Let's discuss AR-style stocks on a shotgun.

[AcceptableUserName]

Can we dissect pros and cons of these? I've only shot one once so I can't really say. It was the Specops. I didn't notice a ton of difference in recoil reduction and am not really worried about recoil anyway. My main priorities in a stock are a good cheek weld, a sturdy design while obviously being relatively short. The standard stock still feels the best to me, whether it be getting to the slide release on a Mossberg, loading the gun, shouldering, firing. I suppose I'd go for an AR-style stock maybe if I could get a good cheek weld in the m4 (short) position. I never shoot ar-s so maybe these aren't for me and are mainly for people who want fairly similar weapon set-ups for "muscle memory".


Are any LE agencies/Military really using the specops? If I had to guess I'd imagine they really aren't. What are the pros and cons of these? I'd to be able to put one through it's paces and really size it up without having to drop 110 doing it.

 

[Erik M]

I have the 5-position Advanced Technology stock on my mossberg. The shop I bought it from had already mounted it on the gun before I bought it. I find the that I only use it in the fully collapsed position when firing from the hip, and fully extended if im actually trying to hit something. I would still recommend a regular stock.

 

[oneounceload]

What's your main usage? HD, Turkey, deer, clays?

 

[Rshooter]

I have a Mesa and really like the adapter. I cannot speak to other stocks but as far as the Mesa here goes.

Three different offerings - Leo, low and high mount
Low and high mount support rails
All three support recoil reducing buffer
All three support choice of stocks and pistol grips, high mount supports A2 stock
Aluminum product quality made

I have the Leo and a CTR. I plan on getting the Endline buffer for my wife. I cannot find any cons on this adapter for AR compatibility.

 

[dom1104]

Cons:

To do it right, HUGELY expensive. 300+ $120 shot stock adapter, 130 for the stock, and 40ish for the grip, and 50 for the adapter.
It can look really goofy. like, REALLY goofy.
almost ALL of the adapters make it really hard to use the bead, rifle sights. They dont have the right stock drop.

Pros:

other than "coolness" I can really only come up with 2.
It allows you to use recoil buffers, and it allows you to have a adjustable LOP.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Sorry, I've yet to find one that works as well for me as Ye Old Standard Stock. All of them I've tried were painful to shoot and impossible for me to get a good weld.

 

[SuperNaut]

The SpecOps stock I have bugged me because of the cheek-weld issue. Knoxx has a thing they call the PowerPak that has a cheek-riser add-on. A local gun store had one in stock so I snagged it on whim. Surprisingly, it actually works!

It comes with two heights; the low one worked best for me, the high one is obviously for optics. the low one visually put the bead right on top of the receiver. A word of warning though, since the SpecOps is adjustable for LOP and is at a slight upward angle, the further out you have it adjusted the higher your cheek will be. So keep that in mind.

 

[rbernie]

Pics, anyone, of a setup that works well for them?

 

[SuperNaut]

This is just a stock image, my setup is without the side-saddle or little tube thing-a-ma-jig, I couldn't really see their purpose.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I have talked to plenty of people who swear by the Knoxx stock with the recoil reducing whackamajobit but the one shotgun I shot with it was a clunky horrendous mule kick every trigger pull. I like standard stocks whether they are synthetic, wood, or aftermarket.

 

[AcceptableUserName]

I wanna throw in standard stocks with a pistol grip to this conversation as well too please. In particular the Speedfeed....what about those? I can't imagine using anything other than a standard wood or synthetic stock but maybe I'm missing something here?

 

[-v-]

I have the ATI 5-position M4 style stock. It is mainly an HD gun, with some range use to keep up with familiarity.

Pro's:
-Adjustable LOP making shooting from a variety of positions more user-friendly. The OEM stock had too long a LOP for me.
-Shorter overall length letting me easily stow the gun in my car when need be. Original stock would not let me easily stow the gun.
-Almost no flip. Gun stays level shot-to-shot with nearly no effort.

Con's:
-Sights are hard/impossible to use. Gotta feel/guess where your shots are going or put on new sights.
-Slightly higher recoil due to lower overall mass
-Harder to carry/fire from a "from the hip" position. I don't advise "hip shooting" but at HD ranges, a blast from the hip has a better than not chance of impacting a bad guy.

For me the two biggest pluses were Compactness and Shorter LOP with the major minus of rendering the sights unusable. I am planning to put a ATI heat-shield with ghost ring sights (GRS) to remedy the lack of sight situation. I would go with mossberg GRS, but as I understand installation requires brazing the front sight. That's just a little more work than I am willing, or know how to do.

To be honest if someone made a 12" LOP standard-style stock that folded I would jump all over something like that.

 

[smithmax]

I just installed the fixed ATI Pistol grip stock. It fixed the discomfort I had with my trigger finger having a weird angle to the trigger. The cheek weld also creates a perfect sight picture with the beads for me. I picked it up for $30 on gunbroker (first order from there). Initially I wanted to get something like the ATI collapsible recoil reducing stock, but my 12ga Maverick 88 doesn't kick that hard and I couldn't justify spending 50% of the gun price on a stock.

