3.5in Chambering?

StefanGreybeard

StefanGreybeard

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I'm looking into getting a general purpose shotty. I plan to use it for hunting (though I have no idea yet what I'll be looking to hunt), maybe some skeet shooting, and home defense.

I've seen that 3" chambering is by-far the standard, and 3.5" is much more limited. From what I've read, 3.5" shells were mostly designed for steel shot, and aren't needed with heavier lead-alternatives like bismuth.

So I'm just wondering, how important (or not) is having a shotgun with a 3.5" chamber?
 
Both of my semi autos have 3.5" chambers, but I never use 3.5" loads. I use 3" steel for ducks and geese and 2-3/4" when I use a waterfowl gun for clays on a rainy day.
 
During the recent supply crunch, 3.5" shells were the only thing on the shelf which likely reflects a lack of popularity but may be worth considering.
 
I bought my Mossberg 535 used thinking I would use 3.5 shells in it but I never bothered getting any. I put the slug barrel on it and lately I shoot 2 3/4 “ slugs with it. The slug barrel is marked for 3.5. Never heard of 3.5 slugs, might be interesting to try a couple.
 
I mainly use 2.75" shells for all my hunting. Sometimes 3" steel for waterfowl in 12ga.
Only 3.5" shells I use are 10ga.

Alot of 3.5" 12ga semi autos have difficulty with light trap and skeet loads. 3" semi autos are much more likely to cycle reliably with light loads

3.5" 12ga cost more. Recoil more. Have more muzzle blast. Have more muzzle rise and take longer for smoother faster follow up shots. However if you forget your ammo or run out you can borrow from a buddy no matter what they running
 
I’ve had 3.5 inch chambered gun for 18 years and fired exactly 0 3.5 inch rounds thru it
3 inch goose loads and 2.75 for ducks
 
StefanGreybeard said:
I'm looking into getting a general purpose shotty. I plan to use it for hunting (though I have no idea yet what I'll be looking to hunt), maybe some skeet shooting, and home defense.

I've seen that 3" chambering is by-far the standard, and 3.5" is much more limited. From what I've read, 3.5" shells were mostly designed for steel shot, and aren't needed with heavier lead-alternatives like bismuth.

So I'm just wondering, how important (or not) is having a shotgun with a 3.5" chamber?
Click to expand...

Since you extremely new to firearms, and are currently limited to internet banter rather than hands-on experience, consider the following.

1) The vast majority of shotgun shooting is done with 2 3/4 in lead shells. 2 3/4 inch was the standard chambering through most of the 20th century, until lead was banned for migratory birds. As steel is less dense than lead, 2 3/4 inch shells offered diminished payload capacity, hence the jump to 3 inch shells. 3 1/2 inch came along under the premise that "more is better", which appeals to a certain crowd. They certainly have more recoil, and substantially more expense, the rest is questionable.
2) A lot of folks find that 12 gauge has punishing recoil, which limits their enjoyment, particularly if one shoots a lot. Going to a lesser gauge, say 20, can be beneficial.
3) Modern pump guns are designed to be utilitarian, as they can be used reasonably for all shotgun disciplines and shell specs. Whether they do it well for a particular activity is debatable. You mention skeet as an interest. Skeet requires shooting doubles (ie two quick shots). Pumps are uncommon on the skeet field, as folks prefer O/U's or semi's.
4) A fella could argue that an O/U, in the appropriate gauge, and appropriate cast might be the way to go. Perhaps some of the board members that live in the Ottawa area could volunteer to take you out to try your hand at one of the local ranges. Heck, just visiting one of the local ranges (eg Stittsville) during one of their shotgun shoots (skeet, trap, 5-stand, etc) would be very informative.
 
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Looks like a lot of hate out there for the 3 1/2 " hull. Triple B steel in a autolader will stone geese out 60 plus yards almost like a 10 3 1/2" triple B load. Our eastern birds are hunted hard and generally don't decoy in close like your western birds. Recoil in the 12 and 10 3 1/2" with a autoloader is manageable for me a not so large 79 year old.
 
warzaw said:
Looks like a lot of hate out there for the 3 1/2 " hull. Triple B steel in a autolader will stone geese out 60 plus yards almost like a 10 3 1/2" triple B load. Our eastern birds are hunted hard and generally don't decoy in close like your western birds. Recoil in the 12 and 10 3 1/2" with a autoloader is manageable for me a not so large 79 year old.
Click to expand...

The OP is looking at a pump , I doubt that you would want to shoot a pump with 3-1/2" waterfowl loads. If it ever gets to where I need 3-1/2" BBB loads to kill geese, I won't bother hunting them.
 
I guess if you had to hunt big water eastern birds you wouldn't be hunting. West and east two different situations. And yes a pump wouldn't interest me either.
 
Benelli SBE3 12ga. will cycle what ever you put in it... 1 oz 2 3/4 target, 3 inch, or 3.5 inch loads all in random order without missing a beat :)
 
cosmic said:
Since you extremely new to firearms, and are currently limited to internet banter rather than hands-on experience, consider the following.

1) The vast majority of shotgun shooting is done with 2 3/4 in lead shells. 2 3/4 inch was the standard chambering through most of the 20th century, until lead was banned for migratory birds. As steel is less dense than lead, 2 3/4 inch shells offered diminished payload capacity, hence the jump to 3 inch shells. 3 1/2 inch came along under the premise that "more is better", which appeals to a certain crowd. They certainly have more recoil, and substantially more expense, the rest is questionable.
2) A lot of folks find that 12 gauge has punishing recoil, which limits their enjoyment, particularly if one shoots a lot. Going to a lesser gauge, say 20, can be beneficial.
3) Modern pump guns are designed to be utilitarian, as they can be used reasonably for all shotgun disciplines and shell specs. Whether they do it well for a particular activity is debatable. You mention skeet as an interest. Skeet requires shooting doubles (ie two quick shots). Pumps are uncommon on the skeet field, as folks prefer O/U's or semi's.
4) A fella could argue that an O/U, in the appropriate gauge, and appropriate cast might be the way to go. Perhaps some of the board members that live in the Ottawa area could volunteer to take you out to try your hand at one of the local ranges. Heck, just visiting one of the local ranges (eg Stittsville) during one of their shotgun shoots (skeet, trap, 5-stand, etc) would be very informative.
Click to expand...

A lot of good info and history in there. But I do need to counter one bit of misinformation.

Recoil has zero to do with the gauge.

It has everything to do with the weight of the load of the shell (ejecta), the speed the ejecta is accelerated to and the weight of the gun. Felt recoil is the actual recoil modified by factors like recoil pad, semi auto mechanism, the size of the butt of the gun against your shoulder, the fit of the gun etc.

The heavier the ejecta and the faster it is accelerated to, the more recoil is generated. Doesn't matter if it's a 10, 12, 16 or 20 gauge. The heavier the gun is, the more the weight of the gun absorbs recoil so less is passed onto your shoulder. This is simply physics. You take a 12 gauge and a 20 gauge that both weigh 6 1/2 pounds, and shoot the same 1 oz load, accelerated to the same 1300 fps, and if they are the same type of gun (say OU or pump) with the same size butt in square inches against your shoulder, you are going to feel the same amount of recoil.

Now take the same load shot out of a semi auto that weighs 6 1/2 pounds (regardless of gauge) and some of that same amount of recoil is going to be used up in the operation of the auto reloading process, so less recoil will make it to your shoulder.
 
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