I have read a few stories about these guns supposedly blowing up? My son likes the guns. I can spend 3k in another direction.
I would buy the KX-5 over the KS-5 because of the fore-arm iron design update. I have owned and shot both, and to me they shoot the same, but the design change is worth the money. The fore-arm iron on the KX-5 is easy to adjust if it starts to "get loose" ..... The K-80's are the "guns supposedly blowing up" .....
K-80s don't "blow up" with factory loaded ammo. Just like autos, a Ford F-250 will likely take more misuse than a BMW. If you refine your soldering and materials to reduce unwanted weight, you have less material, less room for error. If it's built like a tank, it will likely last longer, tolerate bad reloads, but it will also point like a tank. Any barrel can split when someone puts too much powder in their reload, or makes some other reload error. "It's the indian, not the arrow", same for the equipment When an operator makes an error, it's a rookie move to blame the hardware
I've owned all the 5 series K-guns, and have never had an issue with them. Krieghoff has excellent customer service also, which is appreciated. I've always preferred the KS-5 Special to the KX-5, just based on the fact that they generally come with a nicer looking piece of wood, and you can usually find one for a few hundred less than the KX model.
Since this topic came up... Is there a web page or write up with detailed Krieghoff, Single Barrel Trap history? KS5, KX5, KX6, Specials, etc I've looked at most of them, and demoed the new one, but I'd like more details in case I find a decent used one. Any specifics on what changed from model to model? Any specifics on problems and issues for used models? Thanks!