....not a bird hunter, just never exposed to it. But did plenty of shotgun hunting for other game as well as law enforcement exposure. QUESTION: Its been my experience or preference really that a pistol grip shotgun is much more comfortable shooting...is there a drawback when bird hunting having a shotgun with a grip like this?...I don't know a single bird hunter that uses one and when you look at the stores, almost all "bird guns" are traditional stocks.

Because they would then fall under the assault rifle ban, and birds would rain down from the sky bacau se they are more deadly... JK I don't know why.

I just don't like the way it feels. I guess I'm just used to the regular grips.

I have a friend back home that swears by pistol grips on his bird guns. I like the traditional stock. We both kill birds, it's just personal preference and what feels comfortable to you.

My guess would be simply that pistol grips tend to lend themselves to "aiming" and most good wing shooters do not aim. But that is just a guess. I would like a thumb-hole stock for my turkey gun though...

The pistol grip lends itself better to shotguns that are used in applications that require aiming similar to a rifle, like shooting deer, hogs, and turkey. Many of these shotguns will be set up with red dot sights, rifle sights, ghost ring sights, etc. as well.

The standard stock keeps both hands on the same plane and closer to the eyes and lends itself better to pointing instinctively.

Very well said. Of course there are shotguns with thumb holes cut into the stock for added ergonomics.
None the less, shotguns were always intended to be swung, pointed when taking birds on the wing. Unless you're turkey/deer/hog hunting, you're rarely "aiming" your shotgun at crossing birds.
If you watch Olympic/trap shooters, you'll notice their back hand/arm is very ridgid, typically with a 90 degree elbow bend with the forearm perpendicular to the barrels (parallel with the ground). When using a vertical "pistol" grip, it prevents you from obtaining the proper technical fundamentals.
Sorry for coming off as a geek, but biomechanics is sorta my thing

I can see now why the grip would interfere with the "swing".....like I said, never been, so really didn't think about the mechanics of the movement......although I look stupid at work mocking what it would look like with both styles...lol

I have a friend who a got a pistol grip on his Mossberg and after getting used to it, it made him a lot quicker on the draw. He loves it. I do just fine with a standard stock so I don't see any need to make the switch

Well Put!

Also I think it boils down to what each hunter is used to. For me I've never used a pistol grip on a shotgun, but that's simply because I grew up using "traditional bird guns" I don't think either way is wrong, it all boils down to preference, I've seen people shoot birds with full on riot guns and tacticool shotguns. There's nothing wrong with it. Run what you bring.

Interesting.

I know based upon my skeet and 5 stand scores that the more relaxed (non pistol grip) I have the better my scores.

I prefer a prince of wales grip on single barrel and single trigger shotguns. English stock on double triggers.

Ie. I shoot my prince of wales stocked a5s better than the more upright grip and my straight stocked sxs better than the more upright grip sxs.

I just can't get used to pistol grip stocks. I learned on a standard stock and I've used them my whole life both for sporting and L.E. purposes. I just feel more confident and can point better with a regular stock. Pistol grip stocks are all the rage for L.E. but they just don't feel right to me.

I don't know about all that blue blood [censored], I use a standard stock because I don't need a pistol grip. Anything extra is unnecessary. Hip hip, cheerio!