Robinson Armament XCRs - Range Report!!

Brobee awesome thread. To see how I posted your videos just hit quote on this post and take a look at the text. You post just a portion of the address (video code) for the video between the tags.

[youtube]A53_NgxCUWk[/youtube]

[youtube]s9AI10YsrRE[/youtube]
 
Range Report Two:

So there I was with GagReflex...I was choking on the predator call as I heaved wind through it's small reed while the Gag-Man was doing...well, I'm not sure what he was doing!! Ok, that's not entirely fair....he was manning the camera. We were out for an afternoon Coyote Calling session, at the request of a local rancher I've known for years who's now in the thick of calving and not happy when the local canines pack up and prod the herd for newborns.

We'd made one stand already and had given it up after 20 minutes of coyote-no-show and were now well into the second set of the day.

The wind was brisk and steady, cutting across the open hillside and hissing through the dried grass. The snow is all but gone around here and it's unseasonably dry; dry enough that the fire bans are on and charred grassland is disturbingly easy to find. The dry landscape makes spotting the coyotes very difficult, but...squinting into the wind....THERE THEY ARE!

Three unseasonably healthy looking coyotes are trotting across the open field infront of us about 600 yards out. One hold up, the other two break into a gentle trot. Oh yeah! We're well positioned, just off the skyline hiding within a narrow band of tall grass that runs along the length of barbed wire fence separating two cultivated fields.

The pair closed the distance quickly, and I laid off the predator call to try and slow them down. They stopped about 250 to 300 yards out, staring our way with enough intensity that I could feel the weight of their gaze as I tried to melt into the grass while getting ready to shoot. One of the two was getting a bit squirrely, so I softly squeeked the call one last time and they took the bait.

Not at a hard run though, instead disappearing into a draw along the side of the hill in the opposite direction from what I was hoping...rather than circling downhill from us which would bring an easy shot, they were working their way up the draw and would pop out above us at close range. We weren't really set up for this, but fidgeted our way into what was the best possible position for the scenario and were rewarded several seconds later when they both appeared about 100 to 150 yards out up the hill.

SAFETY OFF!

I had my Elcan Spectre DR set to 4 power, and as the XCR-l came up they made us and went from the eager trot-to-see-what-all-the-screeching-is-about to that Alarmed-!!-!!-Veer-Off!! that I've seen so many times. No matter...the female quarters back while trotting for one last look and I'm ready. The sear breaks, the hammer falls. The rifle recoils through perfect sight picture, and I see her hit the dirt.

I swing the rifle and find the male in the scope at full run. The picture is clear enough I can see the dirt flying from beneath his paws as he rockets into the coyote-sprint. The crosshairs move through his body as I set up the rifle's sweep, and when I've got what I think is sufficient lead the hammer falls......

BOOM!

I see the dirt explode about a foot in front of his nose...too much lead!! He now jinxes back a bit, moving directly away from us and in a blink he is gone.

Despite bigtime relief at the clean miss, I'm a little disappointed in myself for getting excited enough to let go on a coyote at full run. I'm experienced enough to know better, however this is the temptation of the semi-auto.

I see the female kick a bit, so taking my time I line up on her and send another varmint grenade to put the lights out. It's over, and I make the rifle safe as we go collect our hide.

xcr_coyote_2012_a.jpg


xcr_coyote_2012_b.jpg


All in all...I am pleased with how the rifle handles. I've hunted coyotes for many years with a Swiss Arms Classic Green (both an iron sighted gun and a flattop), and I hate to say I think that I like how the XCR handles better. A big feature for me is the short throw safety and the new FAS stock...I love being able to properly set up an Elcan, and I like the flexibility of the extruded railed upper. I've got mine set up now with a Troy fixed front sight that I'm getting double duty out of as it also secures the front of my two point sling.

When set on 4 power, the front sight all but disappears through the Elcan. When set on 1 power, the front sight post appears in the bottom 1/3 of the field-of-view and acts as a powerful indicator of whether the rifle is canted and aligned properly.

The Elcan is AWESOME! It's super clear and mounts in such a way that the rifle balances beautifully. The ARMS mounts seem to secure tightly to the top of the XCR rail, and the FAS stock allows for proper cheek weld with the Elcan's extended height....something that was not possible with the Swiss Rifles.

