Kel-tec SU16FA back
- Thread starter scianna54
- Start date
- Location
- Frozen north
I will say roughly 10 years ago the first su16 I bought second hand it blew into pieces and they fully warrantied the rifle without any proof of receipt..
Sent a new rifle back to me. was rather painless.
Sent a new rifle back to me. was rather painless.
Many newbies from HST provinces seem to have bought the WK180 and such for full price, then add the tax and shipping, so they are in for 1,800 plus some mags and cheap overpriced red dots, so they are in for way over 2K. What is amusing about that is when people mention "I have over 2K in it". Yes sure but who cares. Maybe you should have made a wiser decision when you bought it in the first place.
A store receipt. Nothing too strict as Vault and Kel-Tec seemed pretty casual about it all at the time (like 4years ago)
If they could figure out either a wood stock or even a regular style of stock, I'ld grab another.
Funny no one has brought up that it has one of the fastest trigger resets I have ever found.
Most of the websites I can find state that KelTec makes 7 versions of the SU16...but none of those are designated SU16F or SU16FA. Are those specific Canadian models? At least one retailer lists the SU16A...but ships out a rifle that is marked SU16F on the receiver, in a box labelled SU16FA! Confusing-er and confusing-er. The box, as stated above by Rifle Master, indicates that a 5-round mag is included...but the retailer websites say no mag. They're upfront about it, not trying to hide anything, so that doesn't bother me.
I surprised myself by picking up one of these recently for a good price, after reading and hearing for the past few years that newer production guns seem to be pretty problem-free. No certificate from Vault or anyone else, and in fact no hard-copy receipt at all. Waiting to hear from the retailer regarding the model designations and the warranty/receipt/certificate issue.
Right off the bat I was disappointed to find that the onboard magazine storage in the buttstock apparently only works with original KelTec magazines. The Magpul and MFT magazines I already have don't fit or latch into that opening at all; instead of being a useful and distinctive feature, that big ugly hole is...just a big ugly hole...
I've owned an RFB and a couple of RDB's, and they all impressed me with their innovative designs and also by having a much-higher-quality "feel" than I expected. Sadly, their odd ejection patterns, which along with the bullpup configuration were what attracted me in the first place, eventually prompted me to move them down the road. Inspection and access to the chamber was too much of a PITA for my taste.
The SU16 is kinda the opposite; the chamber is as easily accessed as that on a "real" rifle...but the feel of quality? Lol...not so much...
I surprised myself by picking up one of these recently for a good price, after reading and hearing for the past few years that newer production guns seem to be pretty problem-free. No certificate from Vault or anyone else, and in fact no hard-copy receipt at all. Waiting to hear from the retailer regarding the model designations and the warranty/receipt/certificate issue.
Right off the bat I was disappointed to find that the onboard magazine storage in the buttstock apparently only works with original KelTec magazines. The Magpul and MFT magazines I already have don't fit or latch into that opening at all; instead of being a useful and distinctive feature, that big ugly hole is...just a big ugly hole...
I've owned an RFB and a couple of RDB's, and they all impressed me with their innovative designs and also by having a much-higher-quality "feel" than I expected. Sadly, their odd ejection patterns, which along with the bullpup configuration were what attracted me in the first place, eventually prompted me to move them down the road. Inspection and access to the chamber was too much of a PITA for my taste.
The SU16 is kinda the opposite; the chamber is as easily accessed as that on a "real" rifle
...but the feel of quality? Lol...not so much...Yeah, there's something weird about the model designations in Canada. No idea on that one, but AFAIK there's really only two models currently available: Conventional, and pistol grip.
For a time, both AmChar and Vault were distributors. And IRunGuns, but they're kind of in their own category.
I'm not sure why the retailers didn't pass along the magazines. I've never seen the mags for sale on the secondary market, so maybe there was an issue with them being unable to limit the magazine capacity to satisfy Canadian rules.
I think I remember hearing that USGI mags will fit in the stock. Maybe our LAR mags will fit? I don't use that feature, so it didn't bother me.
For a time, both AmChar and Vault were distributors. And IRunGuns, but they're kind of in their own category.
I'm not sure why the retailers didn't pass along the magazines. I've never seen the mags for sale on the secondary market, so maybe there was an issue with them being unable to limit the magazine capacity to satisfy Canadian rules.
I think I remember hearing that USGI mags will fit in the stock. Maybe our LAR mags will fit? I don't use that feature, so it didn't bother me.
Thanks for that info; I may try some USGI mags just to see if they work. I don't know how often I would use that feature...honestly, don't know how much I will use the rifle!...but one of the things that attracted me to buy one was the fact that I had a box of AR-pattern mags and no rifle any longer to use them. So buying the rifle, and then buying still more mags is a bit irritating.
The combination of features on the gun seems to match up with what KelTec's website calls the A model. Selling a gun as an A...when it's marked as an F...and packaged as an FA...WTF???
I guess it could be worse. Back in the days of the Long Gun Registry, the feds would probably have three different rifles registered in my name...
The combination of features on the gun seems to match up with what KelTec's website calls the A model. Selling a gun as an A...when it's marked as an F...and packaged as an FA...WTF???
I guess it could be worse. Back in the days of the Long Gun Registry, the feds would probably have three different rifles registered in my name...
