We recently had an opportunity to check out the BCM SOPMOD Mod 0 Gunfighter Stock. How does this stock measure up? We’re going to let you know!
Bravo Company Manufacturing
Before getting into the stock, let’s take a quick look at Bravo Company Manufacturing’s (BCM) background and learn a little more about them. The company started in 2003, just after Operation Iraqi Freedom, by a veteran United States Marine, in Hartland, Wisconsin. Initially, the operation was run in his garage.
BCM was founded for private security professionals working in theaters where mil-spec components were not readily available for their weapons. Currently, BCM builds such components for law enforcement, military personnel, and civilians operating in some of the earth’s harshest environments. Consequently, these tools are built to exacting standards and they’re tested to meet the needs of these professionals.
A wide variety of professionals use BCM products including US Military Special Operations Units and Department of Homeland Security, as well as other government and civilian agencies. I’ve used their products for a number of years and they are, indeed, top quality. I’ve never had a single issue with any of their products including their AR-15 upper receivers. For the money, they’re impossible to beat because of their attention to detail and high quality. Finally, I love that BCM’s products are made in the United States! That’s very rare nowadays.
BCM offers a staggering variety of parts and components for the AR-15. Upper receivers, upper parts, handguards, lower parts, stocks, grips, optics, iron sights, mounts, armorers tools, cleaning products, lubricants, pistol parts (including Glocks), Vickers Tactical and Haley Strategic Gear, books, videos, and training gear.
The AR Platform
Considering it’s often referred to as “America’s Rifle”, there’s no wonder a massive cottage industry has cropped up for this particular platform. The aftermarket parts available for the AR platform boggle the mind. Rather than list them all, let’s just say if you want to replace any part on the AR-15, there is a company (or a few dozen) out there to give you what you’re after. Only a few other platforms come to mind with this extensive of a cottage industry following them: the 1911 and Ruger’s 10/22.
Why the AR-15’s popularity? It’s been the United States service rifle since the 1960s and is still going strong. Simply put, it’s entrenched in our military. Furthermore, military rifles are always popular with civilians. For many, if it’s good enough for the military, it’s good enough for them. Plus, many of those leaving the military like to still have access to the same (or similar) weapons that they used in the military. On top of that, the rifles, gear, parts, magazines, and many accessories are available in massive numbers and often at reasonable prices. To put it simply, there is a very rich supply chain in existence for this type of rifle.
The AR-15 is accurate with enough firepower to be excellent for home defense. A high volume of fire accurately on target is a decidedly attractive trait. Reliability is good despite the nagging stories of the rifle’s unreliability when first issued in Vietnam. Yes, there were teething problems back then. However, those issues were rectified early on and the rifle has been amazingly reliable since then. It’s only gotten better as time goes on.
Magazines are widely available for the AR-15, sometimes under $10 per magazine. There’s no reason why anyone who owns one shouldn’t have a decent supply of magazines put away by this time given the cheap prices and high quality.
Stocks
There seem to be a million AR stocks out there these days. Some are outstanding while others are mediocre at best. A few are a waste of money. One of my main complaints about some telescoping stocks for the AR-15 is they don’t provide a comfortable cheek weld. Many are too low for effective scope use. The comb of many stocks needs to be higher for a better cheek weld. Without a decent cheek weld, a shooter can’t hold his or her eye in a consistent position behind the rifle’s scope and accuracy suffers.
Standard-type telescoping stocks suffer greatly from this deficiency. They’re great for adjusting to various lengths of pull (LOP), but their comb is nearly non-existent for scopes.
BCM SOPMOD Mod 0 Gunfighter Stock
The BCM SOMPOD Mod 0 Gunfighter Stock eliminates the poor cheek weld issue. The funny thing is, I’m not sure how they did it. To be fair, I know how they did it — they included a little “shelf” for the shooter ‘s cheek to acquire the proper height for iron sights or scope use. However, I’m perplexed by how innocuous and subtle this little shelf is compared to standard AR telescoping factory stocks. To the naked eye, the dimensions don’t seem very different. However, they are because the thing works well!
BCM managed to keep a streamlined stock, so you’re not fighting some obnoxious monstrosity on your rifle. The Mod 0 is in keeping with the sleek nature of the AR carbine, which I appreciate. I’ve tried other stocks that address the comb problem, but they’re a large hunk of plastic. Those stocks are heavier and seem to hang up on your gear while trying to operate the rifle.
Not so with the Mod 0. As an added bonus, there are no sharp edges to cause discomfort or catch on your clothing or gear. The stock’s rounded and melted edges are nice. When you place your cheek onto this stock, it seems “soft” to the touch of your face. To me, that indicates considerable attention to detail. This isn’t some hastily thrown-together piece of gear, but a well-thought-out addition to your carbine.
Speaking of soft, the recoil pad is pleasantly soft. Not that we really need a soft recoil pad when firing 5.56mm rounds, but it’s nice to have. Aside from offering some padding, it also anchors the buttstock onto the shooter’s clothing or gear better, so there’s less slip. Again, this is indicative of more attention to detail.
The Mod 0 SOPMOD stock fits mil-spec buffer tubes. For this article, it fit my Stag Arms buffer tube assembly perfectly.
Sling Options
This stock offers two sling mounting options: a slit-type cutout to slip the sling through and secure it near the stock’s base and a Quick Detachable swivel. I elected to go the latter route for attaching my sling.
The sling that I used is a Blue Force Gear Vickers 2-point combat sling. This is the easily the simplest and fastest-adjusting sling that I’ve ever used. The performance is stellar.
Installation
I had difficulty installing the stock because it was hard for me to understand the instructions.
First, slip the stock over the buffer tube as far as it will go. After that, grab the adjustment lever and squeeze it, which lifts a hole in the stock and lines it up with an internal hole. Next, insert a slim piece of metal tubing to hold the piece up (you supply the tubing, BCM recommends something the same diameter as an AR-15 firing pin). The stock fully slides on with the lever temporarily pinned up. Remove the piece of metal and the stock snaps into place. From there, adjustment is like any other collapsible telescoping AR stock.
I feel like an idiot for admitting this, but I consulted YouTube. Once I saw what I was doing wrong, it took me about five seconds to have the stock installed. Easy, peasy!
Final Thoughts on BCM SOPMOD Mod 0 Stock
How did it work? Absolutely perfectly! I now have a new favorite AR stock! It adjusts smoothly like any other telescoping stock. The tolerances are also tight, so it’s not loose and wobbly like some other stocks.
The SOPMOD stock provides just enough comb height for easy use with my Leupold 1.5-4x scope on my little carbine. It’s very comfortable and doesn’t snag on anything. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for anything more! It gets the job done without adding a lot of unneeded or unwanted crap and mass. That’s just how I like it.
At this time, the BCM SOPMOD Mod 0 Gunfighter stock is $57.99 from GunMagWarehouse. This is a very high quality stock for a very modest price. There are plenty of stocks out there for a lot more money but, so far, none of them will out-perform this one.