I've now got about another 500 rounds through my .223 XCR, and it's still going super-strong. I have not had a single stoppage, nor have I cleaned the gun yet. My gas system is set on 2. Being left handed, I also appreciate the flexibility the XCR has with respect to slinging and the rifle carries easily.

All in all....pretty happy with my XCR-L in .223!

More range reports to come as they happen....

Cheers,

Brobee
 
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Coyote-outing #2...

I was laying down along the ridgeline, enjoying the feeling of being outside rather than back in the office. The sun was out, strong enough even this early in the spring that the radiant heat was a welcome contrast to that dry foohills wind slowly sucking the heat through my cloths and the moisture from the skin of my exposed face. The odd large, late-afternoon cloud was blowing through and when this happened I could feel the grip of winter wrestle with the warmth of spring.

I'd been up there for about 2 hours, watching the rancher's pile of dead calves in the hopes the coyotes would show. I was under dressed for waiting like this, and passing time got harder and harder as I became colder and colder, starting to shiver. To try and pass the time easier, I would glass the open country side around me, slowly studying as much as possible, concentrating on the detail of how the light changes as the clouds move through. Part of this routine involved rolling over onto my back so I could glass the countryside behind me - and there it was...that little difference, just a speck, but a speck with movement!!

Movement - among the birthing cows and their calves in a stubble field across the valley gently rolling valley - yes, movement! About a kilometer and a half away. Careful study revealed a lone coyote dropping out of the willowy scrub that covered the top of the hill, a couple of ravens in close orbit. The coyote approached the cows, and began to test them and their calves for weakness while patrolling with experience for scraps of afterbirth.

I rolled back over and had one last look at the dead pile. I was cold enough that a stalk across the valley would be a welcome change yet did not quite want to give up on the dead pile. Then...another coyote!! This one appear in front of me about 500 meters out, clearing the scrub and moving away from the setup. I gently squeeked the variable pitch predator call to see if she was interested in a free meal. Ha! The coyote did not even stop to look, instead breaking into a loping trot away as she turned to look, laughing as she went. "I've heard that before!". Oh well...maybe I'll get you later at the dead-pile.

Decision made - a stalk across the valley!

I slid down the off the ridge and planned my route to keep me masked by terrain as much as possible. It would add about another kilometer to the stalk, and I would need to crawl the last few hundred meters to get within comfortable shooting range. I was carrying my Robinson Armament XCR set up in .223 Remington. It was still equipped with the Elcan Spectre DR as per my last outing and offered either true zero power or fixed 4 power. Couple that with the accuracy of me and my rifle - about 2 and a half inches at 100 yards from field positions - and I was looking at a maximum effective range of about 250 yards.

Once out of sight I got to jogging and 15 minutes later I was in position to begin the final stalk. I was sucking wind pretty hard from the run, but still able to close the gap quickly with some butt-scooting and sideways crawling, then down into the final commando crawl. Mental note to self....next time pick a slightly longer route that avoids all the cow pattie land mines. Their density was tight enough that I was almost unable to avoid them and talk about some nasty smells!

I crested the gentle swell I'd been using for cover and was rewarded with the perfect sight picture. There he was...a small-ish but well furred coyote chowing down on some afterbirth. Out came the laser range finder - 300 yards...d'oh! Need to get a bit closer! I inched back behind the swell and quickly crawled up the hill a bit to the edge of the field where the grass was a bit taller and the terrain was broken with the odd scubby willow. I slipped along the edge until I crested the swell again which should put me about a fifty meters closer to the site, but DAMN!!!! The coyote was on the move!!

He was moving parallel to the route I had taken up the hill, along the top of a terrain feature that was big enough to mask him if he moved just two or three meters back. Fortune was on my side though and he just kept moving straight towards the scrub. The range was approximately 225 yards. If he hit the scrub though there would be an excellent chance I'd lose him, so I got ready to shoot and when he was just a meter or two away I made the desperate lip squeek....

He stopped to give me "the look" as I gently stroked the safety lever down...

Proned Out....

