KelTec is an American firearms manufacturer that insists on marching to the beat of its own drummer, due in no small part to the unique and innovative firearm configurations of Swedish-born designer George Kellgren. Since founding the company in 1991, he has developed several notable models, including the folding Sub2000 pistol-caliber carbine, the 30+1 capacity PMR30 .22 WMR pistol and the KSG shotgun.
Launched in 2011, the 12-gauge KSG was a true game changer for the defensive shotgun market. Not only is it a bottom-ejection, bullpup pump action, but also, it sports two tubular magazines instead of one. This gives the original 18.5-inch-barrel model an ammunition capacity of 14+1 rounds when loaded with 2 3/4-inch shells. The KSG certainly tops the shotgun charts when it comes to ammunition capacity, but it’s not always the best fit for some applications. Its side-by-side tube configuration gives it a fairly chunky footprint and, when fully loaded, it can be on the hefty side in regards to handling. Although it remains a top seller in defensive circles, some customers asked for the same features but in a slimmer package.
These requests were answered in 2019 with the launch of the KS7 shotgun. Simply stated, the KS7 is what the KSG would be if it was built around a single tubular magazine instead of two. As well as being slimmer and lighter, the KS7 costs about $200 less than the KSG. In the fall of 2025, KelTec released an updated version dubbed the KS7 Gen 2. It has some internal modifications to make the gun more durable and smoother to operate, along with new up-to-date features. This evaluation takes a closer look at what this latest iteration of the company’s uncommon 12-gauge has to offer.
The KS7 Gen 2 is a pump-action bullpup shotgun with an integral pistol grip and a 3-inch chamber. Like other bullpup rifles and shotguns, it is configured with an action and ejection port situated behind the trigger group instead of above or in front of it. The gun’s layout is bilateral, with a singular downward-facing port for loading fresh rounds and ejecting spent hulls. By moving the action back into the shoulder stock area, this compact shotgun features an 18.5-inch barrel with an overall length of 26.1 inches. This makes it just about as short as a shotgun can be without crossing over into NFA tax stamp territory. Assembled using matte black Parkerized steel, anodized aluminum and high-impact polymer components, it tips the scales at 6 pounds, 2.5 ounces, unloaded.
Perhaps the most noticeable alteration to the Gen 2 KS7 is the sight system. The Gen 1 left the factory with an integral polymer carry handle that provided a few M-LOK accessory slots and a green, triangular fiber-optic pipe that served as a front sight. With micro-red-dot optics being as popular and plentiful as they are these days, it makes sense that the handle was traded out for a 12.25-inch-long aluminum Picatinny optics rail. The front of this rail is secured to the same machined aluminum bracket that supports the barrel and magazine.
The barrel ships with a fixed cylinder bore choke. Technically speaking, the muzzle is threaded with exterior threads used to support an aluminum barrel nut. Some companies offer aftermarket compensators that can be installed in place of the barrel nut. The tubular magazine is fitted with an aluminum cap that can be removed to provide access to the spring and the white polymer follower. Left- and right-side view ports are milled into the magazine just above the trigger assembly. They allow the operator to visually verify the load status of the magazine, much like the witness holes of a pistol’s magazine.
The magazine holds six rounds of 3-inch shells or seven rounds of the 2 ¾-inch variety. I contacted KelTec and asked about using 1 ¾-inch mini shells, or “shorty” shells, since some folks prefer the reduced recoil and increased onboard round count (11+1) that they provide. They let me know that the KSG and KS7 are mini-shell compatible; however, shorties tend to cycle a bit more consistently in the KSG. Although it is not necessarily a common occurrence, a mini shell may tip on the lifters, resulting in a failure to feed. This means it would be an exceptionally good idea, as with any gun and ammunition combination, for a customer to thoroughly test their KS7 with mini shells before staging them for self defense.
