By Austin Knudsen
It isn’t every day that I get the opportunity to shoot a $2,500 rifle. My rifles generally fall more into the gun shop bargain rack category. So when the opportunity to play with one presents itself, I figure I’d better take the time and do it right. The rifle in question is a Robinson Armament XCR-M, chambered in .308 Win/7.62×51. Admittedly, I’m not much of a semi-auto rifleman. I own a couple, but I don’t shoot them all that much. For what I do, a bolt action is usually what the juris doctor ordered. Plus, I’m so careful with my ammo these days that I swear I hear a cash register ringing every time I pull a trigger . . .
I also tend to burn lots more ammo in a semi-auto rifle range session. However, a friend has recently gotten into semi-auto battle rifles in a big way and he asked me to spend a little time with his latest acquisition while he was out of town for a few days. Specifically, he asked me to test his new XCR-M with a handful of different loads, and see what kind of accuracy I could squeeze out of it. How could I say no?
Rather than regurgitate all the history of the rifle’s development here (it’s called Google, folks), I’ll give you my impressions as a certified non-tacticool, non-operator, non-mall ninja shooter. The XCR appears to be an attempt to hybridize the best of the AR, AK, and SCAR platforms. The grip, trigger, safety, magazine system and barrel are AR-based. The operating system uses a gas piston rather than direct gas impingement, a la the AK. The stock, receiver, and forearm are very SCAR-ish, except that on the XCR, these parts are all aluminum as opposed to plastic.
The only new control placement (as least to me) is the magazine release, which is an ambidextrous paddle located on either side of the rear of the magazine well, within reach of the trigger finger. Robinson Armament Frankensteined all of these ‘best-of’ traits together and the result is one very sexy fighting rifle.
Ergonomically, this rifle feels great. It balances well and the two-stage trigger is very good with the initial take-up followed by a fairly crisp 5-6 pound trigger break. It’s no Timney or JP, but it’s a very good factory trigger. I also really like the charging handle. It’s mounted on the left side of the receiver, on a non-reciprocating operating rod. It’s a generous-sized roller-looking affair that allows for an easy grip-it-and-rip-it approach, letting right-handed shooters charge the gun with the non-shooting hand (and without reaching almost as far forward as the muzzle to do it like the CETME/HK 91).
The stock is a well-thought out design that improves on the SCAR, in that it’s made of metal. It’s completely adjustable for length of pull, a feature that I really ended up liking. Whether you want it collapsed completely for close quarters work or fully extended for shooting prone (like me), this is a really cool feature.
My only gripe about the stock is that it’s a side folder. It’s not that I dislike the handy side fold feature, but that when unfolded and locked into place, the stock has just a bit of play to it between the receiver and the stock. This can be felt when shouldering the rifle and then placing a little direct rearward pressure on the grip. The stock will move on its hinge just a bit. Not a big deal, but during shooting the stock did shift in this manner a couple of times just as I was about to shoot, causing me to come off target and have to reset my shot. Again, not a huge deal, but for a $2,500 rifle, I’d expect the folder not to remind me of the $40 plastic side folding stock I put on a surplus SKS when I was in high school.
But my friend didn’t ask me to evaluate the XCR-M’s ergonomics. He wanted me to accuracy test it. I was asked to shoot several different loads through it because frankly, he was unimpressed with its accuracy and he really hoped it was user error.
For my testing, I chose five different loads: two bulk 7.62×51 loads (one American, one Spanish military manufacture), an Ultramax remanufactured 168 grain boattail hollowpoint, an Ultramax remanufactured 168 grain boattail soft point, and a Federal 180 grain soft point .308 hunting load for good measure. All loads were fired at a target 75 yards away, sighted through a mounted Vortex Viper 2.5-10 x 44 mm scope. All shots were fired from the prone position, using a Grip Pod Systems (G.P.S.) forward mounted handle/bipod (side note: I had never used one of these G.P.S. bipods before, but it was really handy and rock solid). Conditions were excellent: 38 degrees, sunny and no wind. A balmy Montana winter day. The beautiful weather and excellent bipod allowed me to get rock steady holds and not worry about the wind blowing me or my shots all over.
So how did this $2,500 rifle shoot?
