Waterfowl hunting with 3 inch shell

3macs1 said:
Years ago I could have shown you many but once I figured out what I needed I only reload those and stopped patterning
I have been reloading steel since a year after it became mandatory 1993?? so early I could not even get components for it in canada and had to have my brother take them up for me

I went through rolls of paper, tons of choke tubes and tons of shells until I got it right. Most that say they shot 100's at paper I say big deal when you reload them you pattern 1000's. A normal day for me was 10 different reloads with 10 of each so 100 each outing. Unless one is rich no one does that with factory
I patterned four browning golds 2 in 10ga and two in 3 1/2 12ga. Four guns I still have

Joke is the guns of the same gauge were identical others than one being camo and one not and they would even pattern slightly different

I have no clue what you can achieve with factory loads since I have NEVER fired them or patterned them but sure know you don't have the ability to cut the wad to tweek the pattern as I do with sam1's or have the quality of steel shot I use



But sure know my 3 1/2 reloads in 12ga will kick the ass of any 3" I have done at 50 plus yards for density

The old 10ga is in a league all of its own and no 3 1/2 12ga is even close and I don't care what barrel design is on the gun

I have steel RSI duplex loads in 10ga that scream and will kill at 75 yards no problem

Please don't bring up choke tubes. I wasted a small fortune on them and didnot try one but almost all out there and in the end the briley diana IM works best in my brownings

Cheers
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Yes I will admit reloading opens a whole new can of worms. Cause you get to play with the wad among other things. But factory ammo i have never seen a magic 3.5 inch shell on the pattern board. I have looked into reloading tungsten but just too expensive.
 
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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A trip to the range with 20 different types of ammo and a bunch of hours would be far more beneficial than switching to 3.5 inch shells.
 
prairie lover said:
Yes I will admit reloading opens a whole new can of worms. Cause you get to play with the wad among other things. But factory ammo i have never seen a magic 3.5 inch shell on the pattern board. I have looked into reloading tungsten but just too expensive.
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Honestly have zero experience with a pattern board and factory shells in 12ga 3 or 3 1/2
They were pure trash when they came out and would not kill a goose cleanly at 20 yards. I know today it is a different story and they have come a long way in almost 30 years
I used bismuth for a few years until I could get my steel reloads to kill and even almost 25 years ago it was real expensive bismuth
Tungsten I have also reloaded more got giggles and it is deadly but if I can get my steel to kill steel it is since dead is dead :) and I am far from rich but can also still hold my own on a trap and skeet field so when I see a difference it is real IMHO and situation
Take care
 
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3macs1 said:
But this has been going on for so long one would assume it would have been figured out by now by the shooting community if they were not worth it
I preordered a mossy 835 in 1988 when the first word of a 3 1/2 was released many years ago
Hardest kicking mule I have ever owned and would turn my shoulder purple should have turned me against the 3 1/2 but a new browning gold changed my mind in the early 90's ?? :)
Take care
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Keep in mind that marketing has convinced the majority they need the latest and greatest camo or they'll never get within range of game, which is completely false and 100% marketing at work. Marketing has also convinced many hunters they need 3 1/2" shells for ducks, 500 fps crossbows and ultra magnums for deer, turkey loads costing $10-15 each, and 30x scopes to shoot squirrels at 40 yards.

While your reloads are probably higher quality than factory loads, without a doubt almost every turkey or waterfowl load I have patterned over 20 years have given better patterns in 3" shells. Sometimes even the same load and shot shoots better out of 2 3/4" shells.
 
3macs1 said:
Honestly have zero experience with a pattern board and factory shells in 12ga 3 or 3 1/2
They were pure trash when they came out and would not kill a goose cleanly at 20 yards. I know today it is a different story and they have come a long way in almost 30 years
I used bismuth for a few years until I could get my steel reloads to kill and even almost 25 years ago it was real expensive
Tungsten I have also reloaded more got giggles and it is deadly but if I can get my steel to kill steel it is since dead is dead :) and I am far from rich but can also still hold my own on a trap and skeet field so when I see a difference it is real IMHO and situation
Take care
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Let's be honest. The majority of waterfowlers don't reload. So from the perspective and intent of the OP, this is mostly about factory loads.
 
3macs1 said:
Honestly have zero experience with a pattern board and factory shells in 12ga 3 or 3 1/2
They were pure trash when they came out and would not kill a goose cleanly at 20 yards. I know today it is a different story and they have come a long way in almost 30 years
I used bismuth for a few years until I could get my steel reloads to kill and even almost 25 years ago it was real expensive
Tungsten I have also reloaded more got giggles and it is deadly but if I can get my steel to kill steel it is since dead is dead :) and I am far from rich but can also still hold my own on a trap and skeet field so when I see a difference it is real IMHO and situation
Take care
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Things must have been different out east. Here in the west, steel shotshells have killed geese cleanly at 20 yards since steel was mandated. I do agree they have come a long way since though.
 
