I know they're not exactly military surplus, but they kind of fit that market so...

Curiosity has gotten the best of me; are Kel-Tec 5.56 rifles any good? Accurate? Anybody got one and like it?

Reading the Kel-Tec forums, the rifles are not as accurate as AR15s.

They may be lighter and more compact.

I was seriously considering getting one of those Kel Tec SU-16CA rifles, since I don't own any semi-autos or anything chambered for the widely used 5.56mm, but upon reading numerous reviews and forum threads around the net, I decided to pick up an SKS instead.

There were a few things that turned me, the perspective buy off of the rifle. One was that the rifle(s) can be picky about ammo quality, which is to say don't feed it bargain ammo. Two, little things like screws tend to come loose, and the plastic parts aren't the sturdiest. Three, the bi pod lacks integrity and can be flimsy, even coming loose. Four, if you shoot a lot of rounds in one sitting (500 most said) it tends to jam up pretty bad. And five, they tend to cost somewhere in the $600 dollar range, which is a lot of money for something that you can't roll around in the mud with. I admit, I'm a rookie, but it seems to me so far that as you go up in price, you go down in durability, in general, there are exeptions.

Any way, I'm just letting you know about the result of my quest for a Kel Tec rifle. But since I see that you are in Texas, and not California, like me, I wonder why you are even thinking about what is essentially a rifle made for those that live in "ban" states. I envy you for being in Texas and being able to purchase a virtually brand new AK47 variant for much less than the cost of the Kel Tec rifles, why not get some selective fire military surplus from A.I.M or Century, for less than the cost of the Kel Tec civilian rifle?

Thank both of you for replying. Plan A was to purchase an AR-15, but I was curious to see what else is out there. Thank you both.

Eduardo,

I have considered purchasing an AK but discounted the idea because no Russian pattern firearm I've ever owned was accurate. Since I have my druthers, I plan to purchase a flattop AR-15 and then possibly an AR-10 later this year to match it.

Take care,

Welll, if you go AR15 then you pretty much win. Although the watered down ones here in California cost upwards of $1,100. How much are they in the Lone Star State? AR10, I've been curious about those since they were the original, thought new production ones look nothing like the pictures I've seen of 1950s AR10s. Either way, good choice 5.56mm wise, I'm sure you'll get a hell of a good time out of it. By the way, I've read that Finnish AK variants are decent accuracy wise, as are Galil rifles, which are just high quality AKs. And aren't there FAL variants in 5.56? Either way, post some pics if you get an AR10.

Listen up --

You want a reliable defense gun/carbine/rifle?

AK-47 -- period.

7.62 x 39mm ammo, cheap, plentiful, reliable, potent.

It's a 122 gr. 30 cal. bullet running at circa 2,000 fps, more or less.

AK is designed for war, dirt, dust, blood, crud, rust won't compromise its reliability.

Few parts, simple to maintain.

Cheap, more or less.

I owned a Colt and a Bushmaster AR-15. The AK-47, mine is Romanian, trumps the AR.

Kel-Tec is not even in the "combat arms" camp.

The AK is the gun I want in the trenches, in the blood, mud, crud. Watch the news these days! Look at what the terrorists are shaking in the air.

It's the AK-47.

-- And the bleedin' liberals want to keep law abiding citizens in the USA from having them.

45/70, you pretty much said what I think of the venerable AK. Especially the part about home defense. About a year ago I read in a rifle magazine (can't remember which one) that the ATF found in most cases of sucessful incidents of self defense from an intruder in the home, the home owner used a semi automatic rifle. Not a shot gun, not a handgun. But I think Tex is looking more for a target rifle or plinking type thing, than something for teaching home invasion robber crack heads a valueable lesson regarding the old saying about a man's home being his castle.