It pains me to say it, but not worth a damn. I really wanted to like this rifle. I like a lot of things about it. But I have to be honest: after five different loads, I’d describe this rifle’s accuracy as mediocre at best. I can forgive a lot of things about a rifle, if it groups. A poor trigger, uncomfortable stock, shoddy finish: these are things that can be overlooked as long as the rifle produces reliable groups. But I can’t abide inaccuracy. And perhaps “inaccurate” is an unfair word for the XCR-M. “Mediocre” accuracy is probably more, well, accurate. I just kept hoping the XCR-M would pleasantly surprise me It just never did.
The best five-shot group came from the Ultramax 168 grain boattail soft point load. Three shots were great, piling within ¾ of an inch. But two fliers opened up the group dramatically, with the widest spread at 2 ¾ inches, again at only 75 yards. Next best was the Spanish surplus military load, which yielded a 5-shot group size of 2 7/8 inches. As before, three shots were exciting when they fell inside 1 inch, but again two fliers opened up the group.
Coming in third place was the Ultramax 168 grain boattail hollow point, which printed a 3 ½ inch spread. Fourth, the Federal 180 grain hunting load, which put up a 3 ¾ inch group. Bringing up the rear was the American bulk load, which gave a 4 ½ group that looked like I shot the target with OO buck at ten yards. In the final analysis, the best the gun could manage was 2 ¾ inches at 75 yards. Not nearly good enough to get me excited. Extrapolate that out to, say, 250 or 300 yards and what you get is positively awful.
Allow me to respond in advance to the inevitable carping about how “the XCR is a battle rifle — it’s only designed to be accurate enough to shoot man-sized targets inside 100 yards.” Bovine scatology. This is my subjective test and I demand more from a rifle than minute-of-Humvee accuracy. And my guess is that most professionals do too.
I don’t shoot at people, and hope I never have to. I do, however, regularly shoot targets and critters at distances well past 300 yards, and if I’m going to spend two mortgage payments on a rifle, it had damned-well better be accurate. Likewise, it seems to me a professional high-speed low-drag operator would be much more confident in his rifle at 25 yards if he knew it was capable of shooting a decent group at 250 yards.
As far as reliability goes, the XCR-M also suffered three failure to extract malfunctions while shooting my last load, the Spanish surplus ammo. On all three occasions, I had to get up and strike the charging handle against my wood deck to get the case to extract from the chamber. The owner reported that the same thing happened to him while he was shooting it a week earlier. After he was done shooting, he cleaned both the chamber and the bore.
Thus, after putting fewer than 25 rounds through a clean chamber, I suffered repeated FTEs. Yes, it could be the XCR just didn’t like the Spanish ammo. But I shoot that Spanish ammo through a couple of my 7.62 rifles without trouble. And my friend’s FTEs happened while shooting American bulk ammo. The problem would seem to be with this particular rifle’s chamber.
In the final analysis, I wouldn’t purchase a Robinson Armament XCR-M for myself. First, the repeated failure to extract malfunctions from two different shooters using two different types of ammunition with minimal round count should give pause to anyone considering staking their life on the gun. Second — and more important for me — is the mediocre accuracy. This is simply a rifle I have no use for.
Could careful handloading and extensive load development reveal a magic round for this rifle? Maybe. But my guess is that my test was representative of what most shooters out there would do: run several different, readily available factory/military loads through it. So my “mediocre accuracy” label stays.
The XCR may have the CDI factor. As I said, this is a dead-sexy gun that looks badass, especially in olive drab with a nice optic on it. But my days of impressing chicks with my firearms are long gone (if they ever existed). And after a morning of shooting this rifle, I can honestly say I wouldn’t be comfortable shooting a deer at 100 yards with it, let alone a coyote at 400 yards. And if I can’t do either of those things, the XCR-M has no place in my safe.
UPDATE: This rifle has been sent back to Robinson for service. We’ll update this post when it’s returned and tested.
Specifications:
Caliber: .308 Win (also .260 Remington)
Length: 37″ collapsed
Folded length: 30″
Weight: 9.25 lbs. empty
Barrel length: 18.6″ (also 16″ and 20″)
Top Rail Length: 20″
Side and bottom rails: 9.4″
Price: $2,500
Ratings (out of five stars):
Accuracy * *
Produced 3 – 4+ inch groups at 75 yards. Need I say more? I’ve seen 100 year old iron-sighted rifles do better. For $2,500 (or more), plus high quality optics, I expected this rifle to perform a lot better.
