If you dont mind the little extra recoil there is no reason not to shoot the 3.5".

Agreed. I use 3 1/2 inch shells because it has been my personal experience that a 3 1/2 inch shell will (despite what some say) usually outpattern a 3 inch shell of the same type in the same gun. I also agree that your maximum range should be the distance that your gun/choke/shell combo will still put 100 evenly dispersed pellets inside a ten inch circle. No turkey head can find a spot to live in a pattern that's still that dense. I also believe in the denser than lead shot if you are trying to extend your range. I know, not I think, I KNOW it kills farther than lead will.

3 1/2 inch shells aren't that much more expensive than the 3 inch shells especially considering how few of them you will use a year. It's not like we are taking them on a dove shoot here. I can only kill 5 turkeys a year in Alabama so even if I limit out every year one box of ten will still last 2 years.

As for recoil? Yeah it's stout but once the guns been patterned with them all you will every use them for is killing a turkey. And I have never noticed the recoil when I pulled the trigger on a gobbler.

Anywhere from as close to 15 all the way out to about 45. WHY??

That absolutly not the message I got and believe me I will not take a shot of that length. Too much risk of harming the animal, and doing something like that would be unethical. Thank you,
BigBuck95

I have had guns that pattern best with 2 3/4" shells and that's what I used very effectively out to 30 yards for years. But then I wanted to have a little extra umph so I bought a Mossberg 12 gauge 835 and started shooting 3 1/2" shells. That gun was a brute to shoot. After I took it out to pattern it, it would give me a headache like I had been in a boxing bar room brawl. I thought, well, I'm not going to feel it shooting at a turkey, but 5 turkeys later resulted in 5 more headaches. Figuring I didn't want to end up like Mike Tyson , I got rid of it and bought a 10 gauge Browning Gold that shoots 3 1/2" shells. Now I know what you're thinking, that the Mossberg really did knock me bonkers, but that Browning with the 3 1/2" shells doesn't kick anywhere near as much as the Mossberg. And it patterns very well. Talk about throwing everything you've got at 'em, this gun will do it!!

I personally dont think you need 3 1/2" shells. I am going to bump down to 2 3/4" reloads this year. Even then I am still throwing an ounce and a half of lead at them. But since it is not my money I am not going to tell you how to spend it.

Let us know how it patterns.
O.K.

I use three inch all the time I ususally just shoot about 30 yards.

I shoot 3 1/2 but i dont think they are a necessity,

Here's a testament to some 3 1/2" Federal #5's, and maybe a little to my ability to get him so dang close . You asked how 3 1/2's shoot at close range, this turkey lost his head not even 12 steps from me. Speaks for itself.