Perfect Natural Point of Aim...

Perfect Sight Picture...

Broadside Coyote....

Stop Breathing....

Leg moving forward on coyote....time to hurry....

CRACK!

The wet-sounding return-report was distinctive, and he crumpled on the spot - dead right there. I kept him in the rifle sights for about 5 minutes to make sure before turning to glass the cows prior to standing up and approach the coytote. After detecting no other opportunities I got up and went to collect my fur.


xcr_coyote_d.jpg


xcr_coyote_c.jpg



He was a great looking coyote with a beautiful pelt. Despite being young (his teeth were pearly white), his face was super-scarred up from a massive amount of fighting. Bad enough that he had a nasty abscess on the bottom of his jaw. Picking him up though was surprising....despite his relatively small stature he was heavy! About 35 to 40 lbs.

Terminal Ballistics Report - I'm shooting a 50gr Barnes Varmint Grenade. This is my first season coyote hunting with them and I have to say I'm impressed. I have not bigtime-blown-up a pelt yet in the exit wound department, depsite my initial concerns that the 50 grain bullet would be too much (as it is with the hornady and nosler offerings). This particular shot was at around 225 yards and at this range, albeit with perfect shot placement, the bullet made a .22 caliber hole going in with no exit hole. Liquified boiler-room internals. Awesome terminal performance, great accuracy, and relatively fur friendly....A+++!!

Range report on the XCR?? The sling setup I've rigged up works great. It's a two point sling that uses HK style hooks to attach to parachord loops I've passed through the hole in the back of the FAS stock and the hole in the side of the Troy Fixed Front Sight. A couple of sliding buckles allow me to easily adjust it's length, and the rifle lays nicely along my back and side when walking or running.

Crawling with the rifle - many of the ways I crawl (and butt-scurry) involve placing the rifle sideways on the ground and transfering my weight to it as I scoot along. If I hold the rifle such that the ejection port is facing the ground this is not a problem as the rifle lays pretty flat, but if I hold it such that the charging handle faces the ground (as is my preference as I like to keep the ejection port clean), the charging handle is what makes contact with the ground. It's flimsy enough that I'm scared of breaking it, so I had to make a mental note to make sure the rifle is ejection-port-down when crawling. A good design fix for this would be to make a hinged style charging handling...like what is on the FAL.

Accuracy - well within my expectations and on-par with my ability.

Fasteners on the XCR - I check this every time I go out and every time I come back. While only one round was fired on this outing, there was a considerable amount of rifle handling throughout the stalk. All fasteners stayed nice and tight.

FAS stock - no issues with it coming un-latched despite all the rough handling. Love the Cheek Weld and face position with the ELCAN.

Elcan Spectre DR as Optic for the XCR - Perhaps a little light in the magnification department for coyote hunting, but not seemingly a limiting factor. I really do love it's versatility though...at 1 power it is an awesome CQB sight especially in conjunction with the fixed front post. I'll get it out to my steel range in the next month or two and report back on what it's like with silhouettes out to 450 meters.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Brobee
 
Brobbe, awesome posts bud & congrats on your purchases.

We here in the states are following you guys closely as the Canucks got the first batch of
XCR-M's. We are trying to access the guns potential before we buy, which begs a question.
Your post says you shot off of your harris bi pod, but your pics show you supporting the gun with your fist on a block of wood. Which way did you shoot? And what ammo gave you your best group again? Just trying to figure out how well this gun shoots and shooting position is a factor for me. Thanks!
 
Your post says you shot off of your harris bi pod, but your pics show you supporting the gun with your fist on a block of wood. Which way did you shoot? And what ammo gave you your best group again? Just trying to figure out how well this gun shoots and shooting position is a factor for me. Thanks!

I started out shooting off the bipod, but took it off after the first three 10 round groups exhibited the vertical stringing mentioned in the original review. Shooting off the magazine did not seem to make that big a difference either, so my opinion is that the stringing is related to the barrel warming up (specifically in the area where the large cap screw holds it captive in the receiver), not the shooting position or bipod/no-bipod. Groups sizes were both representative of what's illustrated above with no real difference between the two. The other thing worth noting is that there was not really any POI change between the two.