 

[poor_richard]

I recently sold my Mossberg 500, but when I bought it, it came with a ATI, six-position AR style stock, and their recoil pad.

What I liked about the AR style stock was that it could easily collapse, and that was a benefit to me because it meant I didn’t need to spend the money to get the stock chopped (short LOP). I also noticed that the positioning of the PG on the stock didn’t aggravate my tennis elbow as much as the positioning of a regular style stock did. Another thing the AR style stock did was allow me to easier reach the for-end by moving the receiver back toward my shoulder. I honestly think I shot that gun better than any of the regular stocked guns I’ve used hunting. I did notice that when I first got the gun it didn’t mount right for me. A little research and installment of a couple of ATI’s drop stock spacers, and that gun felt just about perfect for me. It also shot very intuitively (good thing since the bead went away when the first 8-inches of the barrel was chopped off).

I’ve got a Winchester 120 that’s been to the stock fitter, and had a longer for-end put on it, and I still felt that the 500 with the ATI stock was more comfortable, and natural for me to shoot. I even thought about taking the ATI stock off the 500 and replacing it with a regular stock before selling it so that I could mount it on my newly purchased 1200 Defender. The only reason I didn’t was because I wanted continuity between my hunting and HD guns. Even so, I may still mount a AR style stock on both. I just haven’t decided yet, so who knows.

 

[juk]

I bought a Mossberg "punisher". Came with collapsible ATI stock with pistol grip, heat gaurd, 18" barrel, and a few other things. Overall, It is a dandy little gun. At the time my father was wanting a defensive firearm and I had a good deal lined up and the cash. I gave it to him as a birthday present.

There are always tradeoffs: the pistol grip stock makes using the tang safety funky but the stock also allows the whole gun to hide easily in the closet. It also adjusts to accept different shooters though. It doesn't kick to ferociously, but it isn't as comfortable on the shoulder as a full stock. This particular shotgun has seen quite a bit of use and love. It went on several duck ambushing outings with me which meant that it rode in the bottom of the boat and even wound up in the bottom of a pond. The grip does allow for quicker aimed shots due to more control of the gun. For what I bought it for it works well and I can't ask for anything more than that. All of the shooters in the family can use it comfortably. YMMV

 

[throdgrain]

This is one of them lol threads

 

[AcceptableUserName]

"This is one of them lol threads "




Well thought out response. Why?

 

[kanook]

One of the advantages of the adjustable stock on the shotgun for me is I turkey hunt in south Florida (stock at the longest LOP) and hunt deer up north during the winter with heavy clothing on ( adjust the stock to fit)

 

[throdgrain]

Sorry You guys just confuse me a bit sometimes


This a stock -

Its a a picture of my old Winchester 101 from years back. I can't see what would be more useful on a shotgun to be honest

 

[AcceptableUserName]

I'm in the same boat, but I do not know for sure. When it comes to a defensive weapon, I'd like to have the best set up possible. While that's PROBABLY a nice good ol full stock, I don't know for sure because I've never had the chance to really put a good AR setup through it's paces.

 

[Rshooter]

I do not have access to photos of my shotgun right now but here are some pictures from the Mesa site showing the leo adapter on a shotgun and the three adapters. The Mesa adapters do not have the sighting issues because the stock lines up with the rest of the shotgun.





The pricing is not all that hugely expensive. $100 for the adapter, $20 for a buffer, $75 for a CTR Magpul stock, and $20 for a pistol grip. You can also get a package deal from some dealers.

 

[HardShell]

... This a stock - ...

So are the ones being discussed in this thread, whether or not you can "see what would be more useful on a shotgun."



As to the OP's question, I installed a SepOps on one of my 870s recently but have yet to put it through its paces and see how I like it.

I go into the exercise admittedly skeptical, because I already know that I prefer a short traditional stock to a fixed PG stock on my 870s... but I told myself I would at least give the SpecOps a fair try (esp. since I shoot my ARs far more than my shotguns and am familiar/comfortable with the set-up).

 

[bigalexe]

I have a Knoxx SpecOps on my gun and it works great because

-it reduces recoil
-I am of a goofy build, so it gives me the right sight picture.

I know there are many people that hate the tactical look, some people say the recoil reduction doesn't work, some people say the stock is in the wrong place and they can't get a good sight picture, and some people don't like pistol-grips. My SpecOps took some getting used to, I mean that in reference to where my face should go and where the stock sits in my shoulder. After I had adjusted to it, yes it works and also it does NOT feel the same a wood stock because the receiver slides back.

Personally I like my SpecOps but would not use another AR-Style stock unless it had proven recoil-reducing function like the Knoxx.

 

[HardShell]

... My SpecOps took some getting used to, I mean that in reference to where my face should go and where the stock sits in my shoulder. After I had adjusted to it, yes it works and also it does NOT feel the same a wood stock because the receiver slides back...

I'm glad you posted that.

I will do my best to reserve judgement and really give it a fair chance...

 

[halfacop]

A friend of mines shotty.....

This was the best set I had seen for these type stocks. Its High and straight back and gives you a "AR" type hold......



Yes - its badass and so is HE!