Combloc
Stop Negassing me!!!!!
Howdy! In this article we're going to take a detailed look at an early production Robinson Armament M96 rifle in 5.56mm. Designed as a modular firearm that could be reconfigured from a rifle with varying length barrels to a top feed automatic rifle with offset sights, to a promised but ultimately unrealized belt fed contraption, the M96 was built from 1999-2005. Exact numbers produced are unknown but guesstimated to be around 3500.
Although the basic design remained unchanged throughout production, various parts of the rifle were upgraded/redesigned over time. Some early rifles ran perfectly and some had parts breakage and reliability problems. The general consensus is that not all of the various bugs were ever truly worked out and you either got lucky with a good rifle or unlucky with a bad rifle. Eventually, RA moved on to other designs and dropped the M96 from their catalog. Unfortunately, and much to the chagrin of M96 owners, RA stopped selling spare parts and servicing the rifles almost immediately after stopping production and replacement parts are all but nonexistent now. In early 2020, RA announced that they planned to do another small production run of the rifles using a mixture of NOS and new made parts but to date, this has been vaporware.
As stated earlier, the example we are going to look at here is an early production base model rifle with a 20 inch, 1/9 twist, non-chrome lined barrel. I am told it was originally purchased by HP White Laboratory in Street, Maryland where it sat either unfired or fired very little until March of 2020 when it was sold off. It clearly shows evidence of being disassembled a number of times but I'd be surprised if it was fired other than initial testing.
The reason I am writing this is because there is only spotty information on the net about these early rifles. Although there is a manual available for download, it is the 2002 version which covers none of the early features as found on this example. SO.... what we are going to do here is to first take a fairly detailed and dedicated look at this particular rifle from stem to stern. Then we will disassemble it piece by piece until it is fully field stripped and look closely at many of the parts. At that point, I will go over how to properly disassemble it for both a general and thorough cleaning. Finally, we will compare it to an earlier design that the M96 was loosely based on. This is going to take a number of posts stretched over a number of days so what do you say we get started?
First up are left and right side views of the M96:
Technically speaking, this is called the "M96 EXPEDITIONARY RIFLE" and all versions were marked the same regardless of how they left the factory. There was a 16" carbine version available called the "RECON" and a 17.5" version with no particular name. There were also 100 kits made that allowed you to temporarily convert your receiver to a top feed rifle with offset sights. Robinson said that a belt fed version was in the works but that never came to pass. That's unfortunate too because I think it would have been neat.
Here we see the M96 with an AR-15 and AR-180 for size comparison:
At about 39.75" and approx. 8.4 lbs unloaded, the rifle compares favorably to the other two. It's decently light if a little front end heavy and the controls are well placed. The trigger pull is about the same as a standard AR15 and it uses the same magazines too.
Being manufactured during the 1994-2004 "Assault Rifle" ban, a flash hider was verboten! Instead, we have an integral 6 holed muzzle brake:
Here's a closer look at the muzzle:
This mass of steel at the tip of the barrel is a large contributor to the slightly muzzle heavy feel.
Because the ban considered a threaded muzzle to be evil and profane, the muzzle brake is not removable and is machined as part of the barrel:
The only markings that I am aware of on the barrel are found on top between the front sight assembly and the muzzle brake:
"RA" obviously stands for Robinson Armament and I assume that they made the barrel inhouse. It has a phosphate finish and is unlined. I do not know if it is hammer forged or button rifled.
Left and right side views of the front sight assembly:
Notice that there is only a block of steel where a bayonet mounting point would be because the ban said such things were bad.
The fluted cylinder sticking out the front of the gas block is the gas adjustment valve. We'll look at that a bit closer in a moment.
The white steel wire underneath the gas valve is a spring used to hold the valve at whatever setting you have selected.
Note that the front sight base is adjustable for windage. This is done using two hex head screws.
Here is a left side view of the front sight assembly showing the head of the left side adjustment screw and the tail of the right side adjustment screw:
Sorry it's a bit dark but it'll do. To adjust windage to the right, you back off the left side screw and tighten the right side screw. To adjust windage to the left, you back off the right side screw and tighten the left side screw.
BE CAREFUL with these screws and DO NOT go gorilla on them or they will strip. Also, front sight windage is for gross adjustment only as the rear sight is windage adjustable too. We'll look at that later.
Last thing to point out in this picture is how much material there is on the barrel at this point and how much purchase the two gas block mounting pins have. Nice.
The front sight post as seen from above:
It is a square post and adjustment should be obvious. Please ignore the accumulated dust on the right sight ear. It's been sitting a long time.
Front sight as seen from behind:
This has been a standard US arrangement for many generations now.
The gas valve is held on the gas block with a hex head screw and is click adjustable with 12 settings. Anyone who has experience with an FN49 or FAL will recognize this design immediately. It is shown here on the lowest/minimum gas setting:
Here is the middle setting:
And here is the maximum gas setting:
Unlike an FN, this valve is not threaded to the gas block but will instead turn round and round. It is held on the block by the hex head screw at its front and is held at the desired setting by the spring underneath that we looked at earlier.
I do not have a manual for this rifle. However, the 2002 manual (which covers a later version of gas adjustment valve) states that the gas is properly regulated when the ejected casings are consistently thrown 5 to 7 feet from the rifle. I recommend placing one round in the magazine and opening the gas setting to minimum. Then, fire the round and see where the casing lands while ensuring that the bolt hold open has engaged (the rifle has a last round hold open). If the bolt hold open has engaged and the empty casing has ejected 5-7 feet, close the valve one click and call it a good. If not, close the valve one click and repeat the test.
