Pistol Grip Only (PGO) shotguns: Not for everyone

Lately, the pistol-grip only (PGO) shotgun has been gaining a fair amount of publicity. I would personally equate this to the PGO being featured in media hotbeds, like, The Walking Dead. The typical method advertised in the use of this ray of death is as follows:

1. Chill the bad guy’s soul with a death stare

Viggo is sick of your shit

2. Rack that thing, point in the same general direction of what you arent a fan of, and blast that fool!

Ka-Chunk

3. Problem solved…hopefully

Shotgun bullets is bad fo yo health. (Not as bad as a 6’2 Austrian killer robot with an M-79)

Unfortunately, this is not at all how things go. In fact, the vast majority of the public have the wrong idea of how the PGO is meant to be used.

Ithica 37 Stakeout

The first commercially avaliable PGO (to my knowledge) was the Ithica 37 Stakeout. It gained some notoriety as being the signature weapon of Ricardo Tubbs from Miami Vice. The Stakeout was used by a few law enforcement agencies, most notably the NYPD during the Jim Cirrillo “Stakeout Squad” days. It was also fielded by US troops in the Vietnam War. In these circumstances (laying in wait behind a grocery store counter or playing Tunnel Rat) the target would typically be no more than 10 ft from you. Shooting at a man sized target at such a close distance allows there to be a margin of error in point of aim and sight picture. Also, these weapons were wielded by men who were reasonably strong and fit. PGO’s have since become rather popular and are in pretty heavy circulation. They have gained significant ground in use by the military ground troops as the battleground has shifted from the traditional countryside to a much more urban setting. PGO’s are being used as a method of breaching obstacles, instead of engaging hostile targets, for the most part.

19th SF Group breaching with a PGO Mossberg 590

19th SF Group training.
PGO held in place with Rare Earth magnets

The PGO excels at breaching door hinges, door locks, and similar objects. This is done by pressing the barrel, sometimes a standoff device attatched to the barrel or magazine tube, against the object to be breached, angled out to avoid sharpanel hitting the breacher, and firing. The main issue with these guns is that recoil management is a nightmare and sometimes painful, especially when full power loads such as buckshot or slugs are used. This problem is skirted by utilizing proprietary breaching rounds. These rounds recoil about the same as a standard round of birdshot.

Commercially available breaching rounds

You have probably seen numerous videos online featuring, usually,  a petite young woman, a child of around 13, or some goober who should know better, hip-firing a 12ga PGO and this usually results in the gun being thrown backwards and the user being scared senseless. Sometimes the shooter decides to hold the gun up to their face in order to gain some kind of sight picture and this normally results in the recoil driving the grip of the gun into the mouth the shooter, who drops the gun and examines the tooth and blood loss that has been inflicted upon them. I will go back to who the PGO’s were originally used by: Old school cops, and Tunnel Rats. Strong men who have trained endlessly with these weapons. PGO’s are meant to be shoved into door jams and fired with purpose. It is in this role that they excel.

Now, PGO’s can indeed be used in a personal protection role, especially when in extremely confined spaces, such as a vehicle. In a car-jacking situation, the first solution is to hit the gas. If you find yourself hemmed in and bad guys are on the move, a PGO is a sure way to put a serious monkey wrench in the works of the would be assaulters. It literally becomes a point and shoot weapon, as your sights will not be in your eye-line and the distance to the target will be 0-5ft. When it comes to traditional personal protection/home defense, a standard shotgun with a stock that fits you will be much more effective and easier to use than the PGO in all but the tightest of spaces.

PGO shotguns have their place. In the hands of capable, knowledgeable professionals. Tricking your girlfriend or much younger sibling into shooting one so you can have a few laughs, is juvenile and petty. It is a tool that has a specific use and even more specific way it is to be handled.