Kel-Tec KSG - a Reader's Experience

Reader, Jersey, recently commented on the Kel-Tec KSG post from a while back about Caleb's video of the KSG choking down during slide manipulation. He had this to say:

I can tell you this much about the gun, dont buy it. I waited months for mine and recently took delivery of it and as any excited boy with a new toy would do,I cleaned it and I went straight to the range. First Impression,it looks cool and that’s where the good impressions end. Kel Tec should have waited till the design was complete and bug free before releasing any of these weapons to anyone.:incazzato:

The gun is very awkward almost to the point of difficult to load and you will most likely cut your finger doing so. Now imagine trying to load this thing in the field under high stress situations. I dont see how it is possible to combat load a round into the chamber without turning the gun upside down. The magazine selector switch is very hard to manipulate from right to left on my gun and would need to be in the neutral position to attempt a combat load, which is one more extra step which would most likely get you shot in the face in real combat..

In Response to the Guns.com Article About Derringers

The Case Against the Derringer

Yesterday over at Guns.com, David LaPell posted a great article entitled "From the Remington 95 to the Heizer DoubleTap: The Case for the Derringers". Its a very well written article, and it gives a nice look at the history of the Derringer as well as some compelling reasons why one might choose a Derringer.

Why would you carry one?  One word: summer.

While ideally one would like to have a gun on them at all times and it’s not always the easiest thing to do as the temperature rises and we lose layers of clothing. Ask yourself, how does one go about trying to concealed carry around a Glock on a really hot summer day? Few things can be more uncomfortable than trying to wear a sidearm in an inside the waistband holster when it's hot and sticky out.

Amen to that! My primary carry gun is the Glock 26, but being from the deep south I years ago came to the realization that carrying "a real gun" during the dog days of summer for any extended period of time is no comfortable task. I also had started to realize that there were times when certain clothing dictated that I pretty much had to go unarmed.

Kel-Tec KSG in Green

How do you make the most tacticool shotgun on the planet look even cooler? Do a version in green. Of course the photos are by Oleg Volk who always gets to handle the cool Kel-Tec stuff first. I've got to say, it really looks good in this version:

A Look at the Kel-Tec KSG... It doesnt look good

Daniel over at Guns.com has a review of the KSG. One of the big things he notes (and has been a major question to me with this design) is that recoil is handled very well. He does note, however, that the gun falls a bit short of expectations:

However, when we went out to test it, the level at which it performed as a tactical weapon was laughable – so laughable I'm inclined to think we got a dud and can't do a proper review.

I actually had the opportunity to meet up with Daniel for this shoot, but my scheduling just didnt allow it to be.  Now I am really bummed... I would have loved to have been there to see this new firearm fall flat on its face - which it looks like it certainly did. He has put in a request for another KSG to do a follow up, but this does not look good for Kel-Tec

Kel-Tec MSRP = $880 Pre-Order for $655

Yep, Kel-Tec has announced an MSRP of $880 and they will be shipping "by year's end 2011". You can pre-order right now for $665.

Kel-Tec KSG Review

Matt has a wonderful look at the Kel-Tec KSG as written by Greg Carlson of Carlson Comps. Nice pics too.

Kel-Tec PMR-30

Shooting Illustrated has a nice look... with pics and ballistics.

The kit-gun concept has been around for a long time. Although the term means different things to different people, a kit gun is a relatively compact and lightweight handgun appropriate for hiking, camping or tossing in a tackle box.
Kit guns are generally chambered in smaller calibers good for plinking and shooting small game or pests. They should be easy to carry, fun to shoot and accurate enough for a wide variety of tasks. Perhaps the most traditional kit gun in recent years is a Smith & Wesson revolver in .22 LR or .22 WMR. However, with the introduction of the PMR-30, Kel-Tec has taken the kit-gun concept to a whole new level. 

I really want one of these. I have no actual real use for one of these so I'm sure I probably will never buy one, but I would be the happiest man in the world if some nice soul handed me one out of the kindness of their heart.

New Stuff Coming From Kel-Tec

From their Facebook page:

Just in time for the Holiday Season, Kel-Tec will be releasing some new stocking-stuffer accessories for the Kel-Tec shooter and fan.  Here’s an in-depth breakdown of some of the new accessories coming out.

PF-9 +1 Grip Extension.  For our most popular firearm, the PF-9, we are set to release the PF-9-805, +1 Grip Extension, pictured below:

The History of Kel-Tec

Cheaper Than Dirt has a nice read on the history of the company whose products I whole heartily endorse............ here

Video: Shooting the Kel-Tec P3AT at 50 yards

Video: Review Kel-Tec P32 Pistol

Keltec Sub 2000 with some cool mods

KSG Update

From Kel-Tec

They expect to be in full production by year's end

Speaking of the PF9

This guy had 6 failures to eject in the first 100 rounds

Life span of a Kel-Tec?

Here is a discussion on the subject from the fan-boys themselves... Caleb will soon be getting an actual round count on a PF9. Kel-Tec actually states that their pistols have a lifespan of 6,000 rounds. However, with their no questions asked lifetime warranty you can count on having some version of your originally purchased weapon for... well, forever.

I have read many a story on the Internets of Kel-Tec going as far as completely replacing the entire upper of a pistol to just sending an entirely brand new replacement gun out to the customer if they could not get it right.

Gel tests galore

Golden Loki has some really nice gel tests for several pocket pistol calibers up to 9mm. These are very well done, and most importantly are done with small carry pistols. If you carry a small gun, then you need to spend some time checking these out.

I did not know that

Apparently the Kel-Tec PF9 pinky extension works great on a FIE Titan .25 pocket pistol - with a small modification.

Video: PMR-30 Firepower

What the Kel-Tec fanboys say about the PMR-30 problem

Here is the thread over at KTOG. What I did not realize is that KT is going to redesign the look of the gun. From the KT official statement:

There has also been a cosmetic change to the barrel: we have removed the fluting on the barrel. The initial fluted design was for weight reduction, however it was time-consuming to produce. We have created a new design that matches the weight and decreases production time significantly. It will look like a more traditional pistol.

Kel-Tec KSG to be featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

So says The Truth About Guns. Yes, its definitely a gun that belongs in a video game.

The Firearm Blog also has a run down of the other cool guns to be featured

Caleb also has an interesting take on this