Is 3.5" worth spending more money on?

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Hey guys,

I am currently looking at getting a Winchester SXP Black Shadow. I am really just wondering if there is a point paying an extra 50$ to get the 3.5". I will basically be doing Turkey, Grouse,Deer (Rarely as I am hunt in a rifle allowed WMU) and Maybe Ducks and Geese with it.
 
In a word, NO.

The benifits are not worth the drawbacks.

The extra power comes at the cost of uncomfortable recoil and a higher cost of gun and ammo.

Besides, I think tens of millions of animals would have attested to the fact that even a 2 3/4" shell is enough for any animal you mentioned with the proper loading if they were still breathin, and not sitting next to the mashed potatoes under a nice layer of gravy.

Just my .02 as an owner of guns of all three common 12 gauge chambers.

If you just want the adreneline rush then by all means go for it, but it is likely to sit unused in your gun locker while the smaller chambers come out to play.
 
No. In my opinion 3 1/2 is only good for serious goose hunting. Yet 3 inch is very effective for those who can shoot properly
 
I am not familiar with that particular gun's ability to cycle light vs heavy loads reliably. However, if it will cycle 2.75 and 3.5 well, and its only $50 ddifference, then I would get the 3.5'' . It may pay for itself in resale down the road to a goose hunter or someone who wants the max. Just my 2 cents.
 
Scamaniac said:
I am not familiar with that particular gun's ability to cycle light vs heavy loads reliably. However, if it will cycle 2.75 and 3.5 well, and its only $50 ddifference, then I would get the 3.5'' . It may pay for itself in resale down the road to a goose hunter or someone who wants the max. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

You are 100% correct on the resale.
 
When you are dealing with a pump action such as your SXP, I think it would be a good investment to pay out an extra $50 to get the 3.5in chamber even if you never use it. When it comes time to sell it alot of guys want 3.5in even if they never use it. So it could mean the difference of selling it or not. I personally bought a 3.5in semi to turkey hunt and love it, but I'm sure 3in would have done the job in most cases.
 
With a 3.5" pump sometimes a combination of extra long receiver and stroke can make the gun difficult to operate quickly and even cause a short stroke. As mentioned above resale is easier with a 3.5" chamber but I buy my guns to use and don't worry about getting a few extra dollars if I tire of it.
 
3.5" shells are for 10ga. I rarely ever use 3" anymore in my 12gas. I love my 3x 3.5" 12gas but rarely use the long shells. 2 3/4" shells provide faster follow ups
 
When I did my Turkey exam, I spoke with the guy running the thing and the topic of 3.5 inch chambers came up and he said it's not a bad idea, since even if you don't use it others may. If instructors are telling folks this, then all the new-to-shotgunners will be looking for it. Might make for a quicker sale should you decide to part with it later.

For an extra $50 I'd do it. I've got an 835 Mossberg, and while it hasn't seen 100s of rounds, it has yet to give me any issues with 2.75 and 3inch shells. You say you might do some Geese and Turkey, so maybe someday you can justify the additional half inch chamber.
Cheers, Al
 
hunter5425 said:
With a 3.5" pump sometimes a combination of extra long receiver and stroke can make the gun difficult to operate quickly and even cause a short stroke. As mentioned above resale is easier with a 3.5" chamber but I buy my guns to use and don't worry about getting a few extra dollars if I tire of it.
Click to expand...

This is very true. I had a Benelli 3 1/2" that I often never had a second shot because of short stroking it when operating it quickly. Might not be an issue with you but the gun wouldn't be of much use if you did have the problem. As far as a few dollars extra at selling time down the road, there are a lot of other factors that come into the equation as to value or ease of resale. The number one being condition. If down the road it looks like the gun went through a war, the 3 1/2" chamber isn't going to mean a lot.
 
For waterfowling, yes. You can shoot a heavier payload of steel & put more pellets on target.

I switched to 3.5 inch shells after shooting 3 inch #4's for ducks & 3 inch #2's for geese, for years... It was a pita to switch shells over if we were hunting ducks & geese came in...

Shooting a 3.5 inch shell allows me to shoot #2's for ducks & geese without having to be concerned as to what was coming into the decoy spread.

Cheers
Jay
 
gunsaholic said:
I am just curious Jay, instead of switching shells when you were using your 3" at ducks, why didn't you just use #2's like you are doing now with your 3 1/2"?
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gunsaholic, the simple answer is 'pattern density'... I am a big believer that you MUST hit game animals with pellets to cleanly harvest them. If I simply used a 3 inch # 2 shell, it would have less pellets in it than a 3.5 inch shell loaded with #2's...

I remember when steel first came in, everyone was freaking out, saying how it didn't kill cleanly... Guys used to use #4, #5 or #6 lead pellets... They went to BB, BBB and even T steel shot sizes... What happened as a result... When you did hit a bird, you hit them with very few pellets... Lots of crippled & missed birds with patterns that had very thin densities... NOT enough pellets!

