Do you want a rifle that goes BANG every time you pull the trigger or a highly evolved weapon with excellent ergonomics, superior accuracy and endless customization? Yes! Unfortunately, American rifles tend to divide between AK (rough and ready) and AR (hot rod). The underlying assumption: they’re mutually exclusive platforms. Maybe not. Robinson Arms’ XCR-L rifle combines the reliability of the AK-47’s gas-operated, piston-driven system, three-lug rotating bolt, beefy extractor and fixed ejector with the superior ergonomics and accuracy of the AR platform—with a dash of FN-FAL for added finesse. Or does it?
The XCR-L has scars from its past. Alex J. Robinson developed the weapon system for the big Kahuna: the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) SOF Combat Assault Rifle contract. The XCR-L was disqualified on a technicality, relegating the weapon to small military contracts, and law enforcement and civilian sales.
The XCR-L’s headline innovation: maximum modularity. Thanks to the way the bolt locks into the barrel extension, a shooter can swap out the pipe without worrying about head-spacing. Caliber conversions require a hex wrench, a few minutes of your time and a bit of practice. With a simple barrel and bolt swap, the XCR fires 6.8 SPC, 6.5x39mm and/or 7.62×39.
Instead of having to buy multiple rifles or even multiple uppers (for AR users), you keep the same rifle and change out the barrel, bolt and magazine. Same controls. Same optics, sling, flashlights, etc. New ammo. Hunters can switch from harvesting feral pigs, to distance work on steel or paper to keeping the godless hordes at bay. Rather than spending all your extra cash on parts, you can spend it on ammo instead.
One gun to rule them all? Those who don’t see the point of changing calibers rather than weapons—enthusiasts whose gun safes indicate that they’ve already succumbed to black rifle disease—may wish to see utility elsewhere. How about this? The Robinson has less parts than its competitors. There’s less to go wrong.
And lots of room for stuff. XCR-L sports 1913 Standard Picatinny rails all the way ’round for BUIS, optics, flashlights, lasers, vertical hand grips, etc. The set up includes a 17” long top rail and 8” long rails in the three, six, and nine o’clock positions. Our test rifle kept is simple: a EOTECH 512 holographic sight mounted to the flat top receiver and . . . that’s it.
The XCR-L’s gas system is adjustable. A shooter can tailor the rifle’s settings for reliable operation with a variety of different ammo loadings (at least in theory). Using the five-setting gas system, a shooter can adjust the rifle to use the absolute minimal amount of gas needed to cycle the action. That means less wear and tear and less fouling come cleaning time. The XCR owner can also shut off the gas system entirely for shooting with a suppressor or single shot operation.
Robinson’s positioned the XCR-L’s non-reciprocating charging handle on the receiver’s left side. You activate the forward assist by pushing in and then forward on the charging handle. The easily-indexed safety controls are ambidextrous. The XCR-L’s bolt release lives immediately ahead of the trigger guard; it’s also accessible from either the left or right.
With the magazine release in standard AR configuration, drop-free mag changes are a cinch. Bonus! The XCR-L accepts standard AR15 magazines and drums, offering serious savings on extra magazines.
Our test rifle sported a 16” chromed lined barrel with a 1 in 9” twist. The set-up hearts everything from standard 55 and 62-grain 5.56 fodder to big ass bullets up to 75-grains. Robinson ships the XCR-L with a standard A2 flash suppressor, though other muzzle attachments are available.
The XCR-L’s a trigger is two-stage affair that will give AR shooters a bad case of trigger envy. After taking up the slack, the second stage breaks at a clean 3-4 lbs. Shooters used to standard, lawyer-proof single stage AR triggers will find the XCR trigger a tremendous accuracy booster.
Another innovation: a shooter can use the XCR-L’s telescoping and folding stock to adjust the length of pull or reduce the overall length of the rifle, from 37” (stock extended) to just 27.4” (stock folded). It’s a handy option for space-challenged storage or discreet transportation. The XCR’s stock locks-up solidly with no sense of play whatsoever.
The XCR’s brass deflector’s positioned at the rear of the ejection port. Spent casings fly forward to the shooter’s 1 o’clock position—great news for left handed shooters as well as your neighbors on the firing line. Reloaders will appreciate the fact that spent casings relocated themselves predictably. The brass itself wasn’t chewed up in the least.
