[44Runner]

Just got my RDB yesterday. I had been wanting to scratch the bullpup itch for quite some time but was never really sold on one until this gun.

I had a catastrophic failure within the first 10 rounds down range that rendered the gun inoperable and was wondering if anyone else has had this issue. I searched the forum and could not find any mention of it. Needless to say, this is pretty frustrating after dropping a grand on this gun.

Basically, the top of the ejection port shielding got bent in and hung up the bolt. The metal that goes around the port is now tweaked so the gun will not function because it is in the way of the bolt.

I thought it was odd that this piece is not welded where it meets up. Is this like that on everyone else's gun as well? This allowed the piece to squeeze in on itself and hang the bolt up. I will contact Keltec to see what they suggest, but I was planning to remove the shielding and TIG weld that joint so it can no longer do that and then straighten the bent portion and hope for the best.

Aside from a quick field strip to allow me to get the bolt off the port shielding, I have not taken the gun completely apart to allow me to remove this particular part. Let me know what you guys think...

 

[gderf]

Pictures would be helpful.

I picked my new RDB up yesterday but haven't shot it yet.

 

[44Runner]

Pictures would be helpful.

I picked my new RDB up yesterday but haven't shot it yet.

Yes, they probably would be!

Congrats on your new gun. I sure hope your experience is different than mine.


This is looking from the bottom of the gun up through the ejection port. As you can see, where the port shielding has been bent and then meets up with itself is not welded together allowing it to bend in too far if it manages to slide past the other section.

This is from the top of the port. You can see even better how the port has folded in too far on itself, you can also see the dent where the bolt made contact on the left side. Initially this bend was way worse but I bent it out some. When it happened, the top sides of the port were touching. I can actually bend it out to get the bolt to cycle, but the first dry fire the hammer dislodges it and it goes back to what you see here.

This is another angle to get the full picture.

It is alarming to me that this piece would be made in such a way to allow this to even happen. I mean I MIGHT have gotten 10 rounds down range before this happened. Very disappointing. My big question is if everyone's gun is built in this same fashion? Even if Keltec were to send me a new part, I think I would still weld that seam up to make the part stronger. The problem is not everybody has a TIG welder in their garage and I would hate to think this is actually supposed to be like this...

 

[gderf]

Thanks for the pics. That's pretty ugly.

I am going to pull mine apart and examine it to see if it is flawed like yours seems to be. My RDB is serial number Z1135. I am curious to learn is yours is close to mine - if so it may be a problem for an entire production run.

Edit: Mine looks like it would be susceptible to the same failure. Let us know what Kel-Tec says about this and how they resolved it for you.

 

[44Runner]

Thanks for the pics. That's pretty ugly.

I am going to pull mine apart and examine it to see if it is flawed like yours seems to be. My RDB is serial number Z1135. I am curious to learn is yours is close to mine - if so it may be a problem for an entire production run.

Edit: Mine looks like it would be susceptible to the same failure. Let us know what Kel-Tec says about this and how they resolved it for you.

I believe my serial is Z1858 or something around there.

Like I said, if this is standard, I will weld that seam and hope for the best.

I just need to disassemble to remove the piece to straighten it effectively and clamp it up to weld it.

I would love to see pictures of an undamaged port to make sure I repair it properly.

 

[gderf]

I wonder how far you have to disassemble that housing to remove and replace that part. Maybe you will get lucky and you can remove the rear screws and spread the halves far enough. But if you have to fully disassemble it, it could get ugly - many, many parts lots of them spring loaded.

I might go proactive on this and fabricate a piece of sheet metal to serve as a full width doubler that covers the seam and stick it on with some epoxy, so long as I can do it without having to take the thing apart. But it would probably pop off if the bolt came back and hit it like yours did.

I'll be hitting the range next week. Fingers crossed.

 

[TxCajun]

I'd email the pics to KT service, with your written explanation, and ask them to forward to an RDB Tech for feedback.

 

[st381]

I wouldn’t do anything but send it back for warrantied service.

 

[IamScotticus]

I wouldn’t do anything but send it back for warrantied service.

+1
I am inclined to think this damage previously existed when you received the rifle and you didn't do anything to cause it.
I had an assembly flaw on my fist RDB, different issue, but still an overlooked detail.
KT has been very good at repair turnaround. I suppose you would get a new lower.
You might even be able to do a lower swap.

 

[44Runner]

I'd email the pics to KT service, with your written explanation, and ask them to forward to an RDB Tech for feedback.

I would have done that first thing but obviously they are closed which is why I came here. I just sent them a link to this thread. I don't feel like typing all that out again.

I wouldn’t do anything but send it back for warrantied service.

The problem I have is that I feel this piece should be manufactured differently. Sure I could send them the gun but it would come back with the same flawed piece and I would worry about having the same problem. I am not saying that they won't get the gun, I am just weighing my options.

Also, my gun made it out of their factory and managed to die within 10 shots. There might be a larger problem at work here. If I service what appears to be a relatively easy to fix part and then take it to the range and the same problem happens again, I will know this is not simply a problem with the ejection port but something else entirely. This could potentially save me the trouble of sending it in to fix the port, and then turning around and having to send it in again for whatever the larger problem may be.