Ergonomics * * * *
An argument could be made that this category deserved five stars. I knocked it down to four because of the loose stock-to-receiver fit. That aside, the ergonomics of this rifle are excellent. It’s well-balanced, the controls are all in the right places and the few controls that are in new places work great. The adjustable length-of-pull stock is a great feature for further shooter comfort. A very good factory trigger rounds out an extremely user-friendly rifle.
Reliability *
After a cleaning, the rifle started experiencing FTEs after only one full magazine of shooting. If it had happened with only one type of ammo, it could be forgiven. But the fact that it happened to two different shooters on different days using different types of ammunition keeps this one at one star. This isn’t a rifle I could trust to take out in the field, let alone stake my life on in a fight.
Customize This * * * * *
A top rail, bottom rail, and rails on each side of the forearm allow you to mount any accessory, optic, or light you can think of. Add to that that you can put any AR pistol grip on it you want, and you have a rifle you can really put your own signature on.
Overall * *
This is a great-looking rifle that has some real potential if the flaws I encountered are addressed. Unfortunately, they’re big flaws. Poor reliability with surplus/bulk ammo used by most shooters, and poor accuracy for such a premium rifle, make for a poor overall rating. Expense did not equal quality in this case.
3-4″ groups at 75 yards? I can better that at 100 yds with my Garand’s iron sights (2″). Save your $2500.
I have a DPMS LR308B (18″ bull barrel) that will do 3/4″ at 100 yards all day. $900 back in 2008 (pre-Obama price, your cost may vary).
16″ on my LR308 Oracle. Similar results to yours. One afternoon in the prairie dog pasture with my buddy playing “spotter” I was throwing long balls at prairie dogs in the 450-yard range (4-12×40 Mark AR Leupold) and raining all over them with plain-jane 150-grain FMJ reloads at 2500 fps muzzle. I never quite hit one despite putting 40-50 yards downrange but if they’d have been zombies instead of squirrel-sized rodents, I’d have gotten a few. Maybe even headshots. Best thing I did to that rifle besides finally send it back to DPMS after endless fiddling when it was short-stroking from the first mag I put through it was drop in a 3-lb. Timney comp trigger. That was the last rifle I put one in after putting them in my 5.56×45 AR “Ranch Rifle” with a 18″ Wilson Combat stainless barrel and my AR “Sout Rifle” in 7.62x40WT with an 18″ Wilson Combat stainless barrel. Both of those home builds will shoot sub-MOA with Hornady V-Max reloads. I’ve never seriously grouped the 40WT but the 5.56 has put 10 rounds in 1″ @ 100 yards on two separate occasions. There is no such thing as a “good” factory AR trigger unless it’s in the parts can with a Timney in the receiver. K&N Precision anti-roll pins on the side.
Negative reviews are the reason people trust TTAG for unbiased information.
This is kind of a Devil’s Advocate Post.
Suppose this raid wasn’t about drugs, say it was a bank robber. Are those of you who go with the Grand Jury finding saying that a criminal has the right to defend himself against the police. If so what is the limit of this right? Just a no knock raid in his home? How about in his car? Caught in the act? Think before you speak because there are implications on your righ to use deadly force if you believe a criminal has this right exists.
“Deputy Adam Sowders filed for a search warrant, and requested to enter Magee’s home without knocking or announcing law enforcement’s presence.”
Perhaps yelling “police officers — search warrant” would have saved the dead deputy’s life. But the police made a conscious decision to break and enter, and the result is on them.
Courts have ruled consistently that even bad people have the right of self-defense against other bad people. In this case, the shooter was within his rights no matter what crime he committed.
This is a tragedy all around.
At the point of decision to make this a no-knock, it appears from the info in the article that all they had was the assertation by an informant that he had stolen guns. Cops and prosecutors know full well that informants, especially criminals “turned” to reduce their own penalties for cooperation, are not reliable.
Then it becomes a bust for an “illegal grow” inside a trailer- how much can that yield realistically- in this case under 5 lbs of pot, and a marijuana possession charge, as the guns seized were legally owned after all.
Am I defending Magee? Hell no, I dont know the guy, and I would note, even if he is a lowlife scumbag, I am sure he will regret taking a life, and likely be haunted by it, as do most, even in the line of duty, in the military and law enforcement.
