Are 3.5" worth the pain? ????

[WildTigerTrout]

My Benelli SBE I is a 3.5" chamber as is my Remington 870 SM.  If I wanted to go with 3" I would have bought a M2.  I don't care about recoil and both my SBE  and 870SM shoot amazing patterns with 3.5" shotshells. I will stay with 3.5"ers.

[Phire Phite]

Recoil, that's up to you.  I like the extra pellets and good patterns.  I also use the lead sled at the bench, worth it multiple times over.

[hs strut]

i feel it comes down to personal preference i shoot 3.5s myself.

[yella yelper]

I shoot 3.5" for extra pellets. When sighting in/patterning, I use my lead sled.  It's not the kick that gets me, I guess it's the concussion! After a couple mag blends, I have a terrible headache.

Speaking of mag blends, I shot one Tuesday while trying a new choke.  Y'all would have laughed at me!! I had my gun set up in lead sled ready to go with my ear muffs on. That's all you need right? Well apparently the edge of my ear muff was on the back cradle of the sled or something, I don't know. But wherever it was, when I slowly squeezed that trigger, the hammer dropped, and that explosion went off, it blew the ear muffs right off my head and sent them rolling across the yard!!  I was a little dazed at first but would be pretty funny to watch.

All that being said, the kick doesn't bother me. It's worth it to me. I just shoot only a couple before my headache gets too bad

[Cutt]

is it worth the extra pain to step up to the 3.5 mags as far as recoil?

Like they say "No pain, no gain" 

To be honest with certain guns, no. I only shoot 3.5 because to me, my autoloader seems to kick less then the 3in. shells I shot from my mossberg pump that I use to shoot. So in my case, the extra bb's at no extra cost of shoulder punishment is worth it. If that cheap Mossberg could shoot 3.5 in shells, no way would I even attempt a 3.5 out it, my shoulder was always black and blue after 6, 3in. loads.

[stinkpickle]

Again...try the 3" HV #6's instead.  You might get the higher pellet count you're looking for, and the price will be the same. 

[shaman]

I've been hunting turkeys since Reagan's first term.  For the first 15 years, I was using 2 3/4" Remington high brass. I switched to 3" Federal #4 brass in 1996 and never thought to change since.

I can truthfully say I have never missed a turkey for want of  range, pellet count, or tight enough pattern. What I HAVE had trouble with was missing easy inside 15 yard shots because pattern was too tight, or taking stupid panic shots that turned out to be WAAAY too far out of range.

Bottom line, my answer is 3.5" is totally superfluous to my needs.

[Boom]

3.5" is great.  If they come out with a 4" chamber, then I will shoot those!  More shot the better.

Boom

[Cut N Run]

Just out of curiosity, how many of you 3.5 inch shooters are over 50 years of age?  I believe with age comes a desire to avoid self-inflicted pain. I'm sure I would have shot heavier payloads when I was younger just because it was possible, but since no such thing as that big a shell existed at the time and I was able to kill plenty of turkeys with 2&3/4 inch shells when I started.  My Ithaca 37R only had a 2&3/4 inch chamber, so it was do with what you've got, or don't hunt. When I switched to hunting with a single shot that had a 3 inch chamber, I started shooting 3" Federal copper plated #6s (when copper plated lead was a new thing) because I could.  Even though I could go back to 2&3/4 inch shells, I'm accustomed to what a 3" turkey load will do.

Jim

[Marc]

I hardly feel the kick of 3.5 while shooting a bird. Shooting at a target is a different story.

Shooting those loads, your body will learn to react to it (in the form of a flinch)...  I have seen a handful of shooters that can shoot these stout loads without developing flinching issues, but the vast majority of shooters (in my opinion) will develop some degree of flinching by shooting such loads on a frequent basis.

I have to argue with that thinking.  If you're fully concentrated on killing a bird then your mind isn't thinking of the recoil you're about to receive.  And to say that only a few people can keep from flinching when shooting high recoil loads is nonsense.  I agree that recoil sensitive folks(and those that realize that you don't need 3 1/2" to kill turkeys) are probably better of with 3" or less shells.  Lord knows they work just as well.  But to say that most people can't handle a 3 1/2" without flinching is just bull.  I know that I personally have a slight flinch on the bench whether I'm shooting a 3 1/2" turkey load or a 243 varmint load.  That doesn't mean I can't be solid when in the field and my mind is on the task at hand.  Use whatever load you want, I have said many times that I was as successful with 2 3/4" and 3" loads as I am with 3 1/2".  But don't try to say that only a few can do it without flinching.  There's a pretty fair number of us out there that can use them just fine!