Westward1 said:
Things must have been different out east. Here in the west, steel shotshells have killed geese cleanly at 20 yards since steel was mandated. I do agree they have come a long way since though.
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I will never forget opening day with the steel for the first time
4 in the blind all good shooters in PEI not my home town and we crippled more birds that year than we did in 10 it was not good and all shooting 3"
Those from the island would remember all the crippled birds all over summerside in fields , etc etc so much so it made the news a few times and put a real negative spin on hunting
All the first steel shells were was lead formulations with steel shot added at first nothing like today at least the remington and federals were since I took them apart even to see WTF was wrong. They were also the same speed as lead which we now know is wrong plus there was no such thing at first about changing our chokes for steel vs lead
I went reloaded bismuth next year and bang flops again :)
I have only ever hunted sask out west and a little bit in quebec other than NS and pei so don't have good knowledge of birds in other provinces but know when the great / giant so call them canadas come down from up north here they take a serious wack to kill with one shot.
 
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Bluebulldog said:
Let's be honest. The majority of waterfowlers don't reload. So from the perspective and intent of the OP, this is mostly about factory loads.
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He was asking me and I responded to what I have seen in my experiences and I know quite a few that reload steel here. Lets just say once they do they never go back to factory
If you already load lead for say trap, skeet or clays it is no big deal to do steel for better than factory loads
Also I would bet the farm I could prove the same with factory with all the extra choke tubes I have. May have to spend weeks and a small fortune in shells but
Most guys pattern out of maybe 3 or 4 tubes max and say 3 inch is as good as 3 1/2 on long range not dozens of tubes like I was was crazy buying which one or maybe a few will prove different IMHO

If one is not shooting birds at 50 yards plus you will never see a difference and every extra pellet counts IMHO at long distances especially when say I am shooting TT where one pellet will kill stone dead. Most of the geese I hunted here ( except PEI) were over or by the ocean which is long pass shots and no legs dropping in front of you like fields where you can see their eye balls

Like I said everyone has what works for them
Cheers
 
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I have to say I too only shoot 3" now.Sold my 3.5" to my son as I really have not used it for that and wanted to try a different gun anyway and he always coveted my Benelli.There is a store out here that sells the latest greatest 3.5" and you see the buyers along the foreshore pounding at birds so high they don't even flare,but he sells a lot of shells...
 
blasted_saber said:
Given im no serious duck hunter, but in my experience 2 3/4" worked as well as 3". I can't imagine that 3.5" is worth extra cost or recoil.

I can't speak to geese. Zero experience there.
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You are bang on! If you shoot at birds IN RANGE even the lightest field payload will kill geese cleanly. Most hunters would do well to hit up a skeet range each year and get proficient with their guns but they usually think a box of clays and a hand thrower or some kind of manual launcher shooting clays out the back 40 is "skeet shooting" yet it resembles NOTHING in common with the actual flights skeet truly simulates in wing shooting birds. They blast a box or two of heavy hunting loads with their buddies at some clays, hit a few and think they are proficient wing shooters. Then when they get out there and can't hit jack or continually wing the odd bird at extreme ranges they think they need 3.5" ammo to get the job done because "those big geese are tough to kill". If I had a dollar for every time I heard that while shopping at some outdoors store and the guy behind the counter with no more experience than them telling them they need 3.5" BBB, T or F shot to bring those birds down I'd be able to buy a new gun!
 
the spank said:
You are bang on! If you shoot at birds IN RANGE even the lightest field payload will kill geese cleanly. Most hunters would do well to hit up a skeet range each year and get proficient with their guns but they usually think a box of clays and a hand thrower or some kind of manual launcher shooting clays out the back 40 is "skeet shooting" yet it resembles NOTHING in common with the actual flights skeet truly simulates in wing shooting birds. They blast a box or two of heavy hunting loads with their buddies at some clays, hit a few and think they are proficient wing shooters. Then when they get out there and can't hit jack or continually wing the odd bird at extreme ranges they think they need 3.5" ammo to get the job done because "those big geese are tough to kill". If I had a dollar for every time I heard that while shopping at some outdoors store and the guy behind the counter with no more experience than them telling them they need 3.5" BBB, T or F shot to bring those birds down I'd be able to buy a new gun!
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You need to come and hunt some sea ducks or geese over the ocean and we will see what your 2 3/4 will do. You will be wishing for your 10ga back :) average range 50 yards plus
I assume a half blind and half dead 92 or better skeet shooter is OK :)
Funny thing before goose season I would shoot trap 27 yard if I could ( even with the 10ga by myself ) found it was better than skeet for getting ready. My third shot is always a TT in the 10-ga or 3 1/2 12ga since by then we are close to 70 yards when firing and yep it still kills very well
Agree on the rest :) and you don't need another gun LOL Also got a feeling he may have been talking lead in the old days which I would agree
But to each their own and believe me your hunting conditions and ours down here are apples and oranges. I could use the 410 up your way I bet LOL
For me the 3 1/2 will always have a place in my vault

as one outfitter says

I will say these birds kill hard. Nobody believes how hard they are to put down until that first morning and they witness it for themselves. Bring plenty of ammo and keep shooting until you are sure they are dead. More than one eider has “come back to life” to quickly dive and never be seen again.
Cheers
 
