I recently reviewed the Mossberg 590M mag fed shotgun and I enjoyed it. Over time I’ve both loved and loathed the Shockwave grip. This bird’s head grip is the magic that makes a 14-inch barrel 12 gauge 26 inches overall. This makes it a “firearm” rather than a “short barreled shotgun.” Over time I’ve noticed the birds head grip on the Shockwave 590M is good, but the addition of a magazine makes the whole system feel unwieldy.
This was especially true after I purchased another magazine and started doing serious magazine changes. Reloading the gun via magazine is a pain in the ass with the Shockwave Raptor grip. On the normal Shockwave and Tac 14, the Shockwave Raptor grip is brilliant, but its seriously lacking on a mag fed shotgun like the 590M or the Tac 14 DM.
What could I do to fix it? Well, a 90-degree pistol grip would be perfect, but I have to keep the gun 26 inches overall. Hmm, what could one do? Well, Knoxx provided an answer with their Breacher grip Gen 3. This 90-degree pistol grip has an extension that fits a recoil reducing buffer. This extends the gun about .3 inches longer than the Shockwave grip and keeps it well above the 26 OAL length.
On the Range
The Shockwave 590M has a very long magazine, nearly half the length of the gun and this does throw the balance off a bit. It’s not bad with the 10 round magazines but after borrowing a friend’s 20 rounder it was downright awful. I mean it was fun and ridiculous, but heavy and cumbersome. Even with a fully loaded ten rounder the weight difference is significant and with a standard Shockwave Raptor grip your nonfiring arm is doing most of the work holding the gun.
When that arms tires your form goes to shit, and these guns need proper form. The use of the Knoxx grip made handling a mag fed shotgun much easier. It allows both arms to carry the weight of the gun. This helps significantly when shooting tons of rounds, and a mag fed shotgun just encourages you to shoot tons of rounds. The gun is more maneuverable with the grip and the way it aligns with the magazine helps balance it.
The Breacher’s Grip is particular is perfect for high volume shooting because it does a wonderful job of reducing recoil. It’s comfortable with full powered buckshot and handles brilliantly. It takes a less perfect form to use the gun with the Breacher’s grip and remain safe.
Additionally, swapping magazines is much easier. I reload the gun almost the same way I’d reload a pistol now. I bring it into my ‘work space’ and swap the magazine out. With the Knoxx Gen 3 Breacher’s grip, I can handle the weight of the weapon with one hand with ease.
Pistol Grips and the Mag Fed Shotgun
The pump action Mag fed shotgun is somewhat new to the market and both Mossberg and Remington are making them in PGO configurations, as well as standard shotguns. Knoxx makes a stock and pistol grip system for standard shotguns are well as a Breacher’s grip for both Remington and Mossberg shotguns and firearms. A mag fed shotgun contributes to the weapon’s overall balance and makes it easier to handle overall. The future utility of a mag fed shotgun will revolve around a pistol grip, or pistol grip and stock combo.
The Breacher’s Grip is a great addition to the Shockwave 590M, and I’m willing to bet running any mag fed shotgun with a pistol grip or pistol grip and stock combo is easier to run. Even with the massive, ridiculous, and purely American, 590M 20 round magazine.
