Without question, the most popular rifle platform in the United States is the AR-15, and for good reason. It offers a number of benefits and has a wide aftermarket parts and accessories available. But it isn’t a perfect design, and one man, Alex Robinson, took it upon himself to address what he saw as several shortcomings in the AR-15 design. He consulted with special forces operators and asked what they wanted in a rifle platform. The result was the Robinson Armament XCR design, and we took a look at the design in our latest “Gun of the Week” episode above.
“The whole hallmark of the Robinson XCR design is its caliber interchangeability,” American Rifleman Executive Editor Evan Brune said. “So Robinson has designed this rifle to have a interchangeability system that’s got this nut here that’s torqued down. And when you unscrew that nut, that allows you to exchange the barrel and the gas system for different chamberings.”
Robinson’s XCR-L design is available in four different configurations: Competition, Mid, Standard and Mini. Through the ordering process, users can customize their rifle’s chambering, barrel length, gas-system length and more. And once those features are decided, Robinson offers compatible caliber-conversion kits that allow owners to choose from 10 different chamberings in the Standard model alone.
“This borrows the long stroke gas system of the AK-47. That’s one of Alex Robinson’s must-haves in this design,” Brune said. “It improves reliability. You don’t get as much debris going into the action. It’s just meant to be a better system. In fact, that’s why the XCR was designed in the first place. This was designed to improve upon the ubiquitous AR-15.”
The long-stroke gas-piston system is adjustable, too, so users can fine-tune the gas flow in order to optimize their rifle’s operation. The rifle also features a heavy-duty bolt, extractor and ejector, all intended at producing a rifle that’s cooler, cleaner and smoother than traditional AR-15 rifles.
“There’s a lot going on in this platform, and it’s just a really cool design that’s worth checking out,” Brune said.
For more information on the XCR-L, visit the Robinson Armament website here.
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