doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Evolution of "Pistol Grips" on American Shotguns ?

Shotguns were developed in the Old Country, where high angle driven shots were the norm, and a straight grip is easy to point at the sky. Also, the straight grip allows the hand to move slightly for the second trigger on a DT gun.
Now, along comes electricity and the Trap game. A fuller pistol grip allows a gentleman to fire many rounds a day with better control than a straight grip.
In the US of A, the upland hunting over our vast fields and prairies require lots of walking, and thus carrying. A half-pistol grip or "Prince of Wales" was a very good comprimise for carrying and shooting. John Browning's Superposed came standard with a POW grip since 1931.
But Val Browning, and others, perfected the single trigger by 1937 or so, and thus one reason for a straight grip (moving to the 2d trigger) was eliminated. The Classic British gun retains, to this day, a double trigger, so they prefer the English straight grip.
As the variety of Trap, Skeet, Sporting Clays, etc has evolved, so to has the customized grip tailored to each game.

Interesting reading. The Riverton Handicap March 8, 1895
http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1895/VOL_24_NO_25/SL2425015.pdf
"All the guns were 12 gauge, and it was noticeable that not a full pistol-grip stock was among the number, and most of them
were the straight-grip "pigeon gun" model nine being of this description, and six of the half-grip style."

Jerry, I see pistol grips on American breechloaders from the latest part of the 1870s on. Wesson, Baker, L C Smith, Clark and Sneider and others show this design. I think in the 1880s, and on, most American makers used a pistol grip. Smith , Ithaca, Baker, Lefever, etc come to mind. I am not sure you can call this a "standard", as in the US, Britain, and the continent you can find many examples of each style.