12 minute read
ARMOURY: VFC BCM GBBR
IN ISSUE 128 BILL TOOK A REALLY GOOD LOOK AT THE NEW BCM MCMR AEG FROM VEGAFORCE COMPANY (VFC) AND FELL (BACK) IN LOVE WITH ELECTRIC AR PLATFORMS BECAUSE OF IT! OF COURSE, THE AEG IS ONLY ONE PART OF THE VFC “BCMAIR” PROGRAM SO THIS TIME HE TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO THE SAME CARBINE, ONLY THIS TIME AS AN ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC GBBR!
C’mon, anyone who knows me, or that reads Airsoft Action regularly knows that I am just a HUGE VFC fanboy! VFC are a company that I’ve got to know very well indeed, and I’ve used their high-quality, innovative airsoft creations pretty much from the day they started! I’ve got to know Ray at VFC very well too and speak to him these days not just as a trusted contact in the global airsoft industry, but also as a personal friend - of some years standing!
That means that when Ray tells me, with his “work hat” on, that something amazing is coming, I trust his opinion 100%. Of course, when it comes to VFC AEGs and GBBRs I also have the experience of many years use of their models, both in game and on the range and those models have all had literally thousands of BBs through them, so I know just a little about how VFC platforms perform not only as new, but also as they age. Bottom line is that VFC is a brand that I 100% trust (although like any brand they’ve had their ups and downs) and the fact that I have a really good friend inside the company means that I get to know about things in advance and get all excited …but have to say “Sorry, my lips are sealed!”
It’s been pretty obvious that a new AEG model
that I have been massively excited about is the MCMR (M-LOK Compatible Modular Rail) created by VFC under their new partnership and licencing agreement with Bravo Company USA, Inc (BCM), and after thorough and extensive range-testing this magnificent AEG has proved to be everything I’d been led to believe it would be …and more!
As I’ve said many times before - and in my initial review of the MCMR AEG - I absolutely adore an AEG or GBB that’s gone through all the checks and balances pre-production, thorough torture-testing, design and re-design and a carefully controlled manufacturing process …before I part with any cash! I also like a properly licenced replica as I know then what I’m getting is going to be as close to the “real deal” as possible, and VFC are past masters at conforming to all of the aforementioned processes.
I had massively high hopes that the gas version of the MCMR would be every bit as good as the AEG that came before! I already own a couple of VFC gassers and love them as both training and game day carbines, and in fact the VFC SR16 GBBR is one of my absolute favourite RIFs and has already given me a couple of years of sterling service and much enjoyment. In fact, if pushed, I would have to admit that until very recently this has been my favourite carbine amongst MANY that I own, both electric and gas powered!
But then just a few months ago came the BCM MCMR AEG and the poor old gasser got relegated to second position and I thought that the new AEG from VFC would take a long time before it was knocked off pole position. It actually swung me back in favour of Jimmy’s assertion that the AEG is still king! However, that was before my dear friend Ray messaged me to say that he was sending me over the gas version of the very same carbine… and then ALL bets were off!
BCM MCMR REVISITED!
To recap on the background as to why BCM is, at least to me, such an important brand to finally see in licenced airsoft form, I have to return to the history. Okay, I said all of this before when I looked at the AEG but you REALLY need to understand where I’m coming from to fully appreciate what is on offer from VFC, so I’ll quote direct as there’s no pint reinventing the wheel now, is there?
BCM started in the garage of a USMC veteran in Wisconsin, shortly after Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. As their website proudly tells one and all, BCM was founded to support the needs of Private Security Professionals working in theatres where durable
mil-spec components for their weapon systems were not readily available. BCM (Bravo Company
MFG, Inc.) builds professional grade weaponry manufactured, reinforced and tested to meet the unforgiving needs of professional Soldiers, Law
Enforcement and responsible citizens in some of the most high threat environments in the world, products that are: “Engineered and built as lifesaving equipment with industry-leading mechanical quality control,
BCM lifesaving tools serve US Military Special
Operations Units, Department of Homeland
Security, responsible American citizens and other government agencies at home and around the world.” Bravo Company are one of the “good guys”, their motto is the classic “Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum” (If You Wish for Peace; Prepare for War) and everything they create is with this mindset in place. No shortcuts, no substitutions, no half measures and they say go on to say that… “BCM was founded to provide military-standard weapons systems to the American Warrior. BCM builds them to be as unbreakable as the people who use them”. Built using the highest-quality materials and tested to meet the needs of the most demanding users, BCM equipment increases survivability in dangerous situations.
Again, as I said before, you may have noticed in all the reviews I carry out on replica firearm models that I regularly make use of the words “Fully Licenced” and it’s something that is very important to me. There are many “replicas” out there that may, on first glance, look like the original that they are designed to resemble but, in many cases it is just that, a “resemblance” rather than a true reproduction. Whilst this may seem unimportant, in fact it’s a vital part of how the industry works. Development of any firearm takes years and costs many thousands of buckeroos and both aftermarket parts and accessories form yet another part of the process. Trademark infringement is a serious matter and failing to work with real world firearms manufacturers could see them withdrawing their products altogether from the replica market.
