Kel-Tec RDB FAQ Post

rifleman762 said:
So you're saying there's a chance! ;-) Is the barrel easily removable like an AR15?
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The barrel assembly is its own modular component and the rest of the rifle is essentially pinned to it. You'd have to remove the pins that secure the Gas Block and Grip Mount, along with remove the barrel extension and nut. It wouldn't be for the faint of heart.

If you had your own machine shop and plenty of time on your hands, I'm sure you could do it. But it doesn't look like an easy or cheap project to take on, especially if you're only likely to see a faint improvement in accuracy out of the investment in time and money.
 
jamesD83 said:
I can confirm the RDB firing pins can break. I bought a RDB from G4C sports and had it only a few months before the firing pin broke. They sent me to North Sylva, but they didn't have replacements. I wish I bought it through a store that deals with Vault. It's been over a year and North Sylva and G4C still haven't helped me get a replacement part on a $1500 rifle
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Hmm... this was not what I wanted to read. At the range yesterday I pulled the trigger and got no bang. No indication on the primer of any impact. I did a quick field strip and found the very tip of the firing pin is missing/broken off. Is there no parts support in Canada? Seems KelTec doesn't ship to Canada and the big names in parts in the states (Numrich, Brownells) don't carry anything for the RDB
 
There is a dealer in the states that has them and they ship to Canada. For some reason my post to the site gets censored. Message me I guess?



DiMP said:
Hmm... this was not what I wanted to read. At the range yesterday I pulled the trigger and got no bang. No indication on the primer of any impact. I did a quick field strip and found the very tip of the firing pin is missing/broken off. Is there no parts support in Canada? Seems KelTec doesn't ship to Canada and the big names in parts in the states (Numrich, Brownells) don't carry anything for the RDB
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Milofficer said:
The barrel assembly is its own modular component and the rest of the rifle is essentially pinned to it. You'd have to remove the pins that secure the Gas Block and Grip Mount, along with remove the barrel extension and nut. It wouldn't be for the faint of heart.

If you had your own machine shop and plenty of time on your hands, I'm sure you could do it. But it doesn't look like an easy or cheap project to take on, especially if you're only likely to see a faint improvement in accuracy out of the investment in time and money.
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Some world shooter did it cause he competed with the RDB, swapped the barrel with a match 23” barrel with custom high post front sight on it... lol he did not mention what it would have cost. I’m guessing kel-tek or another sponsor had it done for him.
 
Foxer2373 said:
Some world shooter did it cause he competed with the RDB, swapped the barrel with a match 23” barrel with custom high post front sight on it... lol he did not mention what it would have cost. I’m guessing kel-tek or another sponsor had it done for him.
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He's the KelTec™ Shooting Team Captain Joe Easter. He ran the RDB and won Silver in the Standard Division of the 2019 IPSC Rifle World Shoot. Being the captain of the team, I'm pretty sure that Kel-Tec would pretty much build whatever he wanted.
 
KePet said:
He's the KelTec™ Shooting Team Captain Joe Easter. He ran the RDB and won Silver in the Standard Division of the 2019 IPSC Rifle World Shoot. Being the captain of the team, I'm pretty sure that Kel-Tec would pretty much build whatever he wanted.
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He also ran with a specially extended version of their MLOK handguard, so that would seem to be the case.
 
Milofficer said:
[*]From Vault: Some firing pins can be a bit on the brittle side. It is highly recommended that you do not dry fire your RDB unless you are using a Snap Cap that cushions the tip of the firing pin. Dry firing can shorten the life of the firing pin dramatically. It is good practice to check on the firing pin when cleaning. Contact Vault if you need a replacement.
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Anyone get a spare from Vault?

Cheers
Jay
 
Ugh, a firing pin issue is among the problems I least want with a rifle. Isn't that usually a sign of improper heat treatment instead of a poor design? Neither situation is good but in the case of poor heat treatment how do you know the next firing pin you install is properly done?
 
wallythacker said:
Ugh, a firing pin issue is among the problems I least want with a rifle. Isn't that usually a sign of improper heat treatment instead of a poor design? Neither situation is good but in the case of poor heat treatment how do you know the next firing pin you install is properly done?
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well that answer a question i did not want to really ask. i will keep on the tavor side.
 
medvedqc said:
well that answer a question i did not want to really ask. i will keep on the tavor side.
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Tavor costs double that of an RDB and even more in order to be useful for a leftie. The RDB is the best for lefties and the price is totally reasonable. The RDB also has the best trigger of all the bullpups.
 
I Dont Care About You said:
Tavor costs double that of an RDB and even more in order to be useful for a leftie. The RDB is the best for lefties and the price is totally reasonable. The RDB also has the best trigger of all the bullpups.
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well if you can find an rdb for 1200 canadian pesos feel free to let me know. i got the tavor already left handed and extra bolt for the double of that price ...
 
This should be stickied.

I just saw this thread now and since I just bought an RBD I could have used this info earlier! Good job.
 
I sold my Tavor in favour of the RDB. I’ve had it for several years and it’s seen 2000+ rounds with no issues. Maybe in the “long term” I’ll come to regret it, but I prefer the rdb in almost every way
 
medvedqc said:
do you care to expand a little more?
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Sure, anything specific you want me to cover? Overall the rdb had a much better trigger and ergonomics in my opinion, especially after I added the lucky Irishman hand guard. My Tavor would have light strikes with 5.56, my rdb has eaten anything I've thrown at it. I hate using the thick rubber pad on the tavor with armour (simple fix I know but worth a mention). I found the recoil impulse much smoother on the rdb and really like having infinite gas adjustment options (this is likely why I can get it to fire all ammo reliably). I have found my rdb in particular to be really accurate. With hand loads I have shot sub moa, otherwise I'm seeing 1-2 moa (seems to like pmc bronze the best of any factory ammo). My tavor wasn't inaccurate by any means, but the best I could get consistently was 2-3 moa. I never got around to changing anything on my tavor, other than putting an optic on it. Maybe with some changes it would've been a different story.

Now as for why I might regret it down the road? I've seen reviews where people say the barrel life sucks on these, or the firing pins are made of glass. I really don't like having no easy access to the chamber or a way to break the gun apart like an ar if I were to get any stoppages. Again, so far no issues but sometimes I worry I'm sitting on a ticking time bomb. It's the only .223/5.56 shooter I have right now so I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. The tavor definitely has a better variety of aftermarket parts, but it has started growing for the rdb. With the lucky irishman and haga defence goodies on it it feels like an entirely different gun. My only other real gripe, and it's really a minor one, is that the rdb is just butt ugly. No matter what I do to it, I still think the tavor is better looking
 
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