Hi, my name is John, and I'm a Fudd. 
Not a Fudd in the way that many youngsters today think of it; I don't begrudge anyone their ownership and enjoyment of AR's, Black Guns or anything else. I've owned (and hunted with, back in the day...) multiple AR's (when they were all Colts), as well as multiples each of SKS, Swiss Arms, CZ858's, and Beretta CX4's; also, single examples of AR180B, Kriss Vector, JR Carbine, Sub2000 and the worst-of-the-worse, the SU16...and probably others that failed to enchant me. The common thread with these guns, right from the least to the most expensive, was clear to me: none of them impressed me enough to make me want to keep them. They all go bang, and some (not all!) go bang/clink by hitting the gong...but they all exhibit some combination of big/heavy/ugly/inaccurate/lousy-trigger/poor-ergonomics/rattly/poorly-suited-for-hunting. Some of them manage to hit all those buttons at the same time! I lost interest in all of them, sometimes within a single range session, but always very quickly. The only ones that make me smile are the more traditional types like the Mini14, Mini30 and M305/M14 clones; but those are so "non-black" that they aren't really in the same category, IMHO.
So in recent years, I haven't even bothered trying the new contenders. Sure, a gun will come along and I think "That's interesting; maybe worth a try?" but then the reviews come out, and I lose interest. The BCL102 showed up, and I was sorely tempted; but the reviews were typical: "Yup, all I did was change the barrel, stock, buffer tube, grip, BCG, extractor, ejector, handguard, charging handle, muzzle device and safety...now she shoots great, right out of the box!" Add to this the fact that I know those ergos just don't work for me for hunting, and I just shake my head and move on. The Modern Hunter called out to me; but, again, why bother? I know I'll just be selling it soon, so...?
But, a few years ago, I picked up and handled a KelTec RFB in a gunshop in Regina. Hmmm...nice. Fairly lightweight, terrific balance, super compact, decent quality feel, and it actually fired a real actual hunting cartridge. What's not to like? I walked away, but it preyed on me and I began to read everything I saw about the gun.
After a few more years, interspersed with bouts of "Why did I buy this thing?" as other flavours-du-jour came and went, I finally decided to try an RFB. There are usually a few on the EE, and I was happy to find one unburdened with aftermarket crap, sold by an established seller at a good price (thanks, Ron!). I found myself uncharacteristically anxious as I awaited its arrival; I don't over-react with ravening fits of fury just because a package takes a day longer that it might have, but I was looking forward to this gun. It came yesterday; by the time I got home from town with the package, it was dark. I played with it, cleaned it a bit, dry-fired at WildTV a bit (very decent trigger) and generally "coon-fingered the crap out of it" as my old man would have said. This morning I took it out back with some ammo to try it out; I had very little time, but just had to make some noise.
After one trigger pull, I felt the clunk of the empty case on my foot, and smiled. I was so enamoured with the compact bullpup configuration, I had forgotten about the dribble-out-the-front ejection. Second trigger pull...click! What the...? I glanced down; it wasn't the case that had hit my foot, it was the magazine; I hadn't latched it properly upon insertion, and the recoil of round #1 had dropped it free. I re-inserted the box properly, racked the action, and began shooting a string of 60 rounds of mixed parentage, just assorted left-overs from other .308 rifles. Everything fed perfectly, fired perfectly, extracted perfectly, and...eventually...ejected perfectly (i.e. dribbled out the front). It took some getting used to the casual rhythm of ejection; sometimes a casing after each shot, then a few shots followed by all those cases at once, and then once firing was completed racking the action one last time and watching the last couple pop out the front. All those empties just lay there in a neat little pile steaming in the snow, rather than flying 20 feet into the weeds to my right. Wow! A semi-auto I can reload for without crawling around like a falling-down drunk looking for empties. What a novel concept!
No time for accuracy testing yet. I was able to see where my shots were going into the snow on the berm, and with each change of ammo I was able to quickly correct my aim and hit the 6-inch 100-yard gong with monotonous regularity. I was using a Trijicon red-dot; can't wait to equip it with a proper scope and mount, and try shooting off a rest to find out what it can do. But it's already obvious to me that this gun will be a hunter come fall.
So...I'm still a Fudd. I still don't own a plate-carrier, I still prefer a dedicated 5-round magazine to a pinned 5/20-rounder and I still don't think a black plastic gun will ever look good next to a blue-and-walnut one...but I am guardedly prepared to admit that this gun might be a keeper.
