Anyone fired a Kel Tec R50 "Sport Utility Rifle"?

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I made a rule for myself a few years ago,,,
I won't buy anything centerfire until,,,
I also have the cash for 1K rounds.

This was after I bought a nice .32 ACP pistol,,,
And didn't shoot it for almost a year,,,
After that first box of 50 rounds.

So, at $19.95 for 50 rounds,,,
I need about $400 for the rifle,,,
And another $400 for ammunition.

I'm waffling because the LAST thing I need is another rifle.

Aarond

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I can now say I've fired the Kel-Tec R50 and it's a hoot! I just got it yesterday and only fired one mag thru it.

Weird thing about firing it... I was wearing muff-type hearing protection and it sounded like it was suppressed. I almost couldn't hear the actual gunshot...mostly just the action cycling. I've never heard a gun that sounded like this one before. Anyway...

It functioned perfectly. The little folding stock is surprisingly sturdy. It doesn't lock in place when folded...just pull it and it rotates out and easily locks in place. It will fold right or left and the gun can be fired and manipulated with the stock folded. Of course, there's very little recoil so staying on target should be a breeze. Hard to say since the very crude sights are pretty useless while using the stock.

The trigger is typical Kel-Tec...not great, but functional. It breaks at a little over 6 lbs. Reset is pretty positive and follow up shots feel much better on the trigger since there's none of the initial take-up. Some of the plastic controls have some sharp edges...like the charging handle. It'll bite if you're not careful while manipulating it.

But those magazines... The R50 comes with 2. They're made by ProMag. They work but they suck to load. Part of it was a learning process to figure out the easiest way to load them. The other part is the mags are made by ProMag. I've heard the FN mags are much easier to load, but of course they're 4 times as much as the ProMags. I'm gonna order some AR57 brand mags which are said to be damn near as good as the FN mags at about $25 each...about 1/2 price of the FN mags.

I could see this being an outstanding choice for a "go anywhere" rifle. When it's folded up it's pretty doggone small. And it's light at 5 lbs 5 oz with a loaded, 50 round magazine.

Like most things Kel-Tec, it's different. I like it, but some won't...because it's a Kel-Tec.
 
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I've read in other reviews that it is a quiet rifle,,,
Which would be good in any home defense situation.

As far as the sights go,,,
It seems a perfect platform for a wide view reflex sight.

It's not like it's going to be a long range hunter,,,
I would imagine that 50 yards would be close to it's practical limit.

Ammo prices aren't bad either,,,
sgammo has FMJ range fodder for $27.95 per box of 50.

But,,,
I'll just read about others who own one,,,
At this stage in my life I have absolutely no need for one.

Aarond

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Bye-bye, ProMags... These are as good and easy to load as OEM FN mags at half the price. Game-changer for this rifle.


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I won't buy one as I've stated before,,,
I have absolutely no use for the weapon,,,
After I fired a few hundred rounds through it,,,
The gun would probably sit idle in my gun cabinet.

But, if anyone here ever does buy one of these rifles,,,
And if you live anywhere near where I live,,,
I'll buy you 200 rounds of ammo for it,,,
If you'll let me shoot 100 of them.

Not an idle offer,,,
I will truly follow through.

Aarond

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So...about those ProMags...

I took one apart just to see if maybe there was something I could do to make it work better. I didn't see anything obvious so I put it back together. Whatever happened when I reassembled it made it work perfectly. So I tried loading the other ProMag magazine that came with the rifle. Same issue...really hard to load. I took it apart and reassembled it with the same results. Works perfectly now. I have no idea what I did differently and didn't notice anything unusual when I took the parts out.

The only thing I can think of is the follower was maybe put in wrong when they were assembled. Like a dummy I didn't really pay attention to how they were placed on the spring when I took them apart. But I did use one of the AR57 mags as a template to reassemble the ProMags.

Weird...
 

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