My personal theory is that they exist entirely to make No Land Beyond slightly more viable. Other than that, they can come in handy if the Challenge of Elders decides to stop dropping primary ammo, and they can be efficient at racking up elemental weapon bounties. My Havoc Pigeon with Zen Moment, Outlaw, and Skip Rounds (a poor man's Field Scout), and Jabberwocky with Crowd Control, Spray and Play, and High Caliber Rounds are both useful in all of these situations. Plus, they're kinda fun, though I wish they'd come with Full Auto.

I used them exclusively today to figure out when anyone would use one... still don't know Basically they are the only gun that doesn't get more accurate when you scope in so hip firing works but like you said their damage and handling still makes them outgunned within their range. If they got a damage buff and were essentially close range hand cannons that hip fire that'd be cool but right now they are definitely useless