The forend features dual action bars for more reliable operation. KelTec’s signature “waffle” pattern texturing is molded into the sliding forend and the pistol grip. The forend’s grip features hand stops, forward and rear, intended to keep the support hand from slipping off while cycling the action. It has a total of four M-LOK slots for mounting lights and other accessories. A new feature, found along the bottom of the forend, is an integral accessory rail covered by a pair of removable polymer plates. This rail is provided for mounting AR-style vertical grips or angled fore grips (AFGs). It’s a nice touch for those who want the added purchase and control these grips can provide.
The KS7’s external controls, trigger guard, trigger group and pistol grip are all incorporated into the clamshell polymer “lower” assembly. This assembly is secured to the steel “upper” receiver, which houses the bolt assembly, using a pair of steel takedown pins. When the pins are pressed out from the receivers, they can be stored in the two ports located in the pistol grip just behind the trigger.
Mounted to the front of the trigger guard is an ambidextrous bolt-release lever. The curved polymer trigger broke cleanly with 5 pounds, 7 ounces of trigger pull according to a Lyman digital trigger gauge. The square push-button safety is located just above the pistol grip. It is pressed toward the left side of the receiver for “safe” and to the right, using the shooting hand thumb, for “fire.” The non-adjustable shoulder stock provides a 13-inch length of pull. It also features a sling mount slot and a textured rubber butt pad that provides added purchase.
The underside of the shoulder stock is where you’ll find the bottom-facing loading and ejection port. The bolt assembly is visible through this port when the action is closed. When the action is cycled, fresh shells are lifted up into the chamber from the magazine, with expended cartridge cases ejecting straight down toward the ground.
This model’s flush-fit optics rail is ideal for AR-15 folding back-up sights and AR-height red-dot optics. For this evaluation, the rail was outfitted with a set of minimalist steel Mission First Tactical EXD folding back-up sights with an elevation-adjustable post front sight and a mono aperture rear sight. Between these back-up sights, a fully enclosed, rifle-style 2-MOA Swampfox Liberator II red-dot optic was added using the provided AR-height mount. The EXD sights and the Liberator II were almost co-witnessed right out of their boxes; only minor adjustments were required. At the distances tested (25 yards or less) either the iron sights or the optic would be sufficient. But together, they formed a reliable and quick-to-acquire sight picture useful for most defensive situations.
At the shooting range, the KS7 Gen2 was put through its paces using a mix of 2 ¾-inch 12-gauge shot shells, including sporting birdshot and defense-grade buckshot loads. Having tested the first generation model, I found the improvements in the Gen2 action were evident. Not only did this KS7 feed, fire and eject reliably with all of the ammunition tested, but the forend also cycled more smoothly and easily than the previous version.
With the reliability testing completed, pattern testing was conducted by firing individual rounds into Action Target’s 35-inch-tall-by-23-inch-wide B-27E paper silhouettes posted at a distance of 25 yards. The birdshot load used was Federal Premium’s High Overall round stoked with 1 1/8-ounce No. 7 ½ lead pellets launching at a listed velocity of 1,250 fps. Counting flyers, the pattern was from the top to the bottom of the target but with a fairly dense pattern forming around the aiming point. Remington’s Ultimate Defense Managed Recoil round launches a payload of 21 pieces of No. 4 Buck at a listed velocity of 1,200 fps. All of the pellets landed on the target to form a 16-inch group when measuring from the outside edges of the two pellets that were the farthest apart. Hornady offers an American Gunner Reduced Recoil round that fires eight pellets of 00 Buck at 1,350 fps. Seven of the pellets formed a 7.5-inch pattern with one flyer opening the pattern up to 10 inches.
KelTec’s KS7 Gen 2 successfully balances the best qualities of the original KSG in a compact, lightweight, and highly maneuverable shotgun with the optics rail and smoother action customers have been asking for. Its profile and optics-ready rail make it an ideal fit for backpacking, camping and for use as a trunk gun in addition to its usefulness as a home-defense shotgun. As of this writing, this pump-action is available in Black, Flat Dark Earth and Olive Drab finishes with a suggested retail price of $699.99. For more information, visit keltecweapons.com.