I tried many different types of .308 ammo that day, they all exhibited significant vertical stringing and there was not really any eye-popping stand-out. I was disappointed enough with the .308 that I sold it not long after playing with it. For me the gun was just too much heavier than the XCR-L and the resulting difference in handling was more significant than I had imagined. If it were moderately more accurate I might have kept it, but combined the handling and accuracy characteristics were enough to turn me off.

I continue to play with and very much enjoy the XCR-L rifles. I've got an experimental full length barrel chambered in 300 blackout on the way...if I can get it to work with supersonic ammo I'll be getting ready to use it for deer hunting this fall. Range and testing report to follow as soon as it arrives...(guessing it will be another 3 to 6 weeks). I've already been warned that the subsonic stuff only works with the micro length uppers (as their gas systems are ideally placed to take advantage of the pressure profile of the cartridge) but not the full length rifle. Living in canada though where suppressors are pretty much outlawed for us regular joes I don't really care about subsonic ammo and the non-restricted status of the gun is of paramount importance...supersonic 300 blackout is interesting to me though as it would allow me to standardize my magazines but still run a shorter range deer hunting rig. Will give it a go and see what transpires!

Cheers,

Brobee
 
I started out shooting off the bipod, but took it off after the first three 10 round groups exhibited the vertical stringing mentioned in the original review. Shooting off the magazine did not seem to make that big a difference either, so my opinion is that the stringing is related to the barrel warming up (specifically in the area where the large cap screw holds it captive in the receiver), not the shooting position or bipod/no-bipod. Groups sizes were both representative of what's illustrated above with no real difference between the two. The other thing worth noting is that there was not really any POI change between the two.

I tried many different types of .308 ammo that day, they all exhibited significant vertical stringing and there was not really any eye-popping stand-out. I was disappointed enough with the .308 that I sold it not long after playing with it. For me the gun was just too much heavier than the XCR-L and the resulting difference in handling was more significant than I had imagined. If it were moderately more accurate I might have kept it, but combined the handling and accuracy characteristics were enough to turn me off.

I continue to play with and very much enjoy the XCR-L rifles. I've got an experimental full length barrel chambered in 300 blackout on the way...if I can get it to work with supersonic ammo I'll be getting ready to use it for deer hunting this fall. Range and testing report to follow as soon as it arrives...(guessing it will be another 3 to 6 weeks). I've already been warned that the subsonic stuff only works with the micro length uppers (as their gas systems are ideally placed to take advantage of the pressure profile of the cartridge) but not the full length rifle. Living in canada though where suppressors are pretty much outlawed for us regular joes I don't really care about subsonic ammo and the non-restricted status of the gun is of paramount importance...supersonic 300 blackout is interesting to me though as it would allow me to standardize my magazines but still run a shorter range deer hunting rig. Will give it a go and see what transpires!

Cheers,

Brobee

Thank you for all your help & info.
Let us know how your 300 goes.
Thanks again.
 
Wait a second, wasn't it on this forum where a guy had a 4.25" group at 600 yards?
What happened to that? and what say he?
 
Just got back from a day at the range...forgot the camera and was primarily test-driving my new bolt guns (rem 700 ltr, one in .223 one in .308) but did a bit of load development with my .223 Xcr. Pleased to report honest 2moa 10 round groups, prone shooting off magazine.

Shaping up to be my favorite semi! I also love it when it out-performs the temper metal Italian princess, who was also along for the ride today...temperamental is still a good description...;)

Cheers,

Brobee
 
Just got back from a day at the range...forgot the camera and was primarily test-driving my new bolt guns (rem 700 ltr, one in .223 one in .308) but did a bit of load development with my .223 Xcr. Pleased to report honest 2moa 10 round groups, prone shooting off magazine.

Shaping up to be my favorite semi! I also love it when it out-performs the temper metal Italian princess, who was also along for the ride today...temperamental is still a good description...;)

Cheers,

Brobee

Thanks for coming sharing
 
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With you on that one....the gun I'm referencing 2MOA is a robinson armament XCR-L in .223, specifically the one reviewed in my original post.

Cheers,

Brobee
 
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