Might as well just use a pistol grip. [/guote]What kind of logic is that? There really is no penalty in maneuverability with a buttstocked shotgun (because the butt will be under my armpit in tightquarters) and I get the added benefit of being able to shoulder the weapon for a more effective acquisition of the target.
Let me say that additionally with the shotgun in the underarm assault position with the gun firmly locked in, the shotgun is readily controllable as part of the recoil is absorbed by the chest/abdomen and as the buttstock keeps the weapon from moving. With a PGO, felt recoil is more (though certainly not uncontrollable) but there is no easy way to lock the weapon into position and follow up shots take much more time.
For those that think shotguns are just like in the movies, they aren't. You can't just point it in the general direction, pull the trigger and see the guy fall. At close range, the spread of the shot is hardly larger than the bore. You may hit it shooting from the hip with a PGO gun, but your chances are exponentially better by shouldering it. (It doesn't really matter whether we are talking about handguns, shotguns or rifles for that last point.) You must also still hit an important part of the bad guy with that small pattern. Just like with handguns or rifles, the only sure way of immediately incapacitating that bad guy who is threatening you or a loved one is by hitting the central nervous system. Lung shots often result in several minutes before the bad guy is incapacitated. Even destroying the heart or major blood vessels allows the determined bad guy to have at least 15 seconds to harm you or yours. Shoulder the weapon if you want to have decent odds of stopping the bad guy.
TRY the pistol grip, it's incredibly useful at short distances when done right. It's not 'tacti-cool', it's quite useful.
Young man, I have owned PGO shotguns and have played around with them extensively. I have pistol grips in my crates of crap right now. I don't have a use for one on my HD shotgun and I wouldn't recommend that any friend or family get one either.
It should be a clue that no prominent firearms instructor or author recommends a PGO shotgun and no military or no LE agency issues a PGO shotgun (for anything except breaching).
However, from what Ive "heard", if someone tries to grab the end of the barrel and/or actually succeeds in doing so, simply squat down (thus changing the angle) and proceed to umm...remove him/her from it in an effective manner. Another thing to consider (when speaking of sg's with a stock) is to just keep the barrel angled down vs straight ahead, until you are needing to use it (in an HD situation). It seems like this would make it just a bit harder for someone to effectively grab hold of the barrel.