Bravo Company (BCM) has been making outstanding AR components since 2005 and first garnered my attention with its extended BCMGunfighter charging handle. The company has since progressed to manufacturing compensators, pistol grips, AR parts and components, and most recently complete rifles. BCM’s reputation for quality and reliability has earned BCM the trust of military and law enforcement customers, including USSOCOM, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
BCM’s latest offering is the HSP Jack Carbine, which represents a collaborative effort between BCM and Haley Strategic Partners, the advanced training company founded by U.S. Marines Force Reconnaissance combat veteran Travis Haley. Haley also served as a special operations and security contractor and was the founder and CEO of Magpul’s training division.
Haley Strategic Jack Carbine
This semi-automatic carbine operates on a custom-designed mid-length direct gas impingement system and is chambered for 5.56mm NATO. HSP and BCM worked together to tune the gas system for maximum reliability. The mid-length gas tube reduces the amount of gas and fouling that goes back into the chamber to operate the bolt, helping to reduce perceived recoil and wear and tear on internal parts. The government-profile barrel is 14.5 inches long with a 1-in-7-inch twist rate and is made of certified mil-spec 11595E steel. A BCMGunfighter compensator is permanently welded to it, to establish a legal minimum 16-inch overall barrel length. This tactical compensator is a marked improvement over the standard A2 flash suppressor and features tuned slots and interior cones that significantly reduce recoil and muzzle rise while nearly eliminating flash signature. The design of the HSP Jack Carbine also minimizes the side blast usually produced by most compensators and lowers the noise signature so there will be less disturbance to neighboring shooters.
The barrel features a complete manganese phosphate finish and chrome-lined bore and chamber. The HSP Jack Carbine is chambered in true 5.56mm NATO and can easily accommodate .223 ammunition. The rear of the barrel extension features M4 feed ramps, which are cut wider and lower than those of standard AR rifles and help ensure more reliable feeding from the magazine under harsh conditions. All barrels are also high-pressure tested and magnetic-particle inspected. While pressure testing is fairly common, magnetic-particle inspection (where a magnetic field is used to detect any imperfections in the surface or subsurface of a part to ensure it’s of the highest quality) is only required of true mil-spec parts.
The 10-inch, one-piece aluminum Geissele SMR Mk1 handguard free-floats the barrel and is very thin and ergonomic with smooth sides. There are removable rail sections at the 9, 3 and 6 o’clock positions and a full length of Picatinny rail on top. There are also standard QD sling mounts on either side, toward the rear. This unit is lightweight but extremely strong and includes steel inserts that make additional rail installation very easy. The upper and lower receivers are both machined from 7075-T6 aluminum forgings with a hardcoat anodized finish. On top of this is one of the BCM HSP Jack Carbine’s most distinctive features, its custom Disruptive Gray Cerakote finish, which was developed by Joint Force Enterprises and HSP. This low-visibility, neutral-color finish was designed to blend into any environment, in both day and evening conditions.
The flattop upper receiver is T-marked, which helps return zeroed optics to their proper place if they have been removed. Troy Industries diopter folding BattleSights are also standard and stay neatly out of the way when using optics but deploys quickly when needed with push-button activation. Another welcome feature, especially with optics mounted, is the BCMGunfighter charging handle, which allows for super-fast single-handed operation of the action as the bolt retracts with only half of the handle. This latest version of the BCMGunfighter features a newly redesigned extended charging-handle latch and reinforced construction. The lower receiver comes with all the customary AR controls. The standard triggerguard has been replaced with an upgraded Magpul MOE enhanced triggerguard that enlarges the triggerguard area for use with gloves. BCM has also added its own new ergonomic BCMGunfighter pistol grip, a vast improvement over the standard-issue grip, which features aggressive stippling on the sides and horizontal grooves on the front. The grip has a sizable watertight storage compartment and is made from tough impact-resistant polymer.