Our friends at Hornady sent us some of their best .223 ammo for our review. We fired their 55 and 75-grain TAP personal defense ammo, 75-grain match loads and their 55-grain V-max loading. For those who’ve never used the TAP FPD ammo before, it’s too pretty to shoot. But you’ll get over it. The ammo functioned flawlessly. It was also the most accurate ammo we’ve ever tested.
To explore the XCR’s potential, we shot 10-round groups from the bench at 100 yards with each of the four loadings. The XCR’s best 10-shot groups hit the paper in the 3” range with the 75 and 55-grain TAP FPD loads. Remember: this is with a battle carbine using a non-magnified holographic reticle (1 MOA dot surrounded by a 65 MOA circle). Re-fitted with a simple variable power scope, the XCR-L turned in groups just under MOA.
But battle carbines aren’t exactly meant to be fired only from the bench and the XCR really shines when engaging multiple targets at various distances, from improvised positions, under time pressure. It’s a light handling, easy-pointing rifle that shoots soft, hits hard and looks good. The XCR feels great in your hands with plenty of steel, not too much plastic, and a strong sense that its makers were paying attention to the little details that make a rifle fun to shoot. Our XCR was clanging the steel silhouette targets from 50 out to 300 yards with ease. As and when . . .
Our test rifle was a bit of diva. During the course of putting nearly 400 rounds downrange, we experienced no less than eight failures to fire (FTF) and two failures to extract (FTE). Some of the FTF’s may have been due to a faulty P-mag or our tinkering with the gas regulator settings. But that’s an alarming number of malfunctions for a rifle that should be dead nuts reliable no matter what.
During our testing, we fired a handful of Wolf steel cased .223 ammo through the XCR. Big mistake. Within just a few shots an empty casing failed to extract. Running the charging handle a few times didn’t budge it from the chamber; this casing was stuck tighter than a chipmunk’s fanny gasket. The XCR’s robust extractor actually ripped through the rim of the stuck case. We tapped the spent casing out of the chamber with a cleaning rod.
The XCR-L only functioned perfectly with top shelf 55 and 75-grain Hornady TAP ammunition. This highlights the importance of sending enough rounds down range to know whether your defensive rifle is utterly reliable or fussy about its ammo. On the positive side, the adjustable gas system really did keep the rifle cleaner during prolonged shooting. The take-down procedures for cleaning the XCR are a simple matter.
As an AR and AK owner, I was actually hoping to find reasons to dismiss the XCR as a mere fad, to better justify my existing black rifles. After shooting it for an afternoon, I had to admit that the XCR-L has far better controls than my WASR-10 and greater modularity. Likewise, I’d never thought of my beloved (7.62×39) AR as suffering from a stiff trigger or having a noticeable kick. After experiencing the XCR’s buttery smooth trigger and mild recoil, I experienced a mild case of buyer’s remorse. Or is that jealousy?
The Robinson Arms XCR-L is nearasdammit the hybrid rifle its makers hoped it would be. But ammo finickiness is its Achilles Heel. If you want a completely reliable gas-operated, piston-driven operated rifle, this isn’t it—unless you feed it a strict diet of the good stuff.
Great cars run on high test fuel only. Why not great guns? And there’s no doubt that the Robinson Arms XCR-L is a great gun. Just not as great as it could be. Yet.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO (.223 Rem)
Barrel: 16.02” Chrome-lined 1 in 9” twist
Overall Length: 37.75” (stock extended) 27.4” (stock folded)
Weight: 7.5 lbs. (empty)
Action: Semi auto, gas operated, piston-driven
Capacity: Accepts M-16 magazines & drums
Price: MRSP starting at $1500.00
RATINGS (out of five)
STYLE * * * * *
A great combination of form and function. It looks cool, handles well and does its job as well as any defensive rifle out there.
ERGONOMICS * * * * *
Very well thought out. This rifle has the best features of both the AR and the FAL. The controls are simple, rugged and intuitive.
RELIABILITY * * *
Uh oh, this is the only question mark hanging over the XCR. It ran perfectly with top shelf ammo, but if that ammo isn’t available, then what?
CUSTOMIZE THIS * * * * *
The XCR comes with plenty of rail space for whatever it takes to make the rifle work for you. Iron sights and/or optics are the main requirement, but after that it’s whatever floats your boat.
