Looking for Personal reviews on Keltec KSG

MinnesotaORnewbie · May 16, 2012

I first want to say I am only looking for reviews and experiences from anyone who owns one, used to own one, or at the least, knows someone close to them that owns one and you have shot one and talked to the actual owner in detail about it. I am not looking for your personal opinion nor what your brothers, cousins, sisters neighbor once said about one or what you heard.
Ok, with that said, crossing fingers here not looking for a similar Hi-point thread...I had the chance tonight to shoot a Keltec KSG, 12 gauge. I have never looked or even thought about looking at buying a Keltec in the past. Without saying why, now I am interested, but really want some good reviews on one before I buy one. Someone that I know, very little, mutual friend brought his that he just bought and let a few of us put it through the ringer. We shot total, 300 rounds through it, out of the box, lightly oiled before, and not a single round of 2 3/4 8shot, and 3 inch 6 shot at targets and trap with no malfunctions. LOL, I know, shooting a short barrel shotgun at trap was weird but was fun.
What I liked about it was the 12 shot, dual tube feed, very compact feeling, light, not a lot of recoil, gun sexy, fairly accurate, and something very different. I started thinking how this would be a great home defense gun or a sweet gun to carry on sling when out in the woods for anything from rattle snakes, to mountain lions....not to mention pot growers in the middle of public nowhere lands.
What I did not like about it was, cost; the guy would not say exactly how much he paid for it but from what I got out of it..it was over $650 bucks. And to be honest, the name Keltec, just because I have never owned one and they are relatively new and not a household gun name....hence not too many people I know to get personal reviews from on them. So, without doing much research myself on this gun and Keltec itself, I don't know of their customer service and warranties and just the longevity of the gun to normal wear and tear.
So If you have some experience or have looked and done some homework on this gun, let me know, please just no personal biased opinions. Thanks guys.

deen_ad · May 16, 2012

Nothing "relatively new" about KelTec, they've been around since 1991. I've had, and still do have several, but no KSG yet.

The MSRP hasn't been set yet, but they expect it to be in the $800 range.

RedneckRampage · May 16, 2012

badclam, a member here, has or had one and did a review on here, I think in the rifles & shotgun section.

Benihaus · May 16, 2012

you and your buddies shot 300 rounds through it and you liked it?
.....................

Allfat · May 17, 2012

I know that Keltec Customer Service is great. I have a PF9 that I was getting failure to extracts and they sent out the parts for free and the problem went away. I also found out that I had screwed up my firing pin by dry-firing it too much. I called them up and even after telling them that it was my fault and I expected to pay for it, they still sent them for free, no shipping charges or anything.

As for the KSG, they are pretty hard to find and demand a premium because of their lack of supply. If you wait until their production catches up with demand, then I am sure the price will be much more competitive. Also, with them being so rare right now, you probably aren't going to get much first-hand reviews, but it sounds like you have had quite a bit of trigger time with one and you really liked it. That would say a lot to me if I were in your shoes.

MinnesotaORnewbie · May 21, 2012

one noted comment on since we fired 300 rounds in one and I did like it, i will look at that as a bonus to my decision, but I would think most failures would occur after that break in period. And I guess keltec is not exactly a new company but compared to alot of other companies, they are still fairly new. I will look for that review from the other member posted a bit ago. Thanks so far for any info, and will look for any other personal experiences.

deen_ad · May 21, 2012

You have shot one, seems like that is more than 99.99% of us here have done. In fact you should write a review for the rest of us since most of us have never even seen one!

FireArm · Jul 12, 2012

I have not fired a KSG but am looking it to getting one, Kel-tec is a fairly new company but the gentleman who owns it is not new to firearms: George Kellgren (born May 23, 1943) is a Swedish-born firearms designer and founder of the gun manufacturer Kel-Tec. He is well known for numerous products including the Intratec Tec-9, Kel-Tec P-11 and Grendel .380 ACP pocket pistol. He holds patent 7469496.[1][2] George Kellgren is the owner and Chief Engineer of Kel-Tec CNC. He designed many firearms earlier for Husqvarna and Swedish Interdynamics AB in Sweden . He moved to the US in 1979 and his original US designs were for Intratec and Grendel brand firearms. He founded Kel-Tec in 1995.
If you consider a 17yr old company fairly new one. Theres my 2 cents. I have heard good thing about the KGS for size and weight.

deen_ad · Jul 12, 2012

PatriotRevolt said:
He founded Kel-Tec in 1995.

