Keltec KSG practice which NORCAL range?

[ibcruzn408]

Hi Everyone,

Newbie here looking into purchasing a Keltec KSG for home defense. I am a bit of hesitant in purchasing the firearm due to training opportunities that may be a burden. For people especially in NorCal, which ranges would I be able to shoot and train with the KSG? Upon research looks like tactical shotguns are not permitted in most ranges like this one or am I wrong? Please let me know.
Thanks

[W.R.Buchanan]

You need to go to Front Sight for your training and then find a local place to practice.

Anyone who goes to a Tactical Shotgun class there comes away understanding just how formidable a Tactical Shotgun can be 95% is learning the Gun Handling/Manual of Arms for their particular Weapon.

KSG's are a little different than your regular Pump or S/A gun, so be prepared for a learning curve. Also the big thing with KSG's that that you MUST RACK THEM WITH AUTHORITY!!!

Randy

[SanJoseMarkp]

not a big shotgun guy here but while at Reeds a while back people were talking about the tactical shotgun class. I believe they are closed right now due to SIP order and probably not as complete as front site but local in San Jose vs Front Site in NV and requiring travel + hotel depending on where in NorCal your coming from.

[K001]

+1 for Reeds tactical shotgun class when SIP is lifted.

[SkyHawk]

Hi Everyone,

Newbie here looking into purchasing a Keltec KSG for home defense. I am a bit of hesitant in purchasing the firearm due to training opportunities that may be a burden. For people especially in NorCal, which ranges would I be able to shoot and train with the KSG? Upon research looks like tactical shotguns are not permitted in most ranges like this one or am I wrong? Please let me know.
Thanks

Shooting and training are two different things. A good deal of training can be done without shooting.

I don't know of any range that allows shooting shotguns who do not also allow the shooting of 'tactical shotguns'. I'm not saying they don't exist, but I have never heard of it. However note that a skeet/trap course or a sporting clays course is not a 'shooting range'.

But yes, there are many shooting/target ranges that do not allow rapid fire, do not allow shooting at more than one target, do not allow shooting out of your lane, do not allow running and gunning or shooting from behind cover, or shoulder rolls through doorways if that's your idea of training.

So perhaps let us know exactly what you want to do with a KSG and someone can point you in the right direction. I shoot my KSG at Dillman Range in Lincoln without a problem.

[HOTWHEELS1]

When I first bought a shotgun, I was told by another customer at the shop how that there shotgun was going to kill me without the proper professional training and how I should plan on shooting a thousand rounds a week through it so I could build muscle memory? Well, I ignored all that silly mumbo-jumbo and took my shotgun, headed to BIG 5, bought two packs of the zoom shotgun snap caps, sat in every room of my house and imagined a break in. I then proceeded to load my shotgun with snap caps and as I “cleared” my house, I would cycle the action, reload, aim, walk, stop, kneel, drop to my belly, walk backwards aiming with one hand while reaching for doorknobs behind my back with the other, I called a friend of mine and practiced various actions while on the phone and concentrated on staying focused on the conversation while keeping my aim/reloading and dry fire. My shotgun is for home defense not combat or tactical situations so I trained at home where I will be using it. I spent the money I would have spent on training and bought a surveillance cameras/recorder for when we are not home. I also purchased a couple of tree cameras that are secretly mounted at the entrance of our driveway and backyard. Out of the shotguns I own, I narrowed it down to one with ammo that I patterned and know will work at the distances within my house. I understand the usefulness of training courses, but not everyone wants that for one reason or another...doesn’t make anyone a bad gun owner.

[operavoice]

Shooting: I brought mine to Circle S.
To the right of the pistol line is an area for shotgun patterning.
I used Aguila Mini slugs to get the red dot sighted in and co-witnessed with a flip up front sight, and patterned the buck shot after that was done.

Training is a whole other animal, but Hotwheels1 has a really good idea for indoor drills at home.

[Boarhuntor]

Metcalf rifle range allows shooting any legal firearm.
But as you first shotgun, please, do not go exotic, just buy a standard Mos500 or Rem870, learn if you like it at all.

[W.R.Buchanan]

What Hotwheels is doing is fine, however if you've never ran a shotgun in a Tactical Situation you kind of need to learn that first. Then you can go home and practice in your house as that is where you would choose to fight..

Please understand,,, Home Defense IS a Tactical Situation.

You kind of need to have some external stimulus applied to you to simulate the Adrenaline Dump you will have if confronted by unwanted visitors entering your home. One way to do that is with Time Pressure or maybe some type of competition.

I see alot of different people posting videos of them shooting on Youtube. I rarely see one that could pass the basic Front Sight Shotgun Test.

