels are excellent.

The M4E1 sets are excellent and I like the S-One rail mount but in this case, I personally don’t like the partial picatinny top rail

Yeah I prefer the continuous rail on the BCM but its not like put a lot of stuff up there.
 
The M4E1 sets are excellent and I like the S-One rail mount but in this case, I personally don’t like the partial picatinny top rail

Aesthetically speaking, neither do I.
 
I've said this many times before, and many people will argue with me, but for the average shooter, a DPMS Oracle at $400 is just as good as a $1500 BCM.

Meet me at the range. Bring your fancy AR. I'll outshoot you with any of my cheap 80% ar builds that cost $400...
 
I've said this many times before, and many people will argue with me, but for the average shooter, a DPMS Oracle at $400 is just as good as a $1500 BCM.

Meet me at the range. Bring your fancy AR. I'll outshoot you with any of my cheap 80% ar builds that cost $400...

I don’t disagree that the avg shooter does not “need” more performance than a budget rifle provides but in the end people buy what they want more than what they need. I don’t need a V8 in my truck but I bought one anyway.
 
I don’t disagree that the avg shooter does not “need” more performance than a budget rifle provides but in the end people buy what they want more than what they need. I don’t need a V8 in my truck but I bought one anyway.
Very true... Totally agree.
 
Not worth it. I feel the Aero is better.
The Aero barrels I have had far outperformed the BCM barrel I had. But I’ve only tried one BCM. Maybe it was just a random turd. I have had good parts by BCM though. Good guns for sure. But I would prefer the aero even for the same money.

That’s about enough saving for a good optic like a Steiner. No brainer for me.

Just my opinion.
 
Aesthetically speaking, neither do I.
I believe there are many in this camp and why Aero now makes the R-One as well, which is identical to the S-One but with a continuous top rail.

When I first read the title, before even clicking, I thought “The BCM will have better resale value, but also probably costs $400+ more to begin with” and what do you know haha. I’m a big fan of Aero/BA, they have fit and finish down to a science, their designs are nice, and pricing is online with the majority of everything else, so it makes it really tough to buy something else.
 
I got the wife the bcm 11.5 a while back and we’ve both been very happy with it. Is it worth the extra, maybe not but when I leave the house I don’t think twice about if she had to use it would it work. The aero might be just as reliable but I’ve had nothing but good luck from the several bcm rifles I’ve had.

Together we’ve put a couple cases of ammo (brass and steel) through it with no problems. Granted I’ve shot it quite a bit more than her.

Good luck with your purchase op.
DEC04C37-0C7D-49AC-B548-6A096008BCC1.jpeg
 
I got the wife the bcm 11.5 a while back and we’ve both been very happy with it. Is it worth the extra, maybe not but when I leave the house I don’t think twice about if she had to use it would it work. The aero might be just as reliable but I’ve had nothing but good luck from the several bcm rifles I’ve had.

Together we’ve put a couple cases of ammo (brass and steel) through it with no problems. Granted I’ve shot it quite a bit more than her.

Good luck with your purchase op.
View attachment 188372

Nice setup. I found the BCM lower, actually @JRHorne sent me a link for under $450 but the I am not sure I can get the complete upper, BGC and charging handle for a price under the complete pistol. Even with the 12% off the tax to NC is killing the deal. The uppers I am finding come with standard A2 flash hiders vs the BCM O hybrid comp which might be an advantage for this 11.5" setup because of noise. @Pbj ak does yours have the BCM O or an A2?
 
Nice setup. I found the BCM lower, actually @JRHorne sent me a link for under $450 but the I am not sure I can get the complete upper, BGC and charging handle for a price under the complete pistol. Even with the 12% off the tax to NC is killing the deal. The uppers I am finding come with standard A2 flash hiders vs the BCM O hybrid comp which might be an advantage for this 11.5" setup because of noise. @Pbj ak does yours have the BCM O or an A2?

It came with the mod 0. It works pretty good keeping it on target but the gun is still loud and has a flash.
 
It came with the mod 0. It works pretty good keeping it on target but the gun is still loud and has a flash.

Noise is my real issue with them. They are loud enough on a 14.5" gun let alone a 11.5".
 
You can find the bcm bcg on primary arms for $149 when they’re on sale.

edited to add

they’re listed as on sale now but still showing the normal $169 when I added it to my cart
 
Last edited:

I would avoid the AERO S-One hanguard at all cost! I bought a complete built upper from AERO last April, it would not shoot anything I fed it under 2MOA at 100yds (Black Hills, FGMM, Hornady VMax) and had some wild flyers. I sent the upper back to AERO twice and it would still not shoot. Took it to a buddy who knows AR's and he tore it down to rebuild it with a White Oak SPR barrel (AREA came with Ballistic Advantage barrel). During the rebuild he noticed how little clearance there was around the AERO low profile gas block and that the Cerakote was rubbed/worn off on the inside both sides of the S-One handguard (ie gas block was installed crooked by AERO twice!!). We reinstalled it and verified clearance with feeler gauges (very tedious). It is now a sub MOA shooter with the WOA barrel.

