Read first part here: Review of the 4 Pistol Grips for the Remington 870 Shotgun

Thanks to Synchronizor for this detailed review!

Control Interaction:

There are three controls that an 870 user manipulates with their shooting hand: the trigger, the safety switch, and the slide release. With the traditional semi-grip shotgun stocks that the 870 was designed to use, these controls are all easy to reach and manipulate. Pistol grips, whether part of a stock or stand-alone, can have a significant effect on how – and how easily – these controls are manipulated. Pistol grips rarely interfere with the gun’ s trigger for obvious reasons, but they can – and frequently do – make working the safety or slide release slower or more difficult.

The 870’ s cross-bolt safety is located right behind the trigger, and with a traditional stock that’ s no wider than the receiver and doesn’ t enclose the rear of the trigger guard, it is possible to apply pressure on the safety with the side of the finger, rather than the tip. This allows the user to disengage the safety while keeping their fingertip on or very near the trigger, so a shot can be made virtually immediately. With traditional stocks, the safety is also fairly easily reached with the thumb or middle finger for re-engagement, or for disengagement in the case of left-handed shooters using an 870 with a right-handed safety switch.

Thanks to Synchronizor for this detailed review!

I won’t get into when, where, and for what I think pistol grips should and shouldn’t be used, because it would just add several thousand more words to what is already a massive piece. I’ll simply say that while they have many downsides, and a fixed or folding stock will be a better choice for many situations, pistol-gripped shotguns do have their place. They’re very compact & maneuverable, and (usually) lighter than a full stock, which can be beneficial on a gun that’s used more as a tool than a weapon, or one that needs to be stored or deployed in very tight spaces. They’re also cool; a lot of folks (myself included) buy a pistol grips just for fun, and that’s a perfectly legitimate reason to own one.