Importance of 3.5 inch shells for goose hunting?

[waxworm09]

I am looking to purchase a new gun in the next couple weeks and I am planning on doing a lot of goose hunting in the future. Im looking for a pump around $300 and i was wondering if i should pick up a gun that shoots 3.5 for goose, or are 3 inch loads fine? I found a new Stoeger p-350 that shoots 3.5 on sale for $265, an 870 3 inch chamber for $289, and a used wingmaster 3" for $319. The gun will be used for upland and deer also.Trying to figure out if i should go with 3.5 chamber, any advice?

[otterman91105]

I think that it's just a personal preference. I have buddy's that shoot 3 1/2", i shoot 3" and i don't think they kill any more geese then i do. I believe that part of it is the choke that you use.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

3.5" loads in a pump can be a biatch recoil wise if you aren't used to them. Personally, I like having the 3.5" capability, but if you can't kill a goose with any of the 3" loads available these days, you probably shouldn't be blaming the load. In the end its all about determining if the possible increased recoil is worth the possible gains in pellet count or payload velocity.

[JBar]

I used to only consider 3 1/2" for geese but after using 3" shells I found after a day of goose hunting even more so after hunting spring snows my shoulder and wallet feel a little better using 3". I never really had any difference in the amount of birds I came home with. Like carp shooter said 3" loads are more than enuff with the newer loads. I still think a 3 1/2" gun is more versitile as I use it for turkey's also. Good luck!!

[goblueM]

3" shells are plenty... they are cheaper, and like mentioned above, they kick less, and if you can't knock something down with a 3 inch, you probably shouldn't be shooting at it anyways

[skee0025]

I've had issues with 3 1/2's out of pump guns. The problems I have had were during extraction, I really had to put a little effort into racking the slides to get the 3 1/2's out clean. I lost more than a few shooting opportunies because of it. The 3's are more than enough to take care of the job.

[smnduck]

A 3.5 has more killing potential. More important is being able to put any load on the vitals of a goose any determining the killing range of the load.

[life=outdoors92]

i have seen geese shot cleanly at 60 yards with 3" shells. this weekend included. however, the times i have seen it its been with a full choke. so my thoughts agree with the rest of the people on here, i guess they are nice, but a 3" shell is plenty

[Kettle]

Buy the wingmaster best gun for the money, I have one made in 1984, 30" full choke barrel with 3'' capacity. I Know it had over 25,000 rounds through it before I bought it from the original owner. I have and express I like as well not as smooth more clunky

Kettle

[Maxxed Out]

I talked to a gunsmith about this and if I remember right you only get an additional 8-10 BB's with 3 1/2" loads. I can't remember what size shot that was, but there wasn't much of a difference

[MikeH55343]

I am looking to purchase a new gun in the next couple weeks and I am planning on doing a lot of goose hunting in the future. Im looking for a pump around $300 and i was wondering if i should pick up a gun that shoots 3.5 for goose, or are 3 inch loads fine? I found a new Stoeger p-350 that shoots 3.5 on sale for $265, an 870 3 inch chamber for $289, and a used wingmaster 3" for $319. The gun will be used for upland and deer also.Trying to figure out if i should go with 3.5 chamber, any advice?

The "best" gun in your list is the Wingmaster. 3" is fine for geese. For $100 you can find a good slug barrel for the Wingmaster.

[candiru]

Another consideration is weight. You carry the heavier gun around all day upland hunting ,you will know it and your reaction time could be slowed.

[iceman2010]

id go with the 3inch and use the extra money you would be using in the ammo and buy a few different chokes for the different birds youre hunting. In my opinion choke is key, I bring a couple in my bag everytime im after geese with how they are reacting to the setup.

[strait-meat]

This is the way I see it--either 3in. or 3.5in. will kill geese and for that matter 2 3/4in. will too. If you miss with 3.5in that is just missing with more shot. The important thing is hit your target. So just practice. I don't think 3.5 is a must.

[surewood]

The way I understand it. 3.5 has more pellets with higher energy. I use 3.5 bbb for geese to hit them hard. I use 3" bb for ducks for quicker target acquisition (less recoil ) as they fly faster then geese.

