The August edition of GunBroker.com’s Top Selling Report presented by GunGenius.com, shows us that KelTec’s KSG bullpup shotgun is still going strong despite other entrants in the unusual market.
Pump shotguns have been around since the 1880s, but when KelTec introduced the KSG 12 gauge shotgun in 2011, it was unlike anything we’d seen before. The first thing you notice is how small the whole gun is. Just 26.1 inches in overall length, it still sports an 18.5-inch barrel to keep it compliant with NFA rules and out of the “short barrel shotgun” category – but how?
The key to the KSG lies in the bullpup design, which places the action behind the trigger and grip instead of in front of it like we’re used to seeing in regular gun designs. Putting the action to the rear allows for a full-length barrel in a much more compact overall footprint. The crux of the KSG’s entire appearance is its bullpup configuration. Without it, the gun just doesn’t work.
Of course, the bullpup design is just one of the many tricks up the KSG’s sleeve. The most practical being the inclusion of a second magazine tube for added capacity. In the KSG’s standard configuration, it is capable of holding a total of 15 2 ¾” shells: seven in each magazine tube and one in the chamber. By virtue of having two tubes, the KSG is able to sidestep magazine capacity restrictions that exist in a number of places and makes the KSG legal in all 50 states. While the capacity is measured here by 2 ¾” shells, the shotgun does have a 3-inch chamber so that you can load larger shells if you so choose.
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The two magazine tubes also allow for super fast reloads or the ability to carry different types of shells. All you’ve got to do is use the manual selector lever to switch from one tube to the next. You could load all 14 rounds with the same shells or put buckshot in one and birdshot in the other or … well, you get the idea. The combinations are almost unlimited given the wide variety of shotshell loads available today.
Instead of loading like a traditional pump shotgun, the KSG both loads and ejects from the bottom of the action. Combined with other double-sided controls, the loading location is what makes the gun truly ambidextrous and adds another aspect of versatility to the design.
Rounding out the design are two generous sections of Picatinny rail – one on top and the other on the bottom – for you to use as you see fit in order to set up the KSG exactly how you want and need it to be.
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In addition to the standard KSG, there are three other versions. The KSG25 has a 30.5-inch barrel and a capacity of 25 rounds of 2 ¾” 12 gauge shells (12+12+1). The KSG Tactical is the NFA version in the lineup because its 13.7-inch barrel classifies it as a short barrel shotgun. It also has a foregrip that is molded into the forend and houses a 420 lumen KelTec light. Finally, the KSG Compact is for the NFA enthusiast who doesn’t want to wait. The only difference between the Compact and the Tactical is that the Compact has an 18.5-inch barrel so that you can file NFA paperwork to turn it into an SBS, but you can take it home today and enjoy it while you wait on the government.
In 2025, the KSG isn’t the only bullpup shotgun design on the market anymore. There are a number of other similar ones available, but as the old saying goes and the August Top Selling Report shows: often imitated, never duplicated.
Top Selling Guns Sold in August 2025
Source: gungenius.com/top-selling/
To learn more or shop for any of the guns listed, visit Gun Genius at www.gungenius.com/top-selling.
Editor’s note: In the report, guns are rated from one to five within each category, with the number one gun being the most popular that month. The numbers are color-coded to show any changes in the ranks from the previous report.
Black = Steady
Green = Up
Red = Down
Source: gungenius.com/top-selling/
To learn more or shop for any of the guns listed, visit Gun Genius at www.gungenius.com/top-selling.
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