OVERALL RATING * * * *
The Robinson Arms XCR comes damn close to offering the best of both worlds in terms of AR ergonomics and accuracy and AK ruggedness and reliability. Watch this space.
Thanks Derek ! Very informative summation. Reliability would be THE reason to pick ANY weapon. I’ve unceremoniously crossed the hyped Bushmaster ACR off my list after doing my homework, and now sadly, the same for the XCR. I mean,…why even bother with a rifle that wants to be fed bon bons. Such finickiness brings a whole other set of questions to the surface for hand loaders. Thanks again for your review AND more importantly for your service !
Hey, Justine has a strong point there that I would like to chime in on! I have been looking hard at the SCAR, ACR, and the XCR, and was at one point very excited about the XCR more than the other rifles. But after looking at there website that’s been under construction for months and hearing about there crappy customer service I think I will consider another rifle instead, for the simple fact that a rifle is only as good as the company’s “CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT” who stands behind it. It’s obvious that something is wrong over there at Robinson Arms if they can’t get there webmaster to get it in gear, or get their crap together at there customer service department and spare parts division. Customer service is a big deal to me as it should be with anyone who buys/invests in a firearm from a supposed reputable company. I can see this happening with an import company but not a company who manufactures right here in the USA. That is UNACCEPTABLE.
Take heart Alex Robinson, when you blow off one customer, your blowing off several other potential customers as well. Look to Barrett, S&W, and Taurus for some lesson’s in customer relations Mr. Robinson and I may take a look at an XCR in the future once those issues are improved upon.
I had been looking at the XCR for years and figured that they would have fixed a bunch of problems, I think at this point they are on version 3 on alot of parts.
So part way through my second tour in Iraq (Jan 2010-2011) I ordered an XCR with folding stock and heavy barrel. I get home for 2 weeks of R&R and it still hasn’t shown up at my dealer yet(well over 8 weeks after ordering) so I call them up and tell them that if they can’t get it to me before I go back to IRAQ they can keep it and refund my money because I’m not going to have it sit in the safe for 6 months without firing it. So they did 1 day shipping and I had it by 11am the next day. But they forgot the buttstock and extra firing pin I ordered. How am I going to test the rifle without a buttstock.
So I called them back and they 1 days shipped that as well (still no extra firing pin). Well the mag was difficult to seat, had to really smack it to get it to not fall out. (some mags worked better than others but my AR will take any mags so this was and is disappointing) . I ended up not shooting it before leaving again. 6 months later I take it out to the farm and after cleaning it and pouring oil everywhere it works fine. I understand having to break some weapons in, some 1911s require it and they do shoot better over time, things mesh better. However, my AR fired right out of the box and the XCR required some finess. I was using PMC ammo and later some Remington haven’t had a ftf or fte yet.
I just wish RobArms would just charge me for 300 rounds and fire it there so if there is a problem it gets fixed before I get it. (no real problems but for those that complain about issues this would fix the shipping back and forth). On the customer service and website, they were very quick to ship me items but I had to call and remind them of what they owed me. It’s like they have someone who cares but their ordering and file management system is crap. And as far as the website, I’ve seen videos of the XCR-M on youtube and the 2011 shot show but the website still shows news updates from 2009-2010 and they have suspended ordering right now until they fix some things. That is great but it shouldn’t take months to update a website and redesign your ordering and shipping program.
When it gets back up I will order the 7.62×39 kit and a bunch of spare parts and just assume that they won’t be much help and do everything myself. With cleaning and care the weapon should outlive me so no big issue since I haven’t had any major issues yet. Those seem to pop up early on from what I’ve read. And for all the SHTF people it only has to work long enough to get someone elses’s weapon… In the end I wish I’d spent the $1,800 (gets more expensive once you add buttstock and other options) on a Springfield M1A National Match and had a weapon with better reach and more battle testing.
And no I’m not going to start a disscussion on 308 battle rifles I just like that one. But since I own one I will add my scope and get the bugs worked out because you can’t sell them for what you paid so might as well keep it and learn to like it, or love it depends on if you got a lemon or if like me it seems good but not enough rounds to know for certain yet.