+1
I am inclined to think this damage previously existed when you received the rifle and you didn't do anything to cause it.
I had an assembly flaw on my fist RDB, different issue, but still an overlooked detail.
KT has been very good at repair turnaround. I suppose you would get a new lower.
You might even be able to do a lower swap.

I definitely don't think I "caused it" because all I did was insert a loaded mag and slowly fire a few rounds pausing to sight in my optic after each shot. This is definitely a factory defect.

 

[44Runner]

So, on to the fun stuff!

Spoiler alert, I do have larger issues...

I removed the ejection port. It was pretty simple. First I removed the mag release by simply reaching in the mag well with a finger and pressing on the catch allowing me to grab it and move it forward and then, while applying forward pressure to keep it from reseating itself, I repeated the process on the other side. The release slides right out. You don't even really need tools.

Next I removed the rear most 2 screws at the back of the port and the 3 in front of it. I did this for both sides of the receiver. This allowed me enough room to simply slide the ejection port out of the receiver. You don't need to spread it a lot to get it out, maybe 3/4" at the very back of the receiver.

So I straightened the port out as best I could which is pretty darn straight if I do say so myself. You'd have to look very closely the find any imperfection at all. I then tacked it together. I cleaned the piece and I didn't use any filler, just heated it at the butt joint. 3 tiny tacks above the little hole and 3 below. Anybody looking to do this, about 13 amps was the magic number.

After re-installation, with a straight port it was even more clear that what I feared was the case was actually the case. The hammer in my gun is NOT straight. That is why when I would position the port in the right place I could rack the gun. But like I mentioned earlier, when I would dry fire the hammer interacted with the port and would knock it out of place again. I noticed this before, but with everything out of wack inside, I wanted to be sure. I think it is likely that the hammer was the problem from the very start. I grabbed a couple photos of the reassembled gun to illustrate the problem.

Here you can see on the right of the picture (which would be the left side of the hammer because this is from the front of the gun) that the hammer rubs on the left side of the ejection port. That left leg of the hammer appears to be tweaked a bit.

Here, looking from the back you can see the issue as well and you can also make out that when the hammer is fully up, it actually isn't straight. The right side sits more forward. Basically the hammer is totally out of whack. Due to its quick strike and it hitting that left side when it comes up, I am betting that is what dislodged the port. Once the butt joint was hit enough to allow it to squeeze past the other side of the port where it meets, the hammer then pushed it right in the path of the bolt causing the failure.

I am betting that your hammers are all perfectly straight and don't interact with the ejection port at all, right?

On the plus side, my gun does function once again. With the port welded together I can rack and then dry fire and the gun continues to cycle. If I have time, I will talk with Keltec Monday to discuss the issue with them. Because the lower receiver is not actually the serialize portion of the gun, it should make dealing with this issue much easier. As iamscottasus mentioned, I might even be able to simply have them send me a new lower and then send this one back to them. This is my very first Keltec, but I have been around guns for quite some time and I have heard nothing but good things about Keltec service from my friends that have owned them. If I had heard otherwise, I likely would not have bought this gun in the first place. I wonder if this issue might convince them that welding those ports together is a good idea. It takes less than a minute of actual welding time.

 

[gderf]

Thanks for the very detailed report. I am going to take my brand new unfired RDB apart again and look more closely at it for a non-centered hammer.

 

[44Runner]

Thanks for the very detailed report. I am going to take my brand new unfired RDB apart again and look more closely at it for a non-centered hammer.

You're welcome. Based on my experience I would say that is a good idea.

 

[gderf]

It's easy enough to do, except for the one take down pin that needs a hammer tap to get started.

And do let us know what Kel-Tec does for you on this. Hopefully they will pay the shipping both ways and throw you a couple of free mags for your trouble.

 

[44Runner]

It's easy enough to do, except for the one take down pin that needs a hammer tap to get started.

And do let us know what Kel-Tec does for you on this. Hopefully they will pay the shipping both ways and throw you a couple of free mags for your trouble.

I will and I hope so too....or maybe a free RFB, lol

 

[gderf]

I think you meant RFB. I have one of those too and I bought some accessories for it from Kel-Tec, including a few 20 and 10 round mags.

There was a problem with the 10 rounders, so Kel-Tec replaced them and paid the shipping both ways. They also threw me a free 20 rounder for my troubles. Nice touch and I wasn't expecting that.

 

[44Runner]

I think you meant RFB. I have one of those too and I bought some accessories for it from Kel-Tec, including a few 20 and 10 round mags.

There was a problem with the 10 rounders, so Kel-Tec replaced them and paid the shipping both ways. They also threw me a free 20 rounder for my troubles. Nice touch and I wasn't expecting that.

I did, corrected. I am very much on the fence about that rifle and now even more so due to my experience here. I think it is super cool but my main hangup is that I don't own anything in .308 and I am not sure I want to add a new caliber to my collection, no matter how cool the gun is.

 

[gderf]

My one word description of the RFB: vicious

My experience with the RFB was such that I did not hesitate to buy an RDB. I just waited to buy (both rifles) until the price became more reasonable.

 

[IamScotticus]

throw you a couple of free mags for your trouble.

Get a few firing pins. You'll need them.

 

[gderf]

I wonder why the link for the RDB parts page at kel-tec is disabled?