The first thing I noticed when I picked it up was the front end weight. Rob Arm chose to make our 18.5 inch barrel in an HBAR profile which directly contributes to the front heavy feeling. As soon as you add a light and a vert grip you really do notice it if you are used to shooting ARs.
This is mostly a factor of the barrel profile, and length. Remember, this is a barrel in excess of 18.5", most AR's are shorter. That makes it front heavy. Also, its a thicker barrel, which aids in heat dissipation. I'd prefer it be lighter overall, but it balances fairly well once you get used to it.
The second thing I really wanted to check out was the gas system and quick change barrel feature. I immediately noticed the looseness of the gas tube...not just a little wiggle room but loose to the point where the tube could move back and forth substantially. It left me feeling like I'd assembled it all wrong and something wasn't lining up. Upon further reading online, I discovered this movement was "normal", Engineered there from the manufacturer to aid in the shaking loose of carbon fouling. Some people had taken to smooshing the tube slightly to get rid of the rattle. Not what I want to do to an expensive rifle. If you're like me and used to Swiss Arms and ARs then this might drive you nuts, cause it bothered the Sh*t out of me...but I have problems
I suspect this no longer applies. The system has been modified, and mines as tight as a nun's... well... you know.
There are also a number of other bolts (Ejector, Casing Deflector etc.) that should be checked and possibly loc-tited in place. Kindof annoying. Really disliked the delrine cocking handle and casing deflector. The didn't break but felt cheap.
They only really need to be checked on first use. I made sure mine were tight (no loctite), and they haven't loosened in the 1000 rounds I've put through it. I actually like the composite material on the handle and deflector.
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but this rifle was entered into competition for a replacement combat rifle no? From a military end users perspective, I'd be mighty disappointed to give up a Colt for this. Definately NOT something I'd take with me into harms way.
Yes, disqualified on a technicality (they forgot to include something in the box, they shipped it to them, it arrived in time, but they refused to put it in the box). I think it is the subject of legal action.
The reports from the operators who use it (mostly SWAT units and Security Contractors speak very highly of it.
When you break the rifle in half to strip it, it only bends just far enough to get the bolt group out. A little annoying. I kinda had to bend it a little further then it naturally wanted to go just to get the guts out of it.
The purpose of the break open is to access the bolt, barre, oprod and oprod spring. If you want to clean the trigger group you push the pin out and break it down in half.
Also, when I attempted to put an aftermarket pistol grip on I realized that the XCR uses it's own specific bolt to hold it on so replacements would not be as easy to come by. When I got it snugged up, it was still loose. I tried tightening it more and it felt like cross-threading. So I tried another popular brand of pistol grip and that was loose too. I even tried another A2 grip with no luck. I guess I could have added another washer from the hardware store but I was a bit disappointed that I assumed they were interchangeable with the AR series. Maybe it was just specific to the rifle I had.
I've never tried this, but I am told by others who have that it is a problem which no longer exists (or never existed).
You could do that but sometimes it's less convenient to juggle two halfs of a rifle and the guts...especially if you are in the field and just want to give the bolt a quick wipe.
The only reason to completely break it down is to access the trigger group. You can extract and clean the bolt without having to break it completely down. You can access the bolt while it is cracked open.