Earlier today, commenter C Young posted the following the following comment underneath RF’s Kel-Tec KSG review. We contacted him for photos.
“The lower rail of the forend where a foregrip is recommended is PLASTIC unlike the upper rail which is metal. Within the first 10 shots using a sig sauer stoplight foregrip, the lower rail shattered, fragmented, and broke off. Very very disappointed. Otherwise, the gun shoots great.” Thus the photo above with two more after the jump. As someone trying to return something once said a very long time ago, caveat emptor.
Thats why you dont use plastic rails… there is a video on YouTube of a guy usign a Glock 18 on full auto with a pistol grip on the front rail… He ended up shooting himself in the hand when it broke.
Thanks for the tip. I just watched that video. Polymer, no matter how strong, is not metal.
A visit from the ATFE isn’t the worst thing you can get from turning a railed pistol into an unlicensed AOW. SBRs and AOWs, have a nasty tendency to put bullets through their owners’ support hands.
A machinegun is a machinegun is a machinegun, regardless of any other feature. To my knowledge, there are no glock machineguns (either factory or aftermarket) in the national transfer registry that are anything but dealer samples.
Ergo, the presence of a foregrip on the converted G17 in the mentioned video is not something that would raise the hackles of the BATFE(ARBF).
That’s one of the epic Kel Tec KSG design flaws. I’ll be sticking to my Remington 870 12 gauge with tactical 00 buck. I’ve yet to see one fail.
Huh… One thinks they would reinforce the part (or make it out of metal) that’s going to get torqued by the vertical foregrip I’m sure many owners will use…
Come on KelTec, affordable not cheap!
This doesn’t surprise me. I had a Sub 2000 carbine in .40 S & W a couple of years ago-bought it new. After two or three shots every magazine I tried (a total of 5) would fall out of the weapon so I sent it back to Kel-Tec. First time on the range after it returned I cranked off two rounds and the thing LITERALLY fell apart in my hands and, yes, there were witnesses. The good, stand up dealer I bought if from gave me a full refund. I agree w/ Accur81: the 870 is the way to go.
Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be trading in my 1897 any time soon. Hard to beat walnut and steel. And slamfiring is way more fun than any amount of rail.
Well the problem is obvious from the second photo. He was shooting 45ACP in a shotgun. ^_^
Unfortunately, this is par for course for Kel-Tec. They prove over and over again that “you get what you pay for.”
Well, from what I’m hearing right now, if you want a KSG, you’ll pay almost 2X MSRP; ~$1500.
A weapons rail is subject to stress. Unless, of course, you don’t mount anything on it. Then, you might as well make it a fore-end grip.
So far, Kel Tec has been super responsive. They’re shipping it down to them from here (CT) and assure to have it repaired and returned promptly. They’re saying that it is the first they’ve heard of it happening.
Range junk flying around.
Gunmart – I could see someone blowing their hand off … hadn’t thought of that.
No .. I wasn’t shooting 45s out of it!
I gotta say, the gun otherwise shot GREAT! Even after the forend broke, I put @ 50-60 rounds thru it using a red dot. Very very accurate with slugs. Real tight grouping effortless at 50′ (limit of the indoor range) Nice tight pattern on 00buck at 50′ too. 2 3/4″ shells no problem. 3″ magnums kick like a mule and hard on both shoulder as well as pistol-grip hand. Really missed that foregrip to help with recoil on the 3″ mags.
All in all, cant wait to get it fixed and get back to shooting it.
Were you using the foregrip to absorb recoil? That’s your problem right there. Foregrips are for holding neutral or pulling back on, Not built to take recoil impulse.
The real source of the problem is that they put a cheap plastic rail on there, which leads people to put a vertical foregrip on there, which is going to exert more force on the cheap plastic rail they decided to use even if all they do is use it to work the action back and forth.
Shouldn’t have to baby your grip because you’re afraid of breaking it, it’s a 12 gauge after all!
It’s too bad, really. Kel-Tec has had some interesting ideas but nothing I would own. I’ve read one too many reviews that do not compliment the quality.. I wish someone would come up with a reasonably priced, and decent quality, .223 rifle that used AR mags. It would be nice if Ruger released a Mini that used ‘em.
YES! That should totally happen.
A mini-14 that uses AR mags would be FANTASTIC!
The last picture you see up there is the rail on MY ksg – C Young and I were together popping our ksg cherries. Shortly after his rail tore apart, my sig 300j popped off, with half a tooth now missing (see pic) from the rail. It is IMPOSSIBLE for me to believe that Kel Tec had no idea about this problem, when 2 entirely separate guns have the same problem — BOTH on their first go rounds.
Other than the kick and that garbage bottom rail, though, this little puppy is sweet. Just gonna cross my fingers that my rail holds up.
I had a chance to shoot the KSG and it was a lot of fun, but Kel Tec’s never been known for quality firearms.
Ithaca 37.
“yeeeaaaah, I’m gonna need you to go ahead and trade that junker in on a Mossberg 590, OK?”….
Seriously, when was the last time you heard “Mossberg” and “epic failure” or “Remington 870″ and “its plastic parts dun broke’d off” in the same sentence?
Nice Patrick Carrube… Nice.
I’m just waiting for Ruger to come out with a better version in a year or two.
It’s funny ’cause it’s true. Ruger should just buy Kel-Tec out and turn it into the R&D division. Then again, they’re already using it that way for free.
Speaking of good ideas from Kel-Tec: has there been any further word on the PMR’s big brother, the RMR-30? I finally got to handle a PMR the other day at a gun show, and I really liked it, despite the “assembled out of legos” feel it had.
Perhaps Kel tec will offer the foregrip attachment shown on their Patrol version as an alternative to the vertical foregrip. Seems like this would help keep your hand behind the barrel during the zombie onslaught while also giving more support as the next round is racked in. Should put way less stress on the rail compared to the longer verticals. I’m certainly getting frustrated by the wait for this gun. I might be a zombie myself by the time they are readily available.
Pingback: Kel Tec’s Follow Up re: Broken KSG Rail | The Truth About Guns
Mossberg 500/590. Best buy for the money in my book. I’ve owned over a dozen in the last several decades, and NEVER had a problem with any load I shot. The same for Remingtons, but they’re a little harder on the budget.
I have a Kel Tec P3AT. It has had over 700 rounds fired through it with one malfunction. You can see that one single malfunction in my video posted on youtube. “Flashbang holster” The shooter was (at the time) a new shooter who limp wristed the pistol and it failed to fully extract the round. She had never shot a subcompact before that day. I have sent a couple of Kel Tec fireams back for repairs. Kel Tec offers a lifetime warranty on all their products and they honor that warranty. I have never paid them a cent to repair work. They offer very innovative designs that are ahead of the curve. It is only natural to have early production issues with any new design. I am a police firearms instructor. At a recent police shoot we had the chance to test their new shotgun. While awkward for someone not familiar with their manual of arms, (We are all 870 veteran shooters) the shotgun ran flawlessly. We were pleasantly surprised with the performance. It is hard to argue with 14 rounds of slugs/buckshot that can be selected with a lever. I have also fired a PMR 30 and was pleased with the performance and trigger. Imagine unleashing 30 rounds of 22 magnum at close range. Other than the very loud noise leve of the 22 mag in a handgun it is very pleasant to shoot offering little recoil.
I was hoping for a Semi Auto version to begin with. Pump action turned my interest completely South. This shot gun looks pretty but who wants a turd in a candy wrapper?