When I was at the SHOT Show in 2024, I had a chance to shoot a suppressed Ruger American in 400 Legend. I loved the big-bore, soft-shooting cartridge.
I was already shooting .350 Legend, and its bigger brother looked like more of a good thing. Being an AR guy, the idea of a big-bore semi-auto based on the basic AR-15 platform was intriguing.
It took a while for the AR industry to catch up, but there are some .400 Legend options out there now, including a few from Bear Creek Arsenal.
The .400 Legend
If you aren’t familiar with the .400 Legend, it’s a straight wall cartridge using a .40 caliber, or 10mm, bullet with an overall length around 1.65 inches. That allows it to be used in a standard AR-15 platform. Bullet weights tend to range from 190gr up to 300gr in both sub and super sonic loads.
According to Winchester, who developed the cartridge, it offers 100% more energy than a 12 gauge slug at 100 yards, with 55% less recoil. It’s energy is equivalent to 450 Bushmaster with 20% less recoil as well. For more comparisons, the .400 has over 20% more energy than a .30-30, and 25% more energy than it’s little brother, the 350 Legend. As an added bonus, it has greater penetration than either of those rounds too. Effective range is 300 yards and it’s geared towards medium sized game. It’s an impressive round, especially when you can put it in an AR-15 sized package.
The Big Bore BC-15
The Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 chambered in .400 Legend is a modern sporting rifle designed for hunters and shooters who want a bit more punch in their AR package. Obviously it caters to the folks in the states that require straight wall rifle cartridges for hunting.
At the heart of this rifle lies an 18 inch heavy barrel made from 4150 Chrome Moly Vanadium steel. It’s finished in a parkerized coating for added corrosion resistance and durability in the field.
It uses a 1:16 twist rate and has a 5/8×24 thread pitch, and comes with a BCA flash hider installed. The .400 Legend BC-15 sports a carbine length gas system paired with a 0.750 gas block.
What sets this model apart from your typical AR is BCA’s patented Gen 2 side charging handle. It’s right side mounted, and is arguably faster and easier to manipulate than a regular rear mounted charging handle.
It works especially well with optics mounted as it’s much easier to access without the bell of a scope getting in the way. BCA’s charging handle is paired with their own bolt carrier group made from durable E9310 steel.
The upper receiver is an M4 flat top style, machined from 7075 billet aluminum. It’s mated up to BCA’s Talon 15 inch MLOK split rail handguard, giving you plenty of space for accessories while keeping things modular and slim.
Built on a forged AR-15 multi caliber lower, this rifle maintains the traditional AR platform feel and controls you’re already familiar with. Fire control parts are the basic Mil-Spec variety and it’s fitted with a six position receiver extension. The trigger was fairly crisp with a 5.5 pound break. Not match grade by any means, but not bad.
The BC-15 uses a grip and butt stock that I believe are BCA’s designs. Their grip is reminiscent of a Magpul MOE grip and quite comfortable. It has an American Flag molded into it on either side, which adds texture as well as a neat look. The collapsible butt stock is something of a refined M4 style stock and includes a QD swivel mount as well as a sling slot.
Weight is right around 8 lbs, and overall length is 38 inches with the stock extended. It strikes a decent balance between stability and maneuverability. It’s not the lightest AR out there, but it’s also tossing a bigger bullet than most. So that’s probably not a bad thing. Overall, it’s a nicely laid out package. It’s features are basic, but solid. Perhaps the best part is the price.
MSRP is only $479.99 and of this writing BCA has them marked down to $369.95. That’s crazy inexpensive for any AR platform, let alone one in a unique caliber with some extra features.
BCA AR’s do not ship with magazines, which I was a little surprised by. I guess they figure that most folks have mags already? If not AR mags are easy enough to find. Duramag makes 5 and 10 round stainless steel mags that run about $28 a pop. Even having to buy a mag or two, that’s a heck of a deal, as long as it shoots well.
So Does it Shoot?
I’ll cut to the chase: yes, yes it does. The BC-15 actually shoots amazingly well. It was reliable and shot consistently well. I’ll dive into details in a second, but I wanted to get that out of the way right out of the gate. A $370 .400 Legend does indeed work well and shoot great.
