Desert Tech is known for extremely accurate long-range bullpup sniper  rifles… and turning down a lucrative foreign contract to make sure our troops stay safe.

They came to play at SHOT Show this year with a new rifle, the multi-caliber Micro Dynamic Rifle, or MDR. The pre-show hype on these rifles is great, but they aren’t production ready just yet, and won’t be until next year.

One of the interesting features of the rifle will be it’s modularity, and the (theoretical) ease in which end-users will be able to swap out the various caliber conversion kits with very little work and without tools.

One of the most interesting details of these prototypes is how they were prototyped; you’re looking at a printed lower receiver, that at very close range, makes this part of the rifle look like tactical cardboard. Actual rifles will be made of robust polymers and metals.

An interesting detail that sets the MDR apart from other bullpups is the ejection system, which fires the spent brass forward through an ejection port and works for both right-handed and left-handed shooters, according the factory rep that I spoke with. I want to believe in this, but I’m curious about the reliability of the system, and we’ll need to get our hands on one and run a variety of ammo through it (brass, steel, and the new polymer-cased ammo that seems to be just around the corner) to see how reliable it really is.

The MDR will be available in Flat Dark Earth and black as seen above. It looks like another manufacturer is ignoring my wife’s desire to own a firearm in Tiffany Blue.

Sorry, dear.