Robinson Arms XCR, why did it never seem to "catch on"?

[rob_s]

I always kinda wanted to like these things. Kind of a best of FAL, AK, and AR in some ways. My recollection is that they were perceived as heavy and expensive back in the day, but I don't know if that was or is accurate.
https://robinsonarmament.com/

nice little overview video here



Looks like they now have a "heavy" (although they are calling is "medium" it appears) in .308, .243 win, .260 rem, & 6.5 cm
https://robinsonarmament.com/xcr-m-competition/
Attachment 51514

along with the original "light" in 5.56, .300blk, 7.62x39, 6.8 spc, .224 valk, & 6.5 gren
https://robinsonarmament.com/xcr-l-competition/
Attachment 51515

[LittleLebowski]

People for years counted themselves lucky if they could get rifles. Then they were lucky if they could get parts, and the luckiest of them all got customer service.

[rob_s]

People for years counted themselves lucky if they could get rifles. Then they were lucky if they could get parts, and the luckiest of them all got customer service.

Well, like I always said about Colt "I have no idea what their customer services is like because their ARs just work", but if they don't work either then that's a holy trinity of fail.

Something else I'm reminded of, however, is that I also had the opinion that they were always trying to do too much. Just make one gun in one caliber and focus on that. Making two guns in 8 or 10 different calibers total means needing all those different barrels, a few different bolts, ensuring the overall design works with a couple of different mag types...

[LittleLebowski]

Well, like I always said about Colt "I have no idea what their customer services is like because their ARs just work", but if they don't work either then that's a holy trinity of fail.

Something else I'm reminded of, however, is that I also had the opinion that they were always trying to do too much. Just make one gun in one caliber and focus on that. Making two guns in 8 or 10 different calibers total means needing all those different barrels, a few different bolts, ensuring the overall design works with a couple of different mag types...

The owner of RobArms is...well known. I went down this rabbit hole years ago and what I saw on the RobArms forum from XCR enthusiasts made me stay away from this interesting rifle.

[OlongJohnson]

... they were always trying to do too much. Just make one gun in one caliber and focus on that. Making two guns in 8 or 10 different calibers total means needing all those different barrels, a few different bolts, ensuring the overall design works with a couple of different mag types...

That happens a lot, in a lot of different industries.

At least two reasons for it.

1. Wanting to be so smart that you reinvent the entire industry. Do all the things, not just the core. Your idea will work and be the best possible thing everywhere, on every mission, for every user.

2. Desperation for sales in a startup mindset. You end up having a lot of conversations with a lot of people. Rather than telling you they aren't interested in your product, they say they would be interested if you just made it in this other flavor that you don't make. So your sales-driven management tells you to make every conceivable version, so they never have to face a customer that says no on the basis that you don't make quite exactly what they want.

[Horseman]

Circa 2009 or so, their quality control/ assurance wasn't that good, either. In that time frame, I personally saw three different XCR's have function problems, including one that had a catastrophic bolt breakage in a high-round-count training class. I'm not sure if they have gotten better since then or not.

[Mike C]

I was always interested in this particular rifle but like LL saw that it was something to stay away from for his noted reasons. It sucks because even today it still appeals to me. I think it is a neat design and love what it has to offer.

[frozentundra]

I've never been able to find a weight listed on the Robinson Arms website, and the specifications section of the manual just says 'weight varies depending on model' or something like that. If they truly don't list the weight of XCR rifles on their website, I can't help but think there is a reason.

I've seen 7.5 lbs listed from unofficial sources.

Assuming it actually does weigh 7.5 lbs, it would weigh as much or more than than my BCM ELW-F rifle (5.8 lbs) with a LPVO and white light mounted. I personally don't have a use for a rifle that heavy in 5.56.

The BCM can be purchased and outfitted with good optics for the same price as the XCR without optics. I can't think of a single good reason why the XCR should have caught on. Maybe because the AR-15 is a notoriously unreliable rifle that "shits where it eats"?

I think everybody already knows the answer to the question in the title. The answer is that Eugene Stoner was seriously on to something with his design, and 60 years of evolutionary product improvement have made it nearly impossible to compete with in most regards.



Does anybody know for sure what the XCR actually weighs?

[Ed L]

I don't think the XCR ever came close to matching the reliability and durability of a quality AR. Plus, I think I remember the head of the company warning people who complained online about problems about their guns that they would be put to the bottom of the que if they sent their guns in to be repaired. This is hardly the thing that spurs confidence.

[ReverendMeat]

I bought one in '09 for 1600 which iirc was about 200 over msrp at the time due to the 08 Obama thing, presumably. Didn't put a whole lot of rounds through it but I loved most things about it except the weight, which I think was about 9 pounds. That was with the quad rail, and the skeleton folding stock didn't help balance at all.
Hardly ever shot rifles so I sold it to fund a nice 1911 that I no longer have.