. im just speculating that recoil and bbl rise must have been much more back then, therefore more control could be had way out there.
Not necessarily. Where the front hand is placed on the forend/barrels has more to do with what the MOI is of the gun, or, how easily, or how hard, the gun is to swing on a bird. A short barreled gun, or a gun with very light barrel(s), does not need the forward hand to be placed as far outward as does a gun with long, heavy barrels that require more effort to "get them moving". OTOH, a gun that requires more effort to "get moving", or to stop moving, would need the forward hand placed farther out, to increase the leverage. It's all about leverage, IMO.
This is a largely overlooked part of shotgunning, I think. Some people do it automatically, and can shoot a variety of guns, with different MOI, well. Others, who place the forward hand rigidly in the same place always, may notice the gun's liveliness, or sluggishness, more.
SRH
