Desert Tech MDR in 2021, side eject, still "needs work"?

[JayMazee]

From my bit of research:
https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/desert-tech-mdr-opinions.6921855/
https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/mdr-update.6928764/


It seems they at least tried to fix the issues in 2019. I look on their site now and see they have a "Side Eject" version which is 1/2lb lighter than the forward eject and I'm guessing that they were able to save money, cost, and I'll also better they were able to lower the gas / bolt velocity which was one of the reasons people were ripping brass off and complaining about excessive recoil.

It doesn't appear that they're doing side eject in anything but 223 right now. I wonder if the other cals are coming? I think I would perfer a side eject all things considered as a cis gendered right handed man.

I'm sure there are lots of burned people that want nothing to do with them - but does anyone have actual experience with the new models? I'm probably just stupid and looking for future-pain, but a modular 556/308 bullpup would scratch a specific itch for me.

If the MDR actually worked, it seems like a better buy than even a Tavor 7 with no modularity and questionable accuracy.

So.... Did they fix this swamp princess yet?

 

[Blazin]

In their virtual Shot Show they mentioned SE 300 Blk was coming.

 

[JayMazee]

It's Side Eject 308 I'm much more interested in. I'm hoping they have something that isn't super gassy, works, and at least holds 2MOA.

 

[ChidJ]

I can say that the MRDx 5.56 is reliable. I bought it at the beginning of 2020. I've run about 800 rounds through mine. It's been in the sand, mud, covered in frost, tossed around in the back of the truck.

BUT....

the handguard sucks

DesertTech doesn't seem interested in making a 308 side eject which is aggravating as I have no interest in switching to forward eject

the handguard sucks

The trigger is typical of most bullpups on the market which is to say, not great. Disappointing considering their SRS trigger is so excellent.

the handguard sucks

controls are vague/mushy

the handguard sucks

I haven't been able to squeeze more than 1.5 inch groups at 100 yards out of it. I've used multiple scopes, multiple ammunitions, out of a sled, with a big ol' bipod and rear bag. It just ain't real accurate. this is also disappointing as, once again, the SRS rifles are so accurate.

As it stands, the MDRX SE doesn't bring much to the table over the KelTec RDB. I don't want to hear their excuses about "its a battle rifle, its not meant to have a nice trigger, solid handguard, or good accuracy". That's BS. They've proven they can make an excellent product if they want to.

 

[RTV]

As it stands, the MDRX SE doesn't bring much to the table over the KelTec RDB. I don't want to hear their excuses about "its a battle rifle, its not meant to have a nice trigger, solid handguard, or good accuracy". That's BS. They've proven they can make an excellent product if they want to.

You only get to claim battle reliability if the gun is actually capable of something like that.

You said you have ran it pretty hard and dirty.
Can you elaborate?

 

[ChidJ]

Well, I haven't cleaned it once, I've shot with it in the rain several times, carried it and ran it in a 3 day field event. I've swabbed gobs of sand out of the ejection port a few times if that tells you anything about the dirt I'd been shooting in. All I've done is pour lube in the chamber and shot. I did 120 rounds of mag dumping just to get the brass to reload with bullets I had but couldn't find factory configurations containing said bullet. Its fallen out of my truck twice.

This gun is not up to par with its peers. That being said, I have to give credit where it is due. This is an American design made by Americans. There is something to be said for that. I have no doubts in the reliability of my sample, which is size 1. My skepticism would be reset if I put another caliber in this thing or the forward eject system.

But I'm not a fan and I wouldn't recommend this to anybody who doesn't already have any of the other really great 5.56 bullpups. Based on my experience, the MDR does nothing my Steyr AUG can't besides have a QD socket built in or a mag release button forward of the trigger guard or, now that I mention it, a normal trigger guard.

Its a cool concept but..... see the above

 

[JayMazee]

I can say that the MRDx 5.56 is reliable. I bought it at the beginning of 2020. I've run about 800 rounds through mine. It's been in the sand, mud, covered in frost, tossed around in the back of the truck.

[...]

DesertTech doesn't seem interested in making a 308 side eject which is aggravating as I have no interest in switching to forward eject

The trigger is typical of most bullpups on the market which is to say, not great. Disappointing considering their SRS trigger is so excellent.

controls are vague/mushy

I haven't been able to squeeze more than 1.5 inch groups at 100 yards out of it. [...]