According to the KT website it was founded in 1991, but didn't get into guns until 1995

Kel-Tec CNC Industries, Inc. was founded 1991 in Cocoa, Florida. Initially, a CNC machine shop, Kel-Tec started to manufacture firearms in 1995.

FireArm · Jul 12, 2012

Yeah, I just knew George had originally designed the Interdynamic kg99 and Intratec tec-9, And had been making firearms for decades.
Kel-Tec CNC Industries, Inc. was founded 1991 in Cocoa , Florida . Initially, a CNC machine shop, Kel-Tec started to manufacture firearms in 1995. Specializing in innovative rifle designs and handguns for concealed carry by law enforcement personnel and qualified citizens, we are now one of the top five handgun makers in the US , making us one of the largest firearms manufacturers in the World.
Kel-Tec continues to grow and expand at our Cocoa facility thanks to our many satisfied customers. In addition to our 26,000 sq. ft machine shop, our 6200 sq. ft. assembly area, and our 8920 sq. ft. final assembly and repair center which has a 100 yard indoor shooting range, we have begun construction on a new 12,500 sq. ft. building to house materials needed just to keep up with demand.
Kel-Tec CNC Industries Incorporated is a privately held corporation under the laws of Florida and of the United States . We strongly support the individual right to keep and bear arms as defined in the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. All employees are members of the NRA. The Company is a member of the NSSF and HSSHF to support responsible and safe gun ownership.
The time for secrecy is nearing its end. This SHOT Show, Kel-Tec will be revealing its next ground-breaking product: the KSG (Kel-Tec Shotgun).

The KSG is our first entry into the shotgun market. The size, shape and design are similar to the currently available Kel-Tec RFB rifle, but the KSG ejects downward, instead of forward. The KSG weighs 6.9lbs and is as compact as legally possible with a 26.1" overall length and an 18.5" cylinder bore barrel. Even with this compact size, the internal dual tube magazines hold an impressive 6 rounds of 12 gage 3" shells each, for a total capacity of 6+6+1 (7 per tube if using 2-3/4" shells). The simple and reliable pump action feeds from either the left or right tube. The feed side is manually selected by a lever located behind the trigger guard. The lever can be positioned in the center detent in order to easily clear the chamber without feeding another round from either magazine. A cross bolt style safety blocks the sear, and the pump release lever is located in front of the trigger guard.
The pump includes an under Picatinny rail for the mounting of a forward grip, or a light or laser. The included top Picatinny sight rail will accept many types of optics or iron sights. Forward and rear sling loops are built in, and a basic sling is included. The soft rubber butt pad helps to tame recoil.
MSRP has not been officially been set, but we are looking at the $800.00 range.

Truenorth · Jul 13, 2012

I met one of the Kel Tec reps at the last SHOT show and of course fell in love with the KSG. Stout little bastard.
I have thier .556 chambered charlie model rifle that takes AR mags and after well over 3,000 rounds it's never jammed, misfired or made any fuss.

The rep told me the very first batch of KSG shotguns (about 90) that went out had some feed problems and Kel Tec halted manufacturing until it was complelty resolved.
Problem has been fixed, the owners of the first production run KSG's have been offered the free upgraded parts and Kel Tec is standing behind thier product 100%.

I was told KSG is shipping again but not in large volume. With all the backorders to fill it might be Q1 2013 before any are availalbe that haven't already been pre-ordered through Kel-Tec dealers. I was also warned about online gun action sites offering pre-orders. They are not legitimate and have no connection with Kel Tec.

Refreshing to hear they idetified a problem and stopped shipping until it was resolved. So many manufacturers with new models that devolop problems are quick to blame the operator or blow it off as incorrect ammunition. Ignore the customer complaints and just keep cranking them out as long there are orders to fill.
Pissing off your customer base is certainly no way to build a good reputation and with these internet forums bad news spreads real fast.

I don't have any affiliation with Kel Tec whatsoever and this was trade show talk from several months ago. If things have changed since then so be it, just trying to help fill in some of the gaps about availabilty and why there are so few.

Truenorth · Jul 13, 2012

Bubblegum? Where did that come from?

Nice edit mods.
Can I say stout little bass terd? Whatever.

Jeff Quinn did a nice review on the KSG.
I trust his judgement, he doesn't always have nice things to say about guns. If they have issues he points them out.

http://www.gunblast.com/KelTec-KSG.htm

coop44 · Jul 13, 2012

seen enough broken ones to know I will never own one. If they were smart they would try to distance themselves from the tec 9 and the kg99, both known for catastrophic unrepairable failures.