Pics of my Robinson Arms M96

[nwilliams]

I decided to seal the deal on this Robinson Arms M96 Expeditionary rifle today at my gun shop today. The price seemed fair at $1,150 with the Eotech 551.A65.

It's an interesting rifle and I've been intrigued by them but this is the first one I've ever come across. There's a button on the bottom that you press to remove the barrel which is kinda neat, maybe I can find a 16in barrel at some point.

The only thing that really kind of annoys me about this rifle is that there is no way to manually lock the bolt back without an empty mag being inserted or eject the mag and reach up through the mag well and push the bolt catch up while holding back the bolt.

I will say that it is kinda neat to have a rifle that looks so much like a Stoner 63! Anyway here are some pics, I'll update this thread with a range report once I have a chance to take this gun out and shoot it, hopefully this weekend.

 

[Tommygunn]

Well I keep learning .....
I've never heard of that rifle before. Looks real nice!
Does it use AR mags? Looks like it.

Good luck with it.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Is that the rifle where you can flip the upper receiver upside and shoot it Bren-style?

 

[nwilliams]

Is that the rifle where you can flip the upper receiver upside and shoot it Bren-style?

You are correct sir, however I need to locate a rear sight assembly in order to have the gun completely set up that way. I wonder if I can order one from Robinson directly.

Basically what you do is remove the lower and flip the entire gun up side down and then reattach the lower to what was previously the top of the receiver. You then take the handguard and move that to the other side. I believe there is a offset front sight and I need to locate that as well. I probably won't use the gun in this fashion very often but it is cool that you have the capability to do so.

Here's what it should look like completely setup for top feeding....
http://www.robarm.com/RA_m96_bren.htm

 

[Birddog1911]

I've read a lot about issues with this rifle; I honestly wish you luck. Had he not stopped production, and worked out the kinks, I would have picked one up eventually. It's a very interesting design.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I think you got an absolute steal on that. Condition looks better than you had previously described - looks like-new in the pics. Enjoy!

The only thing that really kind of annoys me about this rifle is that there is no way to manually lock the bolt back without an empty mag being inserted or eject the mag and reach up through the mag well and push the bolt catch up while holding back the bolt.

At the very end of the M96 production a handful were made with the same bolt catch/release mechanism now seen on the XCR, which is very similar to an FAL (metric) catch/release control.

 

[nwilliams]

I've read a lot about issues with this rifle; I honestly wish you luck. Had he not stopped production, and worked out the kinks, I would have picked one up eventually. It's a very interesting design.

Yeah, I've read about some problems with early models. I checked the Robinson Arms website and fortunately this one has all the necessary upgraded parts so hopefully it won't have any issues.

 

[B166ER]

Robinson Arms also imported the venerable VEPR and VEPR-K rifles.....Badass, definitely a good deal. You might want to check with Robinson Arms and see if they sell additional barrels. That would be especially badass with a 16" barrel.

 

[jerkface11]

Why would you want to flip the upper over?

 

[Z-Michigan]

Why would you want to flip the upper over?

Mostly it looks cool. After that, it may improve reliability, and it makes for easier use and mag changes when shooting prone off a rest or bipod. Did I mention that mostly it looks cool?

 

[nwilliams]

Why would you want to flip the upper over?

As Z-Michigan mentioned it's mostly just because it looks cool.

Apparently converting the M96 to top feed mode is meant to be done with a kit that includes replacement barrel with offset front sight as well as a secondary rear sight assembly with offset sight so that you can use iron sights in top feed mode.

I'm going to contact Robinson and see if this kit can still be purchased and for how much. I'll also ask if the 16 barrel can purchased directly through them.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Nwilliams - those kits were over $700 list when in production. I would contact RA but wouldn't expect any left. I've seen them on Gunbroker for high prices. I think they were also a very heavy barrel profile (almost bull) and a funky length like 17" or something. I expect you will have much better luck getting a standard 16" barrel though.

 

[nwilliams]

Nwilliams - those kits were over $700 list when in production. I would contact RA but wouldn't expect any left. I've seen them on Gunbroker for high prices. I think they were also a very heavy barrel profile (almost bull) and a funky length like 17" or something. I expect you will have much better luck getting a standard 16" barrel though.

Yeah that's way more than I'd want to spend, if I could get the kit for under $300 I might consider it, any more than that and I won't even bother. While it's cool that you can configure the gun like a Bren it's not a feature I have much interest in. I'll just shoot it in it's standard configuration.

 

[ny32182]

My buddy has one and had issues with the original barrel, but after getting it replaced it shoots sub-MOA with the right bullets.

He's actually going to be shooting it with me at a 3gun match this weekend.

I think they are beautiful, and if I ever had the opportunity to pick up an updated Recon at an excellent price I would not pass on it. It sounds like you did get a pretty awesome deal including that Eotech.

 

[Welding Rod]

Nice! I want one.

 

[EdLaver]

FAL, BREN, AR15, and BAR all roll into one!

 

[kwelz]

Nice looking. I just hope you never need to contact RA. After his last tantrum online it looks like he has finally given up on even the pretense of helping customers.

 

[Float Pilot]

What is the actual weight of the totally assembled and sighted rifle?