Hi guys, long time lurker, first time poster. Mods: I looked for a dedicated reviews section here on the forums but didn't see one, so I figured the tactical section would be the next best thing, if I got it wrong, please move it. Other than as a customer, I have no formal affiliation or relationship with the company who's product is reviewed below.

I broke down and bought one of these grips, while I was researching it I never could find a decent review of this product so I figured I'd take a little time and post one here.

Background and applicability:
The Raptor grip is manufactured in the USA by Shockwave Technologies, a Veteran owned company located in Salt Lake City, UT. Their website is http://shockwavetechnologies.com/site/ it is quite easy to navigate and their products can be ordered right off of their site. In addition the site includes a considerable amount of technical data to assist with many mods or tweeks that a person may elect to perform on their firearms.

The grip is solidly molded from a black, glass-filled polymer. Shockwave Technologies currently manufactures the Raptor grip for the 12ga and 20ga Mossberg pump action shotguns, models 500, 535, 590, and 835 and will also fit the Maverick 88 and New Haven 600. They are currently developing a Raptor grip for the Remington 870, expected to be released in late spring/early summer of this year (2013). The purview of this review is limited to the Generation II Mossberg version of the Raptor grip; however, I fully expect the Remington 870 version will be of similar construction and quality.

Ordering and shipping:
I ordered my Raptor grip off of the Shockwave Technologies website, placing the order was very straightforward, the grip sells for $29.95 and the shipping is an additional $4.00 for a grand delivered total of $33.95, very reasonable in my opinion. Payment was easily processed through PayPal.
Shipping was quite fast via USPS Priority mail, I received my package from Shockwave Technologies in 4 mail-days from the day I placed the order.

Packaging and unboxing:
My grip arrived packaged in a USPS Priority mail small flat-rate box with adequate packing material. the grip was heat sealed in a heavy plastic bag that was small enough to keep the installation hardware that was shipped inserted in the grip, from getting loose and potentially marring the finish of the grip.
Upon liberating the grip from its packaging, the first thing that I noticed was how solid the grip was, and how nice the finish felt in hand, overall it felt like quality.



Detail impressions:
The texture on the Raptor grip is a gentle, molded in stippling designed to give you good purchase on the grip without eating your hand under recoil. it is evenly applied and feels good in the hand. There is a mold line that runs around the grip, but has been nicely smoothed to prevent any discomfort during handling. The receiver interface is molded into he grip in a neat clean manner free of extra material and should require no additional trimming or fitting. The mounting hardware consists of a 4 1/2" long, 1/4" allen head bolt that runs nearly the entire length of the grip to add additional structure and rigidity when installed and a flat washer that goes under he head of the bolt. One detail of note, the Raptor grip does not come with a sling stud, but the reason it doesn't makes sense. Because the grip is molded of solid polymer, a sling stud can be installed nearly anywhere on the grip that the owner would like, or not at all... I like flexibility, even if it will cost me a couple bucks for a sling stud.









Installation:
The installation is straightforward, all that is required is a 1/4" allen wrench (not included with the grip). Once the previously installed stock or pistol grip is removed from the shotgun, the Raptor grip is offered up to the stock interface of the receiver, the installation bolt inserted and tightened with the allen wrench. Some may wish to also apply Loctite or another brand of thread locker to the installation bolt, I chose not to as I plan to install this grip on another project shotgun at a later date.





Final impressions and summary:
The grip fits my Mossberg 500 JIC Super 8 perfectly, it is stable, sturdy and feels like its part of the gun. For those of you, like me, that have never handled a shotgun with a birdshead style grip, I would like to tell you that you need to check one out. I am truly shocked at how natural the ergonomics of this grip feel, it adds genuine comfort and flexibility to a pistol grip shotgun.

To wrap this up, if your on the fence about buying one of these grips; stop screwin' around on the fence, get back to your computer and place your order. These are quality, period. A USA made, Vet owned, quality product for under $35 bucks delivered! How can you go wrong?







Post Scriptum:
The one reservation I had when deciding whether or not to purchase this grip was the bolt recess on the back of the grip, I was concerned that the edges of the recess would chaff on my hand during handling causing discomfort and even more so when firing. Well for anyone that has similar concerns, you can see by the below picture that it is not even close to being an issue, your hand is never anywhere near the recess.

