New Toy?

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gord1986

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Calgary
First off I would just like to say hey to everyone here on CGN! Its been Its been a while!

So anyways, here's my dilemma.. I just finished a huge shut down and I'm currently flush with cash. So I figure there is no time like the present to pick up a new toy :D

I'm looking for a non-restricted .223/5.56 in semi auto. The main contenders at the moment are a mini-14, tavor, norinco type 96(if they ever come in) or an XCR. If it accepts AR-15 mags that would certainly be a bonus as I already have lots of those.

If any current/previous owners could tell me some pro's and con's of any of these it would be much appreciated. Or if you could suggest something that I haven't even thought about I'd definitely be open to consider that as well.

My buddies were all split on this so I figured what a better place to turn then CGN?

I kind of think a mini-14 has the best value for the money spent, but it lacks certain features that other choices have. Money is really not a big factor in this. I just want something fun and reliable haha.


Thanks for the help guys!
 
I would say XCR or Tavor. I loved my XCR it was dead reliable and looks and feels great, Tavors are cool if you like the bullpup design. If money is no issue I would say skip the Norinco and the mini 14.
 
Thats a wide range of prices. Cheap to VERY expensive. Ive owned 3 of the 4... and no one has owned the 4th yet.

I started with a mini 14, like everything about it OTHER than the mags. Not nearly as plentiful as AR mags and no 10round options. If a T97 is also on your list, id probably go that route as its nearly the same price, does take AR mags and certainly has a more interesting look. Sounds like youve already got or had other rifles, a mini 14 is nothing special IMO.

The T97 is a wild card. The review in calibre magazine suggests its a great gun. No one can really comment on long term reliability yet but for around $1000 its hard to pass up. Sounds like youll still be able to get one in the first shipment if you order now. A bullpup is what it is... if you cant deal with the "different" (not "bad"... I prefer them) ergonomics of a bull pup, dont get one. Like I said, after trying a good one, im sold... I love it.

XCR... awesome gun. I JUST sold mine (newest generation in .223) to fund the last gun ill comment on but if I could have afforded to keep both I absolutly would have. Only downside to the XCR is that I found a few very minor nagging issues, mostly with the bolt hold open, that dont seem to be fully fixed yet. Parts are cheap to have on hand but not always easy to find. The gun is also NOT light compared to an AR. But IMO, it is far simpler to tear down and work on and its NR... so big win there. My XCR was %100 reliable (other than some BHO issues now and again) for the 800 or so round I put through it. Mine started as a 7.62X39 and I bought the .223 calibre conversion kit. Switched it over in less than 5 minutes. Pretty slick. Takes AR mags of all kinds and has very similar ergos to an AR.

My newest gun (the one I had to sell the XCR to afford) is a Tavor. Its the first black rifle ive purchased that I have NO desire to sell or upgrade at all. I love it. 500 rounds in 2 days has resulting in ZERO issues. (shooting CHEAP norinco crap). Its not light but feels light... it fits so nice and is only 27.5 inches long (approx). Shortest NR gun you can buy I believe. Shorter than the T97 and looks WAY cooler. Its also an honest to goodness, battle proven military gun. Not a "civilian version" or a "clone" of any kind. its the same gun used by solders in Israel, made in the same factory, just has a different trigger group. Its super easy to maintain, seems to be super tough, accepts most AR magazines and definitely gets more attention than any other gun ive ever owned (including a Kriss vector, which got a ton of attention, but not as much as the Tavor). Biggest down side... $3000 price tag. IMO, NO other downsides. If money is no option, buy one.
 
Shot my buddies xcr in 308 and man thats a friggin heavy rifle, if thats something you want to consider?
 
If you are in calgary, go check out the SG 540 at the Calgary Shooting Center!

Other than that, Tavor probably gets my vote. Unless you want the Swiss.
 
Tavor. No question. If you look for the threads where guys are complaining about their XCRs (more common) vs. threads complaining about Tavor problems (uncommon) it's an easy choice.
 