But if I were woken in the middle of the night by unknown people busting down my door, I would be instinctively ready to defend my loved ones, in this case his pregnant girlfriend- thats how we men are evolved. Its a split second decision, and you live with the choice, one way or another- would you rather he submitted, to say- criminals who would steal his pot, and rape his girlfriend? In the drug world, its become absolutely evil- read about whats happening in the border states, as part of the expansion of the cartels in Mexico, into gangs in the US, or just the violence that goes on in general in poverty stricken areas anywhere. Its a fact of life, and its spreading to affluent neighborhoods, including Phoenix, which has become the kidnapping capital…as drug criminals prey upon one another, and family, and un-related victims more and more- and thats something you dont read in the news, but well known in law enforcement.
I am also not in favor of illegal drug growing, distribution or use – so dont bother trolling off-topic on that, here.
Deputy Sowers was not married, but he did leave family behind, perhaps some who depended on him. I honor him for his courage in defending his community, and service too, and extend sympathy to those he left behind.
I’m also sure the chief: Sheriff Dale Stroud is a good man too- I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt, and I am sure he is asking himself- as might Deputy Sowers family- in retrospect- was it worth it, for a misdemeanor pot bust? Was there a better way?
Somewhere on the risk-return spectrum these no-knocks do more harm than good, and its worth having that public discussion, if only to avoid tragedies like this when we can.
I’m not defending the rifle but when a semi has such problems most reviewers will have the integrity to explore the mechanical components to determine the source of FTE&E, as 90% of all semi-auto failures are caused by user error the 1st remedial action should be a thorough cleaning .
Also the poor accuracy could be caused by a variety of factors including miss-assembly of components, a loose FH/MB or a defect on the muzzle crown. Too many factors were not addressed in the review for me to draw any conclusions on this firearm
I have fired AR-10s, AR-15s, M1Aa, Mini-14a, and a variety of AKs. The only ones that ever had any trouble were the AR 15 and Mini-14, all due to mags.
The officer claimed, in asking for a non-knock warrant, that there was a risk of the drugs being destroyed. I defy anyone who supports the police action in this case to explain how pot ***plants*** could be “destroyed” in the time it takes to announce yourself as police officers serving a warrant. It doesn’t even pass the laugh test.
Wendy Davis’ own life story reminds me of this very old joke, that some attribute to Churchill:
http://barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/what_kind_of_woman_do_you_take_me_for_madam_weve_already_established_that_c/
Now that I think on it, Ms Davis and Ms Watts aren’t so unlike, are they?
My hope is there arent enough low info voters and koolaid drinking prog-libtards and feminazis in TX to even make this a close race, and Mr Abbott wins.
Ms Davis is the best example of the sociopathy of the female type that seems to largely live on the never ending naivete of well meaning sugar daddy “white knights”, until its time to go on into politics,
at the direction of more sophisticated and truly amoral Svengali’s like Ayers, Soros, Blum (DiFis husband who’s construction company seems to mysteriously win every big dollar sole source govt project in CA), Bloomberg, you get my drift-
Who teach these Creatures – the only accurate description I can imagine,
(for Davis long ago lost the benefit of the highest honor of being called, “Mother”, after abandoning her kids)
how to throw ANYONE under the bus, with impunity, when they are done with them.
Say, who is that high profile female running for President in 2016?
“What does it matter, anyway?”
Pay some willing individuals to breech school security time and time again till something is done. Mimic real threats, create chaos, panic, pandimonioum. Then you get to say “look at what could’ve happened!” “Imagine if this had been real!” Then ask him if that is a reality he wants to deal with.
yes, mos def, show em a pic of one of them dildo balls while you’re at it
My 597 runs perfectly with the keepshooting.com mags. The Remington mags, not so much.
Your kid has a better chance if being struck by lightning than being involved in a school shooting, and schools are not and should not look like fortresses. Calm your tits.
The first step would be to request the protocol used in a lock down/shooter situation. The next step would be to request a formal one on one with the Principal. During this meeting it’s best to diffuse the situation by bringing along an “expert” to brief and explain what works best according to some “federal standard”. Choose one…I’m sure you can find someone out there that has the most suitable plan during a crisis situation. If you’ve already gotten the stink-eye from him make sure your “expert” is the one that moves the conversation forward with attainable action plans and solutions to the problems you are looking for. Then…you wait. If within 1 month of that meeting nothing takes place you up the ante and ask for meetings at the local school board level. There is no reason that these meetings cant be held in private so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!!!
