ORIGINAL: gmil6184

I would tend to agree with everyone that 3 inch turkey loads are brutal, i've never shot a 3.5 inch and have no desire to. This past spring i was turkey hunting and got a nice bird but in all the excitment i forgot to keep my head back from the scope, and that 3 inch mag drove that scope right between my eyes and opened up a nice gash...took 8 stitches to close it up.
I used to slug hunt and shot the 3 inch Remington Copper Solids and those used to beat your shoulder up, the NY county where i hunt switched to rifle so i started using my 7 mag. compared to those 12 gauge loads the recoil from the 7 mag feels like a gentle breeze.