Shotgun Pistol Grips, your thoughts on them?

[JPA88]

Hello ladies and gentlemen.

I recently put a Mesa Tactical stock kit on a Remington 870 Tactical, and was satisfied with the end result and knew there would be some significant felt recoil. But holy ****, that cheek slap is not fun.

So....I'm looking to add a new buttstock with a recoil pad, needs to be adjustable because my lady will also be handling the shotgun.

Now, excuse my ignorance (which is why I'm asking everyone here), but I'm curious to know what kind of pistol grips/ adjustable buttstock setups you guys are running on your 870 tacticals or anything else and what you guys have done to help with cheek slap and felt recoil.

I will be posting pics of the shotgun once I get home from work tonight.

[dc2integra]

I know mesa tactical makes a recoil buffer system for their stocks. You should look into those they are a bit pricey.

[bsg]

if you have a Mesa telescopic stock, consider the addition of the enidine buffer that is made for the Mesa stock. a more affordable alternative for perceived recoil reduction with the Mesa telescopic stock is the Limbsaver Snap-on recoil pad for M4 style stocks. you can also run the Limbsaver pad in concert with the enidine buffer system.

[JPA88]

@ dc2integra

@ bsg

Thanks gents! Do you guys have these recommendations on your shotguns or have you experienced these upgrades?

[echoThreeOneSix]

I've have limited experience with pistol grip shotguns but I didn't like any of them... they just don't feel natural.

[bsg]

@ dc2integra

@ bsg

Thanks gents! Do you guys have these recommendations on your shotguns or have you experienced these upgrades?

i have the Mesa with enidine buffer on an 870P; purchased it from a fellow Calgunner. i have the Limbsaver pad as well. the Limbsaver pad simply fits over the Mesa stock and sort of snaps in place; great fit and a great pad.

[ceh383]

I recently put a Mesa Tactical stock kit on a Remington 870 Tactical, and was satisfied with the end result and knew there would be some significant felt recoil. But holy ****, that cheek slap is not fun.

The biggest cause of cheek slap is incorrect pitch. I bet when you shoulder the weapon, the toe contacts your shoulder well before the heel...This will cause cheek slap more than the type of grip on the gun.
Personally, I am not a fan of pistol grips, but to each their own. I run a Magpul SGA on my 870, and am very happy with it...

[mase1b]

Not sure why, but I don't really like pistol grip shotguns at all...a lot of guys like them though.

As for recoil reduction: Any of the spring driven recoil reduction systems have a bit of cheek slap to them. I've used the Knoxx Spec ops and a Blackhawk/Hogue Compstock on Mossy 500s and Rem 870s, both have almost zero recoil, but will smack you in the face a bit , especially with slugs.

Recently put a Limbsaver on my old Wingmaster, and it made a big difference (although not quite as soft as the springy ones).

Also just tried out the Magpul SGA, ugly, but a really great stock. Shouldered properly (i.e. in the pocket) the recoil felt pretty soft.

[44fred]

I came to the quick conclusion after buying a 18" HD shotgun with a pistol grip stock, I needed to change it out and dump the pistol grip. With full power loads, it beats up my wrist and cheek.
I'm in the process of converting an old 28" Mossy 500 to a HD gun. I'm going with the Aftershock Technologies birdshead grip. No pistol grip for me.

[D23]

I'm going with the Aftershock Technologies birdshead grip. No pistol grip for me.

Pretty sure you meant Shockwave Technologies. I have one for my 500 too, and they do make them for 870's

http://shockwavetechnologies.com/site/?page_id=529

[Dozen Gauge]

I used the Limbsaver pad on a s/g a few years back. It worked very well. What is this "cheek slap" to which you refer...

[Garand1911]

If you put the original stock back on, i bet you dont have cheek slap.
The comb on the ar15 style stock is prolly too low, and flat. On the original stock its higher and pointed up. You rest your cheek low and flat on the ar15 style, almost on top of it, and its gonna slap ya. You rest your cheek on the side of the original stock, your head is in a better position to take the recoil, and the pointed comb makes the stock slide up and off your face, no slap.

Try the speedfeed stock, for a more natural comb, with a pistol grip.
Although i hate the flat front of the pistol grip on those stocks.

[wjc]

Not a fan of pistol grips on a shotgun.

I prefer the natural stock configuration. I've never seen any advantage to pistol grips.

[L84CABO]

The Benelli M4 comes with a pistol grip. I didn't think I was going to like it and fully expected I would be buying a regular stock to swap it out. However, it turns out I like it just fine. But the M4 is a pretty soft shooter due to it's gas system. Perhaps I wouldn't like a pistol grip on a standard 870.

[axhoaxho]

One of my 870's was with the same Mesa Tactical telescoping stock shown in the first OP picture, and mine was with the optional hydraulic recoil reduction assembly (can be purchased from Mesa separately.)

In addition, I added a recoil pad to the above Mesa stock (any standard AR-15 recoil pad will fit.)

This setup (hydraulic + pad) reduced the recoil very much. I could shoot dozens of 00 without much pain at all.

If OP has cheek slap on the Mesa telescoping stock, it could be due to the shouldering position... try not to 'tilt' our cheek on top of the stock, but 'park' our cheek against the side of the stock instead. Also try to extend the telescoping stock a 'click' longer, which could help preventing our cheek tilting much on top of the stock.