Before heading to the range, I mounted my old Swampfox Optics 1-4X Tomahawk LPVO. This is Swampfox’s first-generation LPVO. They still sell them through their Amazon store and a lifetime warranty still backs them. Even though they have newer models, it’s still a solid optic and quite affordable.
I picked mine up years ago under their First Responder program after one of our SWAT guys at work recommended them. They’re currently listed for $239 on Amazon, though, which is a great deal.
Range Time
With scope mounted, I headed off to the range. Ammunition variety yet for the .400 Legend still seems a little limited, although Winchester, Federal, and Remington do load for it.
I was able to find three different Winchester loads for testing. First was a 190-grain Deer Season XP, polymer-tip Extreme Point, which has a muzzle velocity of 2400 fps and muzzle energy of 2430 ft-lbs. Next was another hunting load, a 215-grain Power Point soft point at 2250 fps and 2416 ft lbs of energy. Last was a 300gr subsonic Super Suppressed load, which features a jacketed hollow point moving at a leisurely 1060 fps with a muzzle energy of 748 ft lbs.
After a 25-yard sight-in, all testing was done from a sandbag bench rest at 50 yards. Although the .400 Legend has an effective range of 300 yards, I see it realistically as a great brush gun for 100 yards and in work.
The subsonic Super Suppressed load was extremely pleasant to shoot, with minimal muzzle blast. Unsurprisingly for a subsonic load, it would not cycle the AR’s action. Sight in groups were in the 1/2 inch range, with 3 rounds in an overlapping cloverleaf closer to 1/4 inch. At 50 yards the groups opened up ever so slightly but easily stayed well under an inch.
The 190gr and 215gr loads cycled the BC-15’s action just fine. Recoil with the AR’s gas and buffer system was by no means terrible, but it was definitely much more noticeable than the subsonic load. Muzzle blast was increased as well. The 190gr load shot a touch better than the 215, with average group size coming in around 1 inch. The 215’s tended to be more in the 1 to 1.25 inch range. Still pretty respectable.
I didn’t shoot on paper at 100 yards, but had no issues hitting my Caldwell Self Healing Targets steadily at that range. That’s plenty good for a kill zone of a whitetail. The .400 rounds hit with authority too, and would send the reactive targets flying with impacts. I know that doesn’t directly correlate to energy expended, but a 200 or so grain .40 caliber bullet at the .400 still traveling close to 2,000 fps at that range packs a wallop.
Roles and Roundup
Bear Creek Arsenal’s .400 Legend BC-15 is obviously geared towards deer hunters in straight-wall states first and foremost. It’d do well against other medium-sized game like hogs and black bears as well. The side charging handle on this model works especially well with a scope mounted too, which also lends itself to the hunting role.
The semi-auto action allows for quick follow-up shots, which could make it a good choice for guides, too. It’s certainly a viable alternative to a 12-gauge shotgun, or a .44 Magnum lever action, or something of the sort.
I like the idea of a heavy-hitting AR carbine for defense use, too. Getting thumped by a 200 grain .40 caliber hollow point at 2400fps would certainly get someone’s attention. When the AI revolution starts it should do a job on robots and autonomous ground combat drones too. I’m kidding. Mostly. I do wish Duramag would hurry up with some 20-round magazines, though.
BCA also makes a few different .400 Legend rifles. You can get 20- or 18-inch barrels in Parkerized finish or stainless steel, in a traditional rear-charging configuration, side-charging like my test rifle, or even BCA’s new bolt-action upper. I have a bolt-action BCA I’m working with as well right now, but that’s for another story.
Whatever your intended use is, hunting, as a camp gun, or just because you like to shoot big bore AR’s, the Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 is a heck of a deal. It isn’t fancy, but it’s reliable, shoots well, and is extremely affordable at $369.95.
As an AR, you can upgrade it to your heart’s content with whatever triggers, grips, or stocks you like, too. If you want a heavy-hitting AR without busting the budget, then give BCA a look.
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