I’ve almost pushed the submit button on my order but can’t figure out which one I should get… anybody have one or both can give me your thoughts on the pros and cons for them?

Front eject is better for opposite side shooting. That's pretty much it's only advantage. However, it's more complicated, more difficult to check clear, more difficult to clear jams and theoretically more likely to jam.

The side eject was created because they had problems with the front eject. Unless you plan to do a lot of opposite side shooting (left side if you shoot right handed, right side if you are a lefty), get the side eject.

I have a Micron with the side eject (I don't think you can even get it in forward eject) and 20" forward eject in both 5.56 and 308. I haven't shot mine much, but no problems with the front eject so far. However if I were to do it all over again, I'd get the side eject on everything.

Side Ejection is ONLY on the 556 guns.

It was not created because of any issues with forward eject..It was created because some people wanted a simpler ejection solution that was easy to chamber check.


Everything else,all the other calibers, are forward ejection. Thats 300blk, 308 and 6.5 Cm in 16 and 20inch barrels.

Also.. Dont listen to anyone who says there aren't issues with Side ejection..They exist, that feature just isn't as talked about much as the forward eject models.

Here was a quick gander on the Reddit of just the folks willing to post SE issues..
https://www.reddit.com/r/DesertTech/comments/13blhp7/mdrx_back_from_rma_dt_claims_that_they_tested_the/
https://www.reddit.com/r/DesertTech/comments/10xay25/double_feed_issues_and_bullet_stuck_rattling/
https://www.reddit.com/r/DesertTech/comments/12k6l9u/mdrx_gas_setting_223_se_20in/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PhY7P8-o2U - This guy was having issues with his..Tho..after its 3rd trip back..seems to work fine now and hes pulled all the bad vids.

Some of these will have other people in the comments section with an issue with their 556 SE MDRx instead of a brand new post.

If I were getting a new MDRX today, I’d choose side eject.  It’s half a pound lighter, and less things that can possibly go wrong.  That said, if you want 7.62, you’re limited to forward eject.

Honestly if you only ever plan to shoot 556 just get a different platform.

Something actually optimized for that round. Like an augy, x95, hellion, etc...

Or...A non military import with a lil bit of drugs and plenty of innovation....The Keltec RDB..

Or ..If you need 308 POWA, The RFB has got you covered.

This one:


Honestly it boggles my mind that anyone who was here through the MDRx "launch" to alpha-testers customers and the CEO's epic customer-blaming meltdown in this very forum would ever consider ANY Desert Tech product, let alone their MDR family.  

Recent episodes of "Tighten a bolt, face the warranty denial wheel!" solidified that position for me.

Sorry, I have an MDRx. Up until recently it was in 308 so ill comment.

Pros-
Its about average for 308 bullpup wight at 8.7lbs..Overweight in 556 FE @ 8.9lbs and still heaviest 223 bullpup in 16" SE @ 8.3 and now is not ambi.
Gun looks siiiick!
Good trigger.
Ar Style mag release (if you have experience with ARs youll fit right in)
Ar10/15 style Magazine compatibility.
Caliber swaps are decent in changes.
Suppressor friendly

Cons-
Must be very deliberate in your manual charging of the rifle or you will get a malfunction.
RMAs to desert tech are much slower than say..back to Keltec (they are fast and they generally fix it the first time)
Very spendy...Including caliber conversions.
Cant maintain the same zero switching calibers..(A electronic optic could be programed for this..but thats kinda Bougie)
Finger Burner 9000...The Rail section that is on the barrel that separates the aluminum rail from the polymer one..This might single handedly be the reason we don't have an 8.6black or a  sub 11inch barrel in the micron, or a micron 300 blk..
Very rear bias (more so than other bullpups)
Polymer handguards are a bad choice for lasers or BUIS (they move)..But they do keep the weight down..
Recoil in the 308 is higher than any other bullpup in this caliber..So..Leave their brake on unless you have a better one.

Some DT owners talk this gun up without ever shooting it.. Its an expensive rifle and they want it to be all the things..My favorite post still is
"My factory 308 MDRX shoots SUB MOA All DAY" Which has been shown to be not true (outside using a custom barrel) and there's a whole reddit on it for accuracy findings in 308 (Many were mine but not all).

Desert Techs marketing of its accuracy was a lil suspect. The rivalry series does a good job showing how shady that can be sometimes with a .86 moa group only in the 20" barrel. However the 556 was almost consistent with 1ish moa across all barrel lengths (like it should be)
**No the longer barrel isnt actually more accurate**
Desert Techs history of this rifle starts in 2014 and was vaporware up until 2019. (They brought something out they weren't ready to bring to market).
Early MDR (not the current MDRX) struggled with cheap ammo. That is due to the vision DT had about their rifle.. i e "premium rifle means people will shoot premium ammo out of it right?"

Thats currently my favorite 308 bullpup. Been shooting mine for 12 years

On the recommend a dedicated 5.56 platform like the aug.

"Something actually optimized for that round. Like an augy, x95, hellion, etc..."

We don't recommend the Aug right now.  Their QC makes Desert Tech look like a saint.

It appears they switched their stock recipe starting 2/3 years ago and it is making the MDR teething problems look benign.  We are seeing cracked stocks with as little as 500 rounds through it.  Their fixes appear to be a high schooler with a dremel tool.

And we know that they catastrophically fail within a few hundred rounds when the temperature is near freezing.

And to top this all off Steyr has made 0 announcement about this, no improvement plans, no promises of a fix, no root cause analysis.  All we know is they replace the stocks, presumably with a new one using the same recipe.

If you want a new reliable 5.56 rifle, you are better off with an MDRx over an Aug... And that is saying something.

I'm really happy with my X95 and just got a Tavor 7. Both of those probably cost less than my MDRX and all the barrel conversion bits I bought.

Also pretty unhappy with my AUG and cracked stock.

Right now I'd get an X95 or Hellion if you want a reliable 5.56 bullpup.  I am a diehard AUG fanboy but like dmk and FrozenIceman said they are still having issues with cracked stocks.  As much as I love that gun I can't recommend them right now until the stock issues are fixed.  It's disappointing to see.  I sold my AUG and got an X95.

If you want a 308 bullpup I'd look hard at the Tavor 7.  Super reliable, built like a tank, and mine was shooting 1 MOA with 168gr match ammo.

I'd say take a look at the Rfb.

I'm averaging 1.5moa using match ammo and only using a 3x prisim scope.

I'd get a Tavor 7 ...

Its next on my list.

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