We all react with our bodies to the anticipated recoil.  Our bodies push forward in anticipation to the recoil.  When I talk about flinching, I am talking about jerking, head lifting, and often eye closing during the trigger pull.

Granted, most of my experience shooting hot or "high base" loads is waterfowling...  But I get to watch enough people shooting right next to me (i.e. bird comes in on their side), that I see a lot of flinching... 

Waterfowl is obviously much higher volume shooting, and recoil being cumulative, 3.5" shells are going to cause flinching issues much more quickly...  But I have only seen one shooter that did not have a distinctive flinching issue after shooting a diet of  these shells...  Always fun to watch during a malfunction just how much of a flinch there is.

And having associated with a number of pretty good clay shooters, most shoot light recoiling 1 oz loads...  Clays are very high-volume, and flinching from recoil is very undesirable...  You just do not see many competitive clay shooters shooting stout target loads.  Obviously there would be an advantage as far as breaking targets, but the disadvantage is that hotter loads will inevitably cause flinching issues.

Being a wing and a clay shooter myself, I am fought flinching issues in the past.  I have never noticed recoil while shooting game, but when shooting high-recoil loads, I inevitably begin to flinch.   Were I primarily a turkey shooter, I would possibly be shooting 3.5" shells, but as it stands currently, I do not wish to face the consequences of such in my own wing and clay shooting.

[Dr Juice]

I hardly feel the kick of 3.5 while shooting a bird. Shooting at a target is a different story.

Shooting those loads, your body will learn to react to it (in the form of a flinch)...  I have seen a handful of shooters that can shoot these stout loads without developing flinching issues, but the vast majority of shooters (in my opinion) will develop some degree of flinching by shooting such loads on a frequent basis.

You hit the nail on the head. you may not think your flinching but I'll put money on the fact that you are,even if just a little. I learned this YEARS ago from shooting 3" deer slugs. Have someone else load your gun when you are patterning and you will see how much you flinch,trust me.Your brain knows those big hot loads kick and you jerk.

To me the assurance that I'm rock solid when I pull the trigger gives me more confidence that a little extra horsepower

Great tactic. Thx.


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[WildTigerTrout]

Just out of curiosity, how many of you 3.5 inch shooters are over 50 years of age?  I believe with age comes a desire to avoid self-inflicted pain. I'm sure I would have shot heavier payloads when I was younger just because it was possible, but since no such thing as that big a shell existed at the time and I was able to kill plenty of turkeys with 2&3/4 inch shells when I started.  My Ithaca 37R only had a 2&3/4 inch chamber, so it was do with what you've got, or don't hunt. When I switched to hunting with a single shot that had a 3 inch chamber, I started shooting 3" Federal copper plated #6s (when copper plated lead was a new thing) because I could.  Even though I could go back to 2&3/4 inch shells, I'm accustomed to what a 3" turkey load will do.

Jim

I will be 56 on May 1 and I still like 3.5" shotshells. I must be a glutton for punishment!

[g8rvet]

I had a pinched nerve in my neck 2 years ago.  Lost some strength in my arm too.  I still fought through the pain and kept duck hunting, but I would pay for it when they were flying. 

So I went to a 20 auto for turkey hunting.  Thoroughly enjoyed the sighting in process and shooting a little pop gun.  High 160s in the 10" circle at 40 yards and no hole in the pattern with Fed HW #7.  Plus I love shooting it. 

Shoot what ya enjoy is my motto, as long as it has the #s and the energy to kill at the ranges you are using it. And leave the 65 yard shots to deer hunting.  The 3.5" will get you more pellets on target with the right combo. 

[Gooserbat]

Lots of opinions expressed here but the truth is I've killed a lot of birds at and a few yards over with my old 3.5" 870 shooting Win HV #6 in the 3.5" load.  Best I ever got was 120 on paper.  Anyone who tells you that 99 hits is good for only 35 yards has read more on the forums than they've shot turkeys.  Your good to 40 and maybe a couple of unintended steps. 

To address your concerns on shells if you're wanting to extend your range and still maximize your 20" I would just shoot hevi 6 and be done with it.  Find a choke that puts up 175-200/10" and your golden.  To many people chase numbers on paper.

[owlhoot]

A 3 inch 12 does everything thing i need it to do, especially with the federal hw 7's.
heck with the same load so does the 20.
With a standard lead load going back to a 3.5 might be tempting for pasture and field hunting.
But with the longbeards 3" would be fine.