I like Kel-Tec firearms. They are different, creative, and even downright odd at times. As a shotgunner, the Kel-Tec KSG never drew me in, but the Kel-Tec KS7 captured my attention. It’s a bullpup, with the action behind the trigger and grip for a much shorter gun.
Short guns are what you want for close-quarters combat. What else excels at close quarters? Shotguns!
Combine the bullpup concept with a shotgun, and you can have a very compact firearm that would excel for close-quarters fire. In fact, a properly built bullpup shotgun doesn’t suffer from most bullpup downsides.
Outside of the KS7, the current market of bullpup shotguns doesn’t do much for me. Most are Turkish shotguns, and their quality control is too much of a risk to invest in one. The other options from S&W and Kel-Tec are dual tube designs, and I don’t like the weight, bulk, and complication of the dual tube designs.
The KS7: The Difference
Kel-Tec has admittedly had QC fumbles. For years, the joke was that Kel-Tec’s customers were beta testers for weird products. That has seemingly changed. As a Kel-Tec enjoyer, I’ve had no problems with the handful of Kel-Tec firearms I’ve owned in the last few years.
I’ve owned a KS7 for years, since they launched, and I don’t shoot it all the time, but at this point, it’s seen over 500 problem-free rounds, likely closer to 750 than 500. Problem-free, that is, as long as it’s standard 2.75 or 3-inch shells. This thing doesn’t cycle mini-shells, so ditch that idea.
The KS7 wasn’t a gun I’d thought would be anything other than a fun little novelty, but after years of ownership, I’d trust it for home defense. Part of the gun’s reliability is its simplicity.
Pump-action shotguns are simple and don’t rely on a gas or inertia system. The single tube design is straightforward, with no switches to manipulate or tubes to swap, and it operates on the basics of a standard pump action. I think that’s why the KS7 is so reliable.
Breaking Down the KS7
The KS7’s bullpup design means it’s a mere 26.1 inches long. That’s a little shorter than a Mossberg Shockwave, but you get a stock and a higher capacity. This ultra-short design makes the gun easy to handle and easy to carry.
It’s shorter than most short-barreled shotguns and still packs an 18.5-inch barrel. No NFA and tax stamp to deal with. Plus, you get seven rounds of 2.75-inch shells in a very short platform.
It makes it easy to maneuver the gun indoors, through doorways, and in and out of vehicles. Plus, the short overall length makes it easy to hold up for extended periods of time. The fact that it weighs 5.9 pounds helps a lot.
One of the most eye-catching features is the carry handle on the gun. It’s huge and gives the gun a distinct retro look. The carry handle is necessary due to the inline stock design.
The carry handle houses your sighting system and a few M-LOK slots. It’s mostly fine, but the plastic is somewhat weak, and you’ll notice mine has a chunk taken out of the M-LOK. I have no idea how it happened.
The KS7 is an ambidextrous gun. The controls are ambidextrous, and it ejects from the bottom, which makes it left-handed friendly. Most bullpups aren’t lefty-friendly, and the KS7 scores high for our “wrong-handed” friends.
Shooting the KS7
The KS7 can be unforgiving when it comes to recoil. If you do not establish a good push/pull or other recoil mitigation technique, this thing can hit you hard. The lightweight design, combined with the bullpup format, makes it sharp-recoiling.
If you can establish a good push/pull technique, you won’t have any problems. The KS7 makes it easy to establish a good push/pull thanks to the short distance between the pump and the firing grip. The short length of pull makes it easy to get behind the gun and square up to the target.
Kel-Tec smartly integrated a shield into the pump to keep your hand from slipping off. The downside is that it feels natural to rest your thumb on the guard. However, you’ll be reminded with every shot that that is a bad idea as the guard impacts your thumb and causes some sharp pain.
Going fast is easy. You can jam out two rounds of full-powered buckshot in less than a second at 10 yards easily enough. It’s fast to empty the gun, but slow to reload. Reaching rearward and trying to load the gun without breaking the firing position requires you to be a contortionist.
You have to break your shooting position to reload the gun. Luckily, in defensive use, a reload is unlikely.
Accuracy and Height Over Bore
The carry handle positions the sight a fair bit higher than the bore. Like most modern rifles, you can run into height over bore at close range. Since shotguns are close-range weapons, this can be a minor issue.
With normal buckshot, the height over bore isn’t all that noticeable. I like Federal Flitecontrol, and it patterns so tight it hits like a slug within 10 yards or so. This creates a problem with height over bore.
The Flitecontrol appears to hit a few inches low with the KS7 within seven yards. Is it a big deal? No, but it’s worth mentioning.
The carry handle design gives you a massive front sight. It’s a yellow, high-visibility design that’s triangular and easy to see. It works just fine.
You can replace the carry handle with an optics rail, and that’s what I need to do. Red dots are a much better sighting system for shotguns. What I do like about the carry handle is the light mounting potential.
The Kel-Tec KS7: Keep It Short
The Kel-Tec KS7 was a welcome surprise. It’s the only bullpup shotgun I enjoy and would advocate for. I do think some refinement could take the idea to the next level.
It’s reliable, but if a malfunction occurs, it’s difficult to fix. You have to jam your hand into a small slot and try to pry that malfunction out. I think the S&W M&P 12’s ability to open the chamber is brilliant and could be implemented into this gun.
I think an optics-ready design from the factory makes more sense, and I’d like to see M-LOK slots attached to the pump. Luckily, all these needs and wants seem to be satisfied by the recently unveiled Gen 2 KS7.
The KS7 has good bones, and with a little improvement here and there, it could be an extremely capable shotgun and might set the standard for bullpup shotguns.
