The problem with the "consistent damage" on paper argument used to claim Thorn is clearly better is that eventually you'll need to reload, and you'll be doing that sooner and more frequently with Thorn given Hawkmoon's Field Scout-sized 13-round cylinder. You're not doing "consistent damage" unless it's a bit of DoT during those more frequent reloads. If only PvP consisted of trading shot for shot 1-on-1 this would be a great argument, but real world play isn't quite like that. They are in fact very close. My personal preference is for Hawkmoon because it has the potential to kill more opponents in 6v6 games because the cylinder is notably larger, but I personally rate those 2 hand cannons as #1 and #2 primary weapons for PvP, so it's not like you could go wrong with either.