I get people asking me all the time why do I prefer BCM carbines over others I have used or been affiliated with in the past. The answer is simple; mindset. I have found that Paul Buffoni the owner and founder of BCM has the exact same mindset as I do- period. He gets the job done and makes sure that BCM products can be counted upon when you need them the most. There are numerous examples of Paul taking a financial loss when the easy way out would have been selling a substandard product vs. scraping it.
Two examples immediately come to mind – BCM’s first barrels were not to specification, Paul Buffoni discovered this after he had them independently tested, and he trashed them – thousands of dollars worth of barrels – vs selling them anyway. Despite the fact they would have sufficed for 99% of the market he refused to compromise. This put BCM behind the power curve financially for better part of a year and pushed back BCM barreled uppers for even longer.
In addition Paul Buffoni is very pro military and spent time in the Marine Corps which had a dramatic impact on his frame of mind thereafter. This is the core reason why he won’t cut corners and only put the BCM name on products that he would trust his life to – after all, if he wouldn’t count on it, why should you ?
That’s why I’m with BCM – mindset. Plain and simple.
-Larry Vickers
Vickers Tactical Inc.
Host of TacTV
Larry Vickers of Vickers Tactical is a retired US Army 1st SFOD-Delta combat veteran with years of experience in the firearms industry as a combat marksmanship instructor and industry consultant. In recent years he has hosted tactical firearms related TV shows on the Sportsman Channel with the latest being TacTV of which Bravo Company is a presenting sponsor.Larry Vickers special operations background is one of the most unique in the industry today; he has been directly or indirectly involved in the some of the most significant special operations missions of the last quarter century. During Operation Just Cause he participated in Operation Acid Gambit – the rescue of Kurt Muse from Modelo Prison in Panama City, Panama. As a tactics and marksmanship instructor on active duty he helped train special operations personnel that later captured Saddam Hussein and eliminated his sons Uday and Qusay Hussein. In addition he was directly involved in the design and development of the HK416 for Tier One SOF use which was used by Naval Special Warfare personnel to kill Osama Bin Laden. Larry Vickers has developed various small arms accessories with the most notable being his signature sling manufactured by Blue Force Gear and Glock accessories made by Tangodown. In addition he has maintained strong relationships with premium companies within the tactical firearms industry such as BCM, Aimpoint, Black Hills Ammunition, Wilson Combat and Schmidt & Bender.
Larry Vickers travels the country conducting combat marksmanship classes for law abiding civilians, law enforcement and military and has partnered with Alias Training to coordinate classes to best meet the needs of the students attending the class.
Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Alias Training & Security Services. Each week Alias brings us a different Trainer and in turn they offer some words of wisdom.
Tags: BCM, Larry Vickers, LAV, Vickers Tactical
Probably just had a falling out with Daniel Defense,maybe his contract ended.
Hey, Jack, don’t be a dick.
Too late…
PTMCAIN, Amsdorf. quit being an ignorant holier than thou lying troll. How you like them apples?
You can always count on Paul McCain to slobber all over Larry Vickers dick like the the pudgy little brown noser he is. Seriously dude are you gay for Vickers or what? I’m sure a former Delta guy dosen’t need your goofy ass defending his honor on the internet. He seems to be capable of taking care of himself. Stop being a homo. I’m embarrassed for you.
Jack – wrong
Read the article again
I recently made the change from Colt to BCM because of articles and testimonies like this. I still respect the Colt and lots of other good manufactures but I am glad that I now have a BCM. Hopefully it will last me a long time and continue to run great. Thank you for taking the time to write the article / post the article.
One thing to keep in mind is that at classes Larry will freely reccomend guns he is not “sponsored” by. I trained with him while he was employed by and used Daniel Defense. Yet even back then he would tell students that Colt, BCM, Daniel Defense and HK make great guns and you couldnt go wrong with their guns/uppers.
Just because he is now given goodies by BCM doesnt mean he will tell you that DD makes a shit gun. Right as he was leaving DD they made some questionable marketing decisions releasing videos of Rob Pincus jumping over hay bales and smashing cinderblocks with DD guns. They also started rolling out space age looking furniture. Perhaps this line of marketing/mindset didnt jive with larry?
Nick
No comment 😉
LAV – any chance we may see a LAV limited edition BCM carbine in the near future?
We have talked about it – not firmed up yet but if you watch SSD you will be among the first to know !!!
WI is becoming quite the epicenter for high quality gun stuff… Makes me proud to call this state home. I am a long time BCM fan and customer and have slowly been transitioning all my 5.56 ARs to BCM components over the past couple of years. It’s great also to see one of the good guys doing so well.
I was a die hard Colt man. The last rifle I bought of Colts was just a problem, the quality was not there. I started looking at BCM and have been impressed and now I’m working on converting all my rifles to BCM.
I do not have a lightweight AR besides my JP15 rifle & Paul being a Marine and all. I do foresee one in my future.
The best advice anyone can give to the BCM doubters is simply…check one of their rifles out for yourself.
Then, get back to us.
Do they pass the Armsdorf 75 round extreme torture test?
*AMSDORF
Us? You got a mouse in your pocket? Everything you know about guns you learned on the internet and then regurgitated on youtube. Stop gargling Vickers’ balls and go back to make crap reviews.
Well said sir! Glad I’m not the only one who notices the utter faggotry of Paul T. McCain.
A BCM build was my first AR. The only thing I’ve had to fix was replacing gas rings when they wore out. Even with them being shot to hell I’ve yet to have a malfunction in the rifle that wasn’t self induced. Not even a light primer strike! Love my BCM and will be building one for my wife as well as a pistol variant in the not too distant future.
