Glock4ever
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Edmonton, AB
I recently picked up a used Robarm XCR, a friend of mine decided that he didn't want it and offered it to me for a pretty decent price. I was a bit hesitant to purchase it as all the research I have done indicated that the XCR could be a hit or miss. However when I handled it at his house, I knew that I had to give this rifle a shot. So first observations on handling, it is a bit front heavy. While not overly heavy overall, much of the weight seems to be at the front end - probably because of the heavy 18.6" bbl. I decided to throw an Aimpoint Comp M3 on it and take it out to sight in. Here is how she was configured when I went out:
Right Side:
Left Side:
I only took 11 RRA 10rd Pistol Mags with me and a few spare rounds that I had worked up for my AR-15 (60 gr VMAX). I promptly set up a target at 25m and 100m and started sighting in. After firing 3 mags worth of ammunition, I realized that I was not going to be able to spot my hits and the targets I was using at 25m did not show holes at all. Luckily, a fellow shooter had brought his spotting scope and was kind enough to loan it to me. After sighting in, I promptly fired 8 more mags of 55 grain FMJBT rounds at various targets, I found that I could easily hit the 6" gong at 100m even with the 2MOA dot almost covering it completely.
I fired off 110 rounds with no FTF/FTE/FTL, the gas setting was at 1 and didn't appear to have any problems running, I may bump the setting up to 2 but I liked that the brass was being flung close (3 feet) so I didn't have to walk all over to get it.
I promptly loaded the 60 gr VMAX load to see how she would fair, this is a standard load that I have that I like to use in my AR15 which gives me groups of about 1-2" at 100m; sometimes more, sometimes less. Here is how the XCR shot:
2.276" at 100m for 10 shots seems pretty good for non-magnified optics.
Some observations I made, first that the trigger was really mushy. While it is a two stage match trigger, for some reason it didn't feel crisp. I also noticed that after 2 mags, the pin that held the trigger in kept walking out. You can see it in the pic below. It is directly over the trigger.
I also noticed that when dry firing the rifle, the hammer seemed to fall very lightly. I thought that maybe somebody had monkeyed with the trigger to lighten it and I thought that the light hammer fall would fail to fire a round but it didn't seem to be a problem on the range. When I got home, I took the rifle apart and noticed that the trigger was improperly installed - the hammer spring was resting on the bottom of the receiver and not on the trigger pin, this spring retains the trigger pin. It took me 5 mins but I sorted it out and now the trigger feels very crisp and the hammer falls with more authority.
I also noticed that I was not able to lower the MI BUIS front sight post low enough to zero at 100m. I don't know if this is a problem with the sight or if the rail sits too high over the bore but I could easily see how somebody would get frustrated with the sights. I am going to remove the front post and remove a few threads from the bottom and this should allow me to zero the sight.
So final points. I think that this rifle has some real potential. I was worried that the first groups were going to be 3-4" at 100m but it doesn't appear to shoot poorly at all - I am going to work up a load but I don't know if it will make a difference unless I get some magnified optics. It would be nice if the barrel was 16" long as it wouldn't be so front heavy but compared to the M96 or SL8-5, I owned previously, this is best non-restricted black rifle I have had yet. As well, I am a bit spoiled by the M4 but I can't hunt or shoot with outside of the range so it seems to be a reasonable trade off. I am planning on going out again tomorrow to see how the trigger is with the fix but I anticipate that the pin shouldn't walk out now. This rifle is pretty darn fun to shoot, a few fellows that were shooting AR15s came by and we both took turns shooting the XCR and the AR15s, and everyone agreed that the XCR recoiled less and they really like the bolt release at the bottom of the trigger guard. They found it harder to shoot the unmagnified 2MOA dot but all three guys easily rang the 100m 6" gong (10/10) with the XCR.
Right Side:
Left Side:
I only took 11 RRA 10rd Pistol Mags with me and a few spare rounds that I had worked up for my AR-15 (60 gr VMAX). I promptly set up a target at 25m and 100m and started sighting in. After firing 3 mags worth of ammunition, I realized that I was not going to be able to spot my hits and the targets I was using at 25m did not show holes at all. Luckily, a fellow shooter had brought his spotting scope and was kind enough to loan it to me. After sighting in, I promptly fired 8 more mags of 55 grain FMJBT rounds at various targets, I found that I could easily hit the 6" gong at 100m even with the 2MOA dot almost covering it completely.
I fired off 110 rounds with no FTF/FTE/FTL, the gas setting was at 1 and didn't appear to have any problems running, I may bump the setting up to 2 but I liked that the brass was being flung close (3 feet) so I didn't have to walk all over to get it.
I promptly loaded the 60 gr VMAX load to see how she would fair, this is a standard load that I have that I like to use in my AR15 which gives me groups of about 1-2" at 100m; sometimes more, sometimes less. Here is how the XCR shot:
2.276" at 100m for 10 shots seems pretty good for non-magnified optics.
Some observations I made, first that the trigger was really mushy. While it is a two stage match trigger, for some reason it didn't feel crisp. I also noticed that after 2 mags, the pin that held the trigger in kept walking out. You can see it in the pic below. It is directly over the trigger.
I also noticed that when dry firing the rifle, the hammer seemed to fall very lightly. I thought that maybe somebody had monkeyed with the trigger to lighten it and I thought that the light hammer fall would fail to fire a round but it didn't seem to be a problem on the range. When I got home, I took the rifle apart and noticed that the trigger was improperly installed - the hammer spring was resting on the bottom of the receiver and not on the trigger pin, this spring retains the trigger pin. It took me 5 mins but I sorted it out and now the trigger feels very crisp and the hammer falls with more authority.
I also noticed that I was not able to lower the MI BUIS front sight post low enough to zero at 100m. I don't know if this is a problem with the sight or if the rail sits too high over the bore but I could easily see how somebody would get frustrated with the sights. I am going to remove the front post and remove a few threads from the bottom and this should allow me to zero the sight.
So final points. I think that this rifle has some real potential. I was worried that the first groups were going to be 3-4" at 100m but it doesn't appear to shoot poorly at all - I am going to work up a load but I don't know if it will make a difference unless I get some magnified optics. It would be nice if the barrel was 16" long as it wouldn't be so front heavy but compared to the M96 or SL8-5, I owned previously, this is best non-restricted black rifle I have had yet. As well, I am a bit spoiled by the M4 but I can't hunt or shoot with outside of the range so it seems to be a reasonable trade off. I am planning on going out again tomorrow to see how the trigger is with the fix but I anticipate that the pin shouldn't walk out now. This rifle is pretty darn fun to shoot, a few fellows that were shooting AR15s came by and we both took turns shooting the XCR and the AR15s, and everyone agreed that the XCR recoiled less and they really like the bolt release at the bottom of the trigger guard. They found it harder to shoot the unmagnified 2MOA dot but all three guys easily rang the 100m 6" gong (10/10) with the XCR.
