Been wanting a 308 bullpup for a while and while it was a market of one for a while, I never jumped, but think I'm finally ready to do it. I don't mind kel tec and understand you aren't getting a battle proven MBR with one, but my question is, do I grab a new (2nd gen) RFB now for $1300 or wait on a MDR to finally come out for $2500?

I have fal mags and prefer 18" barrels for 308s, but you know... kel tec. Which again, I don't mind, but if the desert tech is going to be that much more robust and trustworthy, which we don't know for sure that they will be, it's hard not to wait even though it's a higher initial price, have to buy all new mags, and it's not my ideal barrel length.

Uses are for sporting fun. Toss in the truck as I drive to the cabin, pot shot some coyotes... I want to be able to trust it, but that doesn't mean I have to trust my life to it if you get the distinction.

Thoughts?

I still love my Gen1 RFB, had it since they came out (sub-500 SN), zero issues that weren't cheap surplus mag related.
That said, if the MDR was available at the time I might have saved up the difference and gone that way instead.
There is also the New .308 M17S from K&M.  Not as pretty as the MDR, and not ambidextrous, but it's all aluminum if that means anything to you.

Ooo hadn't seen the k&M. Interesting.

Just have a hard time thinking I wouldn't like the rfb for what I'd want to do with it.

For what you say you want it for, the RFB is perfect!  Really regret selling mine, but needs must when the family is hungry. I will have one again someday!  As for the MDR, I have one payed for on preorder and can't wait for it to come out!

I'd personally lean towards the K&M, seems to be shooting around 1 MOA and is considered to have the best factory bullpup trigger around (3-5lbs)

K&M forum has good info:
http://bullpupforum.com/index.php?board=49.0

And the RDB forum as well:
http://bullpupforum.com/index.php?board=5.0

A question is, do you already have a 5.56 bullpup? For the activities you describe (truck gun, coyotes, general shooting use) I think 5.56 Pup might be a better option. Less blast, recoil, and most importantly - much cheaper to feed. Browsing SGAmmo just now, and even 70's era .308 surplus is over $0.50 a shot, and most higher quality ammo is running in the $0.60-$0.70. Reloading will bring the cost down, but still around the cost of factory loaded .223.

A 75gr 0.373BC @2600 ft/s is still pushing 500 ft/lbs at 400 yards, which should still be viable for a coyote.

For me, .308 would really be more of a 400+ yard gun, of larger hunting / fighting robots type rifle.

That K&M looks nice. I would take that over the other offerings. Now if KelTec would make the RDB style with the downward ejecting in .308, I would be looking into that. Maybe SHOT wont let us down.

Don't wait on vaporware. If you know you want the platform get the best of what's available and re-evaluate when a better nicer or different option comes out.

I've played too many waiting games.

Stupid Washington state still has caliber minimums on yotes last I remember. And yeah ammo price has kept my fal in the safe but ya know, that almost works in the kel tecs favor by not abusing it too much lol. I am looking at the k&M to see what it's all about but have been burned enough times on buying and shipping something in before ever holding it that the k&M and MDR make me nervous for that. I agree on the vapor ware thing. Half of why I'm ready to pull the trigger is because my local shop finally has a rfb. I never seem to win when I resell something so am willing to buy once cry once with this if it's going to be around for a while. Just hard to make decisions when all the options are new, untested and/or unproven.

Looked it up and Coyotes are not considered game, and can be hunted with any caliber in Washington:

"In order to hunt coyotes in Washington State, a valid small game or big game hunting license is required (RCW 77.32.010). Coyotes are unclassified wildife and are not regulated by WDFW. Since they are unclassified, any weapon may be used to hunt them. There is no bag limit and coyotes can be hunted year round.

Hunting or pursuing coyotes with dogs is prohibited.

Coyotes may be hunted at night EXCEPT during the months of September, October, or November in any area open to a centerfire rifle deer or elk season."

http://wdfw.wa.gov/help/questions/17/Do+I+need+a+hunting+license+to+hunt+coyotes+in+Washington%3F+

Sweet, haven't had the chance to for a while. Could have been mule deer I was thinking of, but regardless yeah I'm in the market for a 308

Well if you're set on the .308, I'd go with the K&M. Super cool gun, and since there's not very many of them out there in the wild, you'll retain better re-sale / trade value over the Kel-Tec.

Kel-Tec is paradoxically a) the most innovative firearms manufacturer in the US and b) the one with the most quality control issues.

George Kellgren in the John Moses Browning of our time, but Kel-Tec has not been able to fully realize his ingenious designs due to the QC and manufacturing processes. It's frankly pretty maddening.

I had an early rfb and didn't have any issues with it other than still being obnoxious when suppressed. I've had a 308 mdr preordered since they were first announced.

That and how Kel Tec chooses to expand. Yeah, they've gotten bigger certainly. And Kel Tec has taken steps/gotten certified to some standards for QC sake. From my understanding, KT is very strict on how they expand. Won't borrow money to do it. Which is admirable. But it also slows things down a lot. More money would probably help with QC issues too.

Hopefully now after this unprecedented election upset and the control of house, senate, and soon the house, the hugely reduced risk of a new AWB will convince them to roll the dice on a business loan.

Had a Gen 1 RFB and never had a problem. Only reason I got rid of it was I traded it and a little cash for a Steyr Aug.

I had an early Gen 1 RFB and I had to send it back due to a headspace issue.  I got it back fairly quick and never had any further problems with it, to be honest it didn't see a lot of use though.  I sold it to fund my first 50 BMG otherwise I would have kept it.  I am currently anxiously waiting for my Desert Tech MDR and I a confident it will be the cat's ass.  If you can afford it and are willing to wait a little I would go with the MDR.

Whatever you do wait till after shot show to make your decision.
The keltec is available and getting cheaper, the mdr is a  if unknown but we should hear more on the 17th. The KM seems to be going well. Really who knows what will pop up on the 17th. The MDR is now up in price with after the 10th the price raise in now in effect. I think the mdr has the possibility to be a amazing firearm but so many companies have worked on a promising platform that really never worked out. I do have a pre order and hope for the best but if iwi releases a .308 I will say goodbye. The KM has been around a bit but I still haven't seen much testing and it's been a little low profile. Right now you can have 2 of them and in that order I would do km then keltec if the mdr is what it proclaimes to be it would be worth waiting but who knows.

I have the 5.56 caliber bullpup niche filled by my Steyr Aug. I tried the Tavor and I didn't like it and sold it at a loss. I now want a .308 bullpup. I tried the KelTec RFB and bought a 1st generation after a year wait. Right out of the box I had a spent shell casing jam in the ejection chute. The casing apparently expanded from heat and lodged in the chute. Contacted KelTec and they sent a brand new enlarged shell ejection chute. That corrected that problem. The next issue wasn't a faulty firearm, just a design that the magazine well would not accept drum magazines. I also noticed that with OEM FN FAL magazines the RFB cycled perfectly. With after market magazines made by DSA would only fire one round and not chamber the next round. This was consistent with four or five brand new DSA magazines that I had. I also didn't like the disassembly procedure with several push pins that released the upper receiver/barrel assembly while still attached to the lower like an accordion. I sold the RFB. I have a pre-paid order for a Desert Tech MDR. If it functions any where near as described, it will be better than any other bullpup available in .308.