3" vs 3.5"

I got a 3.5" semi-auto. I rarely use 3.5" shells. The 3.5" was made to compete against the 10 ga. I only use 3.5" shells if I think I would need a 10 ga to do the job. It offers much more violent recoil. Feels like being punched hard in the shoulder rather than being pushed hard. I'm not a recoil loving guy. I'm a "birds falling from the sky" loving guy. I think violent recoil is detrimental to accuracy, unless you're an experienced shooter. Flinching is an involuntary reflex, so when your gun starts to hurt you, bad things start to happen, like closing your eyes when the gun goes off. I've seen it happen. Recoil aslo inflincts fatigue, violent recoil does even more so. 3.5" shells are not worth it unless they're necessary. I see the 3.5" as a specialized tool.
 
Those damned 3.5" shells just give me a pounding headache whenever I used them. 10 shots, then thats it, I'm
heading home. Anyhow, most 3.5" shells are loaded to a slower velocity , which caused me to miss way more.
I always shot at the birds thinking the steel was as fast as 2.75" loads were, which meant I constantly swung too
close to the body and missed each time.
I went back to 2.75" for everything in the sky, and saving 3" and above for buckshot and bears. It works for
my primitive brain.
 
struff55 said:
Explain to me how 3 1/2" will give you more range than a3" choke increases range . This should be interesting.
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Assuming the same degree of choke restriction for both guns, the extra payload of the 3 1/2" will give you a denser pattern, and a few more yards before the pattern becomes too thin to be usable. That's the theory. I think the number of gunners out there that are good enough shots to take advantage of the extra range are mighty few. Personally, I have no time for the 3 1/2" and still do most of my shooting with 2 3/4"
 
1. Is a 3 1/2-Inch 12-Gauge More Effective Than a 3-Inch 12-Gauge?

I’ve always believed the brutal recoil of a 31⁄2-inch 12-gauge magnum negates any ballistic advantage over the standard 3-inch magnum. I have always suspected, too, that cramming what amounts to a 10-gauge load into a 12-gauge barrel produced poor, ragged patterns and longer shot strings that made the extra pain even less worthwhile.

Test Loads:
- 12-gauge, 3-inch, 11⁄4-ounce loads of Black Cloud steel BB shot at 1450 fps (Modified choke)
- 12-gauge, 31⁄2-inch, 11⁄2-ounce loads of Black Cloud steel BB shot at 1500 fps (Modified choke)
Results: Both loads patterned almost identically on a 30-inch circle at 40 yards: The 31⁄2-inch load put 72.6 percent of its shot in the circle, with 77 pellet hits. The 3-inch placed 71.8 percent of its shot in the circle, with 63 hits.

There was no significant difference between the lengths of the shot strings, which averaged 42 inches for the 3-inch and 49 inches for the 31⁄2-inch midway between muzzle and target. Both loads exhibited equal penetration in ballistic gelatin at 30 yards—5 inches—despite the 31⁄2-inch shell’s 50 fps head start in muzzle velocity.

The Takeaway: I expected the 31⁄2 to string out longer and pattern worse than the 3-inch load, but it patterned just as well. The higher pellet count of the 31⁄2-inch resulted in significantly more hits in the circle, but both loads put enough hits on target to kill geese.

However, the improvement in performance comes at a cost of a whopping 50 percent increase in recoil. Even with a gun seated in a massive rest, I could feel the difference, and the muzzle blast was noticeably louder in the test tunnel, too. I shot some of those same 31⁄2-inch shells while trying to shoot a triple on a five-stand range. I could hit the first target always, but recovering from the shot to make the next two was almost impossible.

Is the 31⁄2-inch more effective than the 3-inch? Yes—if you can withstand the recoil. “More” is only better if you can put it on target.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2013/08/truth-about-shogun-ammo
 
driftpounder said:
Hi guys,

I am still pretty new to the forum and am still new to shotgunning. I was out doing some research on what guns fit me the best and get some ideas on pricing in my area and I was asking the guy behind the counter about how much you would need the 3.5" 12 gauge. He said for hunting geese you will probably want it a few times a year. I have done a fair bit of research the last few months and it is my understanding that the 3" will kill a goose just as dead as a 3.5" at the same distance. How far away would a goose have to be before you would actually need the 3.5"? Will a 3" kill big snow geese and big Canada's reliably for a relatively new shotgunner? I haven't hunted geese yet myself, but I have hunted ducks.

I don't really want to spend the money on the 3.5 if I am never going to use it. I plan to hunt geese and ducks mostly and shoot a few clay birds in the off season. I would like to hunt turkeys someday, but it will be many years before I get around to hunting turkeys because I will have to go out of province and find a place I can hunt. I have been looking at the higher end semis as I have been using my dad's old pump action Winchester and I want to get something that I will keep forever like he did with the pump, but like the idea of the semi autos quicker second and third shot.

Thanks for any help and input you guys have.
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The only advantage a 3.5" shell gives you is on long range pass shooting on geese...puts a few more pellets in the pattern and may make a difference on a long shot. MAY make a difference...and as many turkeys are taken even with 20 gauge shotguns, there's no need to got to 3.5" shells. I've shot turkeys with both full choked 3" #4s and #5s, as well as with my .17 HMR.
 