[Gordie]

I love the 870 and I would deffintaly choose it but if you decide on the stoger the really nice thing about it is you can get a mercury recoil reducer for it and throw on a limbsaver recoil pad and you shooting a gun that has less felt recoil than a 20 ga

My turkey gun is 3 1/2 inch and have yet to fire a 3 1/2 thru it yet

another thing most of the 3 1/2's out there are a bit heavier than the 3 inchers. not sure about the stoger but I know my mossy is heavier than the 3 inch version and so is the 870 super mag. really not something I wanna carry in the feild all day.

money wise for shells the 3 inch will let you shoot more for your buck

I should talk thou I own a BPS 10ga those shells aint cheap either but fun to fold up the geese with

[Muthagoose]

Being I got my first 3.5 this last spring and Ive never paid much attention to the loads.. The same load coming out of the 12 is over 100fps faster that then same in a 10 in the redbox feds..

[Bushwacker]

I have a couple 3 1/2" waterfowl guns. I use 3" 90% of the time, but occasionally use 3 1/2" for geese. The cost difference in shells can be as little as 10% depending on what you buy. I picked up some Black Cloud last week for $18.99 for 3" and $20.99 for 3 1/2". There was 1/4oz more shot and 50 more FPS. Not that big of a difference, but every little bit helps. One of my guns is a pump and that thing kicks like crazy with 3 1/2". No where for that extra energy to go except your shoulder. It really comes down to personal preference and your hunting style. I am always in some sort of blind so the extra weight isn't a factor, but if I was walking all day, the weight of a 3" is nice.

[Farley]

Yeah if it saves you a few bucks, dont worry about the 3.5", pretty much the only reason I have 3.5" is because I was spending a lot of $$$$ on the gun already so I wanted to be able to shoot it all.

[TooTallTom]

If I remember correctly, I read in the waterfowl supplement to the hunting regs one year that Canadian Geese fly as fast as Mallards. They just look slower because they're bigger.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

This is the way I see it--either 3in. or 3.5in. will kill geese and for that matter 2 3/4in. will too. If you miss with 3.5in that is just missing with more shot. The important thing is hit your target. So just practice. I don't think 3.5 is a must.

Exactly. 3.5" is not going to instantly make you kill more birds, if anything, it may make you miss more birds if you develop a recoil flinch. Fact is, a guy shooting decoying canadas can kill em with 2 3/4" steel 6's.

[waxworm09]

Thanks for all the advice. I did find a used Browning BPS today for $199 that shoots 3 inch, so I will pass on the 3.5 inch shells and get the BPS, is seems like a great price, it is in very good shape. My last question is, which size choke would anyone recommend for geese? The gun comes with an inproved cylinder and I am also getting a modified choke for it. Should I get a full choke for geese or will the modified be ok? Thanks

[Maxxed Out]

I would definitely get a full choke for steel. It does make a difference.

[Gordie]

You need to pattern your gun with a different varity of shells find out what shoots best thru it. One of my 870's shoots BBB better thru a mod choke and my browning shoots #4's and BB thru the mod the best. if you want to spend the money on a aftermarket choke look around and ask for opinions on them. I know that those chokes really work as I have a pattern master in my 10 ga but its not a magical thing that will make you kill more birds... that takes practice and rounds thru the gun kinda like what was said about the 3.5 vs 3 shells if your gonna miss your gonna miss a factory choke will let you miss as easy as a aftermarket 150.00 choke..

Glad to hear that your getting a BPS they are really nice guns to shoot I have one in 10ga and used to have a 12 ga BPS.

The price that your looking at is nice just make sure it fits you. thats what matters the most IMO a gun that fits you great will work the best for you.

[TylerS]

I would definitely get a full choke for steel. It does make a difference.

elwood hit the nail on the head. Just saying "get a full choke" is a bit misleading. My gun patterns horribly with a full choke using steel shot. Modified, on the other hand, is just right. Actually, the close range patternmaster I use has turned out to be pretty deadly. But I also patterned it and found out what shells shot through it best, as elwood has suggested.

Also, depending on how old his BPS is, shooting steel through a full choke could potentially cause barrel damage due to the severity of the constriction and the amount of pressure produced by the load.