The S-One handguard has a design flaw/issue with gas block clearence and I was not impressed with AERO's CS when I contacted them about the accuracy issues, and their QC speaks for itself that they built the upper three times with the gasblock contacting the handguard. The QC manager also admitted eventually that they never actually test fired the upper at any point to confirm accuracy because they don't have a range at their facility or nearby! :eek:

My next purchased upper was a BCM 16" RECCE upper w/BCM BCG (BCM-URG-MID-16-BFH-MCMR-15). It's a chrome lined barrel and shoots about 1MOA. I'm about 600 rounds through it with zero issues. I'm getting ready to purchase another BCM upper in 300 BLK this month. Sure I probably drank the Koolaid Larry Vickers put out about BCM's QC:




I pretty much now stick with BCM or Geissele for all my AR parts needs, and White Oak Armory for my AR barrels.
 
Last edited:
Design flaw? Lmao.
You got a turd bro. It happens.
My BCM barrel couldn’t hold 3 moa.
I sold it and bought a BA for 94$.
I still have it, been on 3 rifles, and it shoots great.
Turds do happen. Google “BCM poor accuracy” and it should be clear they ALL don’t shoot sub moa!
 
Design flaw? Lmao.
You got a turd bro. It happens.
My BCM barrel couldn’t hold 3 moa.
I sold it and bought a BA for 94$.
I still have it, been on 3 rifles, and it shoots great.
Turds do happen. Google “BCM poor accuracy” and it should be clear they ALL don’t shoot sub moa!
This made me laugh.... Haha. It's true. Turds do happen...
 
Design flaw? Lmao.
You got a turd bro. It happens.
My BCM barrel couldn’t hold 3 moa.
I sold it and bought a BA for 94$.
I still have it, been on 3 rifles, and it shoots great.
Turds do happen. Google “BCM poor accuracy” and it should be clear they ALL don’t shoot sub moa!

I'm sure BCM has put some turds out there too, along with just about every AR manufacturer.

I gave the BA barrel to a buddy for accuracy testing, but he hasn't gotten to it yet.

However, what drove me nuts with the entire things was AERO's inability to rectify the situation.....twice! Also them never shooting the upper to actually test accuracy just blows my mind.

I "fixed" the gas block clearance issue when I installed an Odin Works, and by "fixed" I took a dremel to the inside of the handguard and hogged it out.

I might give AERO another shot someday, but not the ATLAS S-One handguard.
 
I'm sure BCM has put some turds out there too, along with just about every AR manufacturer.

I gave the BA barrel to a buddy for accuracy testing, but he hasn't gotten to it yet.

However, what drove me nuts with the entire things was AERO's inability to rectify the situation.....twice! Also them never shooting the upper to actually test accuracy just blows my mind.

I "fixed" the gas block clearance issue when I installed an Odin Works, and by "fixed" I took a dremel to the inside of the handguard and hogged it out.

I might give AERO another shot someday, but not the ATLAS S-One handguard.

Well, I'd be pissed too, frankly. There's really no excuse for that.
And, of course you know I do respect your opinion very much, especially in the precision realm, of which I have little experience.

Being an AR building fan, I would have popped off that handguard and done it myself in minutes, but I realize not everybody is into these guns like I am.

I will say this about the S-one: it's very tight. I would only use a barrel that is a light profile (pencil etc), and has a .625 gas journal. This gives better clearance on these ultra slim handguards. But that GB has to be aligned perfect, indeed. And this is certainly something that Aero should be able to accomplish every time.

They are cheaper, and there are reasons for this, no doubt. Those reasons are fine with me as I buy parts and assemble them myself. And, in the context of this thread, I think you are going to see few problems with either lower, and not sure the diminishing returns of the BCM is worth the cost. Edit: and stiffness of barrel not likely to interfere with HG.
 
Last edited:
I would avoid the AERO S-One hanguard at all cost! I bought a complete built upper from AERO last April, it would not shoot anything I fed it under 2MOA at 100yds (Black Hills, FGMM, Hornady VMax) and had some wild flyers. I sent the upper back to AERO twice and it would still not shoot. Took it to a buddy who knows AR's and he tore it down to rebuild it with a White Oak SPR barrel (AREA came with Ballistic Advantage barrel). During the rebuild he noticed how little clearance there was around the AERO low profile gas block and that the Cerakote was rubbed/worn off on the inside both sides of the S-One handguard (ie gas block was installed crooked by AERO twice!!). We reinstalled it and verified clearance with feeler gauges (very tedious). It is now a sub MOA shooter with the WOA barrel.

