I could say that KelTec makes polymer-frame firearms — a lot of them — and be correct. There is much more to the story. These innovative, and always interesting, firearms are the product of the fertile mind of founder George Kellgren. The firearms are unique, useful, affordable, and often fill a niche nothing else quite fits. They are nothing if not unique.
KelTec has quite a following and the firearms are often regarded as best buys in a certain range of ability. I agree with that assessment. The KelTec RDB is an interesting firearm worth a hard look.
Bullpup handling isn’t for everyone. An advantage, the rifle features a full-length barrel in a shorter configuration than most rifles. There are not a lot of good-quality bullpup rifles. The Steyr AUG and IWI Tavor are among the best of them. Britain’s problematical SA80 is a famous bullpup and an example of how not to get it right.
RDB Bullpup Features
The KelTec rifle offers good reliability and excellent maneuverability. The rifle is bilaterally symmetrical — fully friendly to left-handed shooters. The rifle is chambered in 5.56mm. KelTec also offers the platform in .308 Win., which I have not the opportunity to test. The rifle takes AR-15 magazines. The RDB is a downward-ejecting bullpup. For those not in the know, the RDB came right after the RFB and is among the most interesting rifles I have test fired.
A big question many ask, “How does KelTec manage to achieve forward ejection?” That’s easy enough to answer. KelTec designed a tilting bolt and an extractor that pivots. The rifle fires from a closed bolt (like the AR-15) and operates by gas pressure.
The bolt has dual extractors. Twin recoil springs are recessed into the receiver in the original design, later a single recoil spring was designed. The rifle fires, the bolt carrier then moves to the rear (cocking the hammer), the bolt jolts to the rear, the extractors pivot, and sling the spent case forward. All in a day’s work. KelTec’s design — in my opinion — has resulted in a rifle that stresses positive extraction and ejection.
KelTec RDB Specifications
Action: Gas piston
Barrel: Chrome moly steel, 18 inches
Weight: 8 pounds, 1 ounce
Trigger: Single stage, 6 pounds, 8 ounces (as tested)
Capacity: 20- or 30-round magazines
Lockup is similar to the AR-15 with locking lugs in the bolt that lock into fitted lugs in the chamber section of the barrel. The new model rifle features a single, overhead recoil spring. This new design makes for a considerable advancement over the original, which wasn’t a bad rifle.
The rifle is offered in different configurations including a 16.1-inch barrel Defender and a Hunter version. The Hunter is well suited to predator calling, small pests, and varmints. With the proper load, the .223 will take deer-sized game at modest range.
A failing I have had with the KelTec was singular and may not manifest itself in every rifle. I have tested mine extensively. Reliability is good with polymer magazines such as the Magpul. Metal AR-15 magazines fail to engage the magazine lock and fall out during firing. This seems common. PMAGs are inexpensive, reliable, and widely available.
To rack the bolt, a forend-mounted charging handle is accessed and racked. The handle is easily moved from one side to the other (when needed). The rifle features an ambi safety and ambi magazine release. The magazine release is a paddle type. It takes some getting used to. The rifle is easily field stripped, and the frame separated by knocking out four captive pins.
The rifle has two advantages in rapid handling for home defense. The Gator Grip finish makes for aggressive adhesion and abrasion that doesn’t allow hand slippage. The overall length is only 27.25 inches making for good maneuverability.
Bullpup trigger designs make for a long linkage from the trigger to the hammer let off. It is difficult to avoid creep in a trigger with this set up. The KelTec is a good trigger of the type and manageable with training. I mounted a SIG Romeo 5 red dot sight for testing.
The red dot sight was sighted in for 50 yards during the initial test phase. I used PMAG magazines — after having a metal magazine drop out during firing — and Federal American Eagle ammunition in 55 and 62 grain weight.
Firing tests went well. The KelTec RDB bullpup balances well without any forward weight bias. It is easily handled with one hand, bringing it into firing position quickly.
Firing at man-sized targets at 25 to 50 yards results were very good. The rifle doesn’t recoil very much as the weight of the rifle absorbs recoil well. I fired a 100-round Value Pack of 55-grain loads and 50 rounds of 62-grain American Eagle. The rifle never failed to feed, chamber, fire, and eject.
Moving to a long 100 yards, I settled down for accuracy testing. The rifle is comfortable off the benchrest. Be certain to balance the rifle on your shooting bag so the ejection port allows easily clearing spent cases. I added the Federal 69-grain SMK, one of the most accurate 5.56mm loads I have fired, to testing. Results were good if not outstanding.
Range Test: 3-Shot Groups at 100 Yards
Load | Group Size (Inches) |
| Federal American Eagle 55-grain | 2.5 |
| Federal American Eagle 62-grain | 2.0 |
| Federal 69-grain SMK | 1.8 |
Hearing Protection
I adopted a set of Walker’s Razor Electronic muffs for range work. I am on the range a lot (indoor and outdoor ranges), and I have suffered some hearing loss from operational incidents. I assure you, a bullet going through the air at 1,000 fps DOES compress the eardrum if it is close enough to the auditory canal!