Not a Fudd in the way that many youngsters today think of it; I don't begrudge anyone their ownership and enjoyment of AR's, Black Guns or anything else. I've owned (and hunted with, back in the day...) multiple AR's (when they were all Colts), as well as multiples each of SKS, Swiss Arms, CZ858's, and Beretta CX4's; also, single examples of AR180B, Kriss Vector, JR Carbine, Sub2000 and the worst-of-the-worse, the SU16...and probably others that failed to enchant me. The common thread with these guns, right from the least to the most expensive, was clear to me: none of them impressed me enough to make me want to keep them. They all go bang, and some (not all!) go bang/clink by hitting the gong...but they all exhibit some combination of big/heavy/ugly/inaccurate/lousy-trigger/poor-ergonomics/rattly/poorly-suited-for-hunting. Some of them manage to hit all those buttons at the same time! I lost interest in all of them, sometimes within a single range session, but always very quickly. The only ones that make me smile are the more traditional types like the Mini14, Mini30 and M305/M14 clones; but those are so "non-black" that they aren't really in the same category, IMHO.
So in recent years, I haven't even bothered trying the new contenders. Sure, a gun will come along and I think "That's interesting; maybe worth a try?" but then the reviews come out, and I lose interest. The BCL102 showed up, and I was sorely tempted; but the reviews were typical: "Yup, all I did was change the barrel, stock, buffer tube, grip, BCG, extractor, ejector, handguard, charging handle, muzzle device and safety...now she shoots great, right out of the box!" Add to this the fact that I know those ergos just don't work for me for hunting, and I just shake my head and move on. The Modern Hunter called out to me; but, again, why bother? I know I'll just be selling it soon, so...?
But, a few years ago, I picked up and handled a KelTec RFB in a gunshop in Regina. Hmmm...nice. Fairly lightweight, terrific balance, super compact, decent quality feel, and it actually fired a real actual hunting cartridge. What's not to like? I walked away, but it preyed on me and I began to read everything I saw about the gun.
After a few more years, interspersed with bouts of "Why did I buy this thing?" as other flavours-du-jour came and went, I finally decided to try an RFB. There are usually a few on the EE, and I was happy to find one unburdened with aftermarket crap, sold by an established seller at a good price (thanks, Ron!). I found myself uncharacteristically anxious as I awaited its arrival; I don't over-react with ravening fits of fury just because a package takes a day longer that it might have, but I was looking forward to this gun. It came yesterday; by the time I got home from town with the package, it was dark. I played with it, cleaned it a bit, dry-fired at WildTV a bit (very decent trigger) and generally "coon-fingered the crap out of it" as my old man would have said. This morning I took it out back with some ammo to try it out; I had very little time, but just had to make some noise.
After one trigger pull, I felt the clunk of the empty case on my foot, and smiled. I was so enamoured with the compact bullpup configuration, I had forgotten about the dribble-out-the-front ejection. Second trigger pull...click! What the...? I glanced down; it wasn't the case that had hit my foot, it was the magazine; I hadn't latched it properly upon insertion, and the recoil of round #1 had dropped it free. I re-inserted the box properly, racked the action, and began shooting a string of 60 rounds of mixed parentage, just assorted left-overs from other .308 rifles. Everything fed perfectly, fired perfectly, extracted perfectly, and...eventually...ejected perfectly (i.e. dribbled out the front). It took some getting used to the casual rhythm of ejection; sometimes a casing after each shot, then a few shots followed by all those cases at once, and then once firing was completed racking the action one last time and watching the last couple pop out the front. All those empties just lay there in a neat little pile steaming in the snow, rather than flying 20 feet into the weeds to my right. Wow! A semi-auto I can reload for without crawling around like a falling-down drunk looking for empties. What a novel concept!
No time for accuracy testing yet. I was able to see where my shots were going into the snow on the berm, and with each change of ammo I was able to quickly correct my aim and hit the 6-inch 100-yard gong with monotonous regularity. I was using a Trijicon red-dot; can't wait to equip it with a proper scope and mount, and try shooting off a rest to find out what it can do. But it's already obvious to me that this gun will be a hunter come fall.
So...I'm still a Fudd. I still don't own a plate-carrier, I still prefer a dedicated 5-round magazine to a pinned 5/20-rounder and I still don't think a black plastic gun will ever look good next to a blue-and-walnut one...but I am guardedly prepared to admit that this gun might be a keeper.
