Keltec KSG bull pup shotgun

[Justjules 0]

I figured I would contribute my review of the KSG I was able to secure in early April of 2012. I ordered the gun based on initial hype and the exclusiveness of the gun, as well as it simply looking bad azz. I also figured let me grab one before some politician gets scared by it and puts it on the prohibited weapon list cause it technically holds 14 rounds. I was able to get the LE discount direct from Keltec as well as first dibs on the production run due to being LE which was cool.

 

So I get the gun and scurry to the range like a little kid on Christmas day.The first thing I notice was how difficult it seemed to load the rounds, you really had to force them in.also the magazine selector switch seemed very hard to switch over almost to the point you felt as if you were going to break it.

 

I chambered and fired first round, and racked it back only to encounter a double feed jam! The gun failed to extract the spent shell and attempted to load not 1 but 2 additional rounds at once, so a total of 3 rounds were stuck in there, leaving me with a 26″ long baseball bat to defend myself with. This type of jam is simply impossible to clear in a combat situation and would have cost me my life. It takes several minutes to clear the jams once they happen. I fired another round and it did the same exact thing. In fact the first 6-7 attempts the gun jammed the same way. Thinking it was me possibly limp wristing the slide, I allowed 4 other colleges to attempt to shoot it and it did the same thing for all 4 of them, including one range master/fire arms instructor. So it was not me. Now I am far from a gun expert, but I have been in law enforcement for over 15 years and qualify 2 times a year with our shotgun and have put thousands of shotgun rounds down range and never once had a shotgun jam on me.Keep in mind in the picture below that is 2 live rounds trying to insert themselves into the chamber while the spent shell is still in there, so its a 3 round nightmare...It primarily did this from only one of the magazine tubes.

 

 

The gun seemed to clear up a bit after firing it 3 different times at 3 different ranges but would jam 1 out of 20 rounds consistently. Needless to say I was unhappy and bummed out. I also wound up cracking the lower rail utilizing a Sig Sauer Stoplight front grip which I was later told by keltec they dont reccommend using that grip.

 

I wound up sending my 1 week old gun back to Keltec for repairs and inspection and this was the report I got back from them:

 

have personally reviewed your weapon and have done the following reviews / repairs:

 

· Replaced Barrel Assembly / Honed Barrel and Chamber: There was nothing “wrong” with the other barrel except I saw some cosmetic issues with the Picatinny and Barrel… the dimensions were good though with the barrel. That and if you were having extraction issues, I wanted to keep that system here to review in case we receive any more in the future… just in case.

· Reviewed Bolt: Bolt was good. Polished Bolt Lock as it was on the high tolerance and tight on the inside of the Bolt as the Bolt Lock cams down unlocking the system. This was most likely the issue with the weapon not extracting consistently.

· Grip: Good. No issues.

· Rear Stock: Good. No issues.

· Receiver: Completely rebuilt Receiver. It still has the same serial number and is the same Receiver, but it was rebuilt to ensure it was done correctly. The Receiver was sandblasted and re-parkerized to give it a new look again. New magazine springs / magazine plugs / followers, to ensure the rounds are seating properly—nothing wrong with the old ones, but I’m not going to re-use the old ones here. New Cartridge Stops / Selector / Selector Catch. The issue on Double Feeding also came from the inner cartridge stops (KSG-314 and KSG-315) were sanded to the lower tolerance, so there would be times when they did not work… I saw that too on testing. Those were replaced and the weapon does not Double Feed any more. No issues on anything else there. I did polish the swage / feed ramp area and this is smoother here on loading.

· Re-proofed. New assembly as stated above. Weapon was re-proofed.

· Test fired and Function Tested. I shot 200+ rounds through the weapon and two of our technician each shot 100+ rounds through the weapon. The weapon did not double feed and it extracted every round, including the “more challenging Centurion rounds” from Italy.

 

 

 

I will say one thing, they had the weapon inspected and repaired and ready to ship back within 2 days, I was impressed. After receiving the weapon i went to the range and put about 50-75 rounds through it with zero issues! It was easier to load, the selector switch was like butter and the action was very smooth. The gun is dialed in and is dead on the money at 10 yards, I can put 00buck through the same hole in the target and the grouping is very nice.The picture below is about 14 rounds of 00buck into the same target at about 10 yards.

 

 

The gun does beat the living crap out of you due to its 26" overall length this picture is my shoulder after shooting some 00buck and 1oz slugs. Now keep in mind Im 6 foot 280 lbs, and never ever bruised from a shotgun before.

 

Since I got it back i have fallen in love with it all over again!! I recently put a magpull grip on it and ordered a muzzlebreak for it

 

I was contemplating selling it and getting an AR but I think now Im just going to keep it in case the Zombies actually do attack! I think Ill just buy an AR also, Shhhhhhhhhhh dont tell my wife :wild:

 

On a side not one cool thing is Ryan from Keltec is sending me a newly designed forend that is stronger so hopefully I can use my Sig Stoplight on it. He is also sending me a special lug to remove the muzzle bolt to install the muzzle break!!

