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Sight for KSG

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#1 ·
I just got my KSG and love it. However, it doesn't have a bead or any sight at end of the barrel as it has a full length picatinny rail on top.

I want just a cheap truglo type sight on the end that secures via the picatinny rail. I haven't been able to find anything. I don't want a reflex or red dot just something simple.

Does anyone have any links or suggestions where I might get what I'm seeking?

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
I think they will work fine and always have. I don't know why other folks don't do it. What is given up is what older eyes need, one focal plane that has the aiming point and target all in one focal plane. But what is gained is simplicity.

You need one that is built up like an M16 or AR15. There are clamp on AR15 sights similar in look to what the M16A1 had. Or there are plenty of back-up iron sights (BUIS) available. Not all of them are iron, it's just a generic term for even the plastic ones. I've never seen BUIS that don't fold down, but you might never need that function. You might also need to build up the sight to get the proper height but risers are readily available.

You could also get the corresponding rear sight and keep it folded down until you need it for more precision when shooting slugs for example. It's an option and I had to point it out.
 
#3 ·
As BJK has pointed out “eyes need, one focal plane that has the aiming point and target all in one focal plane”. When it comes to aiming, the KSG is more similar to an AR platform than most other shotguns. I found I was not able to get my eye low enough to look down the picatinny rail as can be done with a typical shotgun vented rib. If I were to aim with a bead sight on the KSG it would shoot very high. Using a front sight with enough height (1 to 1 1/2”) the problem then becomes consistent cheek weld & the need for a rear sight of equal height. For my old eyes open sites aren’t as handy as they once were. I ended up with a red dot.
Your results and mileage may vary.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I had the same issues with my KSG......I didn't want an electronic sight, and didn't want iron sights that had to be popped up before using.

Here's what I settled on........
I bought an Archangel Auxiliary sight that mounts to the rail.
The front sight is a bright orange AR-15 sight that's adjustable for elevation.
The rear sight is a simple notch pistol type sight adjustable for windage.

I modified this by making protective "ears" for the rear sight from Kydex plastic.
I made smaller spacers to fit under the ears so that there was enough room to allow some windage adjustment for the sight. I bolted the ears and inner spacers on with black finished hardware store small bolts and lock nuts.

This is dirt simple, requires nothing to ready for use, and works like a standard shotgun sighting setup where you just look over the sights to get a "flash" sight picture, but you can use it for more precise shooting with slugs.
This is as fast as a standard shotgun bead front.

Do some online shopping for a better price.

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Another option is a non-electronic sight that bolts to the rail and is a complete sight in a single short package.
A number of KSG owners have bought the Seeall sight.
This is small and uses no front sight, and is not electronic......


 
#6 · (Edited)
I think you'll find that if you do try slugs in it that it might be scary accurate for a smoothbore (KS7). That's all I have at this time.

2 of us were discussing it in another thread (what we were seeing with the KS7), and I think it was dfariswheel who mentioned about mfgrs tightening the bores of shotguns to get better accuracy out of them with slugs. Well, I miked the bore on mine and it measures out to a Remington Imp Cyl "choke" at the muzzle. Now that could be choke, but as far as I know the KS7 has no choke and I think the same is true for the KSG. That might account for the suspected great slug accuracy.

Yeah, tell me about eyes and aging. I went through it 20 years ago and everything I own that I shoot at any distance wears an optic of some sort. I credit red dots with allowing me to keep shooting all this time. It meant selling a bunch of firearms that would be difficult to mount optics on , yada, yada. I had to make lots of changes is the short story. I didn't fully see it coming.

As far as red dots, if you do decide to go in that direction that's worthy of another topic. There are just so many available at all price ranges and IMO it needs to be built for the potential recoil it can see, that generally translates to expense. I've never heard of iron sights having problems with recoil, they're just normally quite recoil proof. Just things to consider.
 
#8 ·
I ran across online info about chokes and cyl bore from various mfgr's and they were pretty much all different. That's what prompted me to measure mine since Kel-Tec wasn't listed.