Master-G said:
Tavor. No question. If you look for the threads where guys are complaining about their XCRs (more common) vs. threads complaining about Tavor problems (uncommon) it's an easy choice.
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There are WAY more people saying good things about XCR's. There are actually very few complaints about the newer gen models.
 
Matty308 said:
There are WAY more people saying good things about XCR's. There are actually very few complaints about the newer gen models.
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Wait...what? I can believe that newer XCRs are better than older ones but you'll still find very few threads with Tavor issues and more with XCR issues...just look at threads from the past few months about XCR bolt catches failing. Sure, there are plenty of happy XCR owners but percentage-wise there are more XCR issues posted here than Tavor issues.
 
I am on here daily and haven't seen many XCR problem threads lately. Who knows though, I don't look at every one of them. There are less Tavor threads for sure, but there is a lot of people that talk down XCR's who have never owned one, shot one, or held one because of what they have read and that they are not "battle proven". People are all over the Tavor because the Israeli army uses it.
 
I'm selling an XCR in the modern black rifle section, check it out if you are interested

It's a great feeling gun, but a little front heavy. It's very well built and the finish is really nice.

I would keep it if it had a shorter, lighter weight barrel with an integrated flash hider

Oh, and the factory trigger in my XCR is phenomenal - it's better feeling than the Geissele SSA that cost me $300 for my 3 gun AR15, so it certainly feels better than any Tavor trigger
 
Skip right past the mini-14, I hated mine and sold it quickly. Mags are expensive and harder to find. It was reliable with most of the mags I had but it was terrible for accuracy. I think the Mini-14 is a $500 rifle at best. Then consider as soon as you buy it your probably going to start shopping for a new stock that is going to add at least $200 to the price.

I would look at the Tavor, Type-97, XCR, Swiss Arms or a used AR-180B. All but the Swiss Arms take AR mags but the Swiss mags are fairly easy to find and are under $50 each for the Dominion Arms brand ones.
My Swiss has been 100% reliable but isn't quite as accurate as I was expecting after reading what everyone on here was saying about it but maybe I just haven't found the ammo it likes yet.
Hold off on the Swiss until after the RCMP decide if it's going to be reclassified or not though as you wouldn't want to buy one then find out you own a prohibited rifle that you can't use any more.
I still regret selling my AR-180B as it was reliable, light and as accurate as any other on the list.

It doesn't really matter which one we like best as you are the one that is going to be shooting it. Depends what you find comfortable and what you like the looks of. All should be reliable and serve you well.

Good luck
 
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Danimal247 said:
I would keep it if it had a shorter, lighter weight barrel with an integrated flash hider

Oh, and the factory trigger in my XCR is phenomenal - it's better feeling than the Geissele SSA that cost me $300 for my 3 gun AR15, so it certainly feels better than any Tavor trigger
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You can get different barrels for them. A buddy just sold a light profile 18.5" a couple months ago on the EE.

You must have gotten the one in a million trigger. Every trigger I've pulled on an XCR has been crap, Pretty much the same as most milspec AR triggers but with more 1st stage take-up (similar to the Swiss Arms trigger but without the nice crisp break at the end). There is no way I can imagine finding a stock XCR trigger as good as a Geissele SSA. Very lucky find if you did get one though.
 
cr5 said:
You can get different barrels for them. A buddy just sold a light profile 18.5" a couple months ago on the EE.

You must have gotten the one in a million trigger. Every trigger I've pulled on an XCR has been crap, Pretty much the same as most milspec AR triggers but with more 1st stage take-up (similar to the Swiss Arms trigger but without the nice crisp break at the end). There is no way I can imagine finding a stock XCR trigger as good as a Geissele SSA. Very lucky find if you did get one though.
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I know about the light weight contour, but it's still too long. I spoke to Ian at Herron arms and got a quote, but it was more than I wanted to spend and more than the lw factory barrel that is available.

Not sure how you are making your comparison, but I also own a Swiss arms and the trigger is nothing at all like any two stage. That and my FAMAE have similar triggers, but not the XCR.

I also will say the XCR trigger is better than my Geisselle SSA, not just "as good". I've spoke to others with the same experience as me
 
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