Walker Razor Features
- Omnidirectional microphones
- Low noise sound clarity
- Dynamic round speakers
- Sound activated compression
- Audio input jack
I like these electronic muffs. When this type of hearing protection was first introduced, they were expensive. This is no longer true, although there are more expensive options. They should be an essential part of your shooting kit.
Conclusion
The KelTec bullpup seems well suited to informal target shooting and personal defense. It is a relatively bargain and a reliable rifle with good features.
Are you a fan of the bullpup design? Why or why not? How does the KelTec RDB rank against your favorite truck gun? Share your answers in the Comment section.
This is a neat trim package well suited to home defense. 
The author used a ‘middle of the road’ optic the SIG Romeo 5 in testing. Compared to a 16-inch barreled AR, the 18-inch barreled KelTec is shorter overall! 
The unique paddle release is a good choice that takes some acclimation. The Hunter bullpup is a unique and interesting rifle. This is the Defender version with a 16.1-inch barrel. 
Compared to the S&W 9mm carbine the KelTec is only slightly larger. 
KelTec rifles are always innovative! 
Federal’s Gold Medal loads are famously accurate. 
Federal American Eagle was the majority practice load. In hearing protection, Walker’s Razor is among the best choices (when price is matched against performance).
I have 2 of these and love them. Never had a problem. Hundreds of rounds through both.
Never cared for the bullpup style/design. I get that they’re great for CQB and such but none I’ve ever handled have felt “right” and even the best triggers of those are not great… and I am far from a trigger snob. Kel-Tec may have some innovative designs but they also have their fair share of issues. Their Sub-2k is the only thing of theirs I’ve been even remotely interested in and I *still* haven’t “pulled the trigger” on one of those yet. So this new one is a pass for me.
I bought the Kel-Tec RFB in .308. Great little rifle. My major complaints seem to be corrected in the new rifle. The ammo is large
, heavy and more Expensive. Also the magazines are a pain to find unless you order them directly from Kel-Tec(which gets them to you quickly at a good price). At age sixty-two 200 rounds & their magazines makes a seven mile walk a lot harder than a remembered. The new rifle takes care of all these problems being both .556 NATO and able to use Mag-pul magazines. Great work guy!!
How does the strong hand grip work on the hunter model? Where does the thumb go? Maybe I’m just looking at it wrong.
I have been looking at this new bullpup from Kel Tec and i like what i see so far. I have also read the posted cxomments and would to tell about my experiences with my products from them. I have a sub2000in 40 cal,apMR30andCMR30in 22wmrand 2 P17. I have had no problems whatsoever with any of them and just one problem caused by some bad 22wmr ammo. no fault of the guns though.I KEEP MY GUNS CLEANED LUBED AS PER THE MANUFACTUERERS RECCOOMENDATIONS AND maybe the problems aren’t necessarily with the guns but the owners. Just saying
Their polymer clamshell furniture designs are inexpensive to make but do be a headache to completely disassemble for a repair or detail cleaning job. Those pressed-in brass bushings will easily cross-thread on reassembly if you’re not paying attention and fail to square up the screws.
I significantly improved the trigger pull on my Desert Tech bullpup chassis 10/22 by pressing a nylon spacer sleeve onto the trigger engagement lug. Still some squish but not nearly as much. Too thick of a spacer and the trigger would fail to break, so some experimentation was required.
“The rifle is bilaterally symmetrical — fully friendly to left-handed shooters.” AND that includes AR magazines! So why can’t the Stoner come with ambidextrous controls as STANDARD?
If I were going to get a pup, I would have to consider this one, because I am of the correct-handed crowd. That said, do to noisy career choices, what hearing I have left doesn’t need to be that close to the muzzle of a 5.56. Now, that pup would also be interesting in a Pistol Caliber. 🙂
I’ve got a couple of SU-16s that I would never trust to protect me. One of them jammed so much that I took it apart and found metal shavings everywhere around the gas system. It appeared to be copper, so I presumed the gas port was cutting bits of metal off the bullet jacket. I contacted Kel-Tec and sent them photos. Their response was to inform me they no longer warranted such products, but if I sent the rifle to them on my dime and paid the return shipping, they’d inspect it. If they determined it was defective, there would be no additional charges. Otherwise, I would have to pay for any labor and parts. That was six years ago and I haven’t bought a Kel-Tec product since then. Screw ’em.
Mike
Barrel twist is 1/7
Bob
1) Kel-Tec
2) assembled with Kel-Tec’s signature engineering, including “captive” pins, presumably loose when removed.
Typical lack of sights and handling real estate.
More Kel-Tec junk.
This sounds like a good rifle. I’ve never been fond of “bullpups” but this one has caught my eye! I do have a question after reading this article. What is the barrel twist on this rifle? If it’s anything less than 1:8 then I’m no longer interested. But you did say that you shot some 69gn ammo out of it and had good results (1.8”). I use 75-77gr in all my 5.56’s and all my rifles are 1:7 (mostly built be me). So, if you get this, could you email me? Thank you!
Mike