This has been my experience with the MDRx 308 16" barrel purchased in August 2021.
Initially the magazine would eject after firing a round but I bent the magazine catch and desert tech is sending a new one so this issue is resolved to some extent. The original mag catch appears to be a bad casting.
The most persistent problem is the cycling of ammo. I have tried 308 Norma, Winchester, Fiocchi, PMC and 762 Magtec, Armscor, PPU. The gunsmith I took the rifle to after 400 rounds stripped it, cleaned it, lubed it and tested it on his range with the ammo he had and experienced the same issues. PMC and Winchester 308 ammo tends to lightly dimple and not fire the primer on the second shot chambered. When you rack it back to clear the unspent round it doesn't kick out like normal, even if you rack it fast and hard. The unspent round and the next round in the magazines end up jammed in the chamber. Only rarely will the 308 cartridge miss or get stuck in the forward eject system. And the most problematic 308 round is anything with a soft tip. The PPU 762 ammo is getting stuck in the chamber and if the gas is turned up too high it's ripping the rim off the cartridge. The other 762 ammo frequently gets stuck in or misses the forward eject system but cycles nicely if you leave the forward eject port off. I have requested information on if and how to purchase a 308 side eject panel but received no response. This would be an acceptable fix for the 762 ammo in my mind and I am willing to pay for it. I am not using a high speed camera but I suspect the slightly dimpled non discharge rounds might be the result of a double fire. I have since replaced the trigger with a Jard sear and have not tested yet but Ill keep you posted. Still no idea on how the rifle is putting two 308 rounds in the chamber. Update: third time out shooting with 200 rounds of 308 PMC solid tip, normal gas setting and the new trigger. First off the Jard Sear trigger came from the manufacturer out of adjustment, not your fault but while out of adjustment it produced the same 308 jam as I described above. fires the first round and click on the second round, when you eject the second round it is lightly dimpled. After adjusting the disconnect screw on the new trigger the riffle fires 308 PMC solid tip consistently on Normal gas block setting. 1 out of every 50 will still lead to a jam where there appears to be a misfeed issue.
On the first day of shooting I noticed the trigger would get stuck. In some cases just waiting a second would allow the trigger to spring forward and on others the rifle had to be tapped. Basically the rifle is acting as if I am holding the trigger for a prolonged period of time before resetting and allowing the trigger to be pulled again. Upon inspection the trigger rod that connects the front group to the rear assembly has metal burs on the rear of it that appears to be catching on the plastic guides. I removed the rod and polished it smooth. The rear trigger group once removed does not appear to be sticking or rubbing but appears to be wearing excessively. After the first day and 400 rounds the notch in the round pin where the hammer is mounted appears cut into by the trigger latch that is supposed to catch it. As I mentioned above I have replaced the trigger and this issue should be all but removed so this is just for your information.
Also on the first day one of the screws fell out of the left hand side of the rifle, in the desert, and was lost. The manufacturer replaced this on the first warranty claim.
On the second day of shooting the cartridge ejection port dust cover hatch started to fall apart. The pin worked it's way nearly out and it has never worked correctly since. The latch doesn't hold it closed when you want it closed and the spring doesn't hold it open when you want it open. The 308 cartridges appear to push past it regardless and I usually have it removed for the 762 ammo.
Initially the rear push pin was removed and reinserted relatively easily, but lately the pin is difficult to remove and the rubber butt stalk end and two halves of the rifle need to be squeezed and manipulated in order to reinsert the pin. I believe the issue above where a 7.62 cartridge was frequently getting stuck between the ejection port and bolt carrier might be putting outward pressure on and deforming the butt of the rifle.
Update!
After my last series of posts I received communication from Jeff Wood of
https://coldboremiracle.com/ (
[email protected]). Jeff let me know that he is Desert Techs go to repair man and that he could fix it.
