Robinson Armament M 96
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Had one several years ago, and probably should have kept it rather than selling it off. Accuracy ran about 1.5 - 2 MOA with pretty much everything I fed it. Trigger was the weak point, being rather spongy -- which was surprising, because the fit and finish of every other aspect of the rifle was very good. After a few hundred rounds, it developed the rather disconcerting habit of of occassionally going "pew-pew" or "pew-pew-pew" rather than just "pew". That got it send to a smith for an overhaul and trigger job. After that, it worked as designed with a decent 4-lb trigger.
All in all, it's one of the better built NR black rifles. The quick change barrel feature is well thought out -- only there never seemed to be spare barrels to change. Also cool was the ability to reconfigure to a top-feeding Bren-style mag system -- if only you could get your hands on the kit, and I'm not sure any were ever released. Of course, the coolest feature by far was the ability to reconfigure to a belt-feed system -- but that too never materialized.
Ah right, now I remember why I sold it off. Despite the quality of the rifle itself, it just seem to be weighed down with broken promises...
All in all, it's one of the better built NR black rifles. The quick change barrel feature is well thought out -- only there never seemed to be spare barrels to change. Also cool was the ability to reconfigure to a top-feeding Bren-style mag system -- if only you could get your hands on the kit, and I'm not sure any were ever released. Of course, the coolest feature by far was the ability to reconfigure to a belt-feed system -- but that too never materialized.
Ah right, now I remember why I sold it off. Despite the quality of the rifle itself, it just seem to be weighed down with broken promises...
I have a late-production M96 that has been test-fired only, less than 30 rounds to zero the optic. It will be up for sale on the EE in a day or two, once I get around to digging out the manual, etc. It is in 99% NRA condition, perfect as a collector's item which most M96s are these days due to a lack of spare parts. The only known failures with early M96s were (rarely) cracked bolts after several thousand rounds, and an occasional tendency to launch the quick-detach barrel downrange. The barrel-launching was remedied by changing the shape of the detent hole in the barrel extension. I am not sure if the bolt-cracking issue was addressed in late-production rifles such as mine. What I do know is that my rifle came with all of the life-cycle upgrades and the 'vented" rear sight housing identical to the Stoner 63A. Which only came on the very last rifles produced.
The average selling price for an M96 is in the $3,200 to $3,600 range for a quick sale, with rifles priced at $4k sometimes sitting on the EE for a few weeks. Mine comes with a "one of" custom-fitted Galil folding stock and a matching home-fabricated scope mount that attaches to the built-in mounting points on the receiver. It will also ship with the Millett DMR 1.5-5 x 24 illuminated scope (worth $250), the manual, a 5/30 magazine and a hard case. My asking price will be $3,700 firm with everything mentioned.
The M96 is the closest most of us will ever get to handling, let alone owning a genuine Stoner M63A. Mine has been the centerpiece of my Eugene Stoner collection for a decade, but I now need the funds for another project. They are extremely well-made, with a hand-welded, blackened stainless steel receiver and stainless major components for corrosion resistance. A new M96 cost $2200 back in 2001, and Robinson Armament apparently lost quite a bit of money on the early production due to the cost of skilled labour (eg. Master Welder wages) and the top-quality materials. Factor in inflation, and $3500 in 2017 CAD is pretty fair for what amounts to an increasingly rare and desirable NR collectible.
Edited to add: Alex Robinson has been heard to publicly muse about re-starting M96 production, based on endless interest in the rifles due to the Stoner similarity and relatively affordable price-point for collectors. Should that ever occur, the parts shortage will be addressed. Until then, you either want to find a spare bolt or know a machinist if you plan to fire the rifle a great deal. They really are a great shooter - very minimal recoil with zero muzzle-rise.
Here is mine:
The average selling price for an M96 is in the $3,200 to $3,600 range for a quick sale, with rifles priced at $4k sometimes sitting on the EE for a few weeks. Mine comes with a "one of" custom-fitted Galil folding stock and a matching home-fabricated scope mount that attaches to the built-in mounting points on the receiver. It will also ship with the Millett DMR 1.5-5 x 24 illuminated scope (worth $250), the manual, a 5/30 magazine and a hard case. My asking price will be $3,700 firm with everything mentioned.
The M96 is the closest most of us will ever get to handling, let alone owning a genuine Stoner M63A. Mine has been the centerpiece of my Eugene Stoner collection for a decade, but I now need the funds for another project. They are extremely well-made, with a hand-welded, blackened stainless steel receiver and stainless major components for corrosion resistance. A new M96 cost $2200 back in 2001, and Robinson Armament apparently lost quite a bit of money on the early production due to the cost of skilled labour (eg. Master Welder wages) and the top-quality materials. Factor in inflation, and $3500 in 2017 CAD is pretty fair for what amounts to an increasingly rare and desirable NR collectible.
Edited to add: Alex Robinson has been heard to publicly muse about re-starting M96 production, based on endless interest in the rifles due to the Stoner similarity and relatively affordable price-point for collectors. Should that ever occur, the parts shortage will be addressed. Until then, you either want to find a spare bolt or know a machinist if you plan to fire the rifle a great deal. They really are a great shooter - very minimal recoil with zero muzzle-rise.
Here is mine:
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Imho the RobArms M96 were overpriced boutique guns built by a company that was in over their head. They bit off far more than they could chew and compounded their issues with extremely poor customer service and support. They then nailed the coffin closed by abandoning the platform.
A pity really, because they are pretty cool rifles.
A pity really, because they are pretty cool rifles.
I had one of the first ones entered into the country.
They are interesting rifles and quite revolutionary back in 1999, but it was right for RobArms to move to XCR.
The build quality was pretty good and mine never had the infamous "auto ejecting" barrel - that seemed to be popping up a bit later. They tend to have different issues over the production life of the product line, probably because of various qualities from parts contractors.
As a shooter, they tend to be a bit front heavy and optic attachment is a PITA because it needs a proprietary mounting rail. Otherwise, it is a fun gun to shoot.
Depending on the generation, a lot of them do not have "chrome lined" barresl. They are 4140 bare steel so you kinda need to scrub the barrel down for copper fouling once awhile.
As a "shooter", I probably will pass. For the fetish of collecting Stoner 63-look alike, it is the main appeal. I was hoping for the belt fed, once I realized it would never happen and I let it go
THE_SASQUATCH
CGN frequent flyer
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They pop up on gunbroker for $1,100 US from time to time
But as the saying goes, there's one born every minute..
But as the saying goes, there's one born every minute..
I was watching like a hawk for awhile. They seem to have gone up stateside as well. Saw 4 go between 1800-2500 usd since Sept. A buddy of mine offered me one for a good price so I took him up. Bartok5 given the whole package I wouldn't say your price is far off from what I would have paid if I still wanted one. I love the folding stock you rigged up and I still need to track down a pic rail for mine.
I love the gun though. In 1999 this would have been an awesome nr black rifle. For daily shooters I wouldn't recommend it, due to lacking parts and collectability that some have mentioned, but as a Sunday shooter, I'd say go hard. Iv8888 has a good video review of these on Youtube and full30.com if you want more info on the gun itself. They gave it pretty glowing accolades and also featured it in their top 5 'not an AR' video.
GunsNotPuns
CGN frequent flyer
I've always been tempted by the occasional RA M96 that pops up but the lack of spare parts and ecosystem always turns me off in the end. $3.5-4K for a modern rifle to potentially become a wall hanger isn't attractive economics.