I can say the same, my BCM upper/parts kit has not once failed ever
Just ordered the BCM LW complete upper yesterday and it’s already shipped. It don’t get any better than that. Gonna marry it to my Colt lower till the money rat hole fills back up. Excellent interview LAV. Keep’m coming.
i have not bought one of their rifles yet, but I have built 2 of my own, BCM is my favorite place to go for parts for them. They make very good bolt carrier groups and I like all of their small parts, as all of it is quality.
Ive been a BCM user since before they were cool, and use them for all of my builds. Excellent products and awesome prices.
While I like Daniel Defense, Rainier, and Colt, when I build a serious, stake my life on weapon, I use BCM components.
“That’s why I’m with BCM – mindset. Plain and simple”. And a well-paid endorsement deal Im sure. Trainers in the industry (Pat for one) have been aligned with BCM for years, now there is some serious $ and here comes Larry. Which is fine, I dont blame a guy for following the money but doggone this is so wrung out. This was nothing more than an article / interview to associate Vickers with BCM in another media outlet. The absolute fact that BCM is high quality, and the well-earned reputation that Paul B. has as one of the leaders in the industry is known and recognized in our community. “BCM is awesome”! Yeah, no shit.
Paul doesn’t pay his bcmgunfighters. End of story.
I have been Watching and Reading LAV Reviews and TAC TV for around 5 Years. I built 4 Daniel Defense Rifles using all DD Parts except the Buffer Tubes they were all BCM. I have used about 12 of BCM’s Buffer Tubes now and They are the best. The last DD Rifle I built I could see the decline in QC from the previous ones I Built. And I wasnt to happy when They quit selling Thier Stripped Lower Recievers. The last AR I Built is a Noveske I did use a DD LPK and a BCM Buffer Tube but the Upper and Lower Receivers fit with Perfection! They have the best fit and ease of assembly of any I have built so far. I had to cheat a little on this one not wanting to spend 450.00 for a Noveske Barrel I used what They use FN Cold Hammer Forged for about half the Price. And it is Running with a COLT 6920 BCG it is 16″ Midlength Carbine with a Troy VTac Rail, function has been Flawless I didn’t even get a chance to really break it in good before taking it to a 3 Gun Shoot all I had time for was to sight in the Leupold VXR Patrol 1.5x4x20 Scope and Shoot the 3 Gun Competition 2 Days Later. I am really wanting to build a couple of BCM Rifles 1 will be a basic Carbine with Thier Mid Length Upper with the Standard FSB the Other I’m still trying to decide between Thier Stainless Barrel or the BFH Barrel it will be used for 3 Gun Compitition. My only wish is that BCM would sell Stripped Lower Receivers, They would probably sell a Ton of Them! Can You suggest that to Pual Larry? I Love Your Work Larry and appreciate what You do for the Industry and Your Support of People that do it right. I built the DD Rifles in part because You Endorsed Them and I will Build some BCM Rifles for the same Reason. That was a great Video with You and Paul I can Relate with Paul after seeing this Video as I have been a Auto Tech for 31 Years and Rode Dirt Bikes and 4 Wheelers all My Life.
Thank You, Larry
I like that Larry will give you his opinion, without having it “sponsored’. If BCM is good, he will say it, regardless of where the paycheck comes from. This is something I respect. There’s truth behind the “mindset” philosophy; I want to be surrounded by like philosophy, but not clones. Otherwise, we lose objectivity.
I have moved almost 100% exclusively to BCM. Why? Let’s first understand that quality, craftsmanship, etc., are expectations – not added bonuses. So these don’t “count” to me; I expect the best a company can produce.
Knowing this, what is the icing on the cake? Philosophy is one of those things. Consistency is another; consistently good products. I also expect that BCM share and support the same core values I do. But … I look at a company’s partners, too, when many other don’t give it a second thought. Meaning, when I head to the BCM website, I expect that every product in the store meets the same standards as items made by BCM themselves. If it’s on the BCM website, I know it meets BCM standards. And since BCM has an appreciation for best in class, I know that expends to those BCM partners with as well. I don’t feel as though any 3rd party product will show up on the BCM website just because it has a high margin from reselling or via a sell-through model; I know the companies BCM works with have the same philosophy, standards, etc.
Don’t think this is important? Take a look around at the 50+ online stores and websites you can name off the top of your head that offer products, and map that to the company’s philosophy, core values, etc. Are they selling because they want to change and mold the industry, and our future? Or are they selling to meet their quota at all costs? Think about it…
I graduated to BCM products about two years ago and haven’t looked back. The 2-inch stack of free BCM stickers will attest to that 😉
1. Impressive R&D – charging handle, grips, comp and the incredible KMR.
2. Quality – was recently told by someone in the know that the KMR rail covers everyone is wailing about aren’t out b/c they aren’t perfect yet. And you’ve all read the barrel story by now.
3. Value – you can spend more, you can spend less. But the quality/value metric is second to none.
3. Get her done – the fastest shipping (consistently) I’ve ever seen in the industry. I will order something at 10am and get a tracking number an hour later.
4. The best fitting ball caps in the business. Seriously.
5. One request (mentioned earlier too) – Paul, an AR-10 version, stat!
I second that!!! A BCM AR-10 would be the shiznit
BCM’s rock ! I used BCM parts n receiver and Gun Fighter charging handle to build my first AR-15 . Doesn’t get any better then this .