Pistol grips - advantages?

[DethWshBkr]

I happen to really like a pistol grip, especially when dealing with the "relatively" large amount of recoil a 12 gauge can generate.

It's with all my other ones, but this is the only picture I have right now of my Mossberg 500 with the Choate Stock.

[GunLawyer001]

Physics will tell you that absorbing recoil and maintaining a grip is more positive if you hold a solid projection that's perpendicular to the direction of recoil, than if you rely more on the friction of your fingers around a roughly cylindrical surface that's parallel to the recoil.

You can demonstrate this easily, with a pogo stick. Try it without the foot pegs sometime.

If you have a good shoulder weld, this factor is less important. It's probably more about taste than real utility, but I really like a full stock and a wide pistol grip.