Straight grips were standard on matchlocks. Obviously that's the sort of grip that a proper gun should have.
Hard to tell just what Dr. Wanker is suggesting here...
We do know that matchlocks weren't really suitable for shooting at flying or running targets, but it would be ridiculous to think that straight grip firearms are an obsolete relic. In fact, the straight grip was undoubtedly more popular than pistol grip guns throughout the flintlock and percussion era with both rifles, and shotguns, and it carried on in huge numbers well into the 20th century. I'd guess better than half of lever action rifles have a straight grip. And don't forget the tens or hundreds of millions of bolt action military rifles that had straight grips, including Krags, Enfields, Springfields, Carcanos, and a good many Mausers. It seems that somewhat exaggerated pistol grips became popular with the advent of full-auto rifles. I suppose it would be harder to control a straight grip full-auto firearm, but a few were made.
One advantage of the straight grip design that hasn't been mentioned is that a lot of walnut gun stock blanks tend to fall a bit short when it comes to incorporating a full pistol grip, either due to grain flow, or running into sapwood. I myself like a nicely done Prince of Wales grip best on a shotgun, but would never reject a nice straight grip gun.
