dumb question.

by crossedcannons45 on Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:10 am

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" Smile

...yeah im slightly off my rocker

by **captain-03** on Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:58 am

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

by crossedcannons45 on Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:18 pm

thanks.

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

by **captain-03** on Mon Dec 21, 2009 2:02 pm

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

by RIVERBILLY on Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:46 pm

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 thinking

by **captain-03** on Mon Dec 21, 2009 4:09 pm

Can always shoot shorter - never longer!

by bigsig on Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:29 pm

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.

by slabsides45 on Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:13 pm

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.

by msredneck on Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:21 pm

Man I shot some hot 3 1/2 inch shells one time in 12Ga...

Its a real load....

If what you want comes chambered that way get it. I guess the gun mfg in an ever increasing need to appease the duck and mainly turkey hunters went all the way to 3 1/2.

2 3/4 has been the standard for eons...

You can do plenty of damage for HD with 2 3/4 inch shells depending on what you buy.....

by **Xd357** on Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:48 pm

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.

by GunOneDown on Wed Dec 23, 2009 7:41 pm

+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.

by 3spop on Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:05 pm

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

by GunOneDown on Thu Dec 24, 2009 8:07 am

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

by beasleydano on Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:14 pm

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.

by Flyfisher on Thu Jan 07, 2010 5:53 am

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.

by sidroski on Thu Jan 07, 2010 8:32 pm

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.

by ruger10 on Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:43 pm

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.

by terrybaldridge on Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:17 pm

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

by bensand26 on Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:25 am

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

that is an easy way to remember for all future shotguns

by Caleb C on Thu Mar 11, 2010 12:02 pm

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.)

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