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I hunt ducks, geese and turkey, in fact everything, with either 2 1/2" or 2 3/4 inch. Kills them dead. As someone else pointed out, if you shoot on target, the birds fall dead. And BTW, one of the best turkey hunters on this board hunts his turkey almost exclusively with a 20 gauge.

3" and especially 31/2 inch are marketing tools from the gun companies. That's all.
 
3.5" is actually a negative with some pump actions, due to the extra long shell, if you're at all tentative in pumping the action, you can
have a jam. I've seen this happen a few times, where my 3" chambered and my 2.75" chambered pump shotguns always work fine.
I agree with Canvasback, the gun makers had to come up with something new to sell more shotguns to folks that already had them...
 
I have 3 waterfowl guns(not counting my M12 2.75"I bring out for nostelgia sake every now and then) all 3 are 3.5"( 2 Berettas and a SX2) and I shoot a LOT of waterfowl in the 5 months of our various seasons and have been doing so for to may years to want to remember. For Geese I load so my first two shot 3" and my 3rd 3.5". I very seldom shoot that 3rd shell but when you get one of those Kevlar clad honkers that you know are flying away to die latter after being hit that final 3.5 " can make all the difference between a lost and wasted bird and one in the bag. I love the 3.5" capability if you want it it's there but nothing says you have to use it.
As for it being a negative with pumps I admit to having a learning curve at first when switching from my M12 to a Stoger P350. But after a few days I got beyond the 'short stroking' issue. I shoot with a young guy who has always shot a 3.5 Super Nova and I have never seen him short stroke in fact he shoots hand thrown triples in full Tom Knapp fashion. It just a matter of getting used to your gun
 
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I have a pump the shoots 3.5 inch .I us this gun for everything and the only time I us the 3.5 inch shells is well turkey hunting .make the first shot count and not very often you need two or three shots well hunting turkeys .we shoot the short shells in early duck season shooting woodys in pounds then go to 3 inch for field shooting geese .and every deer I have shot with 2.75inch slugs has been thru and thru . it is nice to have the option to us what shells you want .and the cost of a threeinch gun is not much difference then a three and a half inch gun and the latter may have a bit better resale .Dutch
 
I thought I had to have a 3.5 for my first gun as well, after a case of 3.5 num 2s all I really had to show for it over my friends shooting 2 3/4 and 3 inch was a sore shoulder and a nasty flinch I'm still trying to shake... Didn't kill em any harder than my buddies that's for sure!

3 inch 12 gauge for ducks and geese,3 inch 20 gauge for turkeys:)
 
A 3.5" is actually not that great in terms of a good killing shotshell/gun combo but is in terms of resale. The large amount of shot in an elongated hull and unincreased bore size means longer shot strings and more cripples generally. Put that same load in a 10 ga with it's larger bore and you create a more box shaped pellet spread vs a cigar shaped spread thus creating a more condensed pattern with a shorter flight time as it passes through or around your target maximizing more pellets on target. If I was sticking to a 12 gauge 3" would be plenty. I rarely shoot geese with even 3" ammo myself preferring 2 3/4" 1 1/4oz loads. They are plenty of cannon fodder on geese and much easier on the shoulder and pocket book.
 
kamlooky said:
If I ever felt the need to shoot 3.5" shells owt me A-5, I think I'd wait until the 4" chambering came owt.
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4" is coming out?? Who do I give my $ to? How many 2 3/4's will that hold!

They should market/stamp a 6" chamber gun and get rid of the silly mag limits......
 
roche1982 said:
Way I see it is why not have the ability to shoot 3.5? Waterfowl 3" I will be hunting geese and using 3.5, but 3 will do the job. If you ever hunt turkey you will want 3.5. I just think in terms of versatility because I don't want 20 different guys, maybe just 5-10
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Why will he want 3.5" if he hunts turkeys??

I have shot over 20 turkeys with 3" shells, many of them 20 gauge.
 
I have an SBE I use for field goose shooting. Mostly snows & specks. I use nothing but 3-1/2 in it to get the 1-3/8oz load @ 1550. For everything else I have been using a Ringneck SXS 20ga with 3" in it, 1 oz #2 or #3 loads @ 1330-1350, and it downed a few specks and snows last yr.
I like the 3-1/2 for the later AM when the birds are at altitude looking over the spread.
This yr I will be trying out a Fabarm 3" 12ga SXS. It will be fed 3" BB's for geese and #3's for ducks, I think they are around the 1400-1425 mark ( i forget exactly what I bought, they're WW dryloks or Kent's, or both).
Whether it will reach out there and touch the high ones as well as the 1-3/8 oz remains to be seen.
I haven't found recoil on the SBE to be an issue at all, I don't even notice it when hunting. I did notice it when I patterned it, on a hot day in a T-shirt, fair enough, that was a bit rude. But, no worse that a lot of "magnum" rifles I have shot on the same type of day.
 
If it's available I'll buy the same shotgun with a 3.5" chamber rather than the 3" chamber just in case I need it. But I'll prefer to use the 3" ammunition in it.
 
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