Imho, the XCR looks more like a modern ACR/SCAR, rather than an AR-15. I honestly don't see any resemblance to an AR-15, other than the modularity or ergos on the lower reciever. However, GREAT review as always brother. One of the GOAT firearm reviewers hands down. The XCR is one of the best platforms money can buy.
@Ancient Viking Pretty sure there's agencies that have purchased the rifles overseas in small batches. Also, I didn't quite understand what you meant about the barrel issue. Are you saying Alex Robinson claimed that cold hammered forged barrel's have no advantage or do have an advantage? Because you said "non-CHF'd". Are you sure you're not misinterpreting the argument between chrome lined and just nitrided? Regardless, neither point you've made takes away from the platform. You do know it competed against the FN SCAR during military trials right? And it was cut short due to b.s. politics. The XCR is HUGE in Canada and slowly building steam in the U.S.. Robinson Armament is a small manufacturer and wouldn't be in business still (since early 2000's) if the platform was shit.
@Ancient Viking Well, he's kind of right and wrong in a way. Idk if you know this but, CHF in and of itself was invented to cut the cost of manufacturing barrels. It's a quicker process as well. I forgot which country invented it though. Maybe Switzerland or Germany? Either way, CHF barrels were actually not common when it came to match grade or hunting rifles because button-rifling (which is what the XCR has) and other methods, are believed to be more accurate. CHF barrels are simply more consistent when it comes to making a quality barrel over and over again. However, it doesn't mean button-rifling or cut-rifling methods are inferior. On top of being button-rifled, the XCR barrels are either chrome lined or stainless steel (your choice i believe). As for the company's longevity, time will only tell. However, I can guarantee there are more and more people catching on in the states. There are several reputable YT reviewers that are boasting about them now, so I think they'll be just fine. There are airsoft companies that make replicas too. The XCR's potential and current capabilities are enticing in today's world. Saving up for ONE rifle and a few caliber conversions ($550 a piece) will allow you to have a do-all rifle. A platform that can switch between light or medium calibers and various roles (sbr, dmr, etc.). All that said, your opinion or theory is as valid as mine.
@@ReverendMeat51 That's a great point too. I hope Robinson Armament can get the business they deserve in the states. As of right now, I think it's one of the best (if not the best) platforms money can buy. And it's definitely a system with future potential. Meaning, R.A. continues to add/improve on the design and there's always room for more improvements or additional features. Although, I'd be hard pressed to find another platform currently on the market, that offers the same features/value. Who knows, if it wasn't for the lack of blank firing adapters during the SCAR trials, maybe the XCR would've gotten the contract and all the glory.
@@alexferrara9287 For sure. I bought my XCR-L in 2009 and it was a great gun, I would take one again hands down no question over an ACR or SCAR. My biggest complaint was overall weight. I like to see the design improvements over the years like the better stock and handguards and particularly the beefed up bolt stop. Gotta by one again when I have the means, only question is L or M
Minor correction about the M-Lok version, Chris: you actually can swap out the barrel even when accessories are attached, but in order to do that, Robinson Arms had to make the M-Lok version wider (and therefore heavier) to accommodate the M-Lok hardware sticking into the receiver. Alex Robinson has an article showing this on XCR's website.
I really appreciate you sharing your expertise on the XCR. When I found one at Brownells a few years ago i didnt know anything about them but took a chance on it because of the obvious quality and ergonomics. Your information was about the only thing out there I found to educate myself. I still love my M and glad you are still creating content for it.
Awesome video. I've been waiting for this upload. I placed a made-to-order with Robinson Arms a month ago. I ordered a XCR-M. It's has a 20 inch light barrel, .308, and finished in H-112 cobalt cerakote. It should fulfill a DMR/big boy battle rifle role. I can't wait for it to get here.
I walked all over shot show 2016 looking for a gun with a ambi bold lock/release. Back then pretty much the only way to achieve that was with a bad lever. Then I found the xcr. It had all the ergonomics perfect. I own three of them now and I’m planning on getting caliber conversion kits too. I also have all the other rifles too but the XCR is my favorite. I don’t understand how more gun guys haven’t heard of it.
I've been scouring the web for a 308 semi rifle, and honestly forgot all about Robinson. I had one in 5.56, but had to sell it years ago for financial reasons. This one is definitely in my top 3 right now.
