I had been mulling over buying an AR-10 for a few months now, the topic of this thread on this sub forum:

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/9300074684

I had vacillated between the SIG 716i, the Springfield Armory Saint Victor and the Black Rain Ordnance Fallout 10, the few that are actually available around where I live. I really liked the BRO but it represented a price point about 50% higher than the other two ARs. The SIG was very nice but has several critical proprietary parts and the SA has a fairly thin barrel, which was kind of a turn-off for me. That being said any of them would have served me well as I shoot for fun.

That all changed last weekend when the BLO went on sale for 15% off and that coupled with special financing and rewards points led me to take the plunge and buy the BLO. As far as ARs go it is a very nicely made rifle, with billet upper and lower receivers, an excellent barrel and rail, a really cool color scheme and a very good reputation.

Unfortunately I didn’t have a good first trip to the range, experiencing several light strikes and a few FTEs. Some of what I experienced could possibly ammo related as I have had problems with the Aguila ammo in my M1 Garand in .308 as it appears to be loaded on the weak side. Therefore I wasn’t ready to contact BRO CS quite yet. I did pluck a chunk of brass from under the extractor claw early on in the shooting session but that didn’t take care of my problems. A change in ammo did help, but it still wasn’t reliable. I also noted that the trigger is mediocre at best, gritty, heavy and with a long pull. The trigger issue I decided to put off for a later date, being less urgent than the light strikes and FTEs.

I noted these issues in the comment section when I registered the rifle with BLO, not expecting it to be worth the keystrokes. Besides I wanted to make sure I had better documented my issues and try different ammo.

While driving home from work today, and being on the one legitimate phone call I have received in the last two weeks aside from my wife, I had a call come in, which I refused as I didn’t recognize the 888 number. Imagine my profound surprise when I checked my email to find a message from BLO CS!! I also had a voice mail from the CS rep, a great guy names Donn, a retired LEO and former military. I returned the call when I got home and was talking to Donn in a matter of minutes. With absolutely no prompting he told me he felt I had a weak extractor spring and that he was shipping out a brand new BCG on Monday!! He also responded that the mil spec trigger was what Bass Pro had spec’ed out. Fair enough.

I can’t overstate that my experience with BRO so far, aside from the issues to start with, was been nothing but outstanding. Obviously no one would choose to have issues with a brand new firearm, but s**t happens. Donn was very friendly and knowledgeable, and willing to take the time to answer my questions. While I have had excellent CS from some companies, notably Wilson Combat and Langdon Tactical, and to a lesser extent SIG, I have never had a company reach out to me in a pro active way like this. Mind you I hadn’t even made an attempt to contact BRO CS!!

I will keep the forum posted on the results with the new BCG.

Just an update..hopefully the final one!

I received the replacement BCG from BRO soon after the holidays, unfortunately during a bout with COVID . I finally made it to the range on Tuesday the 11th, only to find that the rifle wouldn’t even chamber a round. A quick call to Black Rain Ordnance led to me boxing up the rifle and sending it in to the manufacturer on their dime. I received it back just yesterday, nine days later on 1/20, and made it back to the range just today. Rifle ran 100%! Very smooth and with lots of accuracy potential. The BCG was replaced, a spacer was installed for the buffer spring and the chamber was polished.

Since I bought it I replaced the buttstock with a Magpul SL-S, replaced the grip with a Magpul MOE+ and installed an angled fore grip. I have a LaRue trigger due tomorrow, which hopefully will be a huge improvement over the mil spec one on the rifle which has lots of creep and is pretty heavy, and just received a Radian Talon ambi safety.

No one is happy when a brand new, costly item, whether it it a firearm or whatever, has problems right out of the box. Not a great initial impression of BRO. However CS proactively contacted me and tried to take care of my issues without having to send the AR back. Obviously that didn’t work out, but BRO took care of my problems very quickly and effectively. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a Black Rain Ordnance in the future.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sprg03-A3,