Amateur axeologist here.

This isn’t your “I’m going to chop down a tree” tool. The head of this thing was either for messing fools up, or for busting brush, not heavy use.

Given that, the structural weakness is worth it in this case. Pushing the axe head a little farther out lengthens the “handle” (gun) and provides more leverage. That leverage comes in handy when hacking through both bushes and fools.