But Joe is right (for once :D) and the barrels should be gripped in front of the splinter (of course not wrapping your hand around them!)
If you look at the pictures of the two guys in the the first post they are both sort of chunky and have short, stout arms. Their arms wouldn't comfortably reach the barrels.
I think George Digweed has the same problem but it certainly hasn't hampered his shooting.
I am tall with long arms (used to be skinny) and reach the barrels with ease with my left hand. A surprising number of guys will come up to me and "correct" the way I hold my shotgun. These are usually the pump-gunners.
