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Old January 28, 2013, 10:37 PM   #1
Pops1085
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What's the point of a stock with a pistol grip on a shotgun?

Other than looking kinda neat I'm really starting to question my latest purchase. I guess I should give it a fair range visit before I draw my concusion but it seems a little akward in the hand. Is there any real benefit of having one?

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Old January 29, 2013, 01:47 AM   #2
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To answer the original question and not interject opinion and ridicule, pistol grip shotguns off the same advantages as a pistol grip rifle, i.e. a more natural wrist position for easier aiming and shooting from just about any position. They seem to be especially popular with turkey hunters who set up in a sitting position with the shotgun pointed in the general direction a bird is expected to come from but without the gun mounted in the shoulder. It takes less movement to shoulder and shoot than a more traditional looking shotgun, which can make a difference with game birds with very keen eyesight. They are also quite popular with some match 3-gun shooters, but I have no experience in that area.
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Old January 29, 2013, 07:33 AM   #3
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Pistol grip shotguns really shine for social work, as they aid one-handed control, allowing work with the free hand. For hunting I much prefer a traditional stock, but that could be from early use, prior to pistol grip stocks.
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Old January 29, 2013, 10:25 AM   #4
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One drawback is that there will be more felt recoil to the hand on the pistol grip.
In some instances of light weight guns shooting strong loads, it can be a little painful or sprain your wrist.
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Old January 29, 2013, 11:59 AM   #5
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Many folks whose majority, if not entire, gun experience was with an M4 are used to that stock. The least recoil to the wrist is actually on the English or straight grip, followed by the fairly open POW grip style, then the tight radius target grip and lastly by the "detached" pistol grip.

Personally, I prefer a wood stocked gun with the English or even the "regular style" of pistol grip
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Old January 29, 2013, 02:12 PM   #6
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I really like the idea of the birds head pistol grip. I haven't shot one but they do look and feel comfortable. The vertical pistol grip I have no interest in. I agree the regular shotgun stock is the best all around stock. Pistol grip w buttstock would be nice on some shotguns but not mossbergs.
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Old January 29, 2013, 05:11 PM   #7
tgreening
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Boy, I'm probably going to get torched for this one but, here goes.....

I'm not crazy about pistol grips on a shot-gun, especially if it's for home defense. I think it was solution in search of a problem that the manufacturers were happy to cultivate in order to sell some product. They're just a whole lot tacti-coolier than a standard stock right?


For a home defense shotgun I view them as a drawback. You watch the idiot box and generally when someone is moving through a doorway with a shotty it's with barrel almost straight up, and stock down. If the badguy were to step out and grab that barrel you'd have a hard time bringing it back into play.

A different school of thought is to move through the doorway with the barrel down, stock up. If someone were to grab the barrel and try to keep it down, you could always lever the stock down, which will automatically start the tip of the muzzle moving up. At the very least you could probably pop someone in the knee. I think it would be pretty tough to do with a pistol grip shotgun. Ergonomics just aren't right.

Plus, executing the butt stroke is a whole lot smoother.
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Old January 29, 2013, 05:37 PM   #8
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A different school of thought is to move through the doorway with the barrel down, stock up.
If a person isn't moving through a door way at "low ready", then it's a training issue, not a firearm issue.

Way way too often people, including gun people, love to just buy a solution to their problems instead of putting in time, thought, training or research into the techniques they're employing instead of the equipment they're using.
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Old January 29, 2013, 05:38 PM   #9
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I've got a mossberg 12ga. with 20in barrel & pistol grip & love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old January 29, 2013, 05:58 PM   #10
tgreening
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Quote:
Quote:
A different school of thought is to move through the doorway with the barrel down, stock up.
If a person isn't moving through a door way at "low ready", then it's a training issue, not a firearm issue.

Way way too often people, including gun people, love to just buy a solution to their problems instead of putting in time, thought, training or research into the techniques they're employing instead of the equipment they're using.


