Mossberg: Anybody Shot BOTH Their Shockwave & Cruiser?

I've shot several PGOs, one of which was my cut down stevens 20 gauge pump. Very easy to shoot.

My buddy had a 12 gauge 870 police with pistol grip forend and grip, we were able to shoot clays from a hand thrower with a little practice.

If shooting a 12 gauge field gun from the hip is any indicator the "birds head" grip more comfortable than the 90 degree angle grip... but not by any great measure.

I don't understand the hate for the PGO but to each their own. 12 gauge birdshot is cheap, practice a couple times a month and you can get very good from the hip or low ready with a lot more affect than a handgun. Clearly a stocked shotgun is easier and faster to use but a cut down shotgun is far from useless. Like a snub nose or scoped 30-06, its a tool for a specific job.

HB

I have shot 'a' shockwave and I have shot my 590 with PG. The latter SUCKED. the former, not so much. I want a shockwave. I gave away the pistol grip for my 590 after one afternoon, which left my thumb with nerve problems for several years.

"...nerve damage for several years..."

seems to be a clue in that statement.

PGO shotguns are a niche. The new birds head grips seem to work better. Shot a shockwave, didn't hate it. But I didn't get one, either.

The Witness Protection grip (Raptor grip) is far superior to the Cruiser's more conventional pistol grip. A WP grip can be fired from the up position, a bit forward of where it would be if it were stocked, whereas shooting a 'Cruiser' type gun will more than likely bust you in the chops. BTDT. I developed a way to hold it up that won't, but the recoil force flows better through the WP grip and shoots more like a regular shotgun. It also shoots better from the hip, regular pistol grips tend to point into the dirt, you have to practice a lot to keep it from doing so. The WP grip points much more naturally from the hip. Clint Smith made a good video on shooting the Shockwave up high, I'm sure you've seen that, and you've surely shot a regular PGO. I tried both in the 870 platform, but the lessons learned are the same.

Haven't shot the Shockwave (it is on my short list). But I have shot the normal Mossberg pistol grip. I found it painful and it really messed with my wrist. I took it off.

1KPerDay said:

I have shot 'a' shockwave and I have shot my 590 with PG. The latter SUCKED. the former, not so much. I want a shockwave. I gave away the pistol grip for my 590 after one afternoon, which left my thumb with nerve problems for several years.

Click to expand...

I never mounted the pistol grip on my Mossy. Didn't seem like a good idea. I'm skeptical about the Shockwave.

I like my shockwave, the shape of the grip transfers recoil a lot better imho.

The Mossberg Shockwave grip is a repeat of the "witness protection" shotgun grip which was designed to maximize user comfort compared to the pistol style grip on most buttless shotguns. It is actually a long tested idea in proportions approved by ATF as matching "other firearm" definition under GCA and not matching "short barrel shotgun" under NFA.

I've shot both styles on Mossbergs & Remingtons and was issued an original Scattergun Technologies "Witness Protection" SBS for a while.

The only thing I would add entropy's and Carl Brown's comments, is that on the Mossy 500 & 590 platform, the tang mounted safety is virtually impossible to operate with the firing hand on cruiser style PGO shotgun (for that matter with a full stocked pistol grip) without breaking your firing grip. You can reach the safety though with a raptor style grip. So if I had to run a cruiser style PGO, it would be a Remington with the trigger guard safety, or the Mossy Maverick variant with the same style of safety.

As to preference, for me the raptor style positions your hand in a "sword" grip, so your wrist and thumb roll forward, allowing for much better recoil control. A cruiser style PGO just flat hurts me to shoot. YMMV