So, I started shooting #4 steel for ducks & guys hunting with me SAW that it worked! They stopped using the HEAVY HEAVY shot sizes & started realizing the same success with smaller pellets (#4 steel) and a higher pattern density that I was seeing...

And, in the last bunch of years, I have been getting into a more situations where ducks and geese are seen as a mix... I used to use #2 steel in 3 inch shells for geese... With a 3.5 inch shell, it now allows me to simply shoot #2 steel pellets for geese AND ducks without losing too much in the way of pattern density for ducks...

The 3.5 inch steel shell I shoot with #2 steel has 1 &3/8oz of shot, that's 172 pellets...

The 3 inch steel shell I used to shoot geese with #2 steel had 1 &1/8oz of shot, that's 140 pellets...

The 3 inch steel shell I used to shoot ducks with #4 steel had 1 &1/4oz of shot, that's 240 pellets...

So, a quick look at my math shows you that the 3.5 inch shell is a compromise for me... It allows me to shoot heavier shot & split the difference wrt pattern density... Hitting them with a heavy enough pellet is important! But pattern density is also important!

Cheers
Jay
 
I have a Benelli Nova with the 3.5" chambering. I have used 3.5" shells last season for ducks and geese. The extra payload and reach helps with pass shooting using steel shot. I am this year using 2.75" shells with a near lead density shot. The 2.75" hulls work great once you get a good heavy shot in them for ducks and geese. Even at longer ranges than the steelies could run. With the lower recoil and a bit lighter shell weights it is nice using the short shells.
For turkey season I use 3.5" shells, magnum loaded with well over 2 oz. of copper plated shot. It kicks like a mofo but at 30 yards the wad with some shot will embed themselves 1/2" into the base of a tree. Turkey's are tough birds and that is one place the 3.5" rounds come in handy.
I didn't think about resale before I got my shotty. I thought about the loads and game I wanted to shoot. It worked out that it was the best all round firearm for what I wanted.
 
Jay said:
gunsaholic, the simple answer is 'pattern density'... I am a big believer that you MUST hit game animals with pellets to cleanly harvest them. If I simply used a 3 inch # 2 shell, it would have less pellets in it than a 3.5 inch shell loaded with #2's...

I remember when steel first came in, everyone was freaking out, saying how it didn't kill cleanly... Guys used to use #4, #5 or #6 lead pellets... They went to BB, BBB and even T steel shot sizes... What happened as a result... When you did hit a bird, you hit them with very few pellets... Lots of crippled & missed birds with patterns that had very thin densities... NOT enough pellets!

So, I started shooting #4 steel for ducks & guys hunting with me SAW that it worked! They stopped using the HEAVY HEAVY shot sizes & started realizing the same success with smaller pellets (#4 steel) and a higher pattern density that I was seeing...

And, in the last bunch of years, I have been getting into a more situations where ducks and geese are seen as a mix... I used to use #2 steel in 3 inch shells for geese... With a 3.5 inch shell, it now allows me to simply shoot #2 steel pellets for geese AND ducks without losing too much in the way of pattern density for ducks...

The 3.5 inch steel shell I shoot with #2 steel has 1 &3/8oz of shot, that's 172 pellets...

The 3 inch steel shell I used to shoot geese with #2 steel had 1 &1/8oz of shot, that's 140 pellets...

The 3 inch steel shell I used to shoot ducks with #4 steel had 1 &1/4oz of shot, that's 240 pellets...

So, a quick look at my math shows you that the 3.5 inch shell is a compromise for me... It allows me to shoot heavier shot & split the difference wrt pattern density... Hitting them with a heavy enough pellet is important! But pattern density is also important!

Cheers
Jay
Click to expand...

Jay, any pics of your patterns?
 
Just one opinion but I bought then quickly sold a nice new shotgun that handled 2.75 to 3.5 inch shells and besides the brutality of the recoil with the heaviest loads I wondered why I am shooting shells that cost so much. Unless you have a great income and love to sky bust far away big geese the 2.75 and 3" will handle anything you hunt. I use almost totally 2.75" (much cheaper and a wide variety of loads available) now and have some heavier 3" along just for the above mentioned geese. I don't understand the value of the longer shells unless you absolutely need to throw more steel into the air to hit something.
 
I'm just wondering how one gets more reach with a 3.5" over a 3" gun? More shot doesn't give you more reach. It gives you a longer shot string and more recoil and more muzzle raise. A steel pellet traveling at 1400fps has the same energy no matter what length shell fired it. Chokes were created to control pattern density at distances. I'm not kicking at the big chambers. They have there uses. But I believe they are over stated

My 3.5" guns can not pattern as well my 10ga when using the same weight charges of shot. Both on paper and on water.
 
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