r/canadaguns • u/DustyPotatoes22 • Mar 18 '26

Misc Is Black Creek Labs still making commercial firearms?

Was hoping to get my hands on a Bison in 5.56 this year, but it seems like everywhere is sold out, and the BCL site is down (for me at least). Anyone have any info on this?

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u/Puzzleheaded-Tie35 Mar 18 '26

It looks like they're getting out of the civilian market

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u/Acceptable_Visit_115 Mar 18 '26

They've been marketing the full auto SRV2 Skunkbear and Badger since like what, 2021? I guess they landed 0 military contracts in the last 5 years.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Tie35 Mar 18 '26

If they did it wouldn't be for a western nation, the AR18 was always designed for cheap production

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u/Acceptable_Visit_115 Mar 18 '26

The original AR-18 was designed for cheap production as it was a stamped gun with looser tolerances. Modern AR-18 derived piston guns are milled and are no easier to make than an AR-15, which humankind has perfected them down to such a degree that a $400 Norinco CQ is still reliable.

On the other hand, stamped AR-18s only made sense for military mass-production in order to neutralize the tooling costs via economy of scale.