As it stands, the MDRX SE doesn't bring much to the table over the KelTec RDB. I don't want to hear their excuses about "its a battle rifle, its not meant to have a nice trigger, solid handguard, or good accuracy". That's BS. They've proven they can make an excellent product if they want to.

How is the handguard though? .... Do you think an aluminum handguard would fix the issues?

I want side eject, I don't like the forward eject parts and idea. But yes, I don't know how long they have been talking SE but specifically not mentioning 308 but it's not a good look for them.

I wouldn't like mushy controls, but could look over it.

Um... here is where you and I might differ, I think 1.5MOA for a 16" pencil barrel bullpup is OK. If that was the only flaw with this gun, I'd be all over it. The TAVOR 7 is getting 3MOA reports, but I wonder if that's trigger and clown shooters.

MDRX SE brings one thing to the table the AUG can't match, there is out now an 11.5" kit that makes the gun about the size of the P90. That's pretty sweet. I think it's the smallest 556 on the market. And they seem to have at least 556 handled correctly. It's a little unreasonable price I think, $580 or so for an 11.5" barrel, gas block, and a tiny handguard if you have the SE model already. If they fixed this gun to do P90 sized 556, and 20" 308 the size length of a 13-14" AR-10... well shit, THAT would be worth putting a stamp on.

[...]
My skepticism would be reset if I put another caliber in this thing or the forward eject system.

I don't know for sure, but I think the FE system is a step backwards. Knowing what I know about DI and Piston systems as an engineer, I think almost all their problems were speed and force to get the FE working. They SAY that SE is a lateral move, and then they SAY that the "Micron" is SE only because they can't built more FE parts... But I've seen the bolt differences, they're massive, it was whole redesign of bolt and barrel extension/lugs. I'm betting the real reasons the new model isn't in FE is that they're going to kill FE. That the reason they don't have 308 or 300blk SE is they had to redesign the entire system and just haven't done the work on the new calibers yet. MY GUESS is they're pushing the changes they have out the door in order to keep making sales while they move forward with design. This isn't a bad idea, they probably learned their lesson from the last four years and are releasing only things they know work - but I think they're being misleading about SE vs FE. What is the right thing to do then? Kill all their FE sales and piss people off? That's obviously not in their best interest either.

I'm setting an alert in my phone to check back on MDR in one year.

 

[ChidJ]

You are exactly right about the forward eject. (when I say my skepticism would be reset, I mean it would go back to the default "very high") I don't know why the industry as a whole has had such an interest in making everything "ambidextrous". Like health nuts talking about "gluten free". It was unnecessary complexity and weight and them trying to make that work has cost them A LOT, methinks.

The handguard just blows. Its held in place by two clamps and a takedown style pin. There is no way that anything you mount on it will hold any kind of zero. I can flex it A LOT just by holding the barrel and using my thumb to press on it. And it never seems to sit exactly straight. They just need to rethink the way they mount it to the receiver. If you load into an attached bipod, you can feel it flex significantly. Also, they have a little lip at the end that is a slight annoyance. I wish they would have just made it flat. You have to remove the handguard to remove the barrel but it feels like its unnecessary. They could have just made the gasblock a little lower profile and it would clear a handguard more permanently attached.

Have no idea why they didn't just go with aluminum and 8 torx screws.

But hey, what would I know

 

[JayMazee]

I don't mind small things in the name of ambi. But I'm right handed, so fuck "them".

As to the handguard... So something like this then:

https://soldiersystems.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/dt-ngsar-11.jpg

It's pretty clear from their next gen submission, they know the handguard needs work. This appears to be a whole top rail (with a segment missing for some reason) and the front cap and lower handguard are a separate piece. This didn't win obviously, but there could be a billion reasons for that and it would still make a decent firearm for you or me. Despite the stupid "smart rail", my guess is they know what the platform needs but can't just scrap everything.

I wonder if a V2 based on their submission is expected. I'm pretty much out for a year, wish them luck!

