Anyone enamored with the effectiveness of PGO shotguns based on one anecdote should consult Reginald Denny about them. You can do that because Denny is still alive. He's alive because the young man who shot at him with a PGO shotgun in the midst of his televised beating during the Rodney King/LA Riot missed at about 15 feet. I remember the video from the news helicopter at the time.
Don't remember that episode? Lots of people who were around at the time don't seem to recall it. It didn't get aired much after the first hours of the riot. Here's one news report:
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/14/u...seeks-retrial-of-officer-in-king-beating.html
... Investigators were also attempting to identify three other men who can be seen in the television news footage, Mr. Reiner said. They include a man who smashed a large white object over Mr. Denny's head, a man who hit him on the head with a hammer and a man carrying a shotgun who fired once but did not hit Mr. Denny, then drove off on a motorcycle. Mr. Reiner said there were about 10 other victims of violence at the same intersection -- Normandie and Florence Boulevards -- in the first minutes of the rioting. ...
=====================
All in all, anecdotes do not equal data.
I have never said that a PGO shotgun is useless, I have carried one myself on security details when concealment was a primary consideration (after I let someone talk me out of my old High Standard 10A bullpup). If I absolutely needed to, I'd put the birdshead pistol grip and the laser back on the old Winchester 1300 and practice up a bit.
But would I deliberately choose to pick up ANY shotgun I hadn't worked with in that long, much less a PGO? In the midst of a hot robbery, trying to defend my employees who might have been in close proximity to the bad guys? Absolutely not! Running the graduation drill (a 'hostage shot') in Louis Awerbuck's shotgun class with a full- stocked 870 with sights and slugs was bad enough.
Anyone who wants to is free to act differently of course... I just hope I'm not around when it goes down. I'd a lot rather be lucky than good... but you can't practice for 'lucky.' Butchering good guys with a shotgun is NOT where you want to go.
lpl