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Kel-Tec KSG

• moderate
• Shop tier 2
• high confidence
• Shotgun
• pump action
• bullpup
• dual magazine tubes
• bottom eject
• high capacity

field strip ~4 min · reassembly ~6 min · detail strip ~30 min

Specifications

Model-specific safety

• The KSG has TWO magazine tubes and a manual selector lever that chooses which tube feeds. Clearing this shotgun means checking the chamber AND BOTH TUBES. A tube that is not selected still holds shells and is easy to forget.
• With the selector in its centre position neither tube feeds, which is useful for unloading the chamber alone — but it also means the gun can appear empty while holding twelve shells.
• This is a bullpup: the chamber and the bottom ejection port sit behind the trigger, close to your body. Shells eject downward.
• Keep the support hand behind the forward grip. A bullpup pump with a short overall length puts the muzzle closer to the support hand than most people expect.
• Kel-Tec's manual puts a hard stop after the bolt: further disassembly should only be performed by a certified gunsmith or by Kel-Tec, and attempting it could void the warranty.
• If the shotgun has been fired, wait for the components to cool before attempting disassembly.
• The grip assembly's two rear pins have dedicated retaining holes to park them in. Use them — they are the reason those pins do not get lost.

Under spring tension

• Two magazine tube springs
• Hammer spring
• Action spring

Easily lost parts

Tube selector components · Trigger group pins · Bolt components

Tools

No tools required for the field strip.

Shop difficulty

Shop tier 2 Tier 2 — moderate among shotguns, for the full job: strip to the parts that get coated and put it back together working. 131 pieces (76 rows), but most are screws, pins and polymer shell halves that go together in order; the action itself field strips into four groups. The traps are the bolt that only goes in sideways and rotated, the twin magazine caps/bolts that must be tightened alternately, loctited inner tube caps, and Kel-Tec's own limit at the field strip.

Parts: 76 numbered parts (Kel-Tec KSG exploded view and parts list (REV #020714), complete gun; 76 key rows), from Kel-Tec KSG Shotgun Owner's Manual — Kel-Tec CNC Industries, Inc., PDF p. 11 5159794.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net [1].

Bench time: about 55 min to strip, 80 min to rebuild (estimate). Strip of grip and stock pins, bolt, magazine caps/fore-end, shell selector and the polymer shell screws to reach the aluminium/steel parts; rebuild longer for alternating magazine bolts and bolt insertion.

Small parts: 12 pins, 14 springs, 0 detents or plungers (counted from the manufacturer's parts list (one per key number unless a quantity is given))

What comes off for coating

• Grip / trigger: two disassembly pins, grip assembly with trigger pack (left assembled)
• Stock / bolt: rear stock, bolt
• Fore-end / magazines: magazine caps (alternate half turns), fore-end and slide, magazine bolts
• Receiver shell: shell screws and halves to free barrel/receiver (Kel-Tec: gunsmith only)

Special tools

• Coin or large screwdriver — Magazine caps
• Inner magazine cap tool (aftermarket) — Loctited inner tube caps, if tubes are stripped

Known pain points

• Kel-Tec limits owners to the field strip; anything further is for a certified gunsmith or the factory. (both)
  Source: Kel-Tec KSG Shotgun Owner's Manual — Kel-Tec CNC Industries, Inc. 5159794.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net [1] — “FURTHER DISASSEMBLY SHOULD ONLY BE PERFORMED BY A”
• The bolt only goes back in sideways from the rear with the slide fully back, then rotated to align, and must click as it locks to the barrel extension. (reassembly)
  Source: Kel-Tec KSG — American Rifleman (NRA) americanrifleman.org [4] — “To replace the bolt, pull the slide fully to the rear and insert the bolt sideways from the rear, rotating it to align the slots. It does require a bit of angling to make it fit, but it’s not difficult.”
• The two magazine caps that hold the fore-end are unscrewed alternately half a turn at a time; on reassembly the bolts into the same piece bind if one is run down faster than the other. (both)
  Source: Kel-Tec KSG — American Rifleman (NRA) americanrifleman.org [4] — “use a coin or large screwdriver to unscrew the caps on the front of the magazines (alternating the rotation a half-turn at a time) and pull off the fore-end.”

See also 5 documented reassembly problems and their fixes.

Fit or check on rebuild

• Magazine bolts tightened evenly, no gap or travel — Bolts into the same piece bind if tightened unevenly; a gap means the gun is not assembled.
• Bolt locks with a definite click — No click means the bolt is not locking with the barrel extension.
• Function check: safety, trigger/sear release, disconnector and feeding with dummy rounds — Standard after any detail strip; a mis-assembled sear or disconnector can double or fail to fire.

This is Pew-Takedown's rating, not the manufacturer's. How tiers are rated. Forum reports are owners' experience, not specifications.

Manufacturer videos

Official videos from Kel-Tec CNC Industries's own channels, linked rather than copied. Where a video and the steps on this page differ, follow the manufacturer's manual and video.

• KSG Quick Start Guide KelTec operation · 2022-11-27
  Covers: KSG

Procedures

Torque specifications

No sourced torque values from the manufacturer are recorded for this firearm. Where a fastener has a specified torque — action screws, scope bases, muzzle devices, barrel nuts — get it from the manufacturer or a gunsmith rather than estimating it.

What the manufacturer does say: The manufacturer's documents give no torque value. They say: "Using your tool of choice, screw the magazine bolts into the magazine plugs at the same rate, alternating between the two bolts a half-turn at a time until both bolts firmly resist further tightening." (Kel-Tec KSG Shotgun Owner's Manual, p. 14 (E. Assembly, step 4)) "You will want these nice and snug (1/4 turn)." (How To: Install a KSG Carry Handle [video] (KelTec support article), p. web page, STEP 3)

Materials and factory finish

As stated by Kel-Tec CNC Industries. Prep, masking and cure depend on these; a polymer or aluminium part, a nitrided or anodised finish, and a blued steel part are each a different job. Variants with other finishes may exist — check the maker's page for the exact SKU on the bench.

Parts list

Transcribed from the manufacturer's parts list (Kel-Tec KSG Shotgun Owner's Manual — Kel-Tec CNC Industries, Inc., PDF p. 11 5159794.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net [1]) — Kel-Tec KSG exploded view and parts list (sheet marked REV #020714; TOC section G). Single list for the KSG; no variant lists in this manual. Receiver listed as 300B RECEIVER GEN 2.. Key numbers refer to the exploded view in that document.

Function check

• Verify the shotgun is unloaded — chamber and BOTH tubes — before each step.
• Cycle the action fully and confirm it locks closed.
• With the hammer cocked, engage the safety and press the trigger. The hammer must not fall.
• Disengage the safety and press the trigger. The hammer should fall.
• Set the tube selector to each position in turn and confirm dummy shells feed from the selected tube only.
• Confirm the centre selector position feeds from neither tube.

Maintenance

Lubrication points

• Action bars in their grooves
• Bolt body and locking lug
• Magazine tube exteriors
• Tube selector pivot

Cleaning notes

Keep both magazine tube interiors clean and dry. Twin tubes double the places plastic wad residue can collect.

Suggested inspection interval: roughly every 1000 rounds. This is a general guideline, not a manufacturer specification.

Wear parts to inspect

Extractor · Both magazine springs · Shell stops · Action bars · Tube selector

Common issues

Also covers

The procedures above are reported to apply to: KSG-25 · KSG410 · KS7 (single tube variant). Verify against the manual for your specific model.

Similar manual of arms

• Mossberg 500 / 590
• Remington 870

Legal notes

Sourcing