Thank you very much for the review on accuracy. Darn, was looking forward to that 6.5CM with 18.5" barrel to have a 1MOA performance or better, because I would really like to have it as a DMR build.
The Canadians in both world wars exhibited extreme courage on the fields of battle. Perhaps it is time to remind Zoolander of that. Perhaps he would back off the tyranny a bit.
Yup, I am one of those disgruntled Canadians who have to deal with his Robison Arms XCR-M sitting in a safe, not able to take it to the range; hunt with it; can't sell it and can't even export it (not that I want to, I love my XCR). I have a ton of respect and admiration for your country and your constitution that protects you from draconian laws like the ones we have to endure here in Canada. Hopefully, come next election our leftist leader will be looking for a new job and the ban he put in place in this country will go right where it belongs (in the trash bin). Sorry for the rant but I couldn't help it knowing that one of my favorite guns is being held captive in my safe.
"Constitution protects you from draconian laws." You're literally doing the "grass is greener on the other side of the fence" fallacy. US has way more draconian laws than any other country dude. 15 inch barrel? Nope, that's illegal. Oh, it has a "pistol brace"? You're good to go. Suppressor? Nope, those are evil. Ordered a bunch of oil filters to your house? Federal agents are showing up. "Our leftist leader." Yeah you absolutely have no fucking idea about anything at all, do you? Trudeau is the definition of neoliberal. Stay angry.
What was the reason he didn't want to pin the gas blocks or did he have one? Is it designed where it will run reliably without it or will there be potential problems?
Very good as always. Canadian here, I replaced the XCR with a B&T after the ban. Would love to hear your thoughts on the rifle caliber APCs too, they've been good to me but the gas tube ceases up. Also, we still have tavors and a few others.
I absolutely love this video , you explained so much and sold me on it . I’m looking at the 20” heavy , and would Titanium Carbo Nitriding the internals be a stupid idea ? Honestly I respect your opinions and hope to hear back .
Well you can't shoot them anywhere... can't take them hunting which is what many people bought these for...because unlike an AR15 they were non restricted. So bassist they are safe queens until they figure out their outrageous buyback program
We have less then two years to get rid of them...they banned something like 1600 guns in an order in council thing rather then going through parliament. It was dirty pool politics. Also they have added evergreen laws to these bills so they can change them as the please. It's very much not democratic....and they promised to not go after firearms if elected... politicians need to be help accountable to their promises or be fired
So they missed out on a military contract bc they don't believe in drilling for a gas block or pining them? I just found my set screw backed out about an hour after almost a year and I'm still pissed.
This might seem like a dumb question but when swapping the barrels, how close to retaining zero does the rifle maintain? I'd imagine swapping 308 to 6.5 creedmoor would require readjusting the scope, but by how much? Are they worlds apart or just a click or two? If you needed to take the 308 barrel out to do a serious clean up job on it and put it back in, how close to zero does it stay? Also curious about this for the XCR-L. Having the XCR-L as an SBR suppressed and in 300blk would be cool for home defense, yet being able to swap out for the 556 barrel for a (relatively) cheap day at the range and swap back with little adjustments to the optics would be awesome. But I'm certain I'm just dreaming at this point.
I'm curious why the 260 Remington isn't more popular. It out preforms the Creedmoor in velocity across the board. I assume the shorter case allows longer high bc bullets to be loaded at mag length but that's not an issue until you get into the 143+ weights. I may be wrong since everything looks good on paper so anyone that has hands on experience any advice would be greatly appreciated 👍
@@allcopsarecowards4457 are you serious with that name? You should walk it b4 you talk it. Yes some are crooked arrogant power drunk fool's but all of em? That's like saying all men are rapists becouse of the actions of a few. The real cowards are the ones pushing that narrative
Love your channel. You are wrong about one thing though. 7.62 has better ability as specialized ammo compared to 6.5CM. AP, HE, API and other anti material rounds are essentially not available in 6.5. Even if they were available, the larger diameter of 308 provides a better payload capacity. AP ammo is the reason my AR10 is 308.
What military is using 308 in high explosive contexts? And the US military is absolutely switching to 6.5 creed, 6.8 NGSW, and 6mm ARC. America is finally catching up to what the British and Swedes knew a hundred years ago.