PTO meetings.
Dave357, you are correct, in the states you mention as well as CT, gun owners are in the minority. Yet, without a catalytic event like the massacre at Newtown, the new laws in these states would not have passed. The people in the ideological middle on the divide between gun controllers and gun rights advocates are normally neutral on this issue, until it might threaten their kids or families. Logic is put aside for a bit and a little control is allowed to creep in, much as Franklin and other Founders warned.
From my own experience, I believe that gun owners of all types outnumber the truly active gun-control advocates out there. The difference is engagement and organization. In CT, CT Against Gun Violence, a 20-year gun taking advocacy group was sucking fumes financially and morally. They failed in their attempt to limit mag capacity as a stand-alone item in the 2011 (or was it 2012?) legislative session because enough legislators did not see a political reason (i.e. benefit) to back it. This was a high profile rebuke of an organization that was behind every gun-restriction measure in the state going back to 1994.
Yet, as soon as Newtown happened, local and national journalists and news talkers sought out the CAGV principals (mainly greasy Ron Pinciaro) for “expert opinion” on what happened and how it could be prevented. Money started to flow in to CAGV, especially after the rise of March for Change founded by some smart and social-media moms in the Newtown area. CAGV co-opted those ladies’ talents and network to the point where March is now a formal “program” of CAGV (sounds like the absorption of MDA into MAIG, doesn’t it).
What these people have is organization. Politically, they punch way above their weights and intellects because they have been able to organize. But like a cobra that flares its back to make it look menacing, CAGV/March now has an email list of 4-5,000 people that they can activate when needed. For example, when the matter of “amnesty” came up and CAGV was proposing swapping an extended registration period for a repeal of pre-ban status, their email/website capability produced 1,400 emails sent to the legislative leadership and state-wide officials in Hartford. Now 1,400 many not sound like a large number but I will bet you that 1,400 gun rights advocates did not write in regarding the potential appeal of the pre-ban exemption. That is the difference organization makes when combined with just a little bit of technology.
Generally, pre-Newtown, CT gun owners have generally been dormant and fragmented. Clays and bird shooters don’t necessarily own rifles or pistols so their concerns about the blowback from Newtown were not acute. I have more than a few shotgun owners tell me they were ambivalent about, or even in favor of, the restrictions on “assault weapons” and mag capacity limits. Even some pistol owners in my club seemed to not be particularly engaged on the black rifle issue. Guys like that saw no need to affiliate with CTCarry nor CCDL though they may have been supporters of Bob Crook’s Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen. The point is, owners were very were ideologically and geographically fragmented and unorganized.
BUT, that has started to change. The scattergun guy who was ambivalent was suddenly “shocked” to hear that he had to get a permit to buy shot shells and possibly another shotgun. All of a sudden, he became a bit more engaged. Same thing happened to pistol owners and even conventional rifle owners who thought the post-Newtown legislation would have no impact upon them. With all of the media attention leading up to the vote in April, these folks apparently were paying little to no attention to developments.
I am rambling. The point remains, there are far more gun owners around than there are rabid gun controllers and the controllers know that. What they fear is the potential of gun owners to get organized beyond the 4-5mm who are NRA members. If 2X or 5X or 10X of that number of gun owners were to suddenly start paying attention and voting smartly, the gun-takers would be in for a world of electoral hurt.
Engagement. Mailing list. Voter registration drives. Get out the vote phone centers. And showing up on Election Day.
It is tough to “throw the bums out” when too many gun owners stay home because none of the candidate choice check all of the voter’s boxes. Romney, love him or not, lost because too many folk on the right side of center chose not to vote. If they do not show up to vote the national ticket, then they are also depriving the lower ballot candidates of votes.
In CT, Gov Malloy won in 2010 against Foley by a margin of less than 7,000 votes. As we have all read, upwards of 50,000 CT owners have registered AWs by Dec 31st, and that is far from the total number of such owners. So if a subset of those folks are non-voters and can be converted to voters in 2014 and 2016, a close election can be turned. By all indications, Malloy is vulnerable on taxes, jobs, etc and can be beaten. He is polling below 50% (has been for two years) so another close election is not out of the question, even against Foley.
Food for thought for those who vote with their feet and stay home.
Private School, then move towards homeschool or cooperative asap.
There’s nothing you can do.