Absolutely, but I wasn't really focusing on the training aspect, only that I think a pistols grip shotgun is a hindrance under that scenario.
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Old January 29, 2013, 06:00 PM   #11
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It really is a training issue, and that's why room clearing is best done by the cavalry when they arrive. A real combat shotgun requires training on both the manual of arms and tactics. It's a big weapon and can raise collateral damage issues from over penetration as well as spread of shot. That pistol grip also improves retention, which is another training item. With great power comes great responsibility.
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Old January 29, 2013, 06:06 PM   #12
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I am a small person. 5'2" 150lb. I hunt turkey with a 3&1/2 inch 12ga pump. The pistol stock helps me to hold on to the gun using #2 & 4 3&1/2 mag loads Also the LOP is adjustable. That makes my gun work for me. Not so good for the turkeys
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Old January 29, 2013, 08:41 PM   #13
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No, I totally, completely, absolutely, 100% disagree with you guys about the grip strength issues for shotguns. It is FAR easier to grip and hold on to a pistol grip stock when firing a shotgun than it is to hold and properly maintain optimal grip on a standard type grip for a shotgun. The pistol grip stock provides the very best and most optimal hand grip on that weapon.

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Old January 30, 2013, 04:30 AM   #14
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I prefer the standard stock on my HD shotgun, mainly because that's how I trained with it, I also find it much easier to use the standard stock as a face basher.

I am of the opinion that if I feel the need to have a shotgun with a pistol grip, then I just need a handgun.
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Old January 30, 2013, 05:02 AM   #15
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For me it provides the same feel as my AR's with collapsible stock and pistol grip.
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Old January 30, 2013, 06:04 AM   #16
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My all time favorite shotgun, an 870, with 14" Brl; and full Chote pistol grip stock. (14" Brl. legal in Canada, left behind when I moved to Florida) so quick to maneuver in IDPA competition, search technique, tuck S/G under arm, 45 degree down, you can reach door handle's, etc.

Pistol grip allows more natural wrist position. Keeps elbow closer to your body, in movement.
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Old January 30, 2013, 09:45 AM   #17
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The pistol grip stock provides the very best and most optimal hand grip on that weapon.
I have been using shotguns for only 35 years, so I am no expert, I bought a long time ago, the 500 with the PGO. One outing had that come off and get replaced by a plastic conventional stock. Since all the rest of my shotguns are used for moving targets, the pistol grip is the worst choice for me. While it may be comfortable to grip for you, it is also transmitting the harshest recoil to the web of your hand, and with powerful loads, that begins to hurt
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Old January 30, 2013, 10:36 AM   #18
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I am a small person. 5'2" 150lb. I hunt turkey with a 3&1/2 inch 12ga pump. The pistol stock helps me to hold on to the gun using #2 & 4 3&1/2 mag loads Also the LOP is adjustable. That makes my gun work for me. Not so good for the turkeys
It also helps avoid the wrist strain that would accompany using a traditional grip while sitting on the ground (typical in a turkey hunting situation) and allows for the grip-hand elbow to be jammed against the knee for extra stability.
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Old January 30, 2013, 10:40 AM   #19
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To answer the original question and not interject opinion and ridicule, pistol grip shotguns off the same advantages as a pistol grip rifle, i.e. a more natural wrist position for easier aiming and shooting from just about any position. They seem to be especially popular with turkey hunters who set up in a sitting position with the shotgun pointed in the general direction a bird is expected to come from but without the gun mounted in the shoulder. It takes less movement to shoulder and shoot than a more traditional looking shotgun, which can make a difference with game birds with very keen eyesight. They are also quite popular with some match 3-gun shooters, but I have no experience in that area.
Ditto. Its just a different hand position. Many people like it better than the traditional stock method. Its a purely ergonomic option.
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Old February 26, 2013, 10:06 PM   #20
racine
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PG vs straight stock

".. Boy, I'm probably going to get torched for this one but, here goes.....
I'm not crazy about pistol grips on a shot-gun, especially if it's for home defense. I think it was solution in search of a problem that the manufacturers were happy to cultivate in order to sell some product. They're just a whole lot tacti-coolier than a standard stock right?
For a home defense shotgun I view them as a drawback. You watch the idiot box and generally when someone is moving through a doorway with a shotty it's with barrel almost straight up, and stock down. If the badguy were to step out and grab that barrel you'd have a hard time bringing it back into play.
A different school of thought is to move through the doorway with the barrel down, stock up. If someone were to grab the barrel and try to keep it down, you could always lever the stock down, which will automatically start the tip of the muzzle moving up. At the very least you could probably pop someone in the knee. I think it would be pretty tough to do with a pistol grip shotgun. Ergonomics just aren't right.
Plus, executing the butt stroke is a whole lot smoother..."

