Today we highlight one of our reviewers from Nova Scotia, Leland (Lee) Keane, a Retired Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman and his take on a bolt action rifle from a Canadian manufacturer that is very impressive.
I have been looking for a “scout rifle” for a few years. I have used the Mossberg MVP Patrol in .556 and .308 and the Ruger Ranch in 7.62×39 previously on duty.
I recently bought a used BCL MRX Bison .556 with a 12.5 inch barrel from True North Arms in purportedly, very good condition.
In December of 2023, I took it to the range to zero it at 100M and ran it through some testing.
I zeroed the rifle with 55-grain soft point ammunition from Hornady.
I examined and cleaned the rifle ahead of time and am convinced it was not shot very much or at all. The rifle had no issues with light strikes or extraction mentioned in more than one of the reviews I had watched on Youtube.
The bolt is similar to the Ruger 3-lug bolt but seemed to operate in a smoother fashion and required less energy to manipulate. It looks smooth and there are no obvious wear points from me or the previous owner.
I attached a Vortex 2X7 scout scope and after shooting it on a sandbag, added an M-Lok MDT Oryx Bipod and later a Magpul Foregrip.
I shot a decent group at 285M on a steel gong which was about a 6-inch bullet drop.
I was particularly impressed with the Trigger Tech trigger which has no take-up at all and has a crisp pull.
I purchased the 20-round proprietary magazine and also experimented with IMI STANAG pistol magazines and found no issues with either.
Black Creek Labs(BCL) is a Canadian Company and this rifle is made in Canada despite our increasingly totalitarian and politically-motivated firearms laws. I am so impressed with this rifle and so proud of BCL that I wanted to write this review.
I have also shot their Siberian V2 carbine and loved that experience as well.
I retired in 2019 as an RCMP firearms instructor at the Pacific Region Training Center(PRTC). I have been around firearms since 1985 and an instructor with the RCMP since 1994 in both full and part-time roles. As a firearms enthusiast, 2 and 3 gun shooter as well as an IPSC dabbler, I would happily recommend this rifle to anyone looking for a compact scout rifle in a medium caliber.
Leland(Lee) Keane
Nova Scotia