In 1955, Rudolf Flesch wrote a book about public education called “Why Johnny Can’t Read.” Almost 60 years later, Johnny still can’t read. He can’t write, think or chew a Pop Tart either. Nothing changes, ever.
Forget it, RF. It’s Chinatown.
If it’s a bell curve, it’s certainly heavy on the left side.
Maybe the NY group that is trying to overturn SAFE act can use this incident as an example of how out of control this law really is…
In the enclosed chambers with all those Democrats around, I’d wanna carry, too.
You never know, and Democrats have a pretty good representation amongst mass shooters.
“Holster reluctantly” was the last piece of advice I received at a class. That kind of captures the spirit of it. The way I look at it, holstering involves pushing your handgun into a tight-fitting enclosure somewhere near to your body, where the resistance you encounter pushes on your gun in the very same direction that *you* do when you’re shooting.
If you can’t give 100% of your attention to something this potentially dangerous, then maybe you shouldn’t be putting it away just yet. If you find that you can’t take your eyes off the current situation to safely holster, but you absolutely need to holster your gun because you need to do something with both your hands, then you need more people. Holstering quickly and without looking is not a “skill” or “ability.” It’s a risk and a gamble.
Let’s see… 10 DGUs in Detroit in 1/4 of the year. Detroit’s 2012 population was 701,475. The USA population in 2012 was 313.9 million.
If Detroit is representative of the country as a whole (of course, it’s not), then that’s 17,899 DGUs per annum in the country, where the DGU results in the death of the bad guy. That’s far more than the number of “gun murders” per year (if the antis are only going to count “justifiable homicide”, then I’m only going to compare justifiable homicide to murder/manslaughter); obviously, guns are more beneficial than harmful.
What’s funny is you could bring up thousands of IPSC, 2-gun and 3-gun shooters and they’d probably just say “those aren’t real athletes, they don’t count.”
Nothing righteous about this shoot. They should have identified the right man before firing. ATF did it wrong at Ruby Ridge. New militarized local law enforcement is doing it wrong now. Very sad. Even when there are lawsuit(s), we the taxpayer will pay those judgments.
Scott Walker for president? I’d vote for him in a heartbeat. Doesn’t Indiana have a surplus too? Wish I could move to Wisconsin or Indiana. Illinois is possibly the worst run state in America. Unlike the feds these a##!!& #s can’t print money. At least we got concealed carry.
Great reviews and opinions!
I have been researching purchasing a XCR L, heavy barrel .223.
Unfortunately my experience has been if you mount garbage low cost accessories you get crap results.
If you don’t maintain your rifles (just like a car) again you get crap results.
It sounds to me like if you shoot and clean and service your XCR they work fine?
If you by good grade optics and high grade mounts specifically designed for AR style rifles the XCR works fine.
I really like the fact that the weapon comes out of the box with a folding adjustable stock so I can hand it to my daughters to shoot with minimal hassle!
Even a ruger 10-22 jams with old or crappy ammunition and I taught both my girls to shoot with them, again they work best if they are clean and screws tight!
Are there any updates as of yet? Sounds like they identified the issue at R.A. Anyway, I had an XCR-L some time ago and really liked the rifle! I ended up selling it to an LEO IIRC…I know he was as happy as I was. I’m looking into the XCR-M to replace my M1A Scout-Squad. I’m looking at the XCR-M 16″ Mini to carry around here on the farm, so I’d be glad to see what transpired!
The Robinson XCR is a really great concept that I bought into and really hoped would be awesome in practice. My XCR-L was a MOA shooter. Ergonomics were great, although it’s heavy. What wasn’t great was the out of battery detonation that occured at range. Robinson claimed it was a product of my reloads, that I was using ‘soft’ primers. There’s something wrong with the bolts on these guns. Every round I fired, factory or reload, created an inverse primer pocket (portruded out, not in), even went real light on a batch using less than minimum powder charge and the primer looked the same. Ultimately the gun suffered an out of battery detonation. The round exited the right side of the receiver with the bolt 2/3rds of its travel forward. After multiple phone calls and emails, Robinson fixed the rifle, but I found that shooting it still resulted in the same odd primer divet. If you’ve got an XCR and your primers don’t look right, stop shooting it NOW.
What primers were/are you using? You SHOULD USE CCI #41’s to see if the same thing happens.
