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How Well Do the Army’s New Guns Perform? That’s Classified, But Soldiers Will Carry More Weight, Less Ammo By Steve Beynon

XM5 Rifle on display at the Pentagon.

The new guns and ammunition the Army just married and is expected to issue to combat arms units within the next decade will require soldiers to carry an even heavier load.

But information on how those weapons should outperform the guns they’re replacing — the justification for troops to shoulder extra weight on top of mountains of gear already injuring soldiers — is classified.

In April, the Army announced that Sig Sauer will produce replacements for the M4 rifle and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, or SAW, starting with a trial run of about 40 new guns late next year. Production is expected to ramp up when the Army opens a new ammo plant to produce the new 6.8mm rounds for those weapons around 2026.

Army officials have touted that the new XM5, the M4’s replacement, and XM250, set to replace the SAW, pack a much harder punch and will improve the combat performance of ground troops. But thus far, the service has declined to disclose evidence that those weapons outperform the M4 and SAW, including how far they can shoot accurately. And it’s unclear whether the Army has verified the ranges at which those new weapons can engage an enemy before committing to a multimillion-dollar contract.

“During the prototyping phase of the program, the [weapons] demonstrated the ability to significantly outperform the M4A1 and M249 with lethal effects at all ranges,” Lt. Col. Brandon Kelley said in a statement. “Following production qualification testing and operational testing, the Army will establish and validate the maximum effective ranges.”

Prototyping and the Army’s selection of which vendor would supply its new weapons took only 27 months. For comparison, the service spent more than a decade developing its new fitness test.

A spokesperson for Sig Sauer declined to comment, directing Military.com to the Defense Department regarding questions on its weapons.

Information on the maximum distances other Army weapons can engage targets is no secret; it’s one of the first things a new recruit learns and is easily searchable online. According to Kelley, the new weapons’ capabilities eventually will be disclosed, but there is no clear timetable.

The M4, the Army’s current standard-issue rifle used in the post-9/11 wars, can effectively engage targets at 500 meters. The SAW can suppress targets at around 800 meters.

For comparison, the standard-issue rifle for the Chinese military is the QBZ-95, which has a maximum effective range of 400 meters for a target.

Those distances are critical for troops to be able to confront an enemy force accurately, and anything less could alter U.S. soldiers’ effectiveness and even require changes to tactics. An Army report in 2009 on U.S. troops’ performance in ground combat in Afghanistan found that the average gunfight was well beyond 300 meters and that any training or equipment not built for at least 500 meters would be “inappropriate.”

But holding those details close to the chest before weapons are distributed to the force might be done out of fear of the Chinese government getting a sneak peek at the new guns.

“You don’t want the Chinese getting it,” Kelley told Military.com. “They steal tech all the time. Let’s get ahead while we can.”

The plan is for the new weapons to be issued only to troops in combat arms units, such as infantrymen and cavalry scouts. The Army plans to buy 107,000 XM5s and 13,000 XM250s for active-duty soldiers and National Guardsmen. But that total purchase could take the rest of the decade. Eventually, the XM5 will be renamed the M5, and the XM250 will be designated the M250.

Yet when soldiers eventually get those new guns, they will carry significantly less ammunition, given the 6.8mm is much heavier than the 5.56mm rounds the M4 and SAW use. The idea is those heavier rounds will be more effective against body armor and light vehicles. However, the Army has not disclosed any evidence on that being the case.

The XM5 weighs 8.38 pounds, or 9.84 pounds with the suppressor, much heavier than the 6.34-pound M4. That new rifle will also use 20-round magazines, smaller than the 30-round magazines troops currently use. A soldier’s basic combat load will be seven of those 20-round magazines, a total of 140 rounds, weighing 9.8 pounds altogether.

The M4’s combat load, also seven magazines for a total of 210 rounds, is 7.4 pounds. In total, a rifleman with the XM5 will carry roughly four pounds more than today’s M4 rifleman.

“Hopefully, these are worth the bang for the buck,” one Army infantry sergeant major told Military.com on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press on the subject. “Asking [soldiers] to carry anything more than they already do, and having less ammo, that is a hard pitch.”

How ground troops pack is meticulously planned, with even an extra single ounce taken into account as their total load has ballooned in recent decades. Soldiers often carry between 30 and 80 pounds, or possibly more depending on the mission, lugging around batteries, radios, water, food, protective gear and grenades.

“Soldiers will carry less ammunition, but the performance of that ammunition provides an increase in lethality, accuracy and range across a broader range of targets,” Kelley added in a statement.

The XM250, however, weighs less, at 14.5 pounds, than the SAW, which weighs 19.2 pounds. That XM250 weight includes its bipod and suppressor.