Other folks should measure theirs to check me, and also to see how much variation there is.

I wish I had measuring instruments that would check inches inside, but I don't.
 
#11 ·
I’m waiting to pick up my new KSG from 10-day jail, and looking around for the accessories for the build I want.
My first round of add-on’s will be a light, foregrip, and sight (also some way to stop the chucking hand from accidentally finding its way in front of the muzzle, whether it be from the VFG, light, or specifically designed piece).
Since this is going to be primarily for HD, I want to get it as small, low-profile, and un-encumbering as possible.
For a sight, I’m looking for something low-mounted with quick acquisition that can work in very low light conditions. I had been trying to find a red dot or reflex sight with a circle dot sight or an illuminated ghost ring. The SeeAll sight looks perfect, but now I’m questioning whether I need the sight mounted higher.
Can anyone offer a reasonable explanation as to why one wouldn’t want a low mounted sight on the KSG?
 
#12 · (Edited)
The limiting factor is whether you can get your face down far enough to acquire the sight.

As example the KS7 shotguns have a carry handle with a fiber optic front sight and a simple lug on the rear, and I cannot get my head into any kind of shooting position with the sights.
The factory sighting system is simply way too low for me to use. In my case this is not a great problem since my gun is a pure short range home defense gun that's "pointed" instinctively like a standard shotgun is when shooting birds.
In this case I'd have to have some sort of higher mount to be able to use something else.

So, as long as you can get your head and eyes down into position easily to see through the sight, there's no limit as to how low you can go.
The idea of electronic and fiber optic sights is to be fast into use, so you want a sight positioned so when you shoulder the gun and put your cheek on the stock in a comfortable position your eye is automatically looking through the sight without having to strain to get it into position.

With the KSG and it's Pickatinny rail you can simply buy whatever height mount you want for a sight.
Amazon sells a lot of Chinese made mounts that fit, and these are cheap enough you can experiment to find what's best for you, then either continue using it, or buy a better mount.

A simply way to find what you need is to tape some wood blocks of various thicknesses to the KSG rail and position a sight on that. Once you find a height that's comfortable, just measure it and buy a mount that height.
 
#13 ·
A simply way to find what you need is to tape some wood blocks of various thicknesses to the KSG rail and position a sight on that. Once you find a height that's comfortable, just measure it and buy a mount that height.
Thanks for the insight. I've never had any issues with low-mounted sights or scopes on my long guns, but after reading this thread and looking art images of the KSG (I can't actually check my own as it is still in CA lock-up) I see that the top of the KSG stock is substantially higher than what I usually have, practically in line with the rail above the barrel.
Your suggestion of shimming up a sight to find a hight that works for me is brilliant, thank you.
 
#14 ·
It's called a straight line stock. Similar to the M16 type rifle and their iron sights were high above the bore line to make the sights usable. No matter the firearm, if it has a straight line stock the sights must be raised to line up with the eye when shouldered. How much? Dfaris gave you the right idea (as always), only you will know. You make it fit you and not what anyone thinks it should be.

I mostly have 1:3 cowitness height sight mounts and if I build it up 1/2" that's correct for me with a straight line stock. It may look strange but when I shoulder my guns the sight picture is right there. Oddly enough when someone thinks it's strangely high I let them shoulder the gun and they say,"It's right there.". Yup. Looks be damned, it must work.

Here's my KS7 and the SeeAll on it. Note how it was raised up to put it in line with the eye.
 
#15 ·
Now I see (pun intended). My problem is that I still don't have it yet and can't shoulder it and see for myself yet. None of my other long guns have a straight line stock so I guess aside from trying to sight in on a broomstick, I'll have to wait another week.
I guess a raised sight would leave room for a light. I had been planning on mounting a light to the fore end, but this may offer more options.
I never understood why the KS7 came with the M16 style carrying-handle/site, but now it makes sense.
 
