??WHAT SHELL,DO YOU USE 3 INCH,OR 3 1/2??

[totoe]

..REASON FOR ASKING IM THINKING OF GOING BACK TO THE 3 INCH MAGNUM
SHELL FOR TURKEY HUNTING,PICKED UP A 870 EXPRESS WILL JUST ABOUT
SHOOT ANYTHING,#6,#5,#4...KILLED ALOT OF TURKEY WITH THREE INCH
MAG..WAY MORE THAN WITH 3 1/2 SHELL....THANKS..

[C/P/S SHOOTER]

3 inch hevi shot out of my 870 express mag.

[Strut&Rut]

Totoe,

I pulled this excerpt from an article by Dave Henderson, entitled Myth of the 3 1/2, on the Ithaca gun site, www.ithacagun.com

Recoil is definitely a consideration with the ultimate big bore turkey guns.

Consider that the average 2-ounce, 3-inch 12-gauge load -- the most popular load sold -- shoves the butt of a 7-pound pump gun into your shoulder at 19.265 feet per second for a measured recoil of 43 foot pounds. Most readers will be able to coordinate these figures with experience and know that 3-inch turkey loads certainly get your attention at ignition. By comparison the Barnes Ballistic Program shows that the renowned hard-kicking .375 H&H magnum rifle loaded with its optimum 270-grain hunting load (used on cape buffalo) only develops 39.5 foot pounds of recoil.

Now folks, let's consider the big boys. The 3 1/2-inch turkey load in the 7-pound, 12-ounce Mossberg 835 or Remington 870 Express Magnum pump develops a whopping 60.3 foot pounds of recoil, hitting your shoulder at a speed of 22.31 feet per second. For comparison that's 6 foot pounds more than a .416 Remington Magnum with a 700-grain bullet -- the gun's suggested load for elephants!

The 10-gauge, given its roomier bore and hull and greater gun heft but identical-sized load, is far less punishing despite a 60 fps velocity advantage over the stoked-to-the-limit 3 1/2-inch 12 gauge. A 2 1/4-ounce 10-gauge load fired from my 11-pound Ithaca Mag-10 develops 48.7 foot pounds of recoil at a speed of 16.88 feet per second. That's no love pat but is considerably less formidable than the long 12.

I'll stick to my 3 inch HiVel by Winchester before I destroy my shoulder. Guys will argue it's only 6-10 shots per year, but I don't feel like obliterating my tendons in my scapula just to kill a turkey, especially with the highly advanced shells hitting the market...

[whitetailpredatorsizedoesmatter]

3 inch winchester supreme 5 shot. out of my 1187 sps with hastings ported choke. holds good pattern i have killed birds out to 60 to 65 yards

[DaveH]

The 3" shells have killed quite a few turkeys over the years. After sighting my gun last week--during a nice day when I wore a t shirt--I was very glad I wasn't shooting anything over 3" magnum shells. I've been shooting for quite a long time and let me tell you, THAT HURT!

[t roy]

i experienced the kick from a 3 1/2 in turkey load for the first time this past weekend while patterning my benelli, i plan on using the less punishing 3 inchers, from what i've heard the 3 1/2 perform worse than the 3 inchers as far as a tighter pattern goes, and they hurt like the devil.

[rochelle]

Im shooting the 3.5 inch rem hevi shot this season in #6 cause of more shot. the patterning part is no fun but you won't feel it when hunting.

[wernerjd]

Iam going to use the 3 1/2 hevi shot through my benlli

[zak123]

3" shells for me.

[Gobbling Buck]

This is my first year to have my 835 and I've been shooting 3 1/2", but I've been thinking of going back to the 3" shells. After reading the post from Strut&Rut, I'll definitely be changing next year.