The S-One handguard has a design flaw/issue with gas block clearence and I was not impressed with AERO's CS when I contacted them about the accuracy issues, and their QC speaks for itself that they built the upper three times with the gasblock contacting the handguard. The QC manager also admitted eventually that they never actually test fired the upper at any point to confirm accuracy because they don't have a range at their facility or nearby! :eek:

My next purchased upper was a BCM 16" RECCE upper w/BCM BCG (BCM-URG-MID-16-BFH-MCMR-15). It's a chrome lined barrel and shoots about 1MOA. I'm about 600 rounds through it with zero issues. I'm getting ready to purchase another BCM upper in 300 BLK this month. Sure I probably drank the Koolaid Larry Vickers put out about BCM's QC:




I pretty much now stick with BCM or Geissele for all my AR parts needs, and White Oak Armory for my AR barrels.


I have built four M4E1s with BA barrels (usually the premium 223 Wylde versions) for friends recently, including the R-One rail systems (for free, not as a business, ATF spies)

Two of the barrels I had to tap my own gas block dimples, two barrels had one dimple already. Unsure why this discrepancy. Installed properly, there was no function or accuracy issue due to not contacting the rail

One issue I’ve had with two Aero Enhanced lowers is that the front take down spring channel was FULL of what appeared to be beads from bead blasting the inside smooth were left in place. Cleaning this out was not easy. Even one or two left in there can jam the spring and prevent full compression. This was within the last six months for both of them.
 
LOL... I knew this would not end well when someone made the claim that BCM is superior to Aero without any supporting evidence.

9 vs 45
BCM vs Colt
Aero vs BCM
Spikes vs Colt (took this one head on with arfcom years ago, it was fun lol)
Ford vs Chevy
Etc etc etc
 
I think the end goal on these is a well functioning, reliable AR. Both companies have good QA/QC.

Aside from the Aero assembly issue above, I don’t think you will go wrong with either.

That being said, I do have a R-one rail and the machining for the gas block journal is exceptionally tight. It isn’t impossible to center the GB, but not as forgiving as other rails.
 
At the end of the day:

No real wrong answers, only opinions. If you threw down the extra cash, you'd likely be very happy with the BCM, like many many people.
 
LOL... I knew this would not end well when someone made the claim that BCM is superior to Aero without any supporting evidence.

9 vs 45
BCM vs Colt
Aero vs BCM
Spikes vs Colt (took this one head on with arfcom years ago, it was fun lol)
Ford vs Chevy
Etc etc etc
Meringue much?
 
I've said this many times before, and many people will argue with me, but for the average shooter, a DPMS Oracle at $400 is just as good as a $1500 BCM.

Meet me at the range. Bring your fancy AR. I'll outshoot you with any of my cheap 80% ar builds that cost $400...

I have put together a few AR pistols in 300BO and one from PSA and one with a Bear Creek upper and neither cost more than $500 and run and shoot great. AR pistols are more for fun anyways for me so decent accuracy to a few hundred yards and reliability and I am happy.

$149 SB3A complete lower kit
$29 stripped lower
$193 complete Bear Creek Upper
$20 KAK flash can.
$391 total (not including optic obviously)


FullSizeRender(12).jpg
 
BCM has a better quality product as in parts and assembled MUCH better. Is it worth the extra $500 bucks, well that would depend on the buyer. I would shop the aero product there are several AR pistols on the market in that same range of price that you might like better. IMO the aero receiver set is pretty decent but I think there are better options out there as far as the other parts go that they use. I would check out the Sig m400 tread, Barnes, PWS mk111 pro etc. A lot of options out there these days to settle on an aero product
 
At the end of the day:

No real wrong answers, only opinions. If you threw down the extra cash, you'd likely be very happy with the BCM, like many many people.

Exactly. I can buy a G Shock or I can buy a Rolex (I'm a G Shock guy;)). They both keep good time and are reliable. It's all how you want to spend your money.
 
I could build that Aero pistol for $600 or less getting parts direct from Aero who are currently running specials every day / week.
This is Primary Arms goof: 8620 is a wack spec for the BCG - the carrier is 8620 but the bolt is either 9310 or C158.

The only thing 'superior' that BCM does is thermal fitment of their barrel to upper, and the price but Arfcom is full of stories of BCM not living up to the hype. Milspec parts are built to milspec and have been that way for 50 years. It's like cast iron cookware - ain't nothing new there.
 
Last edited:
I have an Aero 16 inch rifle with at least 6K rounds through it. It has been flawless and I think i have cleaned it 3 times. I know this is a sample size of one.
A lot of the guys i shoot with would be considered by the "Poors" to be AR Snobs. I think peer pressure is a thing in our community, but i also believe that Quality of parts and QC are a real cost factor people skip over. The builders attention to detail is important. Anyone who tells you a 500 dollar PSA is "just as good" as a Knights or Hodge is ...well... deluded. It comes down to what do you want to do with it, what features come stock on the gun and do you think they are advantageous. Either gun you named (assuming you don't get a turd) will be a solid gun for most things. Neither choice is wrong. The BCM has more prestige than Aero at this time. Since you ask about the money difference i think you will go with the Aero. If the money wasn't an issue you would get a BCM.

V
 
Back
Top Bottom