or not? i own one and i am very impressed with it. i also have 3 ar's and we all know how good they are. but, consider this: a semi auto stoner, not exactly, but very close. super reliable with an operating system similar to the ak47,  super easy to field strip and clean. heck, cleaning the bolt is hardly necessary. just push a button and the barrel comes off, then the gas system is easily removed to clean. a trigger system similar to the garand, nice and light. it cost me allmost 200 dollars to get one a bit better in one of my ar's. stainless steel reciever and most parts.(except the barrel and gas piston, the piston is chromed). takes ar mags, adjustable gas system like an fnfal. modular construction and is designed to be configured into several different rifles like a bren and a belt feed. (not available yet.) decent accuracy, even after removing/replacing the barrel a bunch of times. great customer support, with a no questions asked warranty. now the cons: expensive,(suggested retail is 1,499) no hard chromed barrels available yet, accessories are trickling in slowly, parts are not readily available at gun shows, scope mounts are 200 dollars,(nice though, with backup sights).
pro's: as stated above, also, this is a small company with a lot of heart. i wish them good fortune and a government contract! what do you folks have to say? any feed back?
willy

M96 is an outstanding rifle. There's a guy on bighammer that sells them at substanially less than retail. http://www.biggerhammer.net/m96/wwwboard/

I wouldn't mind having one, but I wouldn't give up one of my ARs to do it.

AR nemesis?  Oh, you mean the Daewoo?  Yeah, heard of it. [:)]

I am waiting for the AR180B to come out.

I think it's cheesy looking and cheaply made.

It, like the AR180 feels "chintzy" and not robust.

I like the Daewoo better.

The M96 is not a cheesy rifle.

Aside from the weak buttstock and lousy sights, the rifle is very well built. The receiver is made out of stainless steel and the bolt is very rugged, much more so than an AR.

Because of the first two drawbacks, I can't justify the pricetag, though. If those two weak links were fixed...who knows?

It's a nice gun, but the price is a real drag.  For the same price you can have a pre-ban AR.  I just saw a SP-1 in the local shop today for $1200.  That same price (or less) will get you  a pre-ban Daewoo K2.  AK gas system, folding stock, flash suppressor, bayonet lug, grenade launcher, chromelined barrel, the whole nine yards.  It also takes M-16 mags, shoots clean, and is lighter.

I like the M96.  I think it has potential with the quick change features.  I just don't see the reason for paying pre-ban prices for a post ban gun.  In the end, it's still a post-ban gun and does nothing the AR-180B won't do for half the price.

Ross

The m96 is awesome.  shot one twice now and seriously impressed.