3.5in Chambering?
- Thread starter StefanGreybeard
- Start date
When people want to believe they believe. And for the rest, the manufacturers still market hunting shotguns with 3" chambers, and they still market waterfowl loads in 2-3/4" and 3". If 3.5" was really so superior, all waterfowl shotguns would have 3.5" chambers, and the manufacturers would have all stopped selling waterfowl shotguns with 3" chambers, just as they discontinued waterfowl shotguns with 2-3/4" chambers.
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Some light target loads aren't as reliable in some 3.5" guns as they are in 3" guns.
And yet the manufacturers still market 3" waterfowl guns. Someone must be buying them.
Exactly correct.
Well, taking the responses in this thread, and accepting at face value your assessment that threads like this get the same kind of response again and again, I'd say the majority of hunters have decided that 3 1/2" chambers serve little useful purpose. They may get bought because someone got a deal or they were the closest spec gun in other ways to what the customer wanted, but the majority seem to recognize that a 3 1/2" chamber is not much of an advantage and can have a downside.
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Lol, I'm not sure how much you hang around the shotgun forum. Its the same posters again and again on any number of subjects. We aren't a big group.
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Lol, I'm not sure how much you hang around the shotgun forum. Its the same posters again and again on any number of subjects. We aren't a big group.
Seeing that "Hunting and Sporting Shotguns" section is probably my favorite section (since I've pretty much given up on political activism)... I guess that probably makes me one of the suspicious ones. Cool
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So lets get back to the OP's question, and see if someone can rationalize the purchase of 3.5" 12G general purpose shotgun?
OP wants to hunt... but doesn't know what he'll be hunting.
- a 3.5" will give you a bigger payload, so more pellets within you pattern... or it will allow you to use a more open choke, giving you a bigger pattern (with the same pellet density) as a 2.75" shell at a given distance... So you could get a kill with 3.5, that would have been a miss with a 2.75... But the shooter will have to deal with more recoil.
The only hunters I've ever come across with 3.5, are waterfowl hunters. And more specifically snow goose hunters... But that's just what I've seen in my neck of the wood.
- I have yet to come across anyone hunting grouse/hares with a 3.5, but maybe they are out there... what do I know.
- Deer hunting, bear defense, 2.75 seems to be the norm... but I'm sure a 3.5 could be used (SAAMI specs for the 2.75 and 3 are the same at 11,500 PSI... but the 3.5 gets a bump to 14,000 PSI... )
Skeet?
- While I don't spend all that much time on the skeet range, don't recall anyone using a 3.5
Home defense?
- We'll leave that to the tactical shotgun crowd. But within a typical home (pretty much point blank range) there isn't much 2.75 slugs/buckshot couldn't handle.
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
Seeing that "Hunting and Sporting Shotguns" section is probably my favorite section (since I've pretty much given up on political activism)... I guess that probably makes me one of the suspicious ones. Cool
-
So lets get back to the OP's question, and see if someone can rationalize the purchase of 3.5" 12G general purpose shotgun?
OP wants to hunt... but doesn't know what he'll be hunting.
- a 3.5" will give you a bigger payload, so more pellets within you pattern... or it will allow you to use a more open choke, giving you a bigger pattern (with the same pellet density) as a 2.75" shell at a given distance... So you could get a kill with 3.5, that would have been a miss with a 2.75... But the shooter will have to deal with more recoil.
The only hunters I've ever come across with 3.5, are waterfowl hunters. And more specifically snow goose hunters... But that's just what I've seen in my neck of the wood.
- I have yet to come across anyone hunting grouse/hares with a 3.5, but maybe they are out there... what do I know.
- Deer hunting, bear defense, 2.75 seems to be the norm... but I'm sure a 3.5 could be used (SAAMI specs for the 2.75 and 3 are the same at 11,500 PSI... but the 3.5 gets a bump to 14,000 PSI... )
Skeet?
- While I don't spend all that much time on the skeet range, don't recall anyone using a 3.5
Home defense?
- We'll leave that to the tactical shotgun crowd. But within a typical home (pretty much point blank range) there isn't much 2.75 slugs/buckshot couldn't handle.
Those 3” and 3.5” Challenger shells sure are a b!tch to find in the duck blind after they have been ejected. They picked terrible colours to use for hunting shells.
Watch a video in slow motion of the difference in recoil between 3” and 3 1/2”’ shells being fired through the same 7 1/2 pound gun. You’ll quickly see where the mental discomfort comes. No ones telling YOU not to shoot them!! Blast away. I found when I pattern tested with the hunting shells I used the 3” Kent Fasteel performed much better than the 3 1/2” Kent Fasteel. This was when I guided and didn’t pay for my ammo and still chose 3” . Now I hunt pretty much exclusively with a 20 gauge and never feel undergunned.
The OP asked how important it is to have a 3.5" chamber, and the simple answer is that it isn't important. Some people may choose to use 3.5" ammunition, for various reasons, but the fact is that you won't be missing out , if you don't have a 3.5" chamber. If a 3.5" chamber was really important, the outfitters that supply shotguns and ammunition would be supplying 3.5" ammunition for their hunters. I do know a few outfitters, and they all supply 3" loads for their clients.
That's so you buddies don't know you're using challenger shells lol
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
Haha. Thats funny.
I’m not a shell brand snob. I’ll shoot any brand as long as its the cheapest box on the shelf and it cycles through my guns. Ducks and geese are dead inside decoying range regardless of the brand of shell. And if they are outside of decoying range and I happen to miss, I’d rather miss with a cheap shell LOL. Truth be told, I have an affinity to Winchester Xpert because they are usually the cheapest and I like the bright red shells. Makes them easy to spot when picking up empties.
The biggest reason is when you resell. Some want the capability. As fas as hunting there is little advantage imho. This is especially true when hunting over decoys. Those guys that started with 3.5 soon were happy with 3”. This is more so with o/u and pumps. Pain for gain is not worth it. What ever you get, pattern it with different ammo to see what it likes. Not all shoot to same point of aim.