I saw nothing in his review regarding gas pressure settings for his loads. My understanding about the XCR gas piston (AK) has 5 settings to handle hp loads down to a null setting for use with subsonic / suppressor. What was the settings on the gun?
THIS IS NOT AN AR-15 NOR IS IT BUSHMASTER, SAVAGE, DANIEL DEFENSE ETC…
I have owned an older XCR-L and now I own a newer model XCR-L with the key-mod rail in FDE. I agree the company has had their ups and downs but all companies do when they are in a business that is always evolving and products continue to get more complex.
I can say that I have never had one issue with my XCR-L’s that Robinson Arms did not address immediately and timely. Not only were my issues addressed, but it was done with quality customer service.
I own several firearms that are AR-15 platforms and several that are bolt action platforms including the very pricey Desert Tactical Rifle.
Firearms are like vehicles, you get what you pay for in most cases and you cannot properly critique one unless you own it and put it through your own personal paces and situations. What may be important to you, may not matter to the next guy or girl but there is one thing that will always stand true: until you play with it, work on it, experiment with it and spend quality time with it, your opinion is only an opinion and we all are welcome to have one. I understand that as consumers, we have to rely to a certain degree on what these reviews provide but when you step over the line by bad mouthing a company or its owner without having personal experience you are simply just ignorant or have nothing better to do with your time. I am not a psychologist, but I would guess that overall you are just one unhappy person and have really nothing good to say about anyone or anything, especially something that you can’t have or are too afraid to take a risk and try something different. I bet you are the type of person that relies on others to do that work and then you just jump on the wagon and usually it is the wagon that is negative because you are simply an unhappy, negative person overall. I would even bet that you have never really taken any risk financially to go out and run your own business or pursue any dream or project that you have thought about.
I would say the firearms industry needs more people like Alex, people who are willing to step outside the box and produce something a little different, even if it does adopt some of the concepts of others, but then adds to that. Unfortunately, it is more difficult than one thinks because there are more “haters” out there with no experience that review products as just a job, than people that say “hell yea something different, go for it”. And no, I don’t know Alex or anyone who works there, except, Holly in customer service. That is because she is awesome just like their customer service.
RA has handled every issue I have had or even thought about and did it with excellent customer service and has always fixed the issue or taken action to address the reason for my call. Call Bushmaster, Remington or Mossberg and see if you can remember who you spoke with.
Go buy the everyday AR-15 and get all the little accessories you can find for it (millions of different ones) and guess what, no matter what you do to it or no matter how you dress it up, its still a basic AR-15. Pull out your XCR-L at the range and see how many people look at it and talk about it because it is different and if it was just another knock off AR-15, I can assure you that not all of these people would be talking about it. Just like a BMW or other semi exotic car, yes over time you may have more maintenance or some issues that you wouldn’t have with a Honda or a Toyota, but guess what? It is not a honda or a toyota? So some people like myself, like the things in life that are a little different and not just the status quo. Not because it cost more but because we like to try different things or experiment with something new.
So to sum it up and get off my soap box, the XCR-L does cost more money, the parts are not mass produced so they are a little more difficult to get or you have to wait a little longer for them, the company is smaller (which is why everyone knows who Alex Robinson is – tell me who owns the other companies? Very few people even know because very few people care) and produces a different product not an AR-15. Thats why the product is unique and awesome all at the same time. Most of the people that will have or have purchased this product are people that like firearms that are a little different and people that like to try new and different things. Give the new XCR a chance before you just assume things about it.
Anyone reading this knows that if you shoot a rifle for pure accuracy purposes then your setup is of the upmost importance. Thats why you have to take these reviews with a grain of salt. When they write these reviews, the reviewer counts on his readers to have less experience than he or she does. What they offer is just their opinion. I bet the reviewer has never spent more than the one session with that firearm. Have you ever had your most favorite gun just be off one day? I am sure you have, and I bet it wasn’t the firearm.
I can say, that I have owned two and have several caliber conversions and this is my go to rifle. I have only had a few Failure to feeds and I have always been on target with this rifle. Also this rifle has the benefit that everyone loves the way it looks and functions. I would recommend the firearm and the company for quality, reliability and its unique nature.