 

[Tonsofguns]

If been closely following the development of this gun since it was announced in 2015. Lots of false promises on the release, excuses, blaming suppliers and so forth. Once it was released, and it wasn’t close to being ready, and they continued to try and fix the issues. Every few months they would claim their guns are fixed and ready to go, only to have other issues and complaints pop up, and poor customer service to fix those issues.

People were so disappointed in the mdr and dt service, that they started flooding internet boards with complaints. Their ceo Nick young joined in on the mdr rants on arfcom, to try and calm these guys down, only to ignite the fire further, by making arrogant comments and not taking responsibility for its failures. He ended up fleeing the chat boards with his tail between his legs.

Now today, they say everything is fixed and it’s good to go, but frankly I don’t want to deal with a company like that, and the rifle looks cool and futuristic but I would rather have a tavor anyday of the week.

 

[SRPowah]

It took them a hot minute (years) to get some of the kinks worked out of the SRS and that was a "simple" bolt gun. I knew this thing would give them hell from the minute I first heard about it. Even though I love compact firearms and especially bullpups, no way I was going to go anywhere near this until it was proven by some other poor soul.

I think they bit off more than they could chew by trying to make this so versatile. Can you imagine what we might have right now if they had focused solely on a 5.56 platform, or at least AR chamberings like .300blk. Might not appeal to as much here, but also wouldn't of caused such a hit to their reputation...again

 

[JayMazee]

[...]
Now today, they say everything is fixed and it’s good to go, but frankly I don’t want to deal with a company like that, and the rifle looks cool and futuristic but I would rather have a tavor anyday of the week.

Eh, I hold less of a grudge. If they make a good product even though it took them long enough to do it, I won't entirely write them off. Now, had I been one of the early adopter suckers? Yea, I'd probably disagree with myself now.

I think they bit off more than they could chew by trying to make this so versatile. Can you imagine what we might have right now if they had focused solely on a 5.56 platform, or at least AR chamberings like .300blk. Might not appeal to as much here, but also wouldn't of caused such a hit to their reputation...again

That's the truth. I think caliber change from small to intermediate size is a big ask. That's what's cool about it, but yea, probably a mistake in retrospect. Even Colt never shipped their 901 caliber change kits, although it never made sense I don't think. ACR, MPX, I guess there just isn't good money for the effort required in caliber change.... So in that case, maybe by focusing just on 556 they're finally doing the right thing.

But I'm still pretty confident a V2 of this gun is coming. You can buy the SE model right now at EuroOptic for $1750 backorder. And a no-barrel version for $1250. I think they're in a position where they can't kill it because of the money invested but are actively working towards something the internet won't hate by name/reputation.

 

[White_Shark]

I have 2 MDRx models, a 20” 5.56 FE and 20” 6.5 FE. So far both have been reliable. My 5.56 is sub moa with my handloads, still trying to find a load my 6.5 likes, it does about 1.5 with stuff that shoots .75 in my SP10.
My 5.56 does really well with 69 SMKs snd CFE223.
Ive only got about 500 rds through yhr 5.56 and maybe 150 through the 6.5, so I can’t speak to long term reliability, but so far they have been flawless. No experience with the 308 or SE models. Need to get a 308 conversion kit soon.

 

[bonesaw00001]

I have 2 MDRx models, a 20” 5.56 FE and 20” 6.5 FE. So far both have been reliable. My 5.56 is sub moa with my handloads, still trying to find a load my 6.5 likes, it does about 1.5 with stuff that shoots .75 in my SP10.
My 5.56 does really well with 69 SMKs snd CFE223.
Ive only got about 500 rds through yhr 5.56 and maybe 150 through the 6.5, so I can’t speak to long term reliability, but so far they have been flawless. No experience with the 308 or SE models. Need to get a 308 conversion kit soon.

Would you buy your MDRx again? Still mulling over picking one up as a do-it-all rifle. Limited safe space ha.

 

[White_Shark]

Would you buy your MDRx again? Still mulling over picking one up as a do-it-all rifle. Limited safe space ha.

The 223, for sure. Still undecided on the 6.5 as I don't have nearly enough rounds through it. Need to find a 16" 308 conversion to compare to my REC10 as I only have a 22" SP10 to compare the 6.5 to as I see the SP10 is more of a precision rifle than a battle rifle.