XCR Trigger

My XCR was my first foray into the EBR world. Prior to purchasing it I've only owned hunting rifles with good triggers (My current hunting rig is a Weatherby Mark V for big game and a 22-250 for varmint shooting with match style triggers).

I have been shooting IDPA for awhile and developed a quick sight picture/trigger pull technique that any speed shooting competitor can relate to. On taking the XCR to the range the first time, I had no idea what to expect and treated it like IDPA - that is to say, acquire a quick sight picture and pull the trigger. I do remember the trigger pull initially as being quite different from my hunting rifles, but didn't think anything of it. My first shots were on target (which consisted of pieces of clay targets at about 25yds) with no problems. In fact I was very surprised and delighted with the ease of hitting targets rapidly.

My next EBR was a DSA FAL and it's trigger was definitely worse than the XCRs in terms of feel and pull weight, but again I was treating it as a rapid shooting platform and not interested in MOA accuracy.

All in all, I'm happy with my XCR and will certainly replace the trigger with one of Alex's drop in units when he has them ready - but not because I'm unhappy with it as is.

I know the XCR trigger is known to improve over time, which is good. The one time I have had the opportunity to shoot an XCR so far, I thought that the trigger felt much like the standard semi-auto trigger on an AR, which for me is fine for what it is. Is it reasonable, and also, is it reliable? That is a key point. In the AR15 world, there are certainly nice match triggers available, but they are not as reliable as the standard trigger.

The RRA two stage match trigger is supposed to be better feeling than the standard trigger, and just as reliable. You still hear reports of them going down from time to time though. Not so with the stadard single stage. All my ARs have standard triggers. They are not match rifles.

I went shooting with a buddy I haven't seen in a while yesterday. He is building an AR for highpower competition, and has the lower all set up, but the upper hasn't come in yet. We paired my upper with his lower and took a few shots. The trigger is a Gesille (not sure how that is spelled) adjustable weight, set to about 3lb I think. Was it nice? Sure. Will it make anyone shoot much better with that upper? I doubt it. Its a milspec upper. I'll take the reliability on non-match guns.

Also, looking at the internal diagram of the XCR lower, the trigger and disconnector look *very* similar to an AR's standard parts. I'm sure it is quite possible to take them out and hit the contact surfaces with some 600 grit sandpaper or something, and expedite the break in process yourself.

As long as my XCR's trigger doesn't come as something worse than a stadard AR's, I'll certainly be happy for now. If and when a match trigger is released, I'll wait for a few field reports before buying that as well. At best it will be 3rd or 4th on my wishlist of XCR add-ons after the base rifle comes in.

It's the only thing on the rifle that is a detraction. Everything else is great. Add a DNTC Muzzle Break and this thing rocks!

I appreciate the comments about the trigger improving with time so that once the rifle has broken in it's not as bad, but that isn't really good enough. It's like RA is saying, we don't finnish the parts in the factory properly so you, the owner needs to do it for us. I also appreciate the issues with running a fairly small business but given the quality of the rest of the rifle it really is not good enough. It's like Ferrari dropping in a set of go tractor wheels and telling you they will wear down with use!

I picked up an AR15 lower with a stock trigger that is better than my broken in (4000rd+) XCR trigger, constand feel, clean break etc... Two of the issues with the XCR Trigger is the quality control and production process. The design is quite clever but shoddy manufacturing and QC has buggered it. Casting marks where they shouldn't be for function. Parts that don't fit on the pins etc... I'll probably buy more kits/rifles form RA but only once the trigger is resolved. funnily enough it was grreat before the recall, perfect two stage with no issues. When it came back the only way it will two stage is with the upper and lower separated. I even got guys at the range to try it to make sure it wasn't me or my wife. I was sent spare parts, but with one set the quality was so bad the disconnector wouldn't even fit on the trigger pin.

As an owner it's increddibly frustrating, but for RA it's costing you business as I personally moved my spending to other rifles while I wait for a solution. Instead of a 6.8 kit I went for an AR15 LWRC with an Timney trigger. OK the ergonomics aren't as good but wow, the genie has left the bottle. Hopefully the new triggers will resolve this and 193 can come out and play.