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Stealth carbine: Kel-Tech's innovative SU-16 folder

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2005 by Jim Gardner

New is the keyword of the firearms industry. Prowl around the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, and you'll notice every booth features a banner or placard heralding that company's "new" offerings.

Often the basic design has been around for years if not decades, and what's new turns out to be only a different finish, a longer or shorter barrel, an additional chambering, etc.

But what you see here does, I think, justify the title of "new." The Kel-Tec SU-16 is a lightweight (five pounds), handy (37.25" OAL) semiauto carbine chambered for the .223 Remington cartridge. It uses readily available AR-15/M-16 magazines, incorporates an integral bipod, caries spare ammunition on board and folds up for travel or stowage to a compact 26" length.

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No, none of those features are new in themselves, but put together they comprise a package the likes of which we've not seen before. And I suspect the SU-16 is destined to become a very popular utility rifle in America.

First, it certainly looks very 21st century. With its all black, glass-filled Zytel construction and angular lines, it looks like something straight from an F-117A Nighthawk pilot's survival kit.

Perhaps mere appearance shouldn't have such an influence on the success or failure of a firearm design, but it does. Case in point? Glock's G-17. Glock fans will tell you how well it performs, but it was its rakish modem appearance that lured many early buyers when it first landed on our shores.

Short and Light

The second point is the handiness factor. I don't know a shooter who doesn't appreciate the short, light, easy carrying GI carbine, but where the carbine falls short is its .30 Carbine chambering.

Ruger fixed that problem by bringing us the Mini-14, which mated the compact dimensions (if a little portlier) of the GI carbine with the flat shooting, low recoiling, inexpensive .223 Remington cartridge. The SU-16 goes the Mini-14 one better by being a full pound and a half lighter and using (thank goodness) good ol' M-16 magazines.

But politics will perhaps give the biggest boost to Kel-Tec's new carbine. Logical competitors such as the collapsible stock ARs, the folding stock FNC and AR-180 etc., are now unavailable due to various regulations. By contrast, the conventional stock style of the SU-16 makes it available even in semiauto-rifle-intolerant California.

Erector Set

The Kel-Tec arrived in a compact little box due to its folding construction. To assemble, pull the stock pin from its stowed position, swing the stock into place and insert the pin. In the working position, the stock is absolutely rigid and the comb offers a good stock weld--nonnegotiable features as far as I'm concerned.

Fieldstripping proved extremely simple with no tools other than a loaded cartridge required. The excellent manual describes the process in close detail along with clear color photographs. One small point easily overlooked is to be certain the bolt head is fully extended from the bolt carrier prior to reassembly. But trust me, even if your VCR clock is still blinking "12:00" you'll have no difficulty fieldstripping this lil' bugger.

It's while the SU-16 is apart you get a better look at the design and construction. The design engineers at Kel-Tec deserve a healthy bonus, or at the very least a steak dinner and a pat on the back. For while they applied their own unique materials and ingenious construction methods, they were cagey enough to adopt the best elements of existing self-loading rifle design.

Take that bolt carrier for example. With its attached gas piston it looks very close to that of the excellent FN FNC. which itself is descended from the proven Kalashnikov. The bolt head however follows the multi-lugged, short rotation design of Eugene Stoner's AR-10/M16.

It's worth pointing out that unlike the AR-15/M16 with its direct impingement gas system, the SU-16 does not flood the receiver with carbon after each shot. Therefore it's much easier to keep clean and functioning properly.

GI-Grade Trigger

The single-stage trigger trips at 6.25 pounds, visibly camming the hammer back just prior to release. While that's not the type of trigger we like at the target range, it's exactly the right configuration for safety and long service life in a semiauto rifle. Two pounds lighter would be nice, but for a rough and ready, multi-use carbine this trigger is nothing we can't live with.

The manual safety is a cross-bolt type (functioning with the rifle cocked or un-cocked) located at the rear of the trigger guard. With a bit of work, it's reversible to accommodate left-handed use.

The SU-16 incorporates a magazine-activated bolt hold-open. Locking the bolt open manually is a cinch, just depress the recessed button behind the magazine well. To release the bolt, simply tug on the bolt handle.

Speaking of magazines, the magazine well is a pretty snug fit. Neither the Kel-Tec synthetic 10-round magazines nor a GI aluminum mag would drop free when the release button was depressed. Some will fuss over this, but I'm not sure it's a problem.

Stealth carbine: Kel-Tech's innovative SU-16 folder

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2005 by Jim Gardner

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