Gun Review: Kel Tec RFB Carbine

Well after 2 long years my wait is finally over. I am one of the very few (as of this writing less than 3000) owners of a Kel Tec RFB carbine. For those who have never heard of or seen it, the RFB is a bullpup, 7.62x51mm caliber, semi automatic rifle that is fed from the incredibly common metric FAL 20 round magazines. With an 18inch barrel, the overall length is less than 29 inches, and a weight of 8.5lbs makes it a very compact rifle. In fact it's so short that here in MI it's legally considered a pistol.

While the RFB has been in serious production for over 5 years, less than 3000 units have been sold. Combined the rarity with the high price tag (MSRP is $1880) and this is not something you see every day. But being that it's the ONLY 30 caliber bullpup rifle around, you can be sure that there is a significant demand, so much so that the waiting list for one is over a year long in some places. But on to the actual review.

Two things immediately came to me when I first picked it up. First is even though it's light weight for a 7.62 rifle, the compactness makes it feel fairly substantial when shouldered. Second is that when one shoulders it, it's very different from any other rifle and takes some getting used to. Even for someone like me who has a good deal of experience with bullpup rifles, the RFB is a good deal slimmer in the stock, which means it doesn't shoulder the same as the more bulbous rifles, such as the FS2000.

In the great realm of the internet you'll hear a lot about the quality of Kel Tec guns, though rarely will you hear about how good said quality is. In the RFB however, the fit and finish is a level above that you'd find on other Kel Tecs, and completely justifies the price. Not to mention the high quality 4130 and 4140 steel used in the majority of it's construction, the RFB feels like it can take a significant beating.

There are no sights supplied with the rifle, which is a slight disappointment with such a high price tag, but a top mounted 10 inch length of MIL-STD-1913 rail, the options for customizing sights/optics are limited only by ones budget and preference. The highly adjustable gas setting and threaded barrel mean that if you want to mount a sound suppressor, you're more than able to do so.

I haven't had a chance to do formal accuracy testing yet, but firing off hand at 100 yards I could maintain about 3 inch groups. Once I got the gas system dialed in, the RFB ate everything I fed it. Cheap surplus Pakistani ammo, Winchester White box, Federal Fusion hunting ammo. Fed, fired, and ejected with 100% reliability. My current round count isn't that high (around 800), but I think that's a good indication of things to come.

Overall I cannot say enough that's good about this rifle. I'm sure I left something out, but in short, if you can find one, and you can afford it, I suggest buying one. If nothing else, you can sell it for what you paid.