You are missing his point.
Claven is not disputing that the gun is adequitely made. He is not saying that the polymer is sub par, or that the materials in the gun are not adequite. He is saying that the parts used to produce the firearm, do not justify the Canadian MSRP. He is saying that given the materials used, there is no way the gun should be retailing for $3K given that you can buy comparable firearms made out of more expensive materials for less IE Browning BAR, M1A, XCR, and etc.
Yes a M1A will retail for 2K,... but its all steel and wood which are more expensive materials to work with and require more tooling (well the wood vs polymer). Injection molded polymer is very low cost and quick to make, the action is the only real significant cost to the manufacturing process of the RFB. The XCR is actually a lot better value for the money for several reasons 1) materials used are more able to justify the price point 2) it is a current fully modular platform 3) it is non restricted as well 4) it has more support, parts and 5) more all around purpose than the Keltec.
While it is true that there are no comparable .30 cal BP in Canada, but that is not his point. His point was that the guns actual manufacturing cost would be a small fraction of what the MSRP is, so he doesn't see this as good value for your money (or a fair price).
I am inclined to agree.
While its a nice gun and a .30 cal BP that is alone in the Canadian market, it just doesn't justify 3K price tag because there is obviously a lot of markup there between the manufacturers cost and the consumers. In the US these are selling for ~$1,300... so to more than double crossing the border seems steep given that the CDN dollar is so strong right now.
I want one, however it is hard to swallow a $3K price tag for a gun that might have cost them $400 to make. Also I highly doubt that the price point reflects the amount of R&D that went into this gun.
Thats just my $.02
Strip one before you spout off about it being made of sub par materials. What should it be made of? Unobtanium? Maybe if it had a flux capacitor or a partical accelerator in the stock? Then would it be worth $2500? It has nothing to do with it being a bullpup, It has to do with manufacturing costs, import costs, and of course supply and demand.
An XCR-M has a synthetic pistol grip and stock, Is it worth $2500? What makes it worth more? The fact that Rob Arms has a sketchy track record with the XCR-L doesn't win me over. I like the XCR and have shot a few of the -L models and handled an -M (will shoot it soon) and they are good rifles but I don't see anything that puts them ahead of the RFB. It is about a pound heavier and quite a bit longer though so I don't think it will be as nice to hunt with.
Several reasons?
1) same materials. Plastic and steel.
2)Fully modular? There are no barrel conversion kits available for the XCR-M either. Kel-Tec has talked about conversion kits as well and the barrel can be changed.
3)Yep. Non restricted. same again.
4)More support? What are you smokin? Have you read a single post anywhere talking about Kel-Tec not standing behind their product and correcting any issue someone had in a very timely manner? Not me but I sure have heard alot of whining about the support that people received from Rob Arms with the XCR-L.
5)More all around purpose? I don't see anything one can do that the other can't. Both can accept high capacity mags if we were allowed to use them and both can be hunted with across Canada. Am I missing something here?
Your on crack if you think this rifle only cost $400 to build.
The R&D that went into this gun? Do some research. This rifle was in the planning and development stage for years before they released it. It has a very innovative ejection system that so far for mine has worked perfectly.
The rifle is made of military grade steel and has a synthetic stock. People pay more than what an RFB costs on an AR. So is an AR made if sub par materials because they have a synthetic stock, pistol grip and forend? My AR's have more plastic than my RFB. Firearms with polymer parts are good enough for police and military units around the world.
My Desert Tactical SRS in 338 Lapua has a synthetic pistol grip and a couple other pieces and it cost over $7000. Is it made of sub par materials? It will shoot a 0.72" group at 300 yards with factory ammo and has been sub MOA with everything I've put through it. Worth every penny to me.
If they were to build the RFB with a wood stock do you think it would be a better rifle? I wouldn't want one.
If they are not worth the money why are people selling them on the EE for more than the cost of a new one and selling them quickly? Why is there still a waiting list to get a new one at almost every shop in Canada?
The rifle is worth what the market is willing to pay not what you think it's worth.
This one is obviously worth more than the $2500 I paid for mine new because they are still selling faster than Kel-Tec can build them.
Go ahead and wait to find one for $1300. You will be waiting an awfully long time.
If you don't like plastic then stay off the black and green rifles forum because that's all your going to find here.