The new collapsible, polymer B5 Systems SOPMOD Bravo stock includes ambidextrous QD sling attachment points and a mil-spec 7075-T6 buffer tube. The receiver endplate has a QD sling point, and a small-loop QD sling swivel is included. The tube is secured with a staked M4 lock nut, and inside it rides the correct-weight H-marked buffer. Heavier buffers offer distinct advantages, slowing down the bolt and bolt carrier travel to ensure proper case extraction and keep the internal parts from slamming into each other with as much force. This also reduces the recoil signature. The fit between the two was firm and exhibited no play, but the takedown pins could still be used without tools. In addition to the multiple appearances of the BCM logo throughout the rifle, the right side of the magazine well features a nicely laser-etched and very distinctive dragonfly HSP logo. The HSP “serial number” logo is laser-etched on the left side of the upper receiver too.
The BCM HSP Jack Carbine’s bolt is machined from 158 Carpenter steel and both high-pressure tested and magnetic-particle inspected. The bolt has a properly staked gas key using Grade 8 hardened fasteners and is fully chrome-lined and shot-peened.
The mil-spec bolt carrier group uses an M16 chrome-lined carrier, which is stronger and heavier than cheaper commercial bolts and helps to ensure longer and more reliable operation. It should be noted that mil-spec M16 bolt carriers are legal to install in semi-auto rifles. The heavier bolt and heavier buffer work in concert to more securely and aggressively chamber rounds and also reduce the incidence of bolt bounce. Bolt bounce can occur when there is insufficient mass pushing the bolt carrier forward, causing the bolt to bounce against the receiver extension before finally closing. This can detrimentally affect function in full-auto guns as well as in semi-auto guns during fast firing. To ensure superior reliability, BCM has also improved the extractor, using tool steel for strength and installing its extra-strength extractor spring and insert.
The BCM HSP Jack Carbine’s trigger has been upgraded with the ALG Combat Trigger (ACT) made by Geissele. This trigger is plated with nickel boron, and the hammer and disconnector are plated with nickel Teflon. The sear has been tuned for a very crisp single-stage break with virtually no creep. The trigger has been set at a mil-spec weight of, at minimum, 5.5 pounds. The trigger on the sample rifle measured 6 pounds. One welcome and standard feature included with this rifle is the HSP Thorntail offset light mount built by Impact Weapons Components and paired with the Inforce HSP-WML weapon-mounted tactical light. The light features only a momentary on/off pressure-button and 200 lumens of output with a tight beam designed for close to intermediate ranges. The unit sits at a 45-degree angle for easy thumb activation and can be mounted on the left or right side of the handguard.
Live Fire
On the range, the BCM HSP Jack Carbine handled very easily and was extremely comfortable to shoot. The compensator noticeably reduced the recoil of even the light-kicking .223, making it a breeze to keep follow-up shots on target. I did experience some initial short stroking where the bolt was not fully retracting and would occasionally close on an empty chamber or not stay locked back after the last round. The issue seemed to resolve itself when I used heavier-than-55-grain ammunition. I spoke with BCM about this issue, and it said that a field-expedient fix would be to replace the heavy buffer with a standard-weight buffer. In the long term, however, BCM’s recommendation was to return the HSP Jack Carbine for a full diagnostic and full-auto cycle-rate test. I did install a standard-weight buffer and a new bolt carrier group, which significantly improved matters.
I used the Trijicon TR20-2 AccuPoint 3-9×40 scope and a mil-dot crosshair reticle with amber dot, to check for accuracy at 100 yards firing from a stable benchrest. Accuracy was very good for a handy short rifle, with most groups staying below 2 MOA and my best just below 1 MOA.
The BCM HSP Jack Carbine’s minimal barrel length makes it much handier for going through heavy brush or for dealing with tight corners in a home-defense situation. As BCM states, the Jack Carbine is not intended as a showpiece but rather as the ultimate workingman’s rifle for hard use and tough conditions. For more information, visit bravocompanyusa.com or call 877-272-8626.
