Lucky Irishman Extended Handguard for the KelTec RDB - Minuteman Review

AmbGun Keltec RDB Page

https://www.ambgun.com/ambidextral-rifle/keltec-rdb

Slender butt pad, trim cheek rest, slim mag well, narrow (high grip ratio) pistol grip are met with a fat, chunky handguard that makes the RDB look muzzle obese. Moose face.

The KelTec RDB was released in 2015. Back when quad rails were popular. In comparison to those quad rails, the blocky polymer RDB handguard seemed semi-trim. MLok had yet to establish a foothold so the RDB’s 19” total pic rail space was thought semi-adequate.

This thick polymer handguard features a forward HK inspired sling loop that does not fit the Magpul paraclip so I cobbled together a paracord abomination to interface with the Magpul clip. Works, but too ugly for gunfighting.

Here we have the Lucky Irishman handguard to bring the RDB into the current year. In this case the extended version for the RDB fitted with a 20” barrel. Available Carakoted tan by the same company that does KelTec’s work for a perfect match…but backordered almost 6 months. So “black and tan” it is. My favorite beer.

Installation is easy, but don’t follow my lead…pay attention to the different screw lengths for the handguard…long screws into the gas block filler, short for the bottom quarter. Screwed in place, the long black handguard is tight in the tan receiver.

Though 3” longer, the Lucky Irishman handguard is 23 gram lighter than the stock polymer handguard and, despite added length, delivers almost exactly the same muzzle weight…when balanced back at the mag release. It looks better and feels even better in the hand. It is .8” shorter and .2” narrower. Between this reduction in size and being black, it looks much slimmer…bye bye moose head.

However, it does mean that a full field strip requires removing four screws.

Prolific with MLok, I can now install a MagPul Paraclip Sling Mount out at the muzzle. Way cleaner than my “functional” paracord knot abomination. And one of my two key motivations for going with the Lucky Irishman. That MagPul Paraclip Sling Mount is awfully noisy though. Pondering solutions there.

I’ve heard other guntubers report the handguard getting uncomfortably hot during sustained fire. The downside of an aluminum handguard/heatsink connected to the gas block. Things are cooler here in Wyoming and I’m not a mag dumper so I didn’t experience anything too hot to handle. Perhaps it helps to have the gas dialed in…like we did with the Mini 14, to reduce the amount of hot gases being dumped under the handguard.

I mounted the MLok Viridian 4 Lux 2K Duo light and laser foregrip underneath…great for room clearing…mounted rearward enough, for paintball feel, for tight use of cover. And More suited to squatting steady hold factors. Yet with enough room forward for a C-Clamp hold. The Viridian also kind of helps fill in for the dangling trigger guard…now that it’s out in the open given the reduction in height of the Lucky Irishman handguard.

Lately I’ve seen the RDB being offered for bargain prices at PSA…saving you enough money to outfit it with a proper handguard. Most people will get the 17” RDB so instead of the 14 ¾” long Extended handguard, you’d need the Lucky Irishman Rhino Rail. There are handguards for several versions of the RDB including hunter, California, and survival models.

I wish KelTec would update the RDB to accept free floated AR handguards, until then I recommend Lucky Irishman. And while I’m wishing, how about running standard AR pistol grips, so I can shorten things up with a BCM KD Gunfighter grip…one of the great features of the Springfield Hellion.

After last year’s Ambi AR build series and the Mantis BlackbeardX advantage, I needed to do something to rekindle my appreciation for the RDB. The Lucky Irishman marriage counseling made things hot at the gun range once again.

One other little tweak I’ve made is to add a ¼” spacer to the Vortex Spitfire low, 1” high mount. Vortex includes a 1 ½” mount that is commonly used for AR’s. The 1” mount that I was running required a dental altering cheek weld, running the 1 ½” mount was close to a chin weld. 1 ¼” is just right, at least for me.

Everytime I shoot the RDB, I am reminded of my “ambi Optimal use of cover” paintball days. I’m also reminded that I need to wear a long sleeve shirt or elbow pads when shooting prone.

And I also remember my August 2020 video, “Why (and How) We Should Trial the KelTec RDB for US Army Next Generation Squad Weapon”.