Some well known police shotgun trainers actually advocate carrying the shotty barrel up. The rational is that someone grabbing the barrel allows the shooter to pull back, fire and decapitate. Carrying barrel down supposedly exposes the shooters torso to assault.

I have shot with both types of stocks and hunt with the conventional. I found that my last rabbit hunt would have been much less stressful had I had the PG stock for many close quarter shots at close range. That's just me and my history of a torn rotator cuff. Having a PG stock seems much easier for me to control for 3gun shooting and adds a familiarity with my other PG rifles. There's more than one way to skin a cat.
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Old February 27, 2013, 09:42 PM   #21
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I definitely prefer a straight stock.

I like to move my hand up and down the straight stock to where the trigger breaks at just the right spot for me. I have a harder time doing this with a pistol grip. I have long skinny fingers.

H.
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Old February 28, 2013, 07:26 AM   #22
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If you shoot your shotgun like a rifle, then it has the same advantages as the same stock on a rifle. Which explains their popularity on turkey and personal protection guns When used as a traditional shotgun for wingshooting I believe most will find the traditional grip better.

Never really tried one, but who knows. Given a fair opportunity to get accustomed to them they may prove just as good for wingshooting.
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Old February 28, 2013, 11:45 PM   #23
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Some good ideas, but the basic reason for a pistol grip on rifles is because they either are, or are imitations of, full auto weapons. For FA fire it is advantageous to be able to have a stock as straight as possible so recoil drives the rifle straight back rather than causing it to rotate around its own center of gravity with the resulting muzzle climb.

If the stock is designed to be in line with the barrel, a "normal" stock hold is impossible (try it!) and the AR/AK pistol grip is the only feasible answer. Some anti-gun types say it makes shooting from the hip and "spraying bullets" easier, but that is nonsense as well (again, try it!). Since FA fire from a shotgun is not normally an issue, there is not much reason for pistol grip stocks on shotguns, except they look "cool".

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Old March 1, 2013, 12:56 AM   #24
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simple anatomy. your wrist cocked at a downward angle(standard contour stocks) causes muscle tension which can prevent proper trigger discipline while also requiring more 'chicken wing' positioning of the firing arm. this not only creates a less comfortable grip but also reduces the amount of pressure that can be exerted on the firing wrist, this means more recoil delivered to the shoulder.

the pistol grip allows a more natural angle to the firing hands wrist, allowing the shooter to comfortably absorb some of the recoil into his or her lower arm and lessening the overall strain on the firing shoulder.

I personally didn't like the pistol grip on my shotgun when I bought it either but after firing it, I find it hard to believe that I will ever consider selling it. it may be a popular design for mall ninjas because it looks scarey but I for one like it enough to bear with all the criticism from the "old farts".
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Old March 1, 2013, 08:48 AM   #25
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your wrist cocked at a downward angle(standard contour stocks) causes muscle tension which can prevent proper trigger discipline while also requiring more 'chicken wing' positioning of the firing arm. this not only creates a less comfortable grip but also reduces the amount of pressure that can be exerted on the firing wrist, this means more recoil delivered to the shoulder.
The "chicken wing" position of the arms is what allows you to easily and quickly swing the gun on a target. I'll disagree about the comfort, as I find it MUCH more comfortable - I can hold a shotgun horizontally with one hand much easier than with a vertical pistol grip. That grip makes any gun very front heavy and difficult to hold horizontally (as you would towards an attacker)> Personally, my shoulder is bigger and meatier than my wrist, so i would rather the recoil went there and to the fragile bones in the wrist
YMMV
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