Ok I got some spare cash and I'm looking at the buying the  Robison Armament M96 Recon carbine.It does have a hefty price tag at $1495 but for you guys that already have one is it worth the extra money or is it P.O.S?Please give me some feedback on this rifle...Thanks

 It rocks.  However it has one or two shortcomings you should be aware of.  First...it has an automatic bolt lock that activates when the gun is empty however there isn't  ( at this time ) a provision for an manual bolt lock.  A few guys and myself have been requesting RA include this on the M96 and the design has been approved but I don't believe that they are tooled for it quite yet.  
 The other shortcoming is that the safety is VERY hard ( if not impossible ) to activate to the firing position from the shoulder...we have also been discussing this and forwarding ideas to RA...though this fix may take a while.

 Other than that the M96 is a VERY reliable and quite acceptably accurate rifle that is built TOUGH!!!!!!!!!!  Once you get used to it it is very very hard to even want to shoot anything else...this is DESPITE it's shortcomings.

 I LOVE mine....I do reccommend, if you buy one, to take some serious time going over the instruction manuel and breaking down and reassembling the rifle a few times to get used to it....it is quite different.

I have a friend who bought one a couple of months ago.He loves his. Sold his AR . He said he wouldn't never go back to the AR.I havent shot it.Wish I could.Be we havent met up at the range yet.He got the carbine version.Cheers WD

They look like nice rifles and the only complaints I've ever heard are related to the safety and trying to deactivate, especially with your left hand.

Personally I think you could buy a new Armalite AR-180B for $1000 less and have essentially the same style of rifle. The AR-180B also takes M-16 mags and has an AR-15 style safety that is easy to use. It also has the AK gas piston/bolt setup that is reliable and easy to clean. The only drawbacks are that it doesn't have a chrome lined bore and chamber and the reciever is plastic. Check it out before you spend alot of money.

-Luther

Hmmm,to Alive45acp are the Armalite 180B's legal out here in Ca? I thought they were on the list?Anyway so far everything I hear about the M96 sounds good.I'm really thinking about getting it now.How does that automatic bolt locking thing work?When the gun has fired its last round the bolt locks?Explain please.

Quoted: Hmmm,to Alive45acp are the Armalite 180B's legal out here in Ca? I thought they were on the list?Anyway so far everything I hear about the M96 sounds good.I'm really thinking about getting it now.How does that automatic bolt locking thing work?When the gun has fired its last round the bolt locks?Explain please.

It's sort of like the SKS.  The bolt locks back after the last round is fired, but there is no way to manipulate the bolt lock directly as it is an internal part.

Personally I don't see it being a problem, and the complaints about the safety are overblown in my opinion. The position of the safety is similar to the FAL.

But it should say something about the weapon that the only complaints are minor and ergonomic related.  Mine has been very reliable, accurate, and easy to care for.  I don't believe I have cleaned it since I first bought it a few years ago. I tend to put a couple hundred rounds through it at each range session.

Seem like nice rifles but a bit overpriced.  However, if you're really looking to get one, there's an interesting thread over on the tacticalforums about them.  Made me think twice....

Rich

I like my Recon carbine. You can stick your finger up in the mag well to activate the bolt hold open but I do wish there was an external one. The only bad thing I can say about it is mine BROKE. The bolt broke clean in half right through the hole for the cam pin. RA is going to replace it. Other than that its really cool.

Hey Zoom!!!  Tell me what RA says about that bolt when they send it back to you.  I have been following your thread on biggerhammer and I am still curious as to the outcome.

 My M96...got it in March and have 3000 rounds through it with ZERO issues...probably the toughest gun in my safe next to my M1A's.

 If you check on biggerhammer.net you can scan MONTHS of threads and you will find about two or three issues of parts breakage...one of those being Zoom's the others being the older systems that have since been updated....of all of the gun companies out there RA has the least complaints I have ever seen and their customer service is very good.

I'm not sure the 180B is CA legal. But if it isn't legal, I don't see how a M-96 would be. They both have a drop out magazine and a hang down pistol grip. Then again, CA laws don't make sense.

I think Ken_Mays did a good job of explaining the bolt hold back. If you need to lock the bolt back you can either put your finger up the mag well or insert an empty mag then retract the bolt. The follower (or your finger) engages the bolt latch.

BJ told me that about a year ago they got a bad batch of bolts from an outside vendor but they didn't know which rifles they were in. They are going to replace it and I'm sending the cam pin back to be replaced also. I hope it doesn't happen again.

How much do they weigh? Comparable to an A2 Ar15?

 Shamus, an M96 recon weighs about as much as a full sized A2.  It is a lot lighter than my Match HBAR which weighs a hell of a lot for an AR...around 9 lbs with a full mag.
 I do believe the Recon is about 8.2 fully loaded.  When you handle the weapon though it really adds a tough feel to it.  It sorta gives you the desire to whack someone with it just to see what'll happen.

Zoom...I am not suprised that it was a vendor issue...so many companies try outsourcing these days but the outsource companies out there really suck anymore.  Even Dillion has had heat treat issues on their primer seating posts and Dillion is KNOWN for excellent quality.  Robinson has been working very hard to get as many of the M96 processes in house as possible due to the lack of good vendors out there...you shouldn't have an issue with the next bolt.  

Had the M96 rifle, not the recon carbine, but my experiences with the M96 rifle showed it had a chamber with tight tolerances. It's what contributes to its better than average accuracy over a rack-grade AR-15. However, due to its tighter chamber tolerances, don't fire any ammo with lacquer-coated steel cases such as Wolf. Tried that in the M96 and every other round was stuck in the chamber with the bolt locked in battery. Other than that, it is a smooth shooting rifle, though it is a bit on the heavy side due to the stainless steel receiver.

Received an e-mail from BJ today, my new bolt is on the way.

Robarm's website lists the rifle at 8.5 lbs 40" overall lengthe with 21" barrel and the carbine at 8.2 lbs.
Bushmaster lists their A2 20" barrel at 8.27 lbs and 38.25" OAL, with the carbine coming in at 7.22 lbs.  The real kicker though is the bushy lightweight which is 6.25 lbs.

So, the short answer is yes, the carbine is heavy as shit, but the rifle is about on par with the AR.

Do you guys have any thoughts about the top-feed model?

Not sure if you would be interested but Krebs Custom has a new rifle out that is built like a tank for a little less money, $1075.




www.krebscustom.com/KalashnikovRifles.html

I would much rather have the above KTR-03 than the M96. Just something to look into.

 I am personally hoping that Alex will get the ball back to rolling on the 7.62 X 39 conversion for the M96.  The military version of the 96 (the RAV04) is dual caliber and uses all types of 7.62X39 ammo including lacquer cased.  However the civilian version of the conversion is not up to Alex's expectations so he hasn't released it yet.  If there is one problem I have with RA it is that they have SOOOOO many projects going right now that some of what I consider to be important has been back burnered.  I DO NOT mind being back burnered for our boys overseas at all...but I would really like to see some of the issues for the M96 taken care of instead of releasing tons of new products.  I am a firm believer in making one thing and making it right...then going on to the next project.  Ugh....me and my economic pipe dreams.

Quoted: I'm not sure the 180B is CA legal. But if it isn't legal, I don't see how a M-96 would be. They both have a drop out magazine and a hang down pistol grip. Then again, CA laws don't make sense. I think Ken_Mays did a good job of explaining the bolt hold back. If you need to lock the bolt back you can either put your finger up the mag well or insert an empty mag then retract the bolt. The follower (or your finger) engages the bolt latch.

Its legal because they take to pistol grip off of it.

Go to the website, check it out. www.robarm.com