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3macs1 said:
You need to come and hunt some sea ducks or geese over the ocean and we will see what your 2 3/4 will do. You will be wishing for your 10ga back :) average range 50 yards plus
I assume a half blind and half dead 92 or better skeet shooter is OK :)
Funny thing before goose season I would shoot trap 27 yard if I could ( even with the 10ga by myself ) found it was better than skeet for getting ready. My third shot is always a TT in the 10-ga or 3 1/2 12ga since by then we are close to 70 yards when firing and yep it still kills very well
Agree on the rest :) and you don't need another gun LOL Also got a feeling he may have been talking lead in the old days which I would agree
But to each their own and believe me your hunting conditions and ours down here are apples and oranges. I could use the 410 up your way I bet LOL
For me the 3 1/2 will always have a place in my vault

as one outfitter says

I will say these birds kill hard. Nobody believes how hard they are to put down until that first morning and they witness it for themselves. Bring plenty of ammo and keep shooting until you are sure they are dead. More than one eider has “come back to life” to quickly dive and never be seen again.
Cheers
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Spot on the birds around here don't drop on your head . Most flocks around here have had the crap shot out of them .
 
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jWomn9J.jpg
All shot with 3" in one day
 
the spank said:
You are bang on! If you shoot at birds IN RANGE even the lightest field payload will kill geese cleanly. Most hunters would do well to hit up a skeet range each year and get proficient with their guns but they usually think a box of clays and a hand thrower or some kind of manual launcher shooting clays out the back 40 is "skeet shooting" yet it resembles NOTHING in common with the actual flights skeet truly simulates in wing shooting birds. They blast a box or two of heavy hunting loads with their buddies at some clays, hit a few and think they are proficient wing shooters. Then when they get out there and can't hit jack or continually wing the odd bird at extreme ranges they think they need 3.5" ammo to get the job done because "those big geese are tough to kill". If I had a dollar for every time I heard that while shopping at some outdoors store and the guy behind the counter with no more experience than them telling them they need 3.5" BBB, T or F shot to bring those birds down I'd be able to buy a new gun!
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I see the same situation every year, most hunters that don't shoot any clays, are not very good at wingshooting. When these people do show up at the skeet range , they usually miss many more targets than they hit, but most would rather throw more shot ,than come out and shoot skeet on a regular basis to improve their shooting. However, I have had a few people ask to join us on goose hunts, and I agreed providing that each one must break 15/25 targets at skeet, before he/she is allowed to join us. It usually takes a few days of shooting, but the ones that did break 15/25, did okay in the field.
 
3macs1 said:
You need to come and hunt some sea ducks or geese over the ocean and we will see what your 2 3/4 will do. You will be wishing for your 10ga back :) average range 50 yards plus
I assume a half blind and half dead 92 or better skeet shooter is OK :)
Funny thing before goose season I would shoot trap 27 yard if I could ( even with the 10ga by myself ) found it was better than skeet for getting ready. My third shot is always a TT in the 10-ga or 3 1/2 12ga since by then we are close to 70 yards when firing and yep it still kills very well
Agree on the rest :) and you don't need another gun LOL Also got a feeling he may have been talking lead in the old days which I would agree
But to each their own and believe me your hunting conditions and ours down here are apples and oranges. I could use the 410 up your way I bet LOL
For me the 3 1/2 will always have a place in my vault

as one outfitter says

I will say these birds kill hard. Nobody believes how hard they are to put down until that first morning and they witness it for themselves. Bring plenty of ammo and keep shooting until you are sure they are dead. More than one eider has “come back to life” to quickly dive and never be seen again.
Cheers
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I grew up shooting bluebills, cans, redheads, scoters, goldeneye, old squaws etc on Lake Ontario so I have lots of experience shooting fat laden birds flying at darned near water level. I shot nothing but 2 3/4" in lead and in steel when it came out. Shooting big shot at extreme ranges is not hunting, it's pass shooting. I have never been nor ever will be a pass shooter. I prefer using a combination of hunting skill & shooting skill to bag birds. I have zero interest in pounding 50+ yard shots and sending a handful of birds with a pellet in them off to die a lingering death. If I can't pull them inside of 40 yards MAX then I pass. I like them hanging over the decoys!
 
warzaw;[URL="tel:18713757" said:
18713757[/URL]]Spot on the birds around here don't drop on your head . Most flocks around here have had the crap shot out of them .
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If you guys would learn to stop taking shots at extreme ranges, aka ranges that for all intents and purpose are truly out of range hoping for a golden bb in the beanie to drop a bird you wouldn't educate the birds to fly higher or further out but they learn through repetitiveness...unlike many hunters who seem to have not figured out that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result just doesn't work!
 
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