In the market for a practical tactical

Jäger1

Jäger1

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Well I keep seeing all these juicy pics of pretty ARs and after a round of varmint hunting with my SR-22 looking like special forces...I decided it's time to get a man's black rifle.

I really like the Swiss Arms rifle...to me it's a "practical tactical", one I can shoot off a range and hunt with. Does anyone have anything to say about this rifle or have better suggestions?

I'll give you the rundown of what I want in my rifle:

Military/tactical style
any centre-fire calibre (.223 preferred)
non-restricted
ability to accept LAR-15 mags would be a big plus..
reliable and sturdy..I don't want screws falling out of the thing
collapsing stock preferred to a folding stock, but as long as the look is right I can be happy with either or fixed.

So, suggestions...pointers...etc would be greatly appreciated. If you agree the Swiss Arms best fits my criteria, who has the best price, or is anyone looking to sell?

Edit: Now accepting recommendations for the XCR and accessories
 
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I have owned 2 Swiss arms and to be honest I find them to be great rifles all around ( three gun matches to coyotes) i have over 2000 rounds out of mine in the last year with no failures to date . they are heavier compared to an ar styled rifle , but outside of the range where you will be shooting it they are no heavier then an XCR ( not going into the reliability issues that have been reported )
 
I have one of the earliest in the country (Blue Star) when it was still below $2,000! :)

There are a few things "wrong" with them, besides the prices they command these days: they are heavy compared to other "black rifles"; the bipod they come with is not the most "rigid" around and resting the rifle on it changes the POI compared to supporting on the mag or under the area where upper and lower meet in front of the mag well. Finally, their original mags are not cheap, to say the least, but you can buy Dominion copies that are well made, reliable and much more affordable. Once you understand and accept these facts, they are great rifles and quality through and through. I'd have no reservations buying another one if I saw the need.
 
Get a new XCR. It has everything you want, AR mags, and a much "tactical" egonomics. If you're worried about anything coming loose from what the internet tells you, spend $10 and 5 minutes with loctite. AR stock adapter lets you run anything you like.

The Swiss is a quality rifle but the XCR fills your wish list perfectly.

Or you could get a swisa and the NEA AR lower...
 
Update: NEA makes a Swiss Arms lower that has a magwell designed to take AR mags.

+1 for the Swiss Arms

I just hear poor reviews about the XCR. Can you tell me more about its merits over the SA?
 
I just listed the main ones... NR, AR mags, AR stock adapter. Really good ergonomics. You can buy barrels in 6.8 and 7.62 and swap them if you want to shoot bigger things.

As far as reliability... the early ones had lots of problems with stuff coming loose. However, they've been making them for like... 7-8 years now? The people who had the bad ones, still hate them and loctite/XCRs have become a running joke.

Talk to people who've bought a new one in the last couple years, everyone who has, loves them.

Really, you shouldn't make a decision until you handle and shoot both rifles. I bought the XCR based on the same criteria you want and love it.
 
The shooting edge in Calgary, shooting center in Toronto (north of To) frontier firearms, p&d in Edmonton, del selins in bc, and many other gun shops all who order from the importer. The ee is a great place to source these rifles.

With the nea lower you have the ability to accept lar mags and collapsing stocks. If you want a practical tactical I do not believe there is a better one available on the market. You will have to pay for it, worth every penny. The Swiss arms that is. It meets all of your criteria.

Expect to pay somewhere between $2700-$3600 from well used to new
 
With that little push I was motivated to read all 54 pages of the XCR FAQ thread. Guess there isn't anything wrong with it after all. Ok.

New project (contingent on me shouldering it and liking it)!

XCR-L in .223 ($2350 @ Wolverine)
LAR-15 mags ($27.99/each @ Questar)
mag couplers ($5.99/each @ Questar)
XCR AR Buttstock adapter ($65 from NEA)
What's a good place to source M4-style adjustable stocks from? (I prefer collapsing to folding)

Really like the look of the buttstock on this one:
ar15etxcr1.jpg


Anyone want to help me piece this order together online? The gun itself I can probably grab at a local store but the magazines, couplers, stock and adapter will probably have to be sourced online. The prices above I just grabbed to start budgeting the project. Directions to the best deals will be graciously accepted.

So we're looking at...$3000 probably before additional mags and optics.
 
If you wait a bit, the new XCR's will have the FAST stock. It looks like a really big improvement over the current generation stock.

Check out:

http://xcr.robarm.com/raxcs.php

I hear that they will be available soon with the XCR-M's and if that's the case the stocks should be available for the XCR-L's.

Just some food for thought. Maybe some of the dealers can verify timeline on it.
 
PrairieSniper said:
If you wait a bit, the new XCR's will have the FAST stock. It looks like a really big improvement over the current generation stock.

Check out:

http://xcr.robarm.com/raxcs.php

I hear that they will be available soon with the XCR-M's and if that's the case the stocks should be available for the XCR-L's.

Just some food for thought. Maybe some of the dealers can verify timeline on it.
Click to expand...

I heard they were not allowed in...well, they were not allowed out is more accurate. US won't export it.
 
Jäger said:
a "practical tactical", one I can shoot off a range and hunt with

I'll give you the rundown of what I want in my rifle:

Military/tactical style
any centre-fire calibre (.223 preferred)
non-restricted
ability to accept LAR-15 mags would be a big plus..
reliable and sturdy..I don't want screws falling out of the thing
collapsing stock preferred to a folding stock, but as long as the look is right I can be happy with either or fixed.
Click to expand...

a "practical tactical", one I can shoot off a range and hunt with

Remington 7615P
 
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Mr. Hipwell from Wolverine confirmed the FAST stock will be on the Canadian XCR-M, keep in mind small number of the original folder stock manage to be exported before the States Dept. put a stop to it.
 
I've got a 2-7 on my XCR in 6.8 and really enjoy the gun. Its a keeper I really enjoy shooting. It cuts lots of paper and it's shot about 6 deer already with great success. A few buddies have borrowed it for hunting to try it and both are buying "M"s now as they really like the ergonomics but want to be able to hunt moose and deer with it as well.
 
One thing to consider if you get an XCR-L is that there are at least a couple different options available for stock adapters and many different stock options.
Certain stocks will work better with certain adapters (ie; Magpul UBR stock with pretty much any adapter besides the NEA one just doesn't look right IMO,) so make sure you look at some pics of adapters and stocks together before you buy anything.
 
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