Ash, I made the first reply to this thread. That reply was:
It'll work just fine. You can always add a spare "tactical" bbl later if you really want to. It's not like a 24"+ field is going to make it less effective at delivering lead to an intruder. If you're in a fixed position it isn't going to matter.
As for your other points:
ugaarguy, would it not be better to have a stock permanently fit to you? It isn't a good idea to stop and try to adjust a shotgun's stock to fit you while a baddie is in the house. Indeed, when you're worried or nervous, that is the worst time to adjust anything. So, you keep it set before hand so you know it will work when desired. Why bother with adjustable at all, then? It would be better to just fit a stock to yourself.
I've been down that route, and it killed the resale value when I had to sell some guns when money got tight while I went through the VA disability claims process. There are other advantages to adjustable stocks, but that's a discussion for another thread. I'm well aware of the deterioration of fine motor skills under stress, when suddenly awakened, when sleep deprived, etc. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I agree that simple is good, and pre-adjusting a stock is pretty simple.
It doesn't need a heat shield. It doesn't need a pistol-grip only stock (which is really a bad idea in defensive situations). It doesn't need a ghost ring. It doesn't need a bayonet lug. The only point you have in your argument is having a light. The other "features" are, of course this is an opinion and others, you included, disagree, at best needless and at worst things that render the firearm less effective.
My last two sentences of my last post were: "I understand the sentiment against accessories that added for the sake of making something look tactical or cool. Practical accessories are another matter entirely."
We're in full agreement about PGO shotguns - they do nothing other than hurt your wrist and significantly hinder using a shotgun. I never said anything about "the shoulder thing that goes up" (heat shields)
, nor bayonet lugs. Heat shields have that their place, but only in limited applications. A heat shield would only add weight and look silly on a field shotgun. No argument from me on that.
Bayonet lugs? Well I'll play devil's advocate here. I guess if you had a Mossberg 590A1 (or whichever model it is that has the bayo lug - are there any other shotguns currently made with a bayo lug?) you could put one of those bayonet lug to Picatinny rail adapters on it to hold your white light. That's also about all a bayonet lug is good for on a rifle now too - mounting accessories other than bayonets. So, no, I'm not running out to find a bayonet lug I can silver solder onto the bbl of the Winchester 37A single shot that was passed down to me.
Rifle sights are slightly different matter. I'd never put them on a field gun used for birds or clays, but they're right at home on a field gun used for pigs or deer. If I lived or hunted in a state or zone that was shotgun only for big game I'd have an 870 with the fixed mod choke, rifle sighted bbl. Or maybe a rifle sighted, rifled bore, slug bbl. I wouldn't use a shotgun with a rifled slug bbl for HD. However, a fixed mod choke bbl that patterns even cheap buckshot nicely would be a great on a HD shotgun. The factory rifle sights, whether open notch or aperture rear, wouldn't make it any less effective. I wouldn't add rifle sights unless I had a practical field use for them either though.
Overall, I think we're on the same page, and we just had to more thoroughly discuss our similar views on practical vs. tacticool.