#17 ·
Particularly with a shotgun a comfortable position on the stock is critical.
Match shooting shotgun shooters spend a lot of time and money getting guns custom fitted to them so they are comfortable and "point" right.

For them what it looks like or what's needed to get it right is all that matters.
In that, if you need a higher mount or riser block to get a comfortable, fast view through the sights, that's all that counts.
 
#18 ·
It wasn't just about looks, but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't a factor. I like the KSG for many reasons, but the CQ maneuverability, being a bullpup, was a one of the big ones and why I was trying to keep everything as compact as I could.
I am a reformed man. I still want a HD shotgun as compact and maneuverable as I can get it, but form will have to follow function instead of trying to find function to fit form (say that 10 times fast).

I also have been gathering info on the Seeall sight as I liked the way it looked. A reviewer on YouTube, NicTaylor00, made some very good arguments against this sighting system (cost compared to red dots and sight radius compared to iron sights), but most persuasive was his comment that up/down head position impacted the ability to stay on target, where as a red dot didn't suffer from such changes in head position.
I think that I'm going to have to stick with red dots for now.
 
#19 ·
A common mistake building for 'compact' is trying to minimize all dimensions. A better way to look at it is what's the smallest sphere or squashed sphere that the resulting firearm will fit inside of.

A short-but-taller setup like the KS7 or KSG w/ the "carry handle sight" replacing the rail (Kel-Tec offers the KS7-style carry handle for for KSG for sale now from folks requesting it enough) is as maneuverable as any other 26" OAL firearm when dealing with a (mostly) horizontal plane of engagement.

I ended up in the same boat as you regarding optics on shotguns though: Red dots are one of the fastest options for time-to-acquire and least affected by eye positioning in relation to the optic. I found it helpful to mount my red dot 'all the way out' in what's commonly called "scout rifle" style at the end of the barrel. It keeps my focus from pulling back too far in use as well, so I can shoot both eyes open quite easily.
 
#20 ·
I ended up in the same boat as you regarding optics on shotguns though: Red dots are one of the fastest options for time-to-acquire and least affected by eye positioning in relation to the optic. I found it helpful to mount my red dot 'all the way out' in what's commonly called "scout rifle" style at the end of the barrel. It keeps my focus from pulling back too far in use as well, so I can shoot both eyes open quite easily.
Interesting. I always thought that scopes and the like more toward the muzzle were as a result of no other practical means of bringing it closer. I'll have to experiment with placement on the top rail to see which is quicker and more naturally acquired for me.
I'm cross-dominant so both eyes open will just require a little adjustment. I'm okay with pistols, but rifles always force me to use my non-dominant eye. I wonder if putting a red dot out further will permit me to keep both eyes open.
Thanks for the tip.
 
#21 ·
One thing I had forgotten about by getting a lower sight on the front with a truglo feature is having your cheek that close to the stock and absorbing recoil.

I still need something for quick acquisition and only HD sight needs. These small what I call peep sights I guess have way to small of an area you must focus on.

With that said is something more electronic appropriate? I shot it great from the hip but still lacked any kind of focal point.
 
#24 ·
These small what I call peep sights I guess have way to small of an area you must focus on.

With that said is something more electronic appropriate? I shot it great from the hip but still lacked any kind of focal point.
For close range and buckshot all that's needed is a front sight just like a long shotgun uses. Of course it will need to be built up and fine tuned for you since the stock can't be tuned. Or it could also use a flashlight with a tight hotspot for close range and even hip shooting. The same could be said for a laser, but I strongly suggest a flashlight must be there for final target identification at a minimum. An optic is really only needed when using it like a rifle with a single projectile (slug), for best accuracy. If a peep sight is used and it's a fine choice, they're very fast, you'd be wise to get a ghost ring peep with a huge aperture. They're used on rifles for up close dangerous game that wants to kill the hunter and speed is of the utmost importance. Understand that all of these must be set up correctly for you.

Here are some examples of items used to raise the sight. They are only examples, but they're what I use. They're rugged enough and keep the weight down.

