I [b]love[/b] this gun so much, but it's lacking a few things that would make it more enjoyable and useful.
It needs to have a better range and stability perk than what it has now. Hand loaded is barely noticable. At least give it Hammer Forged. As far as the stability goes, perfect balance isn't making a noticable differnce either. I also feel like the gun should hold 6-8 bullets in total, and the Return to Sender perk activates more often when you get a kill. Oh, and the reload speed is awful but not a huge worry if it were to have more bullets in a clip. Bungie, if you pay mind to what I'm saying, you could have another fun, yet still balanced shotgun running around in both PvP and PvE!
I really hope you guys read this!!!
The fourth horseman has been through a lot, I also too think it needs a little love. I like your idea of the middle perk node change; however, I think bungie is seeing the model of the gun a little differently than us. After all, "It's not a holdout weapon, it's a pathfinder." ;)