But like the new rifle, light machine gunners will still carry that heavier 6.8mm ammo, and less of it. That could be a challenge, given a SAW gunner’s job is to fire a lot of rounds, quickly, to suppress enemy movement.

A soldier with an XM250 will carry a basic load of four 100-round pouches of ammo, weighing 27.1 pounds. SAW gunners carry three, 200-round pouches, weighing 20.8 pounds.

In total, future light machine gunners will carry 200 fewer rounds of ammunition and about one extra pound when accounting for the weapon and its ammo. It is unclear what the spare barrels for the XM250 weigh.

 

 

 

 

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One-Armed Boom Stick – The Robinson Armament XCR-L Pistol by JUSTIN OPINION

The Robinson Armament XCR-L Pistol chambered for 7.62×39

I’m old enough to remember when there were pistols, and there were rifles, and you could tell the difference at a glance. But I’ll admit, I’m also old enough to remember rotary dial telephones and rabbit-ear antennas. But even most of the youngsters among us can remember the advent of the AR pistol form factor. Initially designed, I’m convinced, as a way to thumb one’s nose at the inherent lunacy of legal and regulatory restrictions and classifications – it took off as a legitimate and fairly lucrative operating space in the firearms market.

I’ll confess that I have personally struggled to fall in love with the “AR Pistol” form factor because I have found it generally difficult to wield as a pistol. All that weight out at the end of your arm can be hard to manage for more than a few seconds at a time, and most arm brace designs force the gun into a configuration where it is nearly impossible to see open sights properly. However, that struggle is over – and I have fallen in love with the pistol configuration available from Robinson Armament Co.

The XCR-L is more than the sum of its parts – but what great parts they are!

This review is based on the Model XCR-L chambered in 7.62×39, but other than a very few caliber-specific characteristics, it would apply universally to the XCR-L in general. Additionally, with the exception of the arm brace and the use of the word ‘pistol’, everything in this review would also relate directly to the Robinson XCR-L rifle platform.

I didn’t know much about Robinson Armament until just a few years ago, and it is likely that many folks know little or nothing about their products – so let’s start there. The Robinson Arms design, XCR was an initial hopeful for government contracts and competed in the SCAR trials. Well, I say “competed” lightly – because it was essentially disqualified at the starting gate for what many (this author included) consider to be a very superficial reason. “XCR” is and abbreviation for eXchangable Caliber Rifle – and the “-L” suffix is for “light” calibers. I would describe the gun as a hybrid of AR-15, AK-47, SCAR, and Innovation. It is the most ergonomic design I’ve personally used.

Exchangeable calibers for the XCR-L include: 5.56, .300 BLK, 7.62×39, 6.8 SPC, 6.5 GREN, .224 VALK, and it is available in several barrel lengths as a rifle and as seen here, as a pistol. Our copy of the gun is configured as a pistol, which includes the tailhook arm brace – the difference between a highly functioning rifle-caliber pistol and a clumsy oddity.

HOW IT’S MADE

The Robinson design successfully borrows the best elements of several different types of guns, and then adds its own innovative elements. The result is the most user-friendly gun of its kind that I have used. For starters, it is fully ambidextrous. All the operating controls function left or right side – with equal efficiency and feel. That is, except for the charging handle, which is on the left side of the gun. The handle is nicely covered in a round hard rubber material that makes it friendly to operate. It is non-reciprocating, so no danger to hand placement while shooting.

My favorite control on the gun is the ambidextrous bolt catch/release. It is located at the front end of the bottom of the trigger guard – with mirror controls on each side. A simple swipe down with the trigger finger releases the bolt home to chamber a round. Also as easy, just putting some upward pressure on the control while running the bolt back will engage the catch. This is about a thousand times easier than finding the tiny handle of a miniature ping-pong paddle.

The magazine release and safety switches are both nicely located with good reach for the average finger or thumb – and completely intuitive to shooters.

The arm brace controls are both simple and sophisticated. The brace is of high-quality materials and well finished. It is adjustable for length via a simple “squeeze release” located on either side of the unit, with a locking wheel just below, to keep it set in the sweet spot. And if you don’t want to collapse it and have to find that sweet spot again but want to make it small for storage or transport – it folds. The spring-loaded folding hinge will take the brace a full 180 degrees and lock it in place. When deployed, it is a precision part with no perceivable wiggling or jiggling while shooting or handling. The tail hook portion of the brace deploys downward to the right with the push of a button to unlock it. To re-collapse it, simply snap it back into place and the latch engages automatically.

