Waterfowl hunting with 3 inch shell

Bushbasher said:
Do you really need a 3.5 inch shell for waterfowl hunting ?
Or will the 3 inch work fine ?
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Check out some of the pics and vids I posted in the waterfowl thread in the hunting forum. All those ducks and geese are shot running a 20ga with either 3/4oz #4 steel shot(ducks) or 7/8oz of #2 steel shot(geese)....to answer your question NO you do not need 3.5" shells or heavy payloads to kill waterfowl. What most hunters would be best served doing is joining a club that has a skeet range and practicing. Centering a bird in the pattern is the key to consistently killing waterfowl.
 
More expensive, more recoil and they don't have any more range than a 2 3/4-inch shell, just more shot.
 
Pattern your gun. Shoot lots of clays with cheap target ammo.

2 3/4" have boated millions of birds, 3" as well. Know where you shoot and become proficient in it. It won't matter.

I often field hunt using a 20 gauge Mossberg SA-20 using 3", never seem to have a problem folding them. I usually burn through at least a flat of ammo on the skeet field in Aug though. It's getting to the point where I won't hunt with someone who hasn't made an effort to bust a few clays before the season.

3.5" offer only slightly better pattern density over 3", but 50% more felt recoil. If you think that wont make a difference, you're wrong.
 
3.5" steel shot BB is 1 5/8oz shot
3" steel BB is 1 3/8oz shot.

It's BB shot so it should be same size, So how many more BB pellets are in a 3.5" than a 3"?

I should cut one open and check. I shoot all 3 sizes out of my 12ga.

2 3/4" and 3" #4s for ducks

3" and 3.5" BB for geese. Shot lots of geese with the #4s when I forgot to change out.
 
DVXDUDE said:
3.5" steel shot BB is 1 5/8oz shot
3" steel BB is 1 3/8oz shot.

It's BB shot so it should be same size, So how many more BB pellets are in a 3.5" than a 3"?

I should cut one open and check. I shoot all 3 sizes out of my 12ga.

2 3/4" and 3" #4s for ducks

3" and 3.5" BB for geese. Shot lots of geese with the #4s when I forgot to change out.
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Going off of memory fpr steel bbs a 1 1/8 ounce load has 81 bbs in it and an 1 1/4 ounce has 89.
 
the spank said:
Check out some of the pics and vids I posted in the waterfowl thread in the hunting forum. All those ducks and geese are shot running a 20ga with either 3/4oz #4 steel shot(ducks) or 7/8oz of #2 steel shot(geese)....to answer your question NO you do not need 3.5" shells or heavy payloads to kill waterfowl. What most hunters would be best served doing is joining a club that has a skeet range and practicing. Centering a bird in the pattern is the key to consistently killing waterfowl.
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Exactly. I have shot a ton of geese and ducks with a 20 gauge using 7/8 and 1 Oz loads in 2 3/4 " and 3" cases , and a pile more with 12 bore black powder guns running 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 oz loads in 2 1/2" cases .
I don't try to sky bust is all.......
Cat
 
Duncan Idaho said:
I grew up using 2.75" for everything; #6 for uplands and #4 for ducks, and #2 for geese, and it was just the cheap stuff from Canadian Tire. They worked very well and put a pile of birds in my freezer. The 3" and 3.5" are not necessary for knocking down the birds.
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Amen!
 
Wildfowl magazine did an article on 3" vs 3.5" shells a few years ago. Kent Fasteel if memory serves me correctly. Might be worth a read or two. Lots of previous commentors have basically stated, know your gun, know how it patterns, know your skill level, know your distances and practice! Find a shell/load/choke combo that works and stick with it.
 
I always use 3" 1560 1 1/8 #1 for Geese they work great inside 40 yards! The #1 gives 116 pellets vs only 81 BB pellets in the same load weight.
 
IMO All depends on where you live in this country and how you have to hunt them
When I hunted out west I could kill them with a stick they were that close and everywhere
Pass shooting over the ocean and the yardage many times 50 yards being an average shot and seeing the odd bird a day one can use all the help they can get even if you are a good shooter
Plus a 3 1/2 shotgun sells way faster in the EE and holds it's value way more. Gun patterning is key with 3 1/2
Cheers
 
I bought a rem 870 3.5 super magnum back when they first came out

3.5 shells kick a lot harder try shooting a 3.5 turkey load

3.5 inch shells cost a lot more

I use 3 inch I don't use the 870 anymore and when I bought a replacement I did NOT buy a 3.5 inch I waterfowl hunt with 3 inch
 
I use both. 2 3/4" and 3". For the type of waterfowling I do I can see no difference in performance. That is of course that each have the same size of shot and similar velocity. I do enjoy shooting my Auto 5 magnum and my Model 12 Heavy Duck with 3" loads but I really do not do any better with them.

Darryl
 
You don’t need the 3.5 inch cartridge. If you want to shoot 3.5 inch cartridges, join the 10 gauge fan club. My SP10 has less felt recoil than most 3.5 12 gauges.

I’ve shot lots of geese and ducks with the 2 3/4 and 3 inch 12 gauge cartridges. I’d use my M12 20 gauge more of the time if I could find the ammo to feed it.
 
Redsoilreaper said:
Wildfowl magazine did an article on 3" vs 3.5" shells a few years ago. Kent Fasteel if memory serves me correctly. Might be worth a read or two. Lots of previous commentors have basically stated, know your gun, know how it patterns, know your skill level, know your distances and practice! Find a shell/load/choke combo that works and stick with it.
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I tried to find it but was unsuccessful. Id love to read it. Could you post a link
 
Runningfool said:
One of the places I hunt geese is almost exclusively pass shooting, it's just the nature of the location (and sometimes dependant on what the farmer has in the field) - the 3.5" shells have made a difference there. And I was amazed at how my new berreta A400 soaks up the recoil of the 3.5s...not much different than my pump with 2 3/4.
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Do you shoot #2 or BBs for pass shooting?
 
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