That’s not the standard stock that comes with the XCR, but I know they have several options to choose from on their order form. Do you know which one on the order form is the one pictured here?
I have owned my XCR for about 2 years, put roughly 1,500 rds through it (all new, brass ammo, 77 gr to 53 gr), with no cleaning, no malfunctions (that were not induced), variety of mags, and great performance. My base line for performance is off-hand snap shots at 12″ steel at 100 meters. I also had 3 MOA prone, 100m, using an Aimpoint T-1. The 3 MOA performance is more reflective of shooter limitations than the gun itself, I believe, as I have yet to use magnified optics. I consider my XCR my go-to gun–it is with me 24/7. Great reliability, great accuracy, and excellent ergonomics due to the significant number of advantages incorporated in this proprietary platform(too many to write down now). On a side note, due to work issues, the past 3 years have seen my lowest round counts in 15 years. I hope to be putting significantly more rounds through my XCR soon.
I have dealt with RA’s customer service only once over a year ago , and had a good experience. The owner took my call and ended up spending over 90 minutes talking with me, even though he didn’t know me from Adam. Enjoyed picking his brain, got some good insights. The trigger slap issue I called about resolved itself after the “break-in” period, as advised. Personally, I need all of the trigger time I can get, and would prefer to be shooting my gun rather than paying a higher price for someone at the factory to do this for me. Not sure why this rifle needs a 2-300 rd break-in period, but so be it. Anyone who would trust any mechanical device to be able to reliably save their life without significant first-hand testing is not grounded in reality.
As for pins working themselves loose on the XCR, I have not experienced this personally, but I will be keeping an eye out for this, and making sure everything that needs it, has Loctite. Regular PM (preventative maintenance) is necessary for all machines, and it’s good to review what kind of specific attention my equipment needs.
For reference, I own 3 gas impingement AR’s, and have put tens thousands of rds through them over the past 15 years in a wide variety of very taxing environments. I really like the AR platform. The XCR is head and shoulders above the gas impingement AR’s. The weight and cost (compared to other piston, full rail AR’s) is very competitive. HK’s MR556A1 is around $3400 and weighs 8.37 lb, with great reliability and good performance. However, the HK is $1,800 more, and 0.87 lbs heavier with a significantly lower level of ergonomic performance. Especially HK’s ambi safety lever. If you are in the habit of having your index finger lay flat on the frame of the gun before disengaging the safety with your thumb (as I am), you are in for an unpleasant experience. I would have significant retraining required to adapt to their ambi design. Certainly possible, just not something I would want to do.
On paper, the rifle that comes closest to being able to compete with the XCR is the SIG556 Patrol rifle. $1,600 price tag, 7.3 lbs (.2 lbs lighter than the XCR), but no folding stock option, and as of yet untested (from my standpoint) reliability. For my personal applications, not having a folding stock is a deal-breaker. But considering that this is from Sig Sauer, a large gun company with a great reputation, replacement parts should never be an issue (one would hope). Either way, get kitted up with a set of spare parts for your rifle. All mechanical devices will fail. Not a question of if, just when.
To summarize, I have had excellent reliability and performance from my XCR. Although I would prefer to have 5-6,000 rds through my rifle by now, 1,500 rds gives me a decent baseline to make my judgement. On top of the great reliability and solid performance (it has to go bang when you press the trigger, and hit what the sights are on), I love the ergonomic advantages that the XCR offers–charging handle (design/location), the bolt catch/release lever (location/design), even the safety lever, compared to the standard AR, is a noticeable improvement. Throw in the folding stock, and the XCR is the hands-down winner for me.
Room for improvement? I would like to see the folding, collapsible, flat stock that Robinson Arms has been working on, be ready now. I would like to see an even lighter version of this rifle–I think there is room to make the upper receiver leaner without compromising reliability, performance, or cost. And I would like to see lower costs passed on to the consumer. Just thought I would list my top three opportunities for RA to consider in case they ever read these things.
As a matter of fact, continuous improvement is the name of the game, for shooters and for the equipment we use. Quite frankly, as shooters, our focus really should be on personal performance improvements, not on perceived equipment advantages. At a minimum, at least half of our resources (money and time) spent on shooting should be dedicated to personal improvement, through realistic and professional instruction, reinforced by good (realistic, regular, reliable, and repeatable) training. What did you do to improve this week?–this is the question I try to ask myself every few days.