You think a 6.5 CM with any bullet will be better than 762 NATO when it comes to penetration of heavy bone and tissue or vehicle material, auto glass, etc?
Mr bartocci, accuracy wise, between bolt lugs geometry, chamber dimension, cartridge geometry and bullet position relative to rifling lead, what do you think contribute the most to accuracy?
It would be a good idea to get spares for 'things of operation' such as the bolt, firing pin, recoil spring, and barrel. Those are the things that endure the most amount of stress, and would wear out eventually. If anything, firing pin and recoil spring is what I would get first
308 for an assaulter or thumper rifle...10.5-14.5 barrel with more energy on target than possible with 556. IMO if you won't go past 650 meters just stick with 308
260 Remington has more case capacity and can always be loaded to faster velocities than 6.5 cringemore. The problem with ARs is the throat dimensions and the mag length restrictions. IMO the 6.5s advantage over 308 at SAAMI specs only begins to play at ranges where the 6.5 cm is not really packing much energy at. Now develop the 7mm SAUM or WSM in an AR platform for military DMR and now we are talking. Same footprint and packing a hell of a lot more punch and performance with minimal gain in recoil.
@@sanguinemoon9201 I disagree. Just my opinion. But I have both and have shot a lot of different short and long stroke, and have always enjoyed long stroke over short stroke. Yes typically with long stroke there is more moving mass so there’s probably more measurable movement in the rifle. However, I always describe long stroke as a push backward because it’s a gradual bleed off of the gas against metal, where as the short stroke I would describes “snappy” less mass actually moving, however, its metal on metal and more aggressive. Both have there advantages, love both.
We loved these in Canada until Trudumb banned them... asshole. He basically made anyone with this riffle just have to go buy another 308 hunting rifle that does the same thing... so he basically increased the amount of guns in Canada by forcing the purchase of other rifles. They were non restricted so they could be used for hunting and outdoor use. Restricted weapons like pistols and things like the AR15 are restricted and basically the government knows you own them. I will be interested to see what compliance will be from gun owners to these new laws. I think lots of Canadians will be having tragic boating accidents now lol.
Cost is the only real benefit of .308, well maybe barrel life to. The 6.5 bbl wears much faster but ballistically, the .308 does absolutely nothing better than the 6.5 Creedmoor.
The XCR is the "Uncle Rico" of the SCAR program. If only Coach would've put him in. LMAO.
This has slowly become one of my favorite channels. The content is just consistent and solid.
Imho, the XCR looks more like a modern ACR/SCAR, rather than an AR-15. I honestly don't see any resemblance to an AR-15, other than the modularity or ergos on the lower reciever. However, GREAT review as always brother. One of the GOAT firearm reviewers hands down. The XCR is one of the best platforms money can buy.
@Ancient Viking Pretty sure there's agencies that have purchased the rifles overseas in small batches. Also, I didn't quite understand what you meant about the barrel issue. Are you saying Alex Robinson claimed that cold hammered forged barrel's have no advantage or do have an advantage? Because you said "non-CHF'd". Are you sure you're not misinterpreting the argument between chrome lined and just nitrided? Regardless, neither point you've made takes away from the platform. You do know it competed against the FN SCAR during military trials right? And it was cut short due to b.s. politics. The XCR is HUGE in Canada and slowly building steam in the U.S.. Robinson Armament is a small manufacturer and wouldn't be in business still (since early 2000's) if the platform was shit.
@Ancient Viking Well, he's kind of right and wrong in a way. Idk if you know this but, CHF in and of itself was invented to cut the cost of manufacturing barrels. It's a quicker process as well. I forgot which country invented it though. Maybe Switzerland or Germany? Either way, CHF barrels were actually not common when it came to match grade or hunting rifles because button-rifling (which is what the XCR has) and other methods, are believed to be more accurate. CHF barrels are simply more consistent when it comes to making a quality barrel over and over again. However, it doesn't mean button-rifling or cut-rifling methods are inferior. On top of being button-rifled, the XCR barrels are either chrome lined or stainless steel (your choice i believe). As for the company's longevity, time will only tell. However, I can guarantee there are more and more people catching on in the states. There are several reputable YT reviewers that are boasting about them now, so I think they'll be just fine. There are airsoft companies that make replicas too. The XCR's potential and current capabilities are enticing in today's world. Saving up for ONE rifle and a few caliber conversions ($550 a piece) will allow you to have a do-all rifle. A platform that can switch between light or medium calibers and various roles (sbr, dmr, etc.). All that said, your opinion or theory is as valid as mine.
