Kel-Tec RFB Info

Sebastian did an interview with one of the guys at Kel-Tec regarding their new .308 RFB.  My concern with the rifle remains that the forward ejection system looks like a horrible malfunction waiting to happen, and that I’d love to get one though to shoot in the heavy metal division for 3-Gun…if it works.  Here’s what Kel-Tec has to say about the forward ejection:

The RFB is essentially the first semi-auto rifle to have a controlled round extraction system. It uses two extractors to pull the fired case out of the chamber by way of the carrier and gas system. It has proven to be very reliable in testing. Once the fired cases are in the ejection chute, they have no where to go except forward. They have no surface to stick on which could cause enough friction to jam the action, no matter how much dirt got into the ejection chute area. Everything is moved forward by the reward inertia of the weapon firing, which gives a kind of natural ejection force to the cases in the chute. Tubular magazines don’t jam unless they get dented, and the ejection chute on the RFB is inside of the rifle, making it nearly impossible to damage while carrying or shooting the rifle. The RFB is quite possibly the only rifle ever built that will never stove pipe.

I remain skeptical, because with things like this, what the rep says and what actually happens when you start pulling the trigger and throwing lead downrange.

Do I think that the rifle will hold up under casual use?  Yeah, probably.  I’d imagine that if you get it out and fire a box of .308 through it 2 or maybe 3 times a month that it’d be fine – but that’s not really a test of the rifle’s reliability.  You’re not actually stress testing the weapon until you’re pouring thousands of rounds of ammo through it in a month, and seeing how well it performs when being slung around in a 3-gun match.  Since it’s not really what you’d call a “combat” rifle, 3-gun is probably the most arduous test you can reasonably expect this rifle to stand up to.

5 Comments

  1. I wonder if they tested it firing uphill. The spent cases would have to fight gravity to get out of the chute.

  2. All good questions…can’t wait to start answering them when mine comes in, if my dealer can find one. They’re still hard to get ahold of.

    Mmmm…26″ .308…perfect for a can.

    -Rob

  3. That forward ejection looks like auto-fail, but I’m willing to be convinced otherwise. A 50,000 round torture test would help.

    I guess we’ll see, but I’m not going to even consider buying one until It’s proven reliable.

  4. What scares me most is the thought of trying to clear a malfunction on a gun like this. Without an open chamber, how do you clear brass that has misbehaved?

  5. You might recall that forward ejection was standard on some WW I belt feds (don’t recall the name, but have seen the pictures) and also this is what is on the FN 2000. This may be more of a “change I don’t believe in” than an actual problem.

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