The use of the tailhook is simple. You grip the pistol with your strong hand while allowing the lower “hook” to fall under your forearm. When you extend the gun, the weight and leverage will bring the hook into contact with your arm and provide balance and stability. The gun as shown weighs in at 7 lbs., but it feels much lighter with the brace. Best of all, you do not have to try to contort your arm in an unnatural way as most strap-on braces demand, and you can easily acquire and maintain a perfect sight picture. For me, this takes the gun from novelty to practical.

Perhaps most interesting about the design of the gun is the ease of field strip. The upper and lower receivers are attached in two points. Out front is a removable pin on which the parts can pivot for most cleaning and maintenance needs, or be removed for separation. The big difference is the one-button release of the upper receiver that does not require you to pop a pin through.

Simply depress the takedown button fully forward (it is held in place via the recoil spring) and tilt the upper forward. You will then see that this button is a permanent attachment to the operating rod assembly. From that assembly, the bolt carrier is suspended and easily removed for maintenance. The bolt is a hefty 3-lug design and incorporates a fixed key that is a milled-in part. One less small part to deal with or lose.

For simple cleaning, the bolt is easily stripped and re-assembled, with few parts to work with. The only small part is the keeper pin that retains the firing pin in the bolt. Full detail stripping requires a bit more disassembly – which I have not yet done.

SHOOTING THE XCR-L

Two words: muzzle blast. But I mean that in the bestest, funnest, most ‘Merica way! 7.62×39 ammunition is generally formulated for a minimum of 16 inches of barrel. Shorten it to nearly half that length, and then stick a triple-port muzzle break on for good measure, and you’ve got yourself a boom stick! This gun makes sure that all your senses are awake and enjoying range day. Now, if that sounds ominous or negative in any way, it’s not. The only real precaution I will share is to make sure you have extra-good earpro, because it is loud. I wear expensive custom-made in-the-ear protectors, and I thought I might like more. Between the volume, the concussion, and the muzzle flash – you can be sure that you’ll be grinning from ear to ear – and drawing a crowd.

I did all my shooting at 25 yards, at which distance the gun was accurate with even the cheap steel cased stuff, but loved the Herter’s 122-grain load, that put a five-shot group in 5/8” and made the best three of those nearly impossible to measure. That was strictly open sights that had not even been adjusted, as can be seen by the location of the groups. I have little doubt of its capabilities out to 100 yards as being reliable, especially when paired with ammo it likes.

Recoil is extremely manageable, and I found that shooter fatigue with this much weight on the extended arm was not much of a factor. Again, I credit the tailhook brace for providing a natural stance with excellent support. In the full course of testing, I had two rounds of TulAmmo with hard primers that had to be struck twice to light – but no other issues of any kind. Feeding and ejection are flawless, far better than other similarly chambered guns I’ve tested.

Above all, the XCR-L is just plain fun to shoot. And make no mistake, this is far from a range toy. The practical and tactical uses for this gun are immediately clear, and it is undoubtedly up to the task. I found that a two-hand grip (exactly as you would grip any pistol) was comfortable, offered excellent control, and helped avoid fatigue. This would make quite a formidable defensive weapon but is tame enough for about every authorized family member to effectively use.

Click above to watch the full video review, including the accuracy tests.

JUST MY OPINION

I went pretty quickly from near-total ignorance of Robinson Arms products to full-fledged fanboy in the space of shooting a few magazines of .300 Blackout in an XCR-L in SBR configuration some time back. I was interested to see how it would perform with the iconic Russian round, and it met every expectation.

Robinson Armament Co. is still a boutique-sized company with a product that is not yet in the general awareness of shooters. Even many hardcore shooters I know heard about Robinson for the first time when I mentioned it to them. The better mousetrap does not always take over the marketplace. In my opinion, this is a far better mousetrap, and you’ll do yourself a favor to check one out. That said, they are not for the budget-minded shooter. Not too many guns go out the door for under $2,000. The MSRP on this gun as tested is $2,330.00. For that, you get outstanding quality and performance in a unique and innovative package – available in a wide variety of chamberings. For this price, I would like to see better sights on the gun. The plastic flip-up sights do the job okay, but they stand out as very sub-par in quality to the rest of the gun. My only other gripe is the stock A2-style pistol grip. Here again, I would like to see upscale OEM parts, or a choice when the order is placed. These are easy to upgrade, but for a premium gun at a premium price – you shouldn’t have to.

The gun does come in a very nice range-ready ballistic nylon, padded carrying case, and the user’s manual is detailed and easy to follow. One magazine ships with the gun – capacity determined by your local limitations.

Robinson Arms is a company that is pushing the envelope and should have had an opportunity for military contracts. If you’re serious about what you buy and what you shoot – this is one you need to look at.

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This “gun” seems to me to be an answer to a non existence problem! Grumpy

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