Product – Five Stars
Customer Service – Five Stars
Not Your Normal AR-15 – Five Stars
Guys Like Alex Robinson (Innovators) – Priceless
Failure to eject/ feed is almost always a gas issue on this gun. it has a 200 round break in and I have personally observed that different loads and brands require you to change the gas setting. failure to observe break in and adjust gas will net you a lot of grief.
switching between 150 and 168 always requires a “click” on the gas block.
This gun has a 1/10 twist, throwing cheap 147, 150gr surplus ammo is going to give you bad results. its designed for 168’s and 175’s to test it with less does the rifle a great injustice.
Testing at 75 yards? on a .308? realy? the ballistics are kaput… most premium heavy .308 ammo doesn’t settle down and stop corkscrewing till around 150-200 yards, you will almost never get a good grouping under that range if you are throwing big pills. Often I find that with .308 the 100m grouping ends up being the same size or larger then the 300m group with bullets like berger 168’s and barnes (this is an observable trait, berger even put a video out on it)
I have a gen 1 XCR-m… and following the instruction manual, I have not had any problems the author has.. at 400m I can hit a 2/3 ipcc target with cheap chinese ammo with the majority of the rounds using a low power scope, with good 168gr ammo its a MOA rifle.
I can see the profile of the barrel, it is a light barrel
its only meant to do 3 rounds at most before it opens up… its meant for hunting not target strings.
The only fair way to test its accuracy is to do 3 round groups or shoot 5 round string over 10 minutes to allow the barrel to stay cool. you will find the groups will stay nice and tight. Testing any gun on a hot barrel is going to net poor results.
Of all the semi .308 rifles I have used, this is overall the best one for reliability and grouping size. Ive run M14’s (great accuracy can be achieved but the gun is prone to banging out and requiring gunsmithing to keep it shooting tight) Famea 542 (light, reliable, minute of barn) RFB (shoots ok, can’t ame a range day without having to take it apart and fix something). I would like to say I have used an AR 10… but alas I live in canada and its a restricted rifle and there for a range queen so i have little interest in owning it.
i dont see these things having a long life, especially under full auto. it would just melt.
XCR-M 308 is the best semi-auto rifle I have ever tested and shot. Follow the manual, run her really wet lubed or greased and keep your alen key in your pocket to tighten up the barrel lug if it needs to be and it will put a smile on your face permanently, guaranteed.
This company has the attitude of a jackass in its original packaging. They do not answer phone calls or e-mails and will not explain a holdup in shipping. Bad service. I will never again do business with them. The owners letter says it all. I will be selling my XCR-L and purchasing an AR.
My experience with them is total opposite from yours and I can’t even describe how great they were, professional and kind! Who did you deal with and for what reason?
If you expect instant reply it won’t happen, they’re too busy but will reply within a few days.
When I tried to get hold of Alex with some questions I was informed that he was in Europe on a business trip and that he will contact me back once her returned.
And he did! He helped with all questions and was very professional, as soon as he was able to respond. The owner and director of the company himself?! C’mon people, whatever made you say negative bashing comments is nothing but baseless hatred filled attitude, or as Trump simply puts it “Fake News” lol…
Where is the update on this test?
It has been shown in experience now that several Ms have accuracy issues due to the gas block
layout and muzzle device. There is now a standard RA M “accuracy update” package that solves this.
I have had and L since ’09 and have never had any customer service issues. XCRs of all calibers
used to have major break in periods using max gas setting. Newer ones do not. These guns are not for idiots who want to run cheap shit ammo out of the box. You need to figure out the proper gas setting for YOUR ammo at YOUR elevation and YOUR temperature after break in. Yes, you can over gas it to run it reliably in all scenarios if you want to also. Recoil will be stiffer and wear will accelerate though.
I also ran mine in a carbine course and blazed through failure drills with ease. I won the accuracy shoot-off. I also had the fastest el presidente drill time which was the final test of the course. Two ARs went down which required a halt to training to fix. Does that make all ARs junk? Of course not.
They are expensive because they are not mass produced and the design is superb. There is one supplier for everything. Their barrels are outstanding. Parts are actually easy to get now including caliber conversions (which take seconds). Where are the SCAR and ACR caliber conversions? End users can service the entire rifle with wrenches from the local hardware store. The new FAST3 stocks are unmatched anywhere in the black rifle world for strength, simplicity, and user adjustability.
I think RA will eventually resurrect the M96 (Alex told me a year ago he was considering it and making spare parts but cost would be huge due to the welding required) and develop a pistol caliber carbine.