And for fine tuning the height though you may not need it. I find that I use the above and one of these 1/2" risers.

In the picture in a post above you'll see a much longer version. That's only because I didn't have any in parts and that's what the LGS had on the wall. There is a weight penalty for excess length. For my face and my preference I find the tall riser and one 1/2" riser works best with a straight line stock. But that's me. You have a different bone structure so you'll need to find what works for you. I find that if I don't have to contort my body I just bring the gun up and I'm "right there". It's fast for me and it's the same setup I use in competition.
 
#26 ·
I found that the closer to my eye a red dot is, the faster it is to acquire.
If you notice police and military users all have the dot sight toward the rear.

A key with using a electronic sight with a defense gun is reliability. If you're going to trust your life to one, it better be a good one that won't fail when you need it.

Stuff happens.
Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle wrote in his book about a serious battle in Iraq when the battery on his rifle died and he apparently had no backup sight system.
 
#27 ·
A key with using a electronic sight with a defense gun is reliability. If you're going to trust your life to one, it better be a good one that won't fail when you need it.
Dittos. That's one really nice thing about iron sights. Choose correctly and they can be almost indestructable.

The potential problem with any shotgun is the potentially punishing recoil. Couple that with folks unwilling to spend the $ required for a really good sight that will stand up to that and that could lead to disaster. For some reason people think a sight should cost significantly less than the price of the gun and that may not be the best way to think.

Story time... I once had a buddy long since passed on to his reward. He would buy really nice long guns and then put the cheapest sights on them that he could find. They would have such features as multi color reticles and reticles of different shapes. You know, really useful stuff, not the hook in the bait for a fish (sarcasm). He brought over such a military rifle so equipped one day to shoot on my range. It was a bright sunny day. He was able over a period of time to decide where the dim reticle was for the shot. I was never able to find it so that I could shoot with any confidence in the shot (neither could he). He had a really nice and expensive rifle that he turned into absolute crap because he would never buy an optical sight worthy of any of his guns. The only time he ever got good sights was when it came with mil' spec' iron sights.

Now imagine this happening when the shotgun is needed to keep one alive during a HD social engagement. There are no "do overs" or "Can you wait a, minute while I___________ (fill in the blank) ? ". If one is playing a game, well, OK that'll work as long as there is no expectation of using it. But if there is the expectation of need then one had better have gear that one expects to work under the worst conditions and not the best of conditions. Being the second place finisher with weapons that deal in deadly force is not what you want to be. Just what is your own life worth?

I have one sight that I consider a POS. It's probably pretty decent since it was intended by the manufacturer to go onto a .308, but with a cell life of only 200 some odd hours that tells me that it's just not up to modern standards*. I would expect the cell to be dead when I go to use it. It stays in it's box unused but it would probably be OK on a .22 rimfire plinker. For the KS7 I had a Trij' MRO looking for a home so that's what it wears. The MRO is tough with a long cell life so it'll do. It doesn't have shake awake technology so I keep it turned off and in the switches "notch" intended for that.

*Modern standards have cell life measured in years of constant on. Many also go to sleep until needed, then the instant they're touched they instantly turn on. Others have solar PV power so that as long as they have light they work even if the cell is dead.

Another story... I have a shooting competition buddy. We like to shoot on the same squad as much as we can arrange it. We also both shoot firearms in the same division, PCC. We both have optics on them. So far I've seen his optic run out of juice twice in 3 years while he was actively shooting for score. I have no idea how many times it's done that when he's down in FL shooting during the winter. In the same time mine has never run out of juice and it never will. I have yet to change the battery. He got a deal and I spent a little more to get 100% reliability. Now that's just competition. What if it was a firearm for the real deal? Will he be given the time to change a battery as he can at a match? He could have spent a bit more and gotten something (IMO) worth having. But I've always found cheap junk to be more expensive in the end. Expense isn't always measured in dollars. When you're dealing in your own life it's the ultimate expense.