Hey all, I have a quick question for you.
I have the XCR-L in .223 (I'm still not sure if it is designed to fire 5.56 NATO as well though, can't seem to find that info anywhere).
I'm thinking about getting the conversion kit to 7.62 x 39. I'm assuming of course that it won't be compatible with 7.62 x 51 NATO. Now, I'm not familiar with 7.62 x 39, however I am familiar with 7.62 NATO and I know that it is a pretty serious round.
How does the 7.62 x 39 compare with it? And how does it compare with .308? I'm thinking that if it is almost the same I can just get the conversion kit rather than getting an XCR-M.
I'm interested in hunting, and possibly bear defense too.
Thanks in advance.
Apollyon, with a name like that you should be more familiar with caliber rounds
7.62 x39 and x51 are vastly different rounds...they have no similar whatsoever. It would be like saying a .22LR is similar to a 5.56 Nato, or a .308 to a 300 WinMag. They might share the same caliber diameter but such a similarity means exactly nothing.
Yes, you can shoot 5.56 NATO in the .223 XCR...mine loves them.
The 7.62x51 NATO is otherwise known as the .308, of course as you said, and this caliber is supported on the XCR-M platform. There are NO conversions for the -L for .308, it can't shoot them.
The 7.62x39 is basically a "Russian" round that became popular because of the accessibility of cheap (in price AND quality) bulk ammo for that round, typically made in China or other sketchy places.
You can find endless, endless, endless, debate online on the performance differences between 5.56NATO and 7.62x39. The 7.62x51NATO / .308 is far superior in energy and ballistics to both, but such performance is obviously not typically necessary on the battle field. Of course, for hunting, where you want clean kills, .308 is the round for deer and up while .223 is great for varmints. The 7.62x39 can be quite accurate out of the XCR-L's with that conversion and in other guns, but it is much slower than the .223 and so doesn't reach out as far; it does carry a lot more energy than the .223 due to the heavier bullet, but it won't make a difference over the .223 on varmints.
My solution is (will be

) to have an XCR-L in .223 and an XCR-M in .308. You'll have to buy the two rifles. The -M is a little beefier and larger looking but still weighs around the same as the -L.