Shell size

[Txag12]

Curious as to those who shoot 3 inch shells, do you do so because your gun only handles up to a 3" size, or is their a patterning advantage you've found over 3.5"? I have a benelli M2 sitting in my safe, contemplating tuning it up and turning it in to a dedicated turkey gun, but I've always shot 3.5" shells so I'm hesitant on if it'll perform to my standards. I'll be honest, I've never even patterned a 3" turkey load. Let me know your thoughts!

[Longshanks]

Over the last several years I have had more consistent patterns from the 3" shells. In particular the Hevi 13 3/2/6's and 3/2/7's. Have shot some lights out patterns with 3.5/2.25/7's and continue to shoot them out of an Xtrema 2. The rest of my guns I shoot 3" even with standard lead. The Win LB's may be different with the 3.5 inch shells. They may be seeing better patterns with the 3.5 shells over 3". Good luck with the new project.

[Twowithone]

You can only do so much for a turkey slayer shotgun. Remember 3 in the head he,s dead. I get good patterns out of my Win 1300 shooting 2 3/4 shells through it. My 1300 can only shoot up to 3" though and its wacked some Gobblers for sure.

[vabeardhunter]

Did a fair amount of shooting/testing this year, and found no advantage to shooting 3.5's. Everyone will have different thoughts and preferences, but the recoil, and expense of 3.5 over 3's sealed my opinion on what I prefer. Actually am moving into the 20 gauge. Does everything I want it to do. Good luck in your search...

[lunghit]

Both my dedicated turkey guns (SBE2 and SX3) will shoot 3.5" shells but I only shoot 3". I am just not into the recoil of those 3.5" shells and see no advantage to them.

[Happy]

Have always shot 3.5 inch shells. Do I need them? Nope. Have always used them and I have a lot of Irish blood. Nuff said.

[Waynesworld23]

I went through the 3.5 shell stage and found that they kick hard and don't pattern near as well as 3inch shells do and that was with hevi sixs and longbead sixs

[BINK McCARTY]

In all my testing I've found the single most important aspect of shooting in general (shotguns,rifles,handguns,bows,or whatever.....) shoot  as much as you can ACCURATELY & CONSISTENTLY !!!!!! Also,what goes along with this rule is ,in addition to knowing your limitations is (in turkey guns) shoot what the gun likes.....might be different than what you may want,but the gun HAS to be the deciding factor!!!!!
Now,as far as 3" VS 3.5".....hypothetically,ifn EVERYTHING was the same( both 3" & 3.5") performed equally well, the ONLY thing you gain in 3.5" over 3" is pellet count & recoil energy. You can't necessarily kill any further,the pellets fired from a 3.5" don't have anymore "killin' power" than a 3" does and it certainly doesn't mean your more of a MAN cuz you shoot a 3.5". Fact is ,shells being identical other than length they will perform the same.....(with choke out of the equation). A #4,#5,#6,#7 pellet retains the EXACT amount of velocity & energy whether its fired from a 3" or 3.5" shell....everything else being the same now.... Best advice is to shoot each one in a variety of combinations and go with the one that patterns the best!!!!
Hope this helps,GOOD LUCK!!!!

[Sealbilly]

I have both 3.5 and 3" guns.  I shoot 3" shells for several reasons. 
1.  My 3.5 gun shoots perfect poi with 3" shells.  3.5" shells of every brand and shot size shoot a little low.
2. When shooting at turkeys you don't even feel recoil but you do recover faster.  For follow up shots if needed.
3. Cost - turkey loads, especially High Density loads are very expensive and even more so in 3.5".
4. This is where I differ from most on this board.  I'll explain, when you are shoving a 10 ga load down a skinny 12 ga bore and out a 16 ga choke crazy stuff happens.   The tighter the choke and the heavier the load the more poi and poa deviate.  I had soon shoot a choke and load combo that shoots where you aim it without having to put a scope or rifle sights or all that stuff on my shotgun.  I had rather leave a shotgun a shotgun.  It's easier and faster to get on a spooked turkey when your shotgun fits and you don't have to line up a bunch of slights or look through a tube mounted higher on your gun than the stock allows you line up on naturally.

