The Kel-Tec SU series of rifles have been on the market for a long time, but it is quite rare that you actually see one at the range, or even hanging on the walls of your local gun store. Kel-Tec is a very innovative company that makes some very interesting, if not obscure products but they do not seem to be able to produce them in sufficient numbers. I have known about the SU rifles for quite a while but I have never so much as seen one until one of my good customers mentioned he had one and suggested that I try it out. Of course I took full advantage of the opportunity and was anxious to see how the rifle performed.

Perhaps the greatest feature of the SU-16 is its ability to fold into a compact and capable centerfire rifle and stow it away in your pack. This is done by pushing out a single pin:

This fold and stow feature alone makes me want to purchase one for my adventures into the wilderness.

My customer threw a red dot sight on it to aid in shooting, but I am an Iron sight guy:

Two ten round mags or one 30 round mag stow away in the stock:

And the rifle looks pretty mean with a standard capacity magazine:

I took 5 magazines out for a quick 150 round test and could not resist pulling the trigger a bit quickly to get a feel for her:

The gun is rather easy to keep on target and has a very unique feel to it. Recoil is snappy but it is very controllable:

Of course the unique forend that doubles as a bipod is very neat as well. I tested this out and managed to pull off a “minute of hog” 10 shot group from 40-50 yards:

My friend Patrick also enjoyed shooting the rifle and I managed to catch a spectacular muzzle flash on film. Sometimes I forget how effective even the most basic flash hiders are:

When we were killing off the remaining ammo we did have a malfunction, which was just a typical stovepipe that was easy to clear:

Patrick also took the time to get a quick accuracy test:

Wish just a few rounds remaining he did pretty well:

As for my list:

The Good:

• Very unique folding feature
• Integral bipod
• Accepts AR15 mags
• I am confident that I could pull off 2 MOA with this gun with a good optic and good ammo
• Trigger feels better or at least on par with an AR15 standard trigger
• Storage space for magazines
• Affordable and can be seen for under $500

The Bad:

• Difficult to find locally
• Crude iron sights
• Disassembly and reassembly are a bit tricky
• I expect most guns to be able to go through 150 rounds jam-free

The Ugly:

• It isn’t the prettiest rifle, but form follows function
• Lack of a threaded barrel
• Reciprocating charging handle

All in all, I am pleased with this rifle and I will be on the lookout for one in the sub-$500 range. While there are a few things lacking, the good outweighs the bad.