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"Cool factor?" Please say it ain't so. Please say you're choosing a firearm by purpose, not looks.

First, as others have mentioned, skeet-shooting shotguns and defensive shotguns are two different animals. You can get an 870 with interchangeable barrels, for example, but it's about more than barrel length. It always strikes me as odd that folks familiar with umpteen types of handguns, from tiny mouse guns to G34s, will think that any shotgun is a shotgun.

Defensive shotguns typically are cylinder bore, have an 18-inch barrel, and are designed to fire every time. Kinda like an AK, accuracy and tight tolerances are less important than reliability. You will never see a competitive skeet shooter using a basic Mossy 500 or Remy 870.

That doesn't mean you can't shoot a Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 for clays, skeet, or hunting. Just that they aren't the best tools for the job.

Second, a pistol-grip shotgun is pretty much pointless. It's a solution in search of a need. Alas, I'm afraid Hollywood has driven this and, like most of what we see about guns from Hollywood, it's wrong.

You can't hold or present a shotgun any more quickly or closer to your body with a pistol grip than you can with a combat stock (my preference is the Knoxx--now Blackhawk--stock). Held in CQB ready position--the same way you would an AR15--a defensive shotgun with a stock is no more susceptible to grasp or interference than is a pistol-grip shotgun. Think about it: the relative positioning of the strong-hand grip at the trigger is essentially identical, ergo where the barrel extends from the body is the same. But having a stock allows you to tuck the stock under your strong-side arm for compressed fire or retention, in a far more stable position than pistol-grip only.

Also, in CQB, a stock gives you an impact device/weapon. A pistol-grip only or folding stock removes or lessens that force multiplier.

Third, it's a myth that you don't need to aim a shotgun. The "scattergun" mythos dates back to the 19th century, when the barrel was trumpet-shaped and about 12 inches long, and the charge was miscellaneous junk packed in from the muzzle.

From an 18-inch cylinder bore, a 00-buckshot pattern will expand only slightly at seven yards. A bit more at 10 yards. I have some expansion numbers if you want them.

Dressing-up a shotgun to enable "cool factor" is a mistake. When you may most need it, that cool, top-foldable, and very cheap stock is most likely to fail.

Just, as always, IMHO.