How many pellets do you really need to kill a bird?  3.5" shells full of #7s or 9s?  Turkey hunting has become like bass fishing. IMHO fishing isn't going down the lake in a metal flake boat doing 75 mph and throwing 25 dollar crankbaits while glued to a depth finder no more than turkey hunting is putting 500 #9s in a 10 circle.  Nothing wrong with either one if that's your thing but it's overkill to the millionth degree.  I actually put my 3.5" guns (835, Browning gold, benelli sbe) away in favor of my benelli M1.  I just put a 21" barrel on it so I would have a lighter more compact tool.  I shot a turkey with it yesterday morning and it done a perfect job with those litter pee shooter 3" #5 long beards.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[allaboutshooting]

Really great, thoughtful responses to an excellent question. Many of my guns have 3.5" chambers and I occasionally fire a 3.5" shell through them when I'm evaluating a new one or at times when I'm evaluating a new choke design. Otherwise, I shoot only 3" shells for many of the reasons already cited. The 3" shell was a step up from the 2.75" shells I used when I first started hunting turkeys and they were very effective. Those shells were not "turkey specific" and just all that we had back then. By standards of today, they threw terrible patterns but a long shot was 25 yards. Anyone reporting that they'd shot "at" a turkey beyond that distance would have been looked at  much the same as we looked at sky busters who shot at waterfowl who were out of range.

When manufacturers caught on to the growing numbers of turkeys and turkey hunters and stated making real turkey loads, it became a whole different ball game. The 3" shell with better wads, buffer and shot became the standard and those loads just got better and better.

When the Feds mandated non-toxic shot for waterfowl, Mossberg and Federal got together to create the 3.5" shell and the 835 which was chambered for them and those early loads of steel shot. Before long, both companies started making shells and that gun for turkey hunters. Then Benelli introduced the 1st semi-auto for 3.5" shells and the race was on!

We've now seen several generations of hunters for whom the 3.5" chambered gun is the norm and not the exception. Early on, the 2.75" chambered gun was the norm, then the 3" chambered gun and now the 3.5" chambered gun may have become the standard.

The chamber length determines the longest shell that may be safely shot but range time will determine the shell that patterns best in a given gun. For many, probably most, that will be a modern 3" turkey load, at least from my experience.

Thanks,
Clark

[SteelerFan]

I have nothing to add to the great info above, other than I hunt an M2 with 3" LB 5's and a Carlson's LB .665. NO complaints from me or the dead birds...

[Sealbilly]

I agree with Clark.  The 3.5 was born because steel shot.  I started duck hunting after non toxic was mandatory.  The 835 was the first gun I bought with my own money.  I used 3.5" #2s and killed lots of ducks.  I used 3.5 " BBBs for geese and killed a lot of geese too.  Nowadays I shoot 3" #3s at ducks over decoys or jump shooting and 3" BBs at geese, decoyed or pass shooting.  I can't tell a bit of difference except for less recoil.  I even go down to 2 3/4" #4s for wood ducks and teal, they feel about like trap loads.

  If you can kill a turkey at 60 yards with #7 heavy weight in a 20 ga. is there really any need of 3.5" shells anymore?  Before shells got so good I could see using a 3.5, heck I did.  When winchester supremes ruled the roost I shot 3.5 2 oz #5s now I shoot 1 7/8 or 1 3/4 oz longbeards.  I would try hevishot and federal heavy weight if I could afford to pattern them.  High Density shot has made short shells more deadly than ever.  I remember when a guy named Randy Lewis that lives in my home town broke the record with 42 pellets in a 3"circle at 40 yards with hevishot and a thunder wad choke that he made and I'm pretty sure it was with a transparent white colored 2 3/4" shell loaded by environmetal, hmmmmmmm...

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[BandedSpur]

Although its use is not widespread, TSS has made obsolete the need for 3.5 and even 3" shells. I have a Beretta O/U chambered for 3.5" shells that I bought back in the day to shoot geese. I now load 1.625 oz of TSS 9s in a 2.75" shell that I would put up against any 3.5" shell made, with roughly half the recoil.

If you thought you needed it, you can easily load 2 oz of TSS in a 2.75" shell.

[mudhen]

I get better patterns with 3.5" in all my guns...

I've never had a 3" shell put more pellets on the paper than a 3.5" version of the same shell...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Farmboy27]

I get better patterns with 3.5" in all my guns...

I've never had a 3" shell put more pellets on the paper than a 3.5" version of the same shell...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Same here. I've always got better numbers with 3.5 shells. Is it nessesary? Heck no. (I'm carrying my old 870 with a 3" chamber this year). But I don't mind the recoil and I get a few extra shot so why not.