timing is everything

Well, as you all know, I just put money down on an M1A SOCOM II. I phrase it as such not due to any financial difficulties on my part in actually purchasing the firearm, but due to the fact of Kalifornistan laws, I cannot actually touch the item I already paid for until this coming Wednesday. I love living here. Really, I do. Regardless, I am not likely to be acquiring any more hardware for quite some time, so this post has nothing to do with purchasing anything.
However, as I was browsing the ‘net today, I came across this (*.pdf file, so be prepared). Now, as regular readers will know, I do not hold Kel-Tec hardware in remarkably high esteem… too much flimsy-feeling plastic, and due to that, their SU-16CA just feels inordinately cheap, in every sense of the word. Yes, I understand that polymers are the future of firearms. That does not stop it from feeling like a gorramed Tupperware gun, and given the choice between a 1911 and a .45 Glock, I will always go for the former. If nothing else, I can beat you to death with the damned thing.
All of that said… the RFB actually looks like an interesting firearm. First, it is a bullpup. What does that mean to you, the shooter? A longer barrel, in the same-sized rifle you are used to. And, as we all know, longer barrels equal both higher accuracy, and more power. Basically, the barrel of the rifle extends past the primary grip, through the stock, and even into the butt of the firearm. The magazine plugs into the butt, and there you go. So for an overall length of 26 inches, you get an 18 inch barrel – that equates both a longer barrel, and a shorter overall, than my M1A. Shiny already. Second, it fires NATO 7.62mm rounds. I chose the M1A for a reason, and only part of that was looks. Anything that fires .308 Winchester rounds makes me happy, especially when it is in as compact a form as this thing. Third, its ejection method is… unique. Yeah, so the P90 was unique too, what is your point? Well, the P90 had a bottom-ejection system, which certainly saves the user from brass spraying all over the place, down shirts, into arms, etc. The RFB has a forward ejection system. Yeah, the casing comes out the front end of the firearm. You definitely need to check out the pictures, as well as the video, to see this thing in action, but it is interesting, and accomplishes the same end result. No doubt about that. I am not too sure how I feel about it… what if the tube gets fouled? And the casings look like they stack up inside… it would suck to get a jam in there. For that matter, how do you clear failure to feed or failure to eject problems? How do you identify them? An interesting idea, but it could definitely have problems.
There are other advances to this design as well, but I find it intriguing that such a revolutionary design is being produced by a completely-American manufacturer, and that it seems to be designed specifically for civilian users – not the military. Cheap-feeling construction or not, this Kel-Tec design is certainly something to keep your eye on. If nothing else, the company has a record of making affordable, relatively durable firearms, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that (so long as you can get past the polymers).
In other news, I need to find things other than firearms to write about. Getting to be too much of a habit.