XCR at SHOT 2014 - Keymod XCR, 9.5" XCR-M

As an owner of an M and a 6.8 L with a 5.56 conversion I can confirm quality is good. I did have to replace a bolt catch on my L learning that it's not a bolt release :). Wolverine is as great to deal with as their rep would suggest. I have never owned one of the older versions and think most of the upgrades have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary. I think it's mostly been a matter of ongoing quality improvement by RA which is good! They are heavy little beasts though so I've been looking at the light contour barrels which according to Wolverine save almost a pound in weight. Would definitely be interested in a keymod upper to shave a little more weight off. If I have a complaint it's that they both seem to eat too much ammo :).
 
I've never considered a RA gun before, mostly because that Alex Robinson guy came across as a total douche a few years ago.

That Keymod .223 looks SWEET. Give me 6 months and I would totally pick one up.
 
I believe what he is referring to is some of the early and a few batches of later production XCR-L's had a bolt catch that wore prematurely (mine did) and even the slightest bump of the rifle would slam the bolt closed. Or not even hold it open at all.
 
Yes, the bolt catch can be used as a bolt release but I have just gotten in the habit of pulling the bolt back and letting go rather than using it in this manner. Got in the habit after a pistol class where we were taught to always do things the same way whether clearing a malfunction or loading a new mag. Figured the same thing applies to semiautomatic rifles.

Why wear the bolt catch unnecessarily? I don't need to use it to release the bolt but I do need it to hold the Bolt open when a magazine is empty. Might take thousands of rounds to happen again but the metal bolt catch will wear as the bolt slides past it and eventually fail.
 
Last edited:
Why wear the bolt catch unnecessarily?

Lol i don't think you understand. The company designed it to be used as a bolt release AND bolt catch. One of the main reason I like the xcr is the location of the bolt release. Go watch Alex Robinson at shot show use the bolt release.
 
Does anybody know if it is possible to get short barrels for the XCR-L rather than having to purchase a mini? I really like the look.
 
Yeah, me neither. I was just thinking that it would be cheaper to get a shorter barrel and register it as restricted rather than buy a whole other rifle. It would save almost $2000.
 
Lol i don't think you understand. The company designed it to be used as a bolt release AND bolt catch. One of the main reason I like the xcr is the location of the bolt release. Go watch Alex Robinson at shot show use the bolt release.

I am aware it is a bolt release as well as a bolt catch and it will likely work well using it as designed. OTOH, I use mine to punch paper and hunt coyotes so the extra fraction of a second it take to load the first round doesn't matter to me.

Is it obsessive to do it this way? Probably. But I hate putting my guns away without cleaning them too, even if it's only for a day or two. For me it's worth it.

Regarding the short barrel for a regular xcr, wolverine has intentionally not brought in sbr style in this form factor to avoid losing the non-restricted classification. So, unfortunately, that means 2 rifles or having to choose.
 
To my knowledge there have been no reports of parts falling off of these rifles in years, they got a bad rep in the early production and such a reputation will never be lost.

I bought my XCR-L last summer and parts rattled off the damn thing constantly; I ended up just putting on an AR stock, perma locktighting it; and machining a custom stainless steel collet plus my upper to hold the barrel retention bolt. And I completely removed the bolt catch as it was never reliable and it rattled apart. Nothing comes loose now.

I'm interested in the new bolt, does it require a new bolt carrier too?

I would like to know if its a direct swap, or do I need a new upper? I did about $500 worth of machining to my upper putting the barrel bolt colet in; so I would like to keep it.

I did have to replace a bolt catch on my L learning that it's not a bolt release :)

I ended up simply removing mine and just getting used to visual check and manually cycling the first round, I am getting pretty good at it now. The damn release was just to un-reliable.

Does anybody know if it is possible to get short barrels for the XCR-L rather than having to purchase a mini? I really like the look.

I asked wolverine for the 14.5" barrel for my L and they said no; I was told they only sell them to LE/Military

My XCR-M bought 2 summers ago needed the barrel rention bolt collet and machining; and it needed a custom built mag catch to hold Magpul P-Mags reliably, they were just dropping out randomly when shooting. It has been turned into a DMR (just waiting for the 20" barrel) so it does not get shot fast enough to rattle anything else lose; the bolt catch works flawlessly on it. Even though the stock seems to be reliable and not coming loose I think I am still going to swap it out for a AR DMR style stock like the Magpul PRS.
 
Yes, the bolt catch can be used as a bolt release but I have just gotten in the habit of pulling the bolt back and letting go rather than using it in this manner. Got in the habit after a pistol class where we were taught to always do things the same way whether clearing a malfunction or loading a new mag. Figured the same thing applies to semiautomatic rifles.

Why wear the bolt catch unnecessarily? I don't need to use it to release the bolt but I do need it to hold the Bolt open when a magazine is empty. Might take thousands of rounds to happen again but the metal bolt catch will wear as the bolt slides past it and eventually fail.

I had to read that twice. You don't want to use a highly advertised, and patented feature of a rifle because it might wear out? :confused: That is like saying you would rather eject the last round and remove the mag because you don't want to wear out the safety by using it, and that is the best way to make safe.

I have about 500rds through mine and nothing worn out yet. :rolleyes:
 
Back
Top Bottom