[jermz1987 243]

Thanks for the review. I would love to get one of these. Sounds like Kel tec has great customer service.

[BlueLineFish 615]

Nice To hear they handled the problems that well. So far mine has functioned flawlessly. Maybe I need to send it back to get some of the free stuff as well. Maybe I will just contact Ryan and inquire about them. Pm me his email address. We have to get together and shoot these. Really test them out.

[M4BGRINGO 139]

Dajersey rat, small world isn't it...............

 

We had fun with Joes gun last weekend, it worked fine. They complained about it's kick too, I say it needs more.

[Justjules 0]

Dajersey rat, small world isn't it...............

 

We had fun with Joes gun last weekend, it worked fine. They complained about it's kick too, I say it needs more.

 

Is that Joe from the Bayonne range? Jr. not Sr? PS, Try some 1oz slugs through it

[Sigman 41]

^{Great to hear about Keltec CS! It sounds like they really tuned it up. Good luck with it, it looks like a sweet shooter.}

[Justjules 0]

Anyone want to meet up at the OB club this Sunday at 9am for the skeet shooting? Im gonna try it with the KSG, it will probably suck for it but Ill give it a shot..lol

[Melgamatic 66]

The gun failed to extract the spent shell and attempted to load not 1 but 2 additional rounds at once, so a total of 3 rounds were stuck in there, leaving me with a 26″ long baseball bat to defend myself with. This type of jam is simply impossible to clear in a combat situation and would have cost me my life.

 

Sounds like your gun has been fixed to work right. BUT, I really wouldn't trust any gun that's brand new / unbroken in for any situation! After you run a 1000 rounds through a gun you can start thinking about trusting it.

[Justjules 0]

Sounds like your gun has been fixed to work right. BUT, I really wouldn't trust any gun that's brand new / unbroken in for any situation! After you run a 1000 rounds through a gun you can start thinking about trusting it.

 

At first I could not even run 2 consecutive rounds through it...LOL

[jermz1987 243]

Don't forget to post some pics of it when you put that muzzle break on.

[M4BGRINGO 139]

Here is what I have found with shotgun shooting, and I could be completely wrong, but it's my take on it: Shooting 1 1/8 oz of # 7 1/2, # 8, sand or slugs, it is all the same feeling to me. Now, if you change from short 2 3/4" shells to 3" or 3 1/2", now we get into a whole new ball game! Now we can put more powder AND more lead in there to shoot. That will wake-up your shoulder!

 

Recoil comes from the amount of powder you are using and how much lead you are flinging. (We are talking shotguns here).

 

I bought a few boxes of 3 1/2" shells but don't have a gun to run them through, yet...............

[Melgamatic 66]

At first I could not even run 2 consecutive rounds through it...LOL

 

I know they made a second version. I wonder if you had a v1 or v2; I don't know if there is a way to tell, or if they've ever really explained the differences. I wonder if the new receiver is the thing.

 

I really want one.

[alec.mc 180]

It's a fun little shottie, I also shot joes ( bluelinefish) last week. It's a hell of alot shorter than it looks in the picture, I was suprised. And unless you have some sort of optic with a riser on it, prepare to get knocked in the cheek.

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

So this was you, Jules, with the KSG misfeed review at firingline.com last month?

 

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=485377

 

Glad to see Kel-Tec has taken care of you. Thank you very much for sharing your experience with it so far - for some reason "average joe" reviews on the KSG seem to be rare.

[Justjules 0]

Here is what I have found with shotgun shooting, and I could be completely wrong, but it's my take on it: Shooting 1 1/8 oz of # 7 1/2, # 8, sand or slugs, it is all the same feeling to me. Now, if you change from short 2 3/4" shells to 3" or 3 1/2", now we get into a whole new ball game! Now we can put more powder AND more lead in there to shoot. That will wake-up your shoulder!

 

Recoil comes from the amount of powder you are using and how much lead you are flinging. (We are talking shotguns here).

 

I bought a few boxes of 3 1/2" shells but don't have a gun to run them through, yet...............

 

2 3/3 #8 does nothing, when you step up to 3" 00 buck (reduced recoil no less) it kicks your azz, step up to the 1 oz slug and its a whole new ball game. Keep in mind the firing pin is only about 5-6" from the but of the stock on this gun, so there is nothing to really absorb the recoil. Your shoulder takes it all..

[Jon 264]

Smeh... Shoot some 3" 546gr sabot slugs and get back to me

 

In all seriousness, thanks for the review. I will own one of these damn things eventually.

[Justjules 0]

Keltec just sent me a newly designed front stock to test out. They added structural supports to it to give is some more strength for the use of vertical for grips. I will be testing it soon and report back...

 

Original

 

new one

 

side by side comparison

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

Nice, thanks for images. Definitely going to wait on the KSG, looks like they're still working out the kinks.

[Justjules 0]

Nice, thanks for images. Definitely going to wait on the KSG, looks like they're still working out the kinks.

 

Well,considering the extremely limited availability, I dont think you will have much of a choice.

[BlueLineFish 615]

Extra ribs for pleasure

[vladtepes 1,060]

great job with the review.. nice to see they fixed your issues..