@@alexferrara9287 Agreed. With the production numbers of the XCR I don't see CHF as a particularly advantageous decision for Alex to opt for.
@@ReverendMeat51 That's a great point too. I hope Robinson Armament can get the business they deserve in the states. As of right now, I think it's one of the best (if not the best) platforms money can buy. And it's definitely a system with future potential. Meaning, R.A. continues to add/improve on the design and there's always room for more improvements or additional features. Although, I'd be hard pressed to find another platform currently on the market, that offers the same features/value. Who knows, if it wasn't for the lack of blank firing adapters during the SCAR trials, maybe the XCR would've gotten the contract and all the glory.
@@alexferrara9287 For sure. I bought my XCR-L in 2009 and it was a great gun, I would take one again hands down no question over an ACR or SCAR. My biggest complaint was overall weight. I like to see the design improvements over the years like the better stock and handguards and particularly the beefed up bolt stop. Gotta by one again when I have the means, only question is L or M
Minor correction about the M-Lok version, Chris: you actually can swap out the barrel even when accessories are attached, but in order to do that, Robinson Arms had to make the M-Lok version wider (and therefore heavier) to accommodate the M-Lok hardware sticking into the receiver. Alex Robinson has an article showing this on XCR's website.
I love this channel for its reviews. Like the history of a firearm or company and then how the firearm shoots. Short and sweet.
After learning more about this rifle, I am DETERMINED to get one
Did you?
Ever?
I really appreciate you sharing your expertise on the XCR. When I found one at Brownells a few years ago i didnt know anything about them but took a chance on it because of the obvious quality and ergonomics. Your information was about the only thing out there I found to educate myself. I still love my M and glad you are still creating content for it.
Awesome video. I've been waiting for this upload. I placed a made-to-order with Robinson Arms a month ago. I ordered a XCR-M. It's has a 20 inch light barrel, .308, and finished in H-112 cobalt cerakote. It should fulfill a DMR/big boy battle rifle role. I can't wait for it to get here.
Did you get it yet?
What’s the total weight? What inch groupings are you getting with that 20 inch LB?
I walked all over shot show 2016 looking for a gun with a ambi bold lock/release. Back then pretty much the only way to achieve that was with a bad lever. Then I found the xcr. It had all the ergonomics perfect. I own three of them now and I’m planning on getting caliber conversion kits too. I also have all the other rifles too but the XCR is my favorite. I don’t understand how more gun guys haven’t heard of it.
Videos like this are why I subbed to this channel. I feel like I’m receiving my Masters Degree in Firearms listening to this Professor.
Thank you for being able to say “ambidextrous” without adding an “ee” in there.
I've been scouring the web for a 308 semi rifle, and honestly forgot all about Robinson. I had one in 5.56, but had to sell it years ago for financial reasons. This one is definitely in my top 3 right now.
A solid review with the depth to explain why the piece operates so well.
Thank you very much for the review on accuracy.
Darn, was looking forward to that 6.5CM with 18.5" barrel to have a 1MOA performance or better, because I would really like to have it as a DMR build.
Recent unpleasantness in Canada That's an understatement As for Prime Minister Zoolander I will just leave it at that
The Canadians in both world wars exhibited extreme courage on the fields of battle. Perhaps it is time to remind Zoolander of that. Perhaps he would back off the tyranny a bit.
GOd I need one.. I love the looks and everyone I see that has ones like them a lot
Yup, I am one of those disgruntled Canadians who have to deal with his Robison Arms XCR-M sitting in a safe, not able to take it to the range; hunt with it; can't sell it and can't even export it (not that I want to, I love my XCR). I have a ton of respect and admiration for your country and your constitution that protects you from draconian laws like the ones we have to endure here in Canada. Hopefully, come next election our leftist leader will be looking for a new job and the ban he put in place in this country will go right where it belongs (in the trash bin). Sorry for the rant but I couldn't help it knowing that one of my favorite guns is being held captive in my safe.
