So here's the story...

When Kel Tec announced the KSG, I was intrigued until I saw the price, the weight, and (after handling one) the width of it. I liked the idea, but couldn't help but be dissatisfied. Such is life.

Then they announced the KS7. Lighter, cheaper, slimmer - all my concerns were seemingly resolved.

I walked into Buds in Sevierville, TN, handled one at the counter, and walked out with one for $449 - even in the desert tan color I wanted.

Haven't shot it yet, but I have been fondling it and have cycled a bunch of 2 3/4" shells through it with seemingly no issues.

The quality of the machining, materials, fit and finish leave nothing to be desired. The plastic pump flexes some, but feels good and solid in hand when shouldered. I put a Limbsaver small buttpad over the stock since I've heard the light weight results in some strong recoil and the factory pad is quite hard.

It did come dirty, seemingly from function testing as it's a new-in-box example. I wish they had at least cleaned the barrel and mag tube - there's some buildup in both that hasn't come out completely with a regular cleaning. Nothing that would effect function, but there are no mirror-clean surfaces here.

I liked the way it looks stock, but am replacing the carry-handle/sight with the OEM picatinny rail and a Holosun green circle dot sight also in desert tan. We'll see how the circle coincides with the shot pattern.

I love the light weight and compactness - it just feels like it fits me. The extra inch from the recoil pad helps as I'm used to about a 14" LOP. Interestingly, with a 2" choke adapter on the barrel and a SiCo Salvo 12 it would be the same length as a stock Benelli M4. Very compelling for home defence after I verify it's reliable.

Anyway, just a quick initial post for now. I'll follow up when I can get to the range if folks are interested.

Initial impression: I'm very happy with the purchase and excited to get it out and run it through its paces.

Congrats on the purchase.

I was and am a fan of the KSG, but never could get over the idea that sooner or later someone would get their hand in front of the muzzle.  The KSG25 resolved that concern and ended up on the "will acquire at some point" list.

Anxious to see a range report once you get it out for some shooting.

Quote from: sqlbullet on March 03 2020 04:31:02 PM MST
Congrats on the purchase.

I was and am a fan of the KSG, but never could get over the idea that sooner or later someone would get their hand in front of the muzzle.  The KSG25 resolved that concern and ended up on the "will acquire at some point" list.

Anxious to see a range report once you get it out for some shooting.

I bought a KSG and I had the same fear of shooting my hand off also.

I added a flash hider and a good pistol grip fore end and I feel it is safe now.  You really have to work the pump action hard or you can short stroke it very easily.  The pistol grip took care of that for me anyway.

The flash hider actually makes the shotgun look better to me.

Quote from: sqlbullet on March 03 2020 04:31:02 PM MST
Congrats on the purchase.

I was and am a fan of the KSG, but never could get over the idea that sooner or later someone would get their hand in front of the muzzle.  The KSG25 resolved that concern and ended up on the "will acquire at some point" list.

Anxious to see a range report once you get it out for some shooting.

Yeah, it's a legit concern. I'll see how it feels when I have it out to shoot. Handling it at home, I'm fairly confident the hand stop on the pump is enough, but it would have been nice to have an MLOK slot on the bottom for a v-grip. If I follow it through with a suppressor, that would mitigate the issue too.

Got the rail and red dot mounted today, so one step closer to range day.

A Magpul AFG mounted backwards would probably work too.  The one I shot had this on it and I felt confident.  But I would not have felt that way when one of the scouts I take shooting from time to time had asked to shoot it.  And I don't even wanna think about taking a 12 yr old home to their mom with a hamburger hand. (Even though I do think about it everytime I take them out shooting, no matter what guns we have.)

Conscientious safety is always top priority for sure. I always try to impress on folks I take to the range, whether they're 12 or 62, that safety is first and foremost and after that we have a good time. Central to that imo, in addition to the four rules, is staying calm, moving slowly and deliberately, and always asking questions if they're unsure of something. Nothing more frightening to me at the range than someone who's nervous handling a firearm.

There are certainly some firearms that require more experience and (for lack of a better word) intention than others.

Absolutely, safety should always be number one

Was able to make a short trip to a range today - indoor, 25 yards and only slugs allowed.

tl;dr: Damn this thing is fun. I'm satisfied that this was a good purchase.

I put 35 slugs through it - first time I've shot slugs. Unfortunately these were the only varieties the store had in stock today, so no 3" shells.

25 Seller & Bellot "Special Slug Sport" 2 3/4" 1 oz rifled 1345 fps advertised velocity
5 Federal Power Shok 2 3/4" 1oz rifled 1610 fps advertised velocity
5 Hornady SST 2 3/4" 300gr not-rifled 2000 fps advertised velocity

I also didn't realize the Hornady was for use in rifled barrels, which probably accounts for some of the difference in shooting experience.

Used most of the S & B to zero the red dot at the full 25 yards. The 6 that I shot for a group all ended up inside the green circle of the red dot, so not too shabby.

The Federal was difficult to group - I only had 5 shells, but the wads from all five tore the paper up to the point I couldn't tell where the slugs actually hit.

Both of those were very comfortable to shoot, though the Federal clearly had more oomph. The Limbsaver pad was excellent as always.

The Hornady was another animal entirely. Massive fireball and blast, and more recoil. Interestingly, the 5 shots grouped inside 2", and none of the wads punctured the paper.  I'm assuming the blast and fireball is due to the slugs not being rifled, but the consistent group is curious from a smooth barrel. I assume the cone tip of the Hornady's is just more consistent in flight than the flad nose of the other two. That or I got lucky.

I had no malfunctions of any kind, which I'm very happy about. I'll run a broader variety of loads through when I can find a local range that allows shot shells at paper targets. Not sure if I'll run it for trap at all, but might be fun. The trigger is excellent - much better than any other bullpup I've shot, and almost as good as my Beretta O/U.

Didn't find the pump/hand-stop to be an issue re: keeping my hand behind the barrel. I didn't run it fast since I was zeroing and grouping, but at no point did I feel like I didn't have complete control of the front end. I did find that wearing some light gloves helped with two things, though - first, my front thumb got battered a bit at the start, pressing up against the hand stop (which might also be resolved with a different grip technique); second, my rear wrist caught a few of the shells on their way out the bottom. The gloves alleviated both issues.

Happy to elaborate or answer questions about the shotgun or my experience.

Start saving milk jugs.

Setup a course where you have to walk and shoot at jugs of water, more fun than a pistol.  Put some behind object so you are turning to shoot, what a blast.

By the way, mine came with what looked to be the the "parkerized" coating on the inside of the barrel.  Solvent wouldn't touch it so I shot a couple boxes of birdshot at first trying to clean it up.  That started it but it still looked like hell.  I called up and the Customer Service guy said his came that way too.  Just shoot slugs to clean it up.

Only Kel Tec.

Thanks for the cleaning insight, BEEMER!, I'll see what it looks like when I clean it later.

Wish I had a spot to go and set up a milk jug course. I'm still too new to this area to know of any or have local contacts. (If anyone is in the east Tennessee area I'd be interested in buying you a beer after shooting on your property  )

I had a KSG for a few years. It was a cool SG especially when loaded up with mini shells. My only complaints - new out of the box, part of the plastic of the assembly that fit into the buttstock was broken so I had to send back.  I had to rack the slide back and forth pretty hard for it to function reliably, especially with the hotter loads. Otherwise, a great SG.

I later sold it and saved my $$ to get a Benelli semi auto.