I sent the rifle back to the manufacturer and they where supposed to send it off to Jeff for repairs. It took about a month and when I received it, the contents where in a new hard plastic case that also include a repair statement from Desert Tech. The statement indicates that a few parts were repaired or replaced and that the 25-round magazine I sent them was incompatible with the rifle as it holds too many rounds. Apparently, you may only use a 20 round or few magazines with this rifle and despite what all the advertisements say the 10-round magazine is the only one that shoots consistently. The statement also indicates that Desert Tech was able to accomplish his diagnosis of “good to go” after firing 20 rounds of 308 and 20 rounds of 7.62 x51... I’m Curious how he was able to diagnose the 25-round magazine and 20 round magazine after only firing 40 rounds but I’m no mathematician. They must have had a bad experience there not telling anyone about.
The freshly returned rifle appeared cleaned and well lubricated. Nothing was done about the factory trigger that appears prematurely warn. The Jard trigger works flawlessly once adjusted. The forward ejection panel that was giving the 7.62 x51 rounds so much trouble appears new and the dust cover flap is now working properly. The magazine catch latch was replace with one that does not appear to have the same poor casting as the original and did not need to be manipulated to work.
On the first trip out shooting after the rifle was returned to me it initially gave me no issues using 10 round magazines shooting 308 or 7.62 x51 cold. As I switch to the 20-round magazine, the gun is already heated up a bit and still on the Normal gas block setting, the 308 rounds start to jam towards the end of the clip (round 16-18). The old cartridge is ejected fine, but the new cartridge is only halfway in the chamber when the action slams closed on it. I adjusted the gas block one setting towards Advanced and I get the same jam. On the final Advanced setting of the gas block the 308 jam is reduced to every other clip. Switching back to 7.62 x51 20-round magazine I set the gas block to Normal and while still hot the 3rd round fired has the rim ripped off the cartridge and left in the chamber. After removing the spent cartridge and cleaning the chamber I call it a day.
The next day I go out and buy the exact same ammo Desert Tech used to test the rifle and two new magazines. The first two 10-round magazines of 308 go smoothly and then the first 20-round magazine of 308 jams like before on round 17. The second 20-round magazine and the 16th round in the clip does not discharge but instead gets stuck in the chamber with the action locked on behind it. So stuck I could not safely dislodge it or tear it down at the range. When I get home and tear it down, I discover the unspent round is the shape of a banana. I’m now getting ready to ship it back to the manufacturer again. I did not get to test the new 7.62 x51 rounds.
In short, this is a $2,500.00 rifle that fails at performing its primary task and the failure of which is somehow out done by its manufacturer who expects you to put over 1000 round thru a faulty weapon in order to make it a slightly less unreliable and do it 10 rounds at a time with multiple months long pauses in-between where the rifle must be sent back to the manufacturer for “repair”...
2nd Update!
As if this couldn’t get any worse, I received communication from Jeff that my riffle never made it to him, he was out of town on a hunt. Desert Tech had someone else perform the warranty work who was out of the loop on the issues I have been communicating. They obviously did not read the two page right-up I sent with the riffle. Furthermore after taking over a week to respond to me this is the response I received from Glen Fullmer after informing him with pictures that the rifle is still not fixed:
"Good afternoon Scott,
Please find the warranty claim form attached. If you will complete it and get it back to me, I’ll generate another RMA. Please note that if we can’t identify a defect in the rifle or duplicate the issues you’re reporting, we will charge for testing and evaluation ($50), ammunition used, and any shipping/repackaging costs. Thank you.
Glen Fullmer
Warranty Manager
Desert Tech
801-975-7272 Ext. 148
[email protected]" I feel that if anyone should be charging for testing it’s going to be me. I have purchased 7 magazines and 1,500 rounds from 7 different manufacturers. So in summary Desert tech is continuing to take the approach of blaming the operator instead of the defect. They continue to negligently push a defective and dangerous product on it’s consumers.
