12 gauge 3” vs 3.5” in hand loaded TSS?

[RiverRoost]

Got a few Nitro HTL left to shoot through in my 12ga, but if I wanted to start handloading tss for my 12 what would be the best shell length to not be SUPER OVERKILL with a 12 and tss? Load a hammer of 3" with tss or a decent payload in 3.5"? 

[paboxcall]

Why just those two options? There are recipes for the 2.75" shell which is plenty to hammer them. For perspective, I'm shooting a 2.75" shell with 1 3/8oz. of TSS 9s out of my 20 gauge that flattens them.

With the 2.75" shell in your 12, you get max velocity with plenty of payload to get the job done, and bit tamer recoil to boot with a smaller payload stretching out our TSS inventory.

[bbcoach]

I agree with Boxcall.  TSS in 3 and 3 1/2 12 gauge is way overkill.  If I was going to hand load a 12 with TSS, it would be a 2 3/4.  A good 2 3/4, with a 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 oz load of #9's would be ideal IMO.

[Spurs Up]

What these two said. Lower pressures, higher velocity, easier to pattern, and more...

[N2TRKYS]

I shoot 2.5oz of #7.5s in my 12ga 3.5".  It's an awesome load. 

[BandedSpur]

Lots of good 2.75" recipes with 2 oz of shot. That is way more than enough. I load 1.625 oz for my 12 ga, and they will kill as far as I am interested in shooting. And for that matter, the 1.25 oz load I shoot in the top barrel of my O/U is lethal to 40 yds (110 in 10) through a LM choke.

[Gobble!]

I shoot 2.5oz of #7.5s in my 12ga 3.5".  It's an awesome load.

I'm shooting that load with a 8.75/9 blend. Still young and dumb.

[Brian Fahs]

I shoot 2 1/2 ounces of #7.5 tss out of my remington sp-10. Overkill? Yes. Confidence in my gun? Absolutely.

With today's trends of smaller guns and smaller loads of even smaller tss shot, I feel like we are pushing the limits constantly of a fast efficient kill.