We finish up the front sight assembly with a view showing the bottom of the gas block:
Again, no scary bayonet mounting point. The only thing to see here is the hole created when they drilled out the gas port farther up inside the block.
And with that, we are going to call it a night. I'll pick up next time right where we left off. See you then!
Although the basic design remained unchanged throughout production, various parts of the rifle were upgraded/redesigned over time. Some early rifles ran perfectly and some had parts breakage and reliability problems. The general consensus is that not all of the various bugs were ever truly worked out and you either got lucky with a good rifle or unlucky with a bad rifle. Eventually, RA moved on to other designs and dropped the M96 from their catalog. Unfortunately, and much to the chagrin of M96 owners, RA stopped selling spare parts and servicing the rifles almost immediately after stopping production and replacement parts are all but nonexistent now. In early 2020, RA announced that they planned to do another small production run of the rifles using a mixture of NOS and new made parts but to date, this has been vaporware.
As stated earlier, the example we are going to look at here is an early production base model rifle with a 20 inch, 1/9 twist, non-chrome lined barrel. I am told it was originally purchased by HP White Laboratory in Street, Maryland where it sat either unfired or fired very little until March of 2020 when it was sold off. It clearly shows evidence of being disassembled a number of times but I'd be surprised if it was fired other than initial testing.
The reason I am writing this is because there is only spotty information on the net about these early rifles. Although there is a manual available for download, it is the 2002 version which covers none of the early features as found on this example. SO.... what we are going to do here is to first take a fairly detailed and dedicated look at this particular rifle from stem to stern. Then we will disassemble it piece by piece until it is fully field stripped and look closely at many of the parts. At that point, I will go over how to properly disassemble it for both a general and thorough cleaning. Finally, we will compare it to an earlier design that the M96 was loosely based on. This is going to take a number of posts stretched over a number of days so what do you say we get started?
First up are left and right side views of the M96:
Technically speaking, this is called the "M96 EXPEDITIONARY RIFLE" and all versions were marked the same regardless of how they left the factory. There was a 16" carbine version available called the "RECON" and a 17.5" version with no particular name. There were also 100 kits made that allowed you to temporarily convert your receiver to a top feed rifle with offset sights. Robinson said that a belt fed version was in the works but that never came to pass. That's unfortunate too because I think it would have been neat.
Here we see the M96 with an AR-15 and AR-180 for size comparison:
At about 39.75" and approx. 8.4 lbs unloaded, the rifle compares favorably to the other two. It's decently light if a little front end heavy and the controls are well placed. The trigger pull is about the same as a standard AR15 and it uses the same magazines too.
Being manufactured during the 1994-2004 "Assault Rifle" ban, a flash hider was verboten! Instead, we have an integral 6 holed muzzle brake:
Here's a closer look at the muzzle:
This mass of steel at the tip of the barrel is a large contributor to the slightly muzzle heavy feel.
Because the ban considered a threaded muzzle to be evil and profane, the muzzle brake is not removable and is machined as part of the barrel:
The only markings that I am aware of on the barrel are found on top between the front sight assembly and the muzzle brake:
"RA" obviously stands for Robinson Armament and I assume that they made the barrel inhouse. It has a phosphate finish and is unlined. I do not know if it is hammer forged or button rifled.
Left and right side views of the front sight assembly:
Notice that there is only a block of steel where a bayonet mounting point would be because the ban said such things were bad.
The fluted cylinder sticking out the front of the gas block is the gas adjustment valve. We'll look at that a bit closer in a moment.
The white steel wire underneath the gas valve is a spring used to hold the valve at whatever setting you have selected.
Note that the front sight base is adjustable for windage. This is done using two hex head screws.
Here is a left side view of the front sight assembly showing the head of the left side adjustment screw and the tail of the right side adjustment screw:
Sorry it's a bit dark but it'll do. To adjust windage to the right, you back off the left side screw and tighten the right side screw. To adjust windage to the left, you back off the right side screw and tighten the left side screw.
BE CAREFUL with these screws and DO NOT go gorilla on them or they will strip. Also, front sight windage is for gross adjustment only as the rear sight is windage adjustable too. We'll look at that later.
Last thing to point out in this picture is how much material there is on the barrel at this point and how much purchase the two gas block mounting pins have. Nice.
The front sight post as seen from above:
It is a square post and adjustment should be obvious. Please ignore the accumulated dust on the right sight ear. It's been sitting a long time.
Front sight as seen from behind:
This has been a standard US arrangement for many generations now.
The gas valve is held on the gas block with a hex head screw and is click adjustable with 12 settings. Anyone who has experience with an FN49 or FAL will recognize this design immediately. It is shown here on the lowest/minimum gas setting:
Here is the middle setting:
And here is the maximum gas setting:
Unlike an FN, this valve is not threaded to the gas block but will instead turn round and round. It is held on the block by the hex head screw at its front and is held at the desired setting by the spring underneath that we looked at earlier.
I do not have a manual for this rifle. However, the 2002 manual (which covers a later version of gas adjustment valve) states that the gas is properly regulated when the ejected casings are consistently thrown 5 to 7 feet from the rifle. I recommend placing one round in the magazine and opening the gas setting to minimum. Then, fire the round and see where the casing lands while ensuring that the bolt hold open has engaged (the rifle has a last round hold open). If the bolt hold open has engaged and the empty casing has ejected 5-7 feet, close the valve one click and call it a good. If not, close the valve one click and repeat the test.
We finish up the front sight assembly with a view showing the bottom of the gas block:
Again, no scary bayonet mounting point. The only thing to see here is the hole created when they drilled out the gas port farther up inside the block.
And with that, we are going to call it a night. I'll pick up next time right where we left off. See you then!
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