Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting 3" vs 3.5"--settle it!

Got a friend, who's a "die hard" that is completely set that a 3.5" magnum is necessary to make long shots.

I argue with him up and down and choose 3" shells intentionally, to get him worked up.

Is the 3.5 king of good patterns and long shots?

I truely have never taken a bird past 35yds or so, so don't know the real world difference. Is there one??

Yes, no, maybe

All I know after the two years I shot 3 1/2" loads is that if it is a pump action with no recoil reducing features, you can't pay me to shoot the 3 1/2" shells anymore.

How far is a long shot?
I shot a tom last spring at 50 yards with a 20ga. It was with 3" shells though...so 3".

This will be the first year in many that I shoot 3.5's. Just playing with a new gun...honestly, I can't remember killing a bird with 3.5's that I couldn't have killed with 3's.

Odds are I'll go back to a 20 gauge before the fall season here. I'd love to dabble with some 20 gauge TSS loads.

There are so make good choke and shell options today that 3" rounds in a 12 ga or 20 ga are more than good enough for turkeys out to 50 yds. The fun in turkey hunting is calling the birds well within that range so, no, the 3.5" loads aren't necessary. Depending on the gun, 3" loads often pattern better than 3.5" due of less pellet deformation.

Some impressive result here with the .410,

http://www.turkeyandturkeyhunting.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=14841&start=20

I have shot 3", and 3.5" both. It was not a matter of the the 3.5" shooting further than the 3", it was that in that gun with that choke, the 3.5" shells patterned better.
That being said, if the 3" and 3.5" shells pattern the same, I will shoot the 3" shell every time due to recoil.
There is nothing fun about shooting a 3.5" shell to me (except when it is over) and I always start with a 3" shell when setting up a gun. If I can not find something in a 3" shell/choke combo I like, then and only then do I move up to 3.5".

All that being said, I am planning on hunting with a 20 ga this year.

Yup it's all about the pattern. The End

I've shot 3.5" Nitro's for the past 8 years and was getting 330's in the 10". Those Nitro 2 7/16 oz. #7's will kock your hat off. I'm now shooting better patterns than ever and with less recoil with a 3" load. Getting 350 in the 10".

I don't think there is any practical range extension over 5 yards or so with 3.5 inch shells. However the benefit that I do believe the long shells hold is payload

In my opinion there is a caveat with 3.5s. That is, that in order to maximize the increased payloads offered by the longer shells, you need the over bored barrels like the Mossbergs. I have yet to see a standard bore sized 12 guage pattern the 3.5s as well as the big Mossbergs.

If 3 inch shells offered the pattern density I get from my 835 and 3.5s i'd shoot the 3 inch shells

The answer is "it depends."

Some guns and chokes will shoot more efficiently with 3" over 3.5" so it's always ammo and gun/choke dependant.

I've seen 3" pattern better than 3.5 many times, even with the same brand of factory ammo.

In handloads, the 3.5 will win hands down every time as you can taylor the components to increase efficiency, therefore the higher payload always wins. This is not the case with factory ammo where you are stuck with what's in a given shell.

Here's a pattern with skinny barrled SBE 2 with 3.5" Nitro's.

Yes sir. It's all about finding the "right" combo.

3.5" loads have the potential to give better numbers because of the increased payload but finding the right combo can sometimes be difficult and painful.

It sure can be painful. I'm really enjoying handloading for the 20s lately. I don't miss the days of testing 20-30 HV 3.5 handloads in a session one bit!

Using custom loads isn't really a comparison of averages.

But out of curiosity did you count the number of pellets in the ten?
what size show at how big of a charge

I counted this one...275 in the 10. 40ish yards, Hevi-Shot 3 1/2" Magnum Blend. Super Black Eagle with the Rob Roberts 655 Final Strut choke. That was standing and maybe a little right. I'll shoot it from the bench this week.

Thats one of the performance shop guns right?

Here is a 3.5 inch out of a Mossberg at a lasered 50 yards

#5 Lb

I won't use a mossberg. every one I've had had been a complete POS, and it's been more than a few.

If you can buy the round I wouldn't call it custom ammo. Anyone can buy it. 334 in the 10" on that target. Didn't count the 20 but it was more than the 10 just by looking at it.

#7's 2 7/16 oz.