I have owned my XCR for a long time now. Alex has had his problems with the Robinson Arms company and the XCR, however, he has a GREAT JOB!, getting this fine weapon up and running. Please bear in mind that Alex isn’t a hugely well financed person/company, however, I have NEVER had a problem or situation that he failed to address in a timely manner. As far as how expensive the XCR is, well, those that think that or “think” they believe that have to consider ALL of the facts! The XCR isn’t a cheap weapons system. IF you want “cheap” then, by all means buy any old AK-47 and bang away. If you want a quality piece, that will still go bang, bang, provided you can re-load and/or afford to feed it the ammo that you should be willing to feed a quality rifle, like the XCR is and is porported and marketed to be.
Now to my Robinson XCR Friends that have been wondering where I have been for a while may be interested in knowing that I have had another serious heart attack and also I have had a SUPER serious spinal fusion that had complications from a surgeon screwing up my colon, LITERALLY! He twisted my colon when the other surgeons had completed their work that makes my spine look like a “chain link fence”. Darn near killed me, BUT, rest assured My Friends, I intend to institute a mal-practice suit upon him that will make my cost for new re-loading equipment and first rate ammo for my XCR insignificant.
If folks don’t like my personal update(s), then you can just write it off to my being a Robinson Fan and part of the XCR Family. Soooooo kma! if you feel that way. Otherwise, I look forward to hearing from the Robinson XCR Owners soon!
Best regards, CVS
That’s some BS about only feeding it bonbons, it has a adjustable gas system so it will eat anything! Mine will shoot wolf, Remington or Federal and feed m855 perfect. Xcr eats what you give it you just got to be smart enough to know how to use it.
It’s a crying shame that your company can’t master the engineering to offer a version of your XCR in 6.5×39/264. What an opportunity you are missing. You make the finest firearm and let other companies produce their products in 6.5×39/264, evem the AK will start producing such a version. Hope you do soon. Ric
That part about the ammo finnickyness sounds wronger than wrong, I’ve had my XCR for two years now, and have so far had ONE malfunction, as my friend was shooting it. I’m more inclined to blame him for the jam than the gun. I’d wager that messing with the gas settings was the cause behind the author’s malfunctions.
I’ve read all of the comments here and [now] I am not even the least interested in buying one of these rifles. I have several AR’s from different manufacturers in different calibers and I’ve never had anywhere near the problems that have been detailed here; in fact I’ve been completely satisfied with the cost, function, reliability and versatility of the proven AR platform. These days with just a little skill a person can put together a nice AR that works great for under $1,000 and have a quality rifle that will do the job nicely. OH yeah.
Wow, I can’t believe how many of you allowed this review to make you doubt the XCR. As “justme” stated- the manual that comes with this rifle tells you to give it a break-in period and to utilize the adjustable gas system to fine tune for your ammo. The reviewer obviously paid no attention to this. Mine has never needed any adjustments whatsoever (I exclusively shoot Federal XM193) and my groups are WAY tighter than his. I use an Aimpoint Comp M2.
I purchased my Robinson kind of on impulse when I went to my local gun store with the intention of purchasing a fancy new upper for my AR. I had intended to spend $1600 or less on a piston upper with full rails (monolithic, is possible). The XCR had just came in that week and I asked to see it. As soon as I held it, I HAD to have it. I got change back from my 1600 and rarely touched my AR ever again.
“The reviewer obviously paid no attention to this.”
The majority of people never read owner’s manuals. RTFM.
Especially people who “think” they know it all about anything, guns in this instance.
That is why I always take any review with a grain of salt. The number of bad reviews on the Internet is high because the reviewer assumed that they know everything.
And also why I am strongly considering an XCR later this year when I can afford it (plus it is non-restricted in Canada, not like the restricted AR).
As some time has passed since my last comment.
I have now shot the XCR at 500 yards using a ACOG 4×32 optic and XM193 ammo (guaranteed 4-MOA, typically 1.5-1.75 MOA) using just a USGI sling, Appleseed style).
My groups were 10″ (2 MOA) wide and about 16″ (3 MOA) high.
I haven’t been able to test with better factory ammo or handloads. Perhaps one day.
Still no problems since break in and I am now a couple of thousand rounds on each rifle.