You can’t even sell it?
"Constitution protects you from draconian laws."
You're literally doing the "grass is greener on the other side of the fence" fallacy.
US has way more draconian laws than any other country dude.
15 inch barrel? Nope, that's illegal. Oh, it has a "pistol brace"? You're good to go.
Suppressor? Nope, those are evil.
Ordered a bunch of oil filters to your house? Federal agents are showing up.
"Our leftist leader."
Yeah you absolutely have no fucking idea about anything at all, do you? Trudeau is the definition of neoliberal.
Stay angry.
Law Enforcement actually enforces gun laws there?
Great looking rifle!
this gun and triad A3 bullpup is my go to guns
As I recall the FAL bolt release and hold open was not copied over to the SCAR. The bolt release is like an M4 not a FAL! YMMV!
Thanks for the content!!
Excellent and thorough review, solid as always. The XCR is a modular alloy, multi-caliber H&K 433.
Great looking rifle.
What was the reason he didn't want to pin the gas blocks or did he have one? Is it designed where it will run reliably without it or will there be potential problems?
Great video brother thank you
Thank you for the info
I guess there's no torque spec for the barrel screw? Does it just bottom out, or stop?
One thing .308 does better than 6.5CM, is stockpile👍
240 inch pounds or Alex says 1/4 turn past hand tight
Don't forget about AP...308 does AP better.
XCR's are excellent rifles!
I almost bought one of the XCR-L'S recently. I ended up building another AR instead but I really like the modularity of the XCR rifles.
Very good as always. Canadian here, I replaced the XCR with a B&T after the ban. Would love to hear your thoughts on the rifle caliber APCs too, they've been good to me but the gas tube ceases up. Also, we still have tavors and a few others.
Mine had an unfortunate aquatic accident.
B&T banned too? Got that socialist-communist fruit cake runnin' political-social operations to the north of USA
@@Chiller01 this has not aged well.
I absolutely love this video , you explained so much and sold me on it . I’m looking at the 20” heavy , and would Titanium Carbo Nitriding the internals be a stupid idea ? Honestly I respect your opinions and hope to hear back .
Can you elaborate on the drilled/pinned gas block?
Actually, there hasn't been any confiscation in Canada, just a ban on sales
Well you can't shoot them anywhere... can't take them hunting which is what many people bought these for...because unlike an AR15 they were non restricted. So bassist they are safe queens until they figure out their outrageous buyback program
We have less then two years to get rid of them...they banned something like 1600 guns in an order in council thing rather then going through parliament. It was dirty pool politics. Also they have added evergreen laws to these bills so they can change them as the please. It's very much not democratic....and they promised to not go after firearms if elected... politicians need to be help accountable to their promises or be fired
So they missed out on a military contract bc they don't believe in drilling for a gas block or pining them? I just found my set screw backed out about an hour after almost a year and I'm still pissed.
This might seem like a dumb question but when swapping the barrels, how close to retaining zero does the rifle maintain? I'd imagine swapping 308 to 6.5 creedmoor would require readjusting the scope, but by how much? Are they worlds apart or just a click or two? If you needed to take the 308 barrel out to do a serious clean up job on it and put it back in, how close to zero does it stay? Also curious about this for the XCR-L. Having the XCR-L as an SBR suppressed and in 300blk would be cool for home defense, yet being able to swap out for the 556 barrel for a (relatively) cheap day at the range and swap back with little adjustments to the optics would be awesome. But I'm certain I'm just dreaming at this point.
Thanks brother great information
I'm curious why the 260 Remington isn't more popular. It out preforms the Creedmoor in velocity across the board. I assume the shorter case allows longer high bc bullets to be loaded at mag length but that's not an issue until you get into the 143+ weights. I may be wrong since everything looks good on paper so anyone that has hands on experience any advice would be greatly appreciated 👍
@@allcopsarecowards4457 are you serious with that name? You should walk it b4 you talk it. Yes some are crooked arrogant power drunk fool's but all of em? That's like saying all men are rapists becouse of the actions of a few. The real cowards are the ones pushing that narrative
Love your channel. You are wrong about one thing though. 7.62 has better ability as specialized ammo compared to 6.5CM. AP, HE, API and other anti material rounds are essentially not available in 6.5. Even if they were available, the larger diameter of 308 provides a better payload capacity. AP ammo is the reason my AR10 is 308.