Even a 2 day class will make them so much better, as the emphasis is on gun handling and running the gun. Efficient Loading and Unloading are key to this, as are mounting the gun in a consistent way so it doesn't beat you. If you really think you can deal with any threat with only 6-8 rounds that might be a little short sighted. What happens if you run the gun dry? Do you know when to Port Load it or when to reload the magazine? These are things that kind of come with the territory of shotguns which are ammo hungry weapons. Best to learn about them in a non threatening environment. OJT on this might not last that long.

I see lots of guys firing Butt Kicker Loads and getting the snot beat out of them for no good reason, I guess, to show How Big a Man they are? But even a Low Recoil Slug or load of Low Recoil 00 Buck is overkill for what they would ever face. They don't know this because they hadn't gone to a class where they fired lots of ammo and would have gotten sick of getting the snot beat out of them and also realized just how much power the light weight stuff actually has. If you going up against a Brown Bear a high based slug would probably be a good idea. Anything below that low recoil ammo is more than enough.

My whole point here is if you don't know for sure,,, ASK some one who does to show you how. Nobody was born knowing how to do any of this. Everybody has to be taught. The fact that all this is evolving constantly means the only way you can keep up with the times is thru external exposure to new stuff. This is true of anything.

Just make sure who you are asking is the real deal and not FOS.

Note: Many are FOS, so choose wisely.

Randy

PS: There is one more thing to add to this. These Classes are really FUN!!!

I've been to 5 already and as soon as the place opens up I'm going back for another.

Hope to see you there!

[Blownmotor]

What Hotwheels is doing is fine, however if you've never ran a shotgun in a Tactical Situation you kind of need to learn that first. Then you can go home and practice in your house as that is where you would choose to fight..

Please understand,,, Home Defense IS a Tactical Situation.

You kind of need to have some external stimulus applied to you to simulate the Adrenaline Dump you will have if confronted by unwanted visitors entering your home. One way to do that is with Time Pressure or maybe some type of competition.

I see alot of different people posting videos of them shooting on Youtube. I rarely see one that could pass the basic Front Sight Shotgun Test.

Even a 2 day class will make them so much better, as the emphasis is on gun handling and running the gun. Efficient Loading and Unloading are key to this, as are mounting the gun in a consistent way so it doesn't beat you. If you really think you can deal with any threat with only 6-8 rounds that might be a little short sighted. What happens if you run the gun dry? Do you know when to Port Load it or when to reload the magazine? These are things that kind of come with the territory of shotguns which are ammo hungry weapons. Best to learn about them in a non threatening environment. OJT on this might not last that long.

I see lots of guys firing Butt Kicker Loads and getting the snot beat out of them for no good reason, I guess, to show How Big a Man they are? But even a Low Recoil Slug or load of Low Recoil 00 Buck is overkill for what they would ever face. They don't know this because they hadn't gone to a class where they fired lots of ammo and would have gotten sick of getting the snot beat out of them and also realized just how much power the light weight stuff actually has. If you going up against a Brown Bear a high based slug would probably be a good idea. Anything below that low recoil ammo is more than enough.

My whole point here is if you don't know for sure,,, ASK some one who does to show you how. Nobody was born knowing how to do any of this. Everybody has to be taught. The fact that all this is evolving constantly means the only way you can keep up with the times is thru external exposure to new stuff. This is true of anything.

Just make sure who you are asking is the real deal and not FOS.

Note: Many are FOS, so choose wisely.

Randy

PS: There is one more thing to add to this. These Classes are really FUN!!!

I've been to 5 already and as soon as the place opens up I'm going back for another.

Hope to see you there!

To build on what he said

[ibcruzn408]

Thank you everyone for the insight. Greatly appreciate the knowledge. Definitely need to sign up for training build up fundamentals and continue to train.

[splithoof]

But as you first shotgun, please, do not go exotic, just buy a standard Mos500 or Rem870, learn if you like it at all.

That makes sense.
After watching two KSG's bite the dust during day one of an intense five day shotgun class, I wouldn't buy one. Both had major issues, to the point that the two cops who brought them to class ended up using the school's 870's for the remainder of the week.
At the time, I heard from someone very knowledgeable that KelTec claimed a service life of 6K rounds; while I can't site proof of that, to those who are into running firearms for serious purposes, this is very short lifespan.
Best of wishes to you in search of proper training.

[Munny$hot]

Loading a KSG is very slow and cumbersome and as others have stated the KSG makes a poor choice for a tactical shotgun. A 8 shot Mossberg 500 is a solid choice for your needs. Learning how to do shot selection, 1 hand manipulation, loading etc can be learned at home with dummy rounds. The only advantage the KSG is it's balance weight from being a bullpup, but they are plagued with feeding/ejection problems and I wouldn't trust my life on such a POS that may or may not work.

[BigPimping]

Better find a place that's near a first aid clinic or chiropractor. Those things have a vicious, vicious recoil.

[BigPimping]

I would also add that a Remington 870 Express tactical or a Mossberg 500 make a much better shotgun than a KSG. The KSG is difficult to load and more problematic to shoot.