Apart from the aesthetics is there any advantage with one over the other in areas such as recoil or ease of handling?
Based purely on the look, I prefer straight grips and that includes bolt guns.

Same here. Straight grips cock my wrist more than I like. I think Marlin makes a good pistol grip, followed closely by Winchesters's M71. My Trappers all have straight grips, but I hope to make up a Trapper some day with a pistol grip. Anyway, that's my preference.bsaride wrote:Pistol grips here. My large hands just prefer the feel.