Is Ap available?
What military is using 308 in high explosive contexts? And the US military is absolutely switching to 6.5 creed, 6.8 NGSW, and 6mm ARC. America is finally catching up to what the British and Swedes knew a hundred years ago.
still wish i would have bought this instead of my cz bren 2. but still looking at getting one of these soon
They offer this in 243 win with a 12in barrel... now that seem really interesting
You lacks the review of the bolt carrier curve which is very important.
You think a 6.5 CM with any bullet will be better than 762 NATO when it comes to penetration of heavy bone and tissue or vehicle material, auto glass, etc?
Where is the Smith & Wesson M&P AR15 pistol is been out for at least two months no big gun RUclipsr has reviews on it
I have a M96. Nice rifle but no support.
Aren't they no longer available?... there are things I do like about this rifle😎👍🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷
What’s your opinion of the new 2021 HK MR556A1 with medium contour barrel? No more heavy barrel.
The question is: Does it retain zero after taking the arrel out and mounting it (the same one of course) again?
Mr bartocci, accuracy wise, between bolt lugs geometry, chamber dimension, cartridge geometry and bullet position relative to rifling lead, what do you think contribute the most to accuracy?
nice shooting.
This or LMT MWS/MARS-H? Hmmm… 🤔
@Ancient Viking Lol, my point exactly! 😁
Beans or No Beans?
What make is the slab style mag with the diagonal lines, looks very cool and robust 🤔
Those mags, the D&H ones, are a little more robust. They have witness holes to know how many rounds. They are good magazines.
If I wanted to get some parts ahead of time, what parts would you say are the most prone to malfunction/wear&tear aka needing to be replaced?
It would be a good idea to get spares for 'things of operation' such as the bolt, firing pin, recoil spring, and barrel. Those are the things that endure the most amount of stress, and would wear out eventually. If anything, firing pin and recoil spring is what I would get first
The XCR Forum has tons of information. Even the armorer's course and many questions with answers.
308 for an assaulter or thumper rifle...10.5-14.5 barrel with more energy on target than possible with 556. IMO if you won't go past 650 meters just stick with 308
i would love to have one, but $2.5k is a lot for this gun, imo
260 Remington has more case capacity and can always be loaded to faster velocities than 6.5 cringemore. The problem with ARs is the throat dimensions and the mag length restrictions.
IMO the 6.5s advantage over 308 at SAAMI specs only begins to play at ranges where the 6.5 cm is not really packing much energy at.
Now develop the 7mm SAUM or WSM in an AR platform for military DMR and now we are talking. Same footprint and packing a hell of a lot more punch and performance with minimal gain in recoil.
What if Robinson Armament made a "MDR-X" that could use XCR barrels and other parts.... ?
:^)
It be perfect if has short stroke piston not long.
There’s an option for a short stroke piston for all of their rifles as well
Why?
@@wolfgang1496 less felt recoil typically. Also, rifle bounces around less with short stroke. Long stroke is more reliable though.
@@sanguinemoon9201
I disagree. Just my opinion. But I have both and have shot a lot of different short and long stroke, and have always enjoyed long stroke over short stroke. Yes typically with long stroke there is more moving mass so there’s probably more measurable movement in the rifle. However, I always describe long stroke as a push backward because it’s a gradual bleed off of the gas against metal, where as the short stroke I would describes “snappy” less mass actually moving, however, its metal on metal and more aggressive. Both have there advantages, love both.
We loved these in Canada until Trudumb banned them... asshole. He basically made anyone with this riffle just have to go buy another 308 hunting rifle that does the same thing... so he basically increased the amount of guns in Canada by forcing the purchase of other rifles. They were non restricted so they could be used for hunting and outdoor use. Restricted weapons like pistols and things like the AR15 are restricted and basically the government knows you own them. I will be interested to see what compliance will be from gun owners to these new laws. I think lots of Canadians will be having tragic boating accidents now lol.
Canada's gun laws are straight up dumb...
7.62 is better at being cheaper than 6.5
Cost is the only real benefit of .308, well maybe barrel life to. The 6.5 bbl wears much faster but ballistically, the .308 does absolutely nothing better than the 6.5 Creedmoor.
FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!