I think the "F" designation means it's for export to Canada: The SU16FE is identical to the SU16E, but with an 18.5" barrel (the US version is 16").
Since the SU16A for the US market already has an 18.5" barrel, maybe the SU16FA is the same as the SU16A but comes with no magazines (because of whatever reason we can't have the magazines here). Or maybe our version actually has an 18.6" barrel or something. You're right that it's weird they'd mark the receivers differently unless there was something really different about them.
EDIT: Just stumbled across a post from years ago saying that the receivers for the Canadian version needed to be marked "223Rem" only, and not "5.56/223" (which is how the ones for the American market are marked). Seems plausible, and there's your actual difference between the US-market SU16A and the Canadian market SU16FA. Maybe the barrels are actually different, or maybe it was just a hoop-jumping exercise required to satisfy import or export restrictions (I think and hope it's the latter, but I can't be sure).
Since the SU16A for the US market already has an 18.5" barrel, maybe the SU16FA is the same as the SU16A but comes with no magazines (because of whatever reason we can't have the magazines here). Or maybe our version actually has an 18.6" barrel or something. You're right that it's weird they'd mark the receivers differently unless there was something really different about them.
EDIT: Just stumbled across a post from years ago saying that the receivers for the Canadian version needed to be marked "223Rem" only, and not "5.56/223" (which is how the ones for the American market are marked). Seems plausible, and there's your actual difference between the US-market SU16A and the Canadian market SU16FA. Maybe the barrels are actually different, or maybe it was just a hoop-jumping exercise required to satisfy import or export restrictions (I think and hope it's the latter, but I can't be sure).
Interesting too is the way that the gun itself is marked. There is a shiny area on the right side, above the magwell, that contains the model designation, manufacturer's address, etc. and it looks as though the lettering is molded right into the plastic...which would be stupidly expensive as that would involve a different mold for each model designation. Or maybe that is a separate small plate that is inserted into the stock during the molding process?
The gun was $779; not worth overthinking the crap out of it. I think I'll just shoot the crap out of it instead.
The gun was $779; not worth overthinking the crap out of it. I think I'll just shoot the crap out of it instead.
Great North Guns had a recurring ad in the EE for the SU16A, showing the price as $799.95. When I actually visited the site, the price showed as $779.95...and it indicated the gun was in stock! I'd been toying with the notion of grabbing one for awhile, so I bit.
The markings on it are not cut or engraved into the plastic, but rather stand proud of the surrounding material. They look and feel like they have been molded into the stock, but the more I look at them the more I think that the small 1 x 1 inch square on which they live must be a separate piece that is perhaps inserted into the mold before the injection of plastic occurs. Just guessing, I dunno.
I've got about 200 rounds through the gun, just cheapo 55gr FMJ stuff from both Winchester and Rem/PMC, and so far I have no failures of any kind. Shooting slow as the barrel heats up pretty fast, using the iron sights (not bad to look through, but ridiculous to adjust), sitting on my stairs and leaning/resting against a post I am getting about 3.5 - 4 inch groups at 50 yards, just eyeballing the group size compared to the 1-inch sticker. I'll probably mount a red dot before I do much more, and hopefully my longer-range targets in the back 40 will dry out a bit and let me test it more carefully. Too soon to make any pronouncements about accuracy or reliability or durability, but so far it impresses me mightily if I keep the price in mind. I'm having fun shooting it, and IMHO that's enough.
Feeds perfectly from Magpul and MFT mags, trigger is fairly heavy (supports the weight of the empty rifle!) and a wee bit creepy but I've certainly experienced worse ones on more highly-regarded rifles.
I don't love it...far from it!...but it's definitely worth the money, at least so far.
Edited to add: I'll mention that the box indicates the gun comes with a 5-round magazine, but there is none included and GNG makes that clear right in the ad (as do many other retailers), so no surprises.
The markings on it are not cut or engraved into the plastic, but rather stand proud of the surrounding material. They look and feel like they have been molded into the stock, but the more I look at them the more I think that the small 1 x 1 inch square on which they live must be a separate piece that is perhaps inserted into the mold before the injection of plastic occurs. Just guessing, I dunno.
I've got about 200 rounds through the gun, just cheapo 55gr FMJ stuff from both Winchester and Rem/PMC, and so far I have no failures of any kind. Shooting slow as the barrel heats up pretty fast, using the iron sights (not bad to look through, but ridiculous to adjust), sitting on my stairs and leaning/resting against a post I am getting about 3.5 - 4 inch groups at 50 yards, just eyeballing the group size compared to the 1-inch sticker. I'll probably mount a red dot before I do much more, and hopefully my longer-range targets in the back 40 will dry out a bit and let me test it more carefully. Too soon to make any pronouncements about accuracy or reliability or durability, but so far it impresses me mightily if I keep the price in mind. I'm having fun shooting it, and IMHO that's enough.
Feeds perfectly from Magpul and MFT mags, trigger is fairly heavy (supports the weight of the empty rifle!) and a wee bit creepy but I've certainly experienced worse ones on more highly-regarded rifles.
I don't love it...far from it!...but it's definitely worth the money, at least so far.
Edited to add: I'll mention that the box indicates the gun comes with a 5-round magazine, but there is none included and GNG makes that clear right in the ad (as do many other retailers), so no surprises.
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