dumb question.

if a shotgun has say a 3" chamber, is it possible to use smaller shells (2 3/4)? if so would this safely increase capacity?

just wondering because im shopping for ammo for my imaginary HD shotgun...and i know squat about long guns and want some reduced recoil ammo but it only comes in 2.75 and my imaginary SG is chambered to 3"

...yeah im slightly off my rocker

If it has a 3" chamber; you can shoot 2 3/4" without any problem!!

thanks.

i thought that may be the case but i thought i would ask

Get the 3" if possible -- better to have the larger chamber just in case you want to go hotter!!

RBillys jrs. 870 is chambered in 3 1/2 he shoots 2 3/4 in it all time ,,better to have 3 r
3 1/2 then u can shot what u want

Can always shoot shorter - never longer!

It may be a longer shell, but usually doesn't increase capacity unless you have extended mag tube. Then you might get one extra 2 3/4" in a 3 1/2" gun. I would still go with the 3" or 3 1/2" though.

I bought a Browning Gold Hunter years ago, was too broke to get the 3 1/2, so just got the 2 3/4. Still think it was a mistake, always better to have options.

From what I've read they made the 3 1/2" to make a 12ga on par with a 10ga, that said if it for HD I would stay with a 3" or 2 3/4. Stay away form the pistol grip it's not worth the pain.

+1 at least get the 3in. yes the 3 1/2 will hold more 2 3/4 one extra in the 3 1/2's i have.

As far as the subject title goes, there are no dumb questions......unless you're a liberal.

maybe he should have named the post "KnowledgeGathering" that is what I would call it. that is what the site is for anyway.

I have always used 2 3/4" 00 buck in my short barreled defensive pump guns. On a lark I bought some Aguila 12 ga. dual load mini shells. They are 1 3/4", 11 pellets- 7 #4 bbs & 4 #1 buck. They work great in my Mossberg 590 & Rock Island Armory M5 and are very user friendly. My M5 is loaded with them now for home defense. You can fire a bunch of rounds quickly with little felt recoil.

If you are able to put three in the tube and one in the chamber, you better get a longer plug, the fed game warden will be reading you your rights if you put more than 4 in the gun at any time.

Yeah, I got a friend who got a 3 1/2 and shot it with them one time. Said a 10 was not as bad as the 12 in 3 1/2.
I keep 2 3/4 in my home defense shotgun in case the wife has to pick it up. Whatever a 3 will kill so will a 2 3/4.

My HD shotgun will hold more 2 3/4 than 3" shells but it has a magazine extension on it. I prefer the 3" (kinda like the 45 vs 9mm debate) I want as much bullet as I can get. Messed around last year and put a turkey choke in my hunting gun. At 40 to 50 yards I could put a lot of pellets in paper with a 2 3/4. But my shoulder hurt so bad after I shot it I will only use the 3" for hunting. Hopefully I wont have to shoot but once.

I guess I will be the fly in ointment and say that some older gas operated autos care. I have a B2000 Browning with the gas ports tuned on the barrel. They do not recommend light loads in the 3" barrel. But if you were shooting heavy 2-3/4s it probably would not be a problem. I think they said it would be rough on the gun to shoot light loads through the 3" and rough on the person to shoot magnum loads through 2-3/4 barrel (might be backwards).

I doubt anything built in the past 10 years really cares.

I also have a Mossberg 835. You can mix and match anything between 2-3/4s and 3-1/2 and it cares little. I want to try some of those supper shorties that beasleydano mentions in the it. It should pack plenty of them in.

terry

captain-03 wrote:Can always shoot shorter - never longer!

that is an easy way to remember for all future shotguns

It looks like you guys pretty well covered the needed information but, I'll add my 2 cents any way.

Get the 3" chamber gun. Shoot 2 3/4" shells. Speaking from personal experience, you can increase your capacity by at least one round in tactical shotgun applications. The 2 3/4" 00 Buck shot is my preference in shells. They are very effective and they will not beat the hell out of you the way 3" shells do. This makes follow-up shots faster and more accurate. (You probably will not need a follow-up shot when using 00 Buck but....just in case.)