Kel-Tec RDB 5.56 Bullpup - opinions

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  • Slowhand

    Pre-Banned
    Dec 13, 2011
    1,869
    In a van, down by the river.
    Palmetto State has what (I think) is a screaming deal on the RDB 5.56 Bullpup. Its short for MD specs, but I assume OK if you pin/weld a muzzle device on it. At $750/free shipping I'm seriously tempted.
    Anybody here have one? And how do you like it?
     

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    rob-cubed

    In need of moderation
    Sep 24, 2009
    5,387
    Holding the line in Baltimore
    Bullpups often suffer from linkage issues and awful triggers. Depends on what you want to do with the rifle.

    I own an SU-16C, and have shot a few other Kel-Tec products, though not any of their bullpups.

    Kel-Tech makes fun, iightweight, and often interesting products but their reliance on poly construction held together by screws never sat right with me, especially after taking a couple apart. I'd strongly recommend you shoot one first before deciding.
     

    Boats

    Beer, Bikes n Boomsticks
    Mar 13, 2012
    4,073
    Howeird County
    I don't own one personally, but a couple guys at the club do. (One in 7.62, one in 5.56)

    The trigger is better than I expected. That isn't to say it is good, but better than expected.

    It is reasonably accurate, they both shot about 2.5 moa with milspec ammo (55gr and 147gr)

    The biggest issue I saw was reliability. In both guns feed jams were common, about once every other mag. I don't know each owners cleaning/lubing routine, but I can say that reliability has been an achillies heel for keltec for a while now, which is a pity because I think Kel-tec is a really innovative company with some really neat ideas.

    IMHO, keltec tends to field a design and use their customer base to reliability test it.
     

    engineerbrian

    JMB fan club
    Sep 3, 2010
    10,148
    Fredneck
    I’ve looked into these recently and as much as I wanted to get the 16” model with an extended brake pinned and welded, it just didnt make sense.

    The 16” model compared to the 20” model is only about and inch shorter one the long muzzle device is installed.

    I’ll add this to my list of things to buy when i move out of MD
     

    Thalvid

    Member
    Jun 28, 2019
    3
    Firing pin

    I have an RDB-C. It's very cool looking, and fun to shoot, but the firing pins last only a few hundred rounds. I've had two shear apart inside the bolt group in 5 months of owning it; about 600 rounds fired. Kel-Tec will sends you a new one when they break, though I'm not sure how many times they'll do that. It does tend to jam once or twice while emptying a magazine.
    13az8s0kxe731.jpg
     
    Last edited:

    Joshua

    Member
    Jan 5, 2015
    52
    I have one the only issue I have with it after 1 range trip, is I like to keep my right elbow close in while shooting and occasionally brass will land on my arm. Other than that i cant complain
     

    rgramjet

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 25, 2009
    2,962
    Howard County
    Kel-Tec are not custom shop or combat level pieces. Not even close, imo.

    I like the ingenuity and innovation that they offer, for a cheap price!
     

    Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    I don't own one personally, but a couple guys at the club do. (One in 7.62, one in 5.56)



    The biggest issue I saw was reliability. In both guns feed jams were common, about once every other mag. I don't know each owners cleaning/lubing routine, but I can say that reliability has been an achillies heel for keltec for a while now, which is a pity because I think Kel-tec is a really innovative company with some really neat ideas.

    IMHO, keltec tends to field a design and use their customer base to reliability test it.

    I agree. I had a SU16CA. I really liked it, wanted to love it but I had jam issues. Contacted Keltec, worked some stuff, replaced some stuff. Never ran 100%. I had jams (can't recall exactly, as it was a while ago), I think extraction or ejection jams. Replaced the extractor and spring with better BCM one, spring and donut, as well as smoother the polymer ejection port. Polished areas of the bolt. It was a neat concept, unique gun, took AR mags and some bolt parts, and it was very light. But a couple of jams per mag didn't instill confidence. I tried different mags. It did run about 85-90%, but when I read about receivers (polymer) cracking, I got rid of it. Wish I didnt have to as I really liked the rifle itself.
     

    wabbit

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 29, 2010
    5,205
    I don't have the RDB, but I do own an RFB in .308. Maybe they learned something with the glitches in the RFB and fixed them in the RDB? I don't know.
    The RFB doesn't shoot well with a suppressor, it is way over gassed even when I opened the gas port all the way open. Disassembly and reassembly is a pain until you do it half a dozen times and get used to it. The bolt doesn't even resemble any of the other guns I own, and like someone else said, it seems Kel-tec is using their customer base to test out new designs. I don't consider the RFB anything more than a range toy, since it's not accurate enough to use in a multigun match, or reliable enough for me to use as a go-to gun at home. Maybe the RDB is an improvement on the RFB.
     

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