Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15
- Category
- Carbine
- Barrel
- 406 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.72 kg
- Introduced
- 2014
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 is a budget-priced complete AR-15 carbine built and assembled in Sanford, North Carolina. The standard rifle pairs a 16-inch barrel with a carbine-length gas system, a forged 7075-T6 flat-top upper receiver, a mil-spec forged AR-15 lower, a BCA bolt carrier group, an A2 flash hider, and the company's Talon 15-inch M-LOK split-rail free-float handguard. Bear Creek manufactures its own barrels in-house, offering them in 4150 chrome-moly-vanadium with a phosphate (Parkerized) finish, black nitride, 416R stainless, and cold-hammer-forged variants. The BC-15 is offered across an unusually broad caliber range for an entry-level platform: 5.56 NATO (1:7 twist), .300 AAC Blackout (1:8), 7.62x39mm (1:10), .350 Legend (1:16), and 6.5 Grendel (1:8). Barrel lengths span from 4.5-inch pistol configurations up to 24-inch rifle barrels, with pistol-, micro-, carbine-, mid-, and rifle-length gas systems matched to each. The platform's appeal is value: complete rifles routinely sell well below comparable name-brand AR-15s while retaining standard mil-spec parts compatibility.
Bear Creek Arsenal grew from a Sanford, North Carolina machine shop into one of the highest-volume AR-15 makers in the United States by undercutting established brands on price while keeping barrel and receiver production in-house. The BC-15 became a staple recommendation for first-time AR buyers and budget builders, and the company's willingness to chamber the platform in less-common cartridges like .350 Legend and 6.5 Grendel broadened its reach into hunting and target niches.
MSRP varies by configuration, roughly $400-$650 for complete rifles and pistols. The 5.56 model uses a 1:7 twist; caliber trims use twists appropriate to each cartridge (.300 BLK 1:8, 7.62x39 1:10, .350 Legend 1:16, 6.5 Grendel 1:8). Specifications listed reflect a representative 16-inch 5.56 carbine; weight and length vary with barrel length and profile. Bear Creek began making complete rifles in 2014 after starting with barrels in 2013.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Bear Creek Arsenal
- Category
- Carbine
- Country
- United States
- Status
- In production
- Produced
- 2014
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 406 mm
- Overall length
- 825 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.72 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 3.29 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated direct impingement
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Trigger pull
- 31.0 N
- Capacity
- 30
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Aluminum alloy
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Polymer
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 920 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 1700 J
- Effective range
- 500 m
- Maximum range
- 3600 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Carbine length gas system
Free floating handguard
M lok rail
Picatinny rail
Flat top receiver
Rotating bolt
Forward assist
Dust cover
A2 flash hider
Rear charging handle
Talon split rail
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 141 5.56x45mm NATO carbines | 2.72 kg | 2.95 kg | Lighter than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 144 5.56x45mm NATO carbines | 825 mm | 838 mm | Shorter than about 60% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 150 5.56x45mm NATO carbines | 406 mm | 406 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 150 5.56x45mm NATO carbines | 30 | 30 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15
How much does the Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 weigh?
The Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 weighs 2.72 kg (6.00 lb) empty and 3.29 kg (7.25 lb) loaded.
What caliber is the Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15?
The Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 is chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO, .300 AAC Blackout, .350 Legend, 6.5mm Grendel, and 7.62x39mm.
How many rounds does the Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 hold?
The Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 holds 30 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15?
The Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 is 825 mm (32.5 in) long overall, with a 406 mm (16.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15?
The Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 is made by Bear Creek Arsenal (United States).
When was the Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 introduced?
The Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 was introduced in 2014.
How does the Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 operate?
The Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 uses a gas operated direct impingement action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Civilian Sport Shooters
- United States
Provenance
Confidence in this record
78%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/bear-creek-bc-15' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "bear-creek-bc-15", "name": "Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15", "manufacturer": { "id": "bear-creek-arsenal", "name": "Bear Creek Arsenal", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 2013, "website": "https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-05-26 23:17:02", "updatedAt": "2026-05-26 23:17:02", "version": "ff1790879d692d51a7d8c8753e1eefd5e6aa0c60a24a075c84e827e1bfeea4df" }, "category": { "id": "carbine", "name": "Carbine", "description": "Shortened rifles for close-quarters use" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 2014, "barrel_length_mm": 406, "weight_empty_g": 2722, "action_type": "gas_operated_direct_impingement"}