Good review and all. But I just can't understand the appeal of either the raptor grip or a pistol grip for matters inside the home. Is the loss of stability and the ability to shoulder the weapon and get a proper sight picture really worth the reduced overall length?

Hey man, thanks for the kudos on my review, this isn't my home defense shotgun; this is my funnin' shotgun. Here is my home defense shotgun, pulled it out and snapped a pic just for you!



As far as whether or not pistol grip shotguns are worth it, that sounds like a huge can-o'-worms filled with many opinions; good thing gun owners aren't opinionated!

I tried several different PG's before I tried the Speedfeed birds head grip. The birds head is best of breed.

That is of course a matter of opinion, & is in part contingent on whether the PGO is aimed at eye-level with a bead (or other sight reference) or is point/index-fired from a lower position.

I understand the utility of a PGO on AOW, or even a non-NFA 18" pump. I don't, however, get it on a 20" like the OP's. No matter. If the OP likes it, fine with me.

Welcome to the Basement, jetnspector. I bought a Speedfeed birdshead grip for Mossbergs before they were discontinued, and they have a nice plug, so the lack of a plug for the Raptor model did concern me. Good luck, sir.

Hi 62-10, honestly this gun was only used for the purposes of this review. It's back in the safe wearing its Pachmayr furniture. I purchased the Raptor grip for a dedicated non-NFA PGO "other weapon" project. But I couldn't help myself and wanted to #1. Review the grip. and #2. feel the ergonomics of the grip installed on something. Next time I go shooting I'll probably put the Raptor back on to test it out.


Thanks for the warm welcome, wfb18.

Welcome to the Basement, jetnspector. Nice review.

I am not interested in a PGO shotgun for defensive purposes, but it looks like a fun toy.

A "bit" late to this thread - but on the topic of grips, wanted you to be aware that Shockwave has new grips from what is discussed here. These old grips don't have the plug.

Feel free to check out the details on the new grips: https://shockwavetechnologies.com/produ ... gory/grips or there's a blog about Raptor grip colors available here: https://shockwavetechnologies.com/new-r ... rip-colors

I revised this thread from long ago because I used to own one of these things (the Remington 870 version.) It was actually easier to use than I imagined. The reason is the Shockwave grip. Unlike the pistol grip which is terrible on the wrist and stings the web of the hand, the Shockwave keeps the wrist at a natural angle and is painless. Also, within the limits of one box of birdshot I pretty well hit everything that I shot at. There is a lot more to these than I thought and I will redact my prejudicial pronouncement of "gimmick" and substitute the term "plausible".

Let me add this. The birds head grip offers absolutely no advantage when actually shooting the gun. Certainly a full sized stocked shotgun is better under most circumstances but these definitely fill a niche. For example, you could easily carry one of these into a hotel room packed in a suitcase without alarming the staff or maneuver it from the right to the left window inside your vehicle in a riot. This would be impossible with a conventional length shotgun. It is not that these birds head grip "firearms" are better, it is just that they are a whole lot better than not having a shotgun at all.

That being said, for some goofy reason if you add this thing to a shotgun that once had a stock it still must have an 18" or longer barrel. Not a 14" like a newly made Tac 14 "firearm" has. And yes, they can tell by the serial number.

Shooting a 12 Gauge Shockwave with Winchester Super X 2 3/4 00 buck is absolutely Painless and I like the Raptor grip on the Shockwave but it Definitely adds to the overall length.

For example the 6 shot Shockwave with 14 inch barrel is only about 4 1/4 inches less in overall length than a Mossberg 88 with 20 inch barrel and 8 shots ,when the Mossberg has a pistol grip on it.

They have to make these things long enough to meet the federally mandated minimum of 26 overall inches with a 14" barrel. BTW, does anyone know the minimal legal length for a Bible or a newspaper?

I would think that the minimum length for a Bible would be as long is it needs to be to read and study.

As far as the minimum length for a News Paper depends on the usage for the Newspaper.
If using to swat something "flies etc" then the longer the better.

If the paper is to be used for reading purposes It May not matter.
As someone once said, "Maybe it was Mark Twain maybe not"

"If you don't read the Newspaper you are Uninformed"
"if you do read the Newspaper then you are Misinformed"