Keltec RFB 308... its here...

[Girodin]

Nope its fail!

Back three times and still not fixed, now they are ignoring my Emails!

They either hope I just go away or waste even more of my time waiting on the phone to try and call them.

I should have indicated that my remark was sarcastic. Ignoring you but the internet assures me that kel tec has the best customer service in the industry.

Fair enough, 20-30K more rounds and 15-20 more years and I'll sell you mine!

Well that me be sooner than one gets to any of the local shops from Kel tec.

 

[henschman]

Even if it were proven reliable, it just doesn't have enough benefits to justify it for me. Based on the listed weight of 8.1 lbs., it is only 3 ounces lighter than my M1A... and my M1A has a 22" barrel whereas the RFB only has an 18". Yes it is shorter, but reloads would be more awkward with the rear mounted mag. And you can completely forget about iron sights, unless you want to shoot a rifle with a pistol's sight radius. To me, iron sights are kind of a big deal for a battle rifle. Also I like to keep some of the major spare parts around for my battle rifles, so I can repair them quickly in the field, and it looks like that just wouldn't be an option for the RFB.

If I had an extra $1500 to blow I might get one just to have fun with, but I wouldn't consider it suitable to be my one and only battle rifle or anything like that.

 

[tdstout]

I'm going be completely honest and say that I'd never heard of this rifle before today. I really like the looks of it though. It's a shame that people are already having problems with it. I find it kind of funny though that people are acting like they are going to take it to war though. If I were to buy this gun, it would be for a range toy, and that's an awful lot of money to spend on something that would only be used for plinking.

 

[dprice3844444]

would fit real nice behind the seat of my picked.real wicked in close encounters

 

[Chopdoktor]

I had one for almost a year, then sold it. In just 9 months and less than a thousand rounds, it needed major fixes twice. First, the bolt carrier was failing to lift the spent round into the ejection tube (causing serious internal jams), and the metal finish was flaking off of the exterior of the carrier. Kel Tec sent me a new one after I shipped in the broken one. The second time was much worse. One of the two guide rods for the recoil spring assembly BROKE CLEAN OFF AT THE WELD! And no, I wasn't running some super-nuclear-uber-tankbuster .308 round, either. Just plain .308 out of the box.

I had my machinist tig-weld the guide rod bracket back into the upper receiver, and it worked fine after that. Ultimately, it is a cool rifle: accurate, handles well, recoils nicely... but I was EXTREMELY disappointed in what was a $1600 purchase. I would buy another one someday, but sure as hell not for anywhere near what I (stupidly) paid the first time, and preferably after the kinks are worked out of it by Kel Tec.

 

[Strykervet]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on it. I just can't see the benefit of it over the FAL at the moment. Like I said, I wanted one real bad. I had my wife agree to getting one back in '06. But I changed my mind based on what I read on here and elsewhere, and I didn't get anything else either so it wasn't used as an excuse to get another rifle (if you're married, you know what I'm talking about).

I'd love to have an accurate, reliable semi auto bullpup in a larger calibre. A WA2000 would be the bee's knees in .300WinMag. But those are tens of thousands of dollars depending on the model and they quit making them in the '80's due to cost.

At the moment, were I to get a bullpup, I'd probably have to go with the AUG or FS2000, but only if I could convert it to 6.5Grendel. I actually like that round more than the 7.62, but that is a different story.

I can also say for a fact the Bushmaster M17 is junk too. I broke the barrel ext. or whatever that block of metal is that the makes the AR barrel fit in that square aluminum tube. More like a trunnion. After I got it back the second time, I sold it. Had a horrid trigger too.

As for the RFB, when the posts change to "I love my RFB" and "My RFB is 1MOA" and "My RFB never jams" etc., then I'll get one. At the moment, they say "It jams a lot" and "I keep sending it back" and "Now the ignore me". Not too encouraging.

For the price, I can get a time tested and proven Armalite WITH optics and a 2 stage trigger that will shoot MOA. Or a plain jane SCAR17. There are others too, but the Armalite and SCAR have actually been fielded by at least one military (Sudan and US respectively). Hard to beat that AR design, Stoner got it right, I just don't believe a better rifle can built for the price at the moment.

Fix the RFB, and I'll be the first in line. I do like the idea of having a 24" barrel in a rifle smaller than my 18" FAL, and having a stockpile of FAL mags doesn't hurt either. Lower the price to Keltec prices, and I might reconsider. I like projects, so the first thing I'd do is make up a trigger for it, but $800 is as far as I'd go at the moment.

 

[Panzercat]

Wow, it really does exist.

Holding out for the SU in .300BLK. A few reliable sources on KTOG seem to back the rumor mill up. As long as it isn't overpriced, i'm in for one.