It's not that Thorn is bad. It's that Hawkmoon is the quintessential handcannon in the game. Not a fair fight. You think the reload is slow? Should've seen it before the buff. Only 6 rounds and half the reload speed it is now. Thorn now contends with the other handcannons quite well. It's because of those special bullets it has that calls for the reload speed and low round count. You do damage without even looking at them. Just fire and forget. And because of its low clip it's easier to get to that last round. The round that does a nice bit of extra damage. Try it it's nice. It does have its place amongst the exotics and any veteran Thorn owner will tell you the same. Also Thorn can 2 shot in crucible if you get headshots.