12 Ga 3" or 3.5"

gethuntin

gethuntin

Member
I use to have a 3.5 and now i have a 3 inch wingmaster for upland birds mainly well i never used the 3.5 inch shells in my other shotgun and sold it.

Well i thinking i need a shotgun i can abuse alittle coyotes/turkey/ geese. Ans i was wonderng in a 12 ga is the 3.5 the way to go . does it hit harder have better or worse patterns. I ask bc i know there was alot of discussions on patterns and ranges on a sticky, and remember reading someone thought that it could be to much shot for a 12g bore and 3.5 inch shell. Thats one example of why i am question the need of the 3.5
If its unessacary i would like to avoid the longer cycle and just get the 3 " chamber.
 
3" ounce & 7/8 lead BB hammer my shoulder enough as it is, wouldnt want to shoot a 3 1/2. I would think if ya cant get it done with a 3, the extra wont help any.
 
I shoot 3.5" shells at turkeys and predators both.I've shot a few turkey with the 3" and they get the job done too but I figure that Im putting a few more holes in the critter with the 3.5" and they both kick about the same so I might as well.
But they will both kill critters deader than a doornail.I think its just preference really.
Whichever patterns best in your gun is the one you should definately go with. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Thanks for teh info Anyone else? side note i dont have the gun yet but i was looking at a stoeger m2000 but it is only a 3" chamber or a 870 express magnum or super magnum. heck maybe even a benilli nova.
 
I think there is no need for 3.5. As for the Stoeger M2000 it is a great buy...just get it new. I'd research a little on this and other forums about it to understand why I say that. I have an M2000 bty...good shooter.
 
I shoot a Benelli Nova.Their really good guns and if you felt like it you could shoot 3.5" shells out of it.They probably arent much better than the 3" shells but I like shootin them. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
Remington 870's are really good guns too so I dont think you could go wrong with buying one of those either.
Not sure about the Stoeger.I dont think I've ever seen one before.
 
I have a Benelli Black Eagle and a Rem 870 Supermag. The 870 is brutal with 3.5 lead turkey in the 2 oz neighborhood. The Benelli is much mor manageable. I only use 3.5 when hunting geese with steel, turkeys and predators with #4 buck. Every thing else is 2 3/4 or 3". The pattern is more dense with the 3.5" but the shot string is longer and more useful for relatively large or slow moving targets, ie predators, turkey or geese. I really like the versatility of the 3.5 and would recommend a good gas or inertial semi. The pumps are just unconmfortable.
 
3.5" guns came out because when lead was outlawed for WF people wanted the additional steel payload and that extra payload helps because steel sucks [beeep].


I say why not. If you want one buy it. If not, a 3" gun will do anything a 3 1/2" gun will do and it'll do it in a lighter package.

Since you posted this Q it tells me you'll be buying one anyway.
 
If it were me, I would get a gun that will shoot the 3.5" shells. If you don't like shooting the 3.5's, then you can always shoot 3" shells in that gun. (Not the other way around if you buy a shotgun that only shoots 3" shells.)
I did my own testing last year with a Mossberg 835 shooting #4 buck. At 40 yards, I shot both 3" and 3.5". The 3.5" shells had noticibly denser patterns, enough so that I will stick with 3.5" shells for predator hunting.
 
IMHO If a 3" payload won't kill it, 3.5" won't help much either. This comes from 15 years shooting ducks and geese and the occasional turkey.

When you miss with a high dollar 3.5" shell, ouch!

Just my .02, your mileage may vary.
 
If I wanted a 3 1/2" inch shell it'd be a .10 gauge. The Big Ten will pattern better and recoil less than the Roman Candle .12 gauge. The 3" length does about all a .12 gauge can really do for nearly all practical uses.
 
I have 4 12ga. shotguns ...... all are chambered for 3.5" shells. I do very little upland game hunting, save for doves, but they will all handle the 2 3/4" shells I use for dove hunting and the 3.5" shells I use for waterfowl.

For duck hunting and goose hunting I use a 3.5" hulled handload, but only 1 3/16 oz. of shot, as that is what seems to pattern best from my gun and choke. The 3.5" hull has it's greatest advantage in shooting hard shot, like steel, since it doesn't deform and the greater hull capacity permits the use of bigger pellets, heavier shot charges, and/or higher velocities.

Do you need any of those things for your goose hunting? Where I hunt, I do. Longer ranged shots are common. I have no problem taking down geese out to about 50 yards with my steel shot goose loads, if I put the pattern on them. And, it's not really difficult if you practice.

If you don't shoot any further than 30 or 35 yards, you won't see much of an advantage with the bigger shell unless you prefer the bigger shot sizes, which I do. The longer shell allows you to increase your pellet count and maintain velocity better than you can with the 3" shell.

Can you stand the increased recoil? If you are prone to flinching, perhaps you ought to stay with the shorter, lighter kicking load.

But, when I know I am going to need to dial long distance, I get out the 10ga.
 
3.5 is a big marketing gimick . The only place for it is shooting steel for waterfoul. 12 guages pattern best with 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 oz of shot . If you try and shove too much down the bore your going to get shot deformation and longer shot string.

I would just skip the 3.5 chamber. Its a total waste of time, money , and your shoulder. people where killing animals without problem for a long long time before the 3.5" shell came out.

go over to shotgunworld.com and ask about this. All these very serious shotgunners are going to tell you the same thing.

what i would do is get an 870 express 12 guage with 3" chamber and 26" barrel. You can shoot it as is for geese. If you want to start whacking song dogs and turkey just buy an extra full choke or dead coyote choke and you'll need some kind of site to put that dense pattern in the kill zone. Later on you can possibly upgrade the stock to something that is camo and possibly pistol grip if your into it. you can wrap some camo tape on the barrel and your all set.
 


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