I figured that with my recent purchase, I should do a small review for FalFiles. It's not going to be too extensive, but should give any prospective buyers an idea of what they're in for.
First off, the rifle is compact, very compact. I put a pic of me holding it so you can see the scale of it compared to me. I'm about 6'2" This bullpup has also been outfitted with an aftermarket foreward grip, which in my opinion is absolutely necessary for faster follow up shots and generally being content with controlling it. Although to be quite honest, you can shoot the rifle with one arm, as most of the weight is right over or behind your controlling arm.
The first bit of praise goes to the RFB's trigger, which feels EXTREMELY light, although it breaks at about 6lbs. It isn't a mushy feeling FS2000 type, more more like an AR15, although you can feel the plastic components a bit. But IMO, this rifle should be the model for all future bullpup triggers. It's fantastic!
The rifle handles quite well also. Although in quick mag changes, you will definitely be fumbling a bit with the rifle compared to an AR15. I had to pull the rifle off shoulder, twist the mag towards me, hit the release to drop the empty, then move a fresh mag into place. With more practice, I'm sure I'll speed up, but I'm not quite sure how I'll be able to maintain the barrel and my eyes on target.
Ergonomics are also outstanding. There's not much to say that isn't good, so I'll just give you the one bit of bad. The rear of the stock tended to come off my shoulder and move up a bit, which could bring an optic into contact with your eye. Ask me how I know! But the recoil was managable and not too stout.
You do know you're shooting a 7.62, but the gun never really jumps too terribly. I was able to put a full mag down range on iron plates in about 30 seconds with all but 3 hitting the plates.
The optic I used was a Leupold 1-3x CQ/B, which I also believe to be perfect for this setup. I had the rifle at 1x for most of the shooting session and found follow up shots were much quicker. At about 50 yards, the rifle after firing would come off target about 4" up and 5" right and quickly settled back in, due to the size and controllability of the bullpup design. I believe a compensator would also make a big difference in keeping on target. But again, being that this is a bullpup design, I would want a MB to divert gases forward, since the end of the barrel is pretty close to your face.
The RFB also uses FAL mags which is nice since most of us have a bunch. I had no failures to feed or any other problems with the mags or rifle.
Accuracy testing wasn't done yet, I didn't use a bench at all. But again, at 50 yards, at 3x on the scope, I was hitting shotgun casings. I believe this will make a relatively accurate gun once I do some accuracy testing on it.
Some of the interesting features are that the gun does not throw the brass, it has controlled extraction and throws the casings down a tube above the barrel ala FS2000. This also makes for a bit of a problem. After firing your last round, the bolt will retain the last fired brass and could appear to be a live case upon quick inspection. A friend pointed this out to me and caught me a bit embarassed when I tabled the rifle after shooting it.
Also, the sheet metal above the barrel tends to heat up slightly after 2 mags and if it weren't 35 degrees and windy, I think the rifle can get a bit toasty. But thats my speculation, not confirmed fact.
If you guys are able to get your hands on one, this is a VERY nice rifle, made much better than the Kel Tec reputation that most of us think about. I personally believe it's worth at least the MSRP and if you can grab one at that price, buy two! I've seen the Gunbroker gun going steadily higher and now I know why - this rifle is truly a work of art.