Just like with the AEG, VFC have worked in total harmony with BCM under their “BCMAIR” program, even down to using the original design specifications of the “real deal” to provide a replica with a completely authentic look and feel. Each MCMR, both AEG and GBB, comes with authentic BCM markings throughout, on the unique “MOD 1 SOPMOD” stock, the ergonomic and nicely stippled “MOD 3” pistol grip, both upper and lower receivers, on the rail itself, and even on the “MOD 0 - 5.56” compensator at the sharp end, all of which means that this is a tried, tested and fully licenced replica! The MCMR, as both a superlative AEG and now a high-performance GBBR, just looks fabulous and is, quite literally now, as real as it gets in airsoft form!
IT’S ALL ABOUT GUTS
So far so much the same, right? However, it’s all about what’s inside the GBBR that makes the difference and really gives it some high-quality, high-performance “guts”!
Overall, the fit and finish of the GBB MCMR is superbly, gorgeously first rate, right down to the sharp and crisp trademarks and I’d go so far as saying that it somehow just feels “better” somehow than the AEG, to me at least. Everything about this RIF is utterly righteous and just having it in your hands makes you feel that you’re holding something pretty darn special!
So, what, to me, makes the VFC replica of the MCMR “real”? The answer is simple!
If you can find an airsoft replica of a specific “AR”
that is 100% exactly like its real world counterpart, that feels, can be adjusted, and operates (albeit from gas and BBs in each magazine rather than bullets and propellant) like a real carbine for the same price I would love to hear about it!
Overall, the VFC MCMR is as close to the real deal as you’ll find in 6mm form and everything is nailed down to look and feel exactly as it would on the real thing, including the operating system. There are many steel parts apparent on the MCMR, including the Bolt Catch, Magazine Release, Selector, Dummy Forward Assist, and Dust Cover. Also in steel is the Trigger Set which has Firing Pin parts of a totally new design and a “Non-Cut Lever” steel Hammer Set. VFC tell me:
“The new firing pin parts have a deeper installation position to effectively strengthen (and add) stability, and the improved lower receiver (a redesign of the internal AR series GBBR lower receiver) is equipped with positioning holes, so it’s not easy to cause installation deviation or skew things during operation.”
The steel components continue into a full-travel CNC Bolt Carrier Assembly with a stronger steel bolt cam pin to mimic the “bolt carrier group (BCG)” of the real BCM, and this has some real muscle, especially when it’s married up to the High-Speed (weight increased) Buffer Unit. VFC have even fitted a steel Buffer Stop to make sure this added dynamic doesn’t cause damage during continued use!
As with VFCs previous gas ARs, this replicates exactly the operation of the real carbine so your drills need to be 100% the same. For instance, the VFC gas magazines (and the MCMR is fully compatible with VFC’s excellent gas V-Mags) only hold 30 BBs, so your reloads need to be slick and lo-drag. In addition to luxurious build quality and superb components, the MCMR also offers realistic take-down; by splitting the receivers you can remove the BCG for cleaning and maintenance, again, just like the real thing.
DOWNRANGE
I took the MCMR GBBR to my usual 30m woodland range to chrono and test and, in terms of power, I got a consistent 1.33 Joule/379fps on a .20g RZR BB using VORSK V8 gas, and upping to .30g RZR BBs, the accuracy was amazing at that range. The MCMR benefits from VFCs “Guide Hop” technology where you can easily adjust the hop by using a hex wrench to fine tune via a mechanism in the fake gas block… Gone are the days when you needed to split the receiver to adjust the hop, or to create a “fettling tool” to do it! Measuring out 70m in the woods I secured one of our Red Cell “Steels” and had at it prone… Suffice to say that the “gong was a’ringin’” with every carefully placed .30g BB!
I honestly have fallen in love with the MCMR as a platform, as everything just seems “right” to me! I love the BCM licenced furniture from the stock through the ergonomic pistol grip and onto the distinctive M-LOK rail. Once again I added a foregrip and a holosight so it feels comfortable for me and the overall length (stock fully extended) of 790mm and weight (with mag) of 1958g is absolutely perfect in my mind for a “fightin’ gun”!
I’ve managed to get in some serious range time with it (not a chore if I’m honest!) and the added sense of realism that the gas operation adds to a platform I’ve already fallen in love with just adds to the feeling that you’ve got something more akin to a real firearm in your hands rather than an airsoft version! There are many gas rifles and carbines out there now that “simulate” the real thing and many of them are very, very expensive beasts; having now shot the MCMR on a sustained basis I can tell you that it will perform as well as the best.
I have said this of other VFC GBBR models but the MCMR is far from being your average “airsoft gun” and for this reason I don’t believe you’ll be seeing it regularly at “Sunday Skirmishes” but, to be perfectly honest, the MCMR hasn’t been designed and made for the mass market, it’s been created for “those that know”, people and players that want an airsoft carbine that not only looks fabulous, but one which operates exactly like the “real deal”! It’s been designed for players right enough, and the AEG will see you through the hardest-fought skirmishes with some style! For the MilSim player, and for those that want to test themselves to the limit in any game, or on the range, then the GBBR is just sublime and I believe that both VFC and BCM must be very, VERY pleased with what they’ve created… I KNOW that I am - and am excited to see what my old friends at VegaForceCompany do with the “BCMAIR” program next!
My sincere thanks go to my good mate Ray at www.vegaforce.com for helping me to understand “The Way of the MCMR” just a little more than I did before and for sending over the GBBR and the AEG for evaluation. Next month Red Cell will be looking at gas carbines and rifles, so tune in to Issue 132 to see what they think - and Stewbacca will also be looking at what happens when the MCMR gets the “Clarence Lai Treatment” too! AA
