3 1/2 shotgun

[minniwinni91]

I know that there have been problems with the 31/2in but I'm going to get one any ways.I'm thinking on manely a remington 870 express magnum (pump)I just want to know what you guys think about the 31/2.and what type of shells are the best for a 31/2in I know federal has had problems with the 31/2 any sugestions would be great.

[frabillfisher]

I have a benelli nova 3 and a half and love the extra power i get from them...great for long mallard shots to early and late goose..i would recomend getting the nova pump if you were going to get the rem 870 anyways,I shoot kent faststeel and winchester xpert HV for 3 and half and have had no problems with them except if your unloading your gun slow with 3 and a half it tends to jam..good luck with your new gun

[island guy]

I've got a couple of guns that take the 3 1/2". First couple of years it was kind of a novelty. Now I just save a couple of bucks and just shoot the 3". Never noticed enough of a difference to justify the extra money. When I did use the 3 1/2 I mostly shot federal or kent.

[DrJ]

I second the Nova. Can take any weather and is really easy to break down.Turkey to trap,it can do it all. DrJ.

[island guy]

My kid has a nova. I don't like the feel of it. He loves it. He is really hard on a gun and this one has been very durable. We go to Dakotas, Manitoba, hunt in snow, rain, mud, December cold, you name it. His nova is the only one in our family that has been totally reliable. Never has it let him down. I just don't like how it fits me and I always thought it felt cheap.

If your interested, I know of one that will be coming for sale at an estate sale. Maybe 2 boxes of shells thru it. NOT camo however. Post here if you're interested and I'll check it out. I'm guessing $250-275. Just like new.

[Guest]

I personally like the SX2 and have been using almost straight Federal's through it with no problems. The key to a semi-auto in my opinion is clean it after each trip. While in the field it has taken on some pretty adverse conditions from snow, rain, mud, dust,field debris, basically anything a MN waterfowler can see. My first new gun was a pump but after 2 seasons of missing opprotunities due to user error I moved to a used 1100 now the SX2. I Shoot 3 1/2" BBB for Geese and 3" 4's on ducks. I like the added pellets of the 3 1/2's for the big birds and I pretty much only shoot over the decoys but may stretch shots out to 40 yards. I have tried few other loads mainly because the one's I use pattern great for my gun at the distances I shoot. I shoot the Federal Speed Shok's and Ultra Shok's which fly out at around 1550 fps I believe.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

i have to second the motion to vote for a super x2...i have a black synthetic 3.5 inch with 26 inch barrel and i absolutely love the gun....i mainly bought it for goose hunting and predator calling, but ive shot everything from partridge to pheasants, ducks and geese, and with a rifled slug choke, three deer now. i love the ease of take down and the fit is excellent. imo its the best semi auto under a grand. and with the supplied full choke and a load of the new heavi-shot "dead coyote" dropping a fox at 75 yards is a walk in the park.

[Benny]

I shoot the Browning Gold 3-1/2 ,I love the fit and feel but hate the jamming.You have to clean it at night before you go out the next day or it will jam up using the long rounds.

As far as the Federals giving problems, I have not heard that at all.

My group shoot a diverse range of brands and the cheap estate rounds tend to mis fire, but the major brands have not failed yet.

Remember that Federal was the first to make the 3-1/2 round, made for the Mossberg 835 pump.

Benny

[jblabsnduck]

Man, all you high dollar guys

I bought the Mossberg 935(semi auto)and love the thing. It cost half the price of the guns you guys are talking about and it holds up better than the guns you guys are talking about.

I have friends that shoot the SX2 and some other high dollar guns and when we where hunting in MO for snows, I was THE ONLY ONE who did not have a problem with my gun what so ever.

Not to mention a 10 year old could break down and put back together that gun. Heck , even I can.

The federal shell problem? not sure about that but I do know if you take every shell out of the box and stand them all side by side, not all of them will be the same height.

Good luck to you on your hunt for a new gun.

Buy Mossberg.

[WALLEYENUTZ]

I don't shoot 3.5" shells, I have two Brownings(BPS, Gold hunter) and love them both. I prefer the Gold hunter and never have problems shooting 3".

aka: Maddiegirl

[island guy]

You just never know with guns I have a sx2 and it's the worst gun I've owned. Jams, jams and more jams. Small parts that have broken, ect. I have a buddy who is a gun smith go over the gun several times. Still a piece of dump! I often hunt with a friend who also has the sx2. He isn't big on cleaning it or caring for it and it has never given him one bit of trouble.

Moral of the story? beats me!!

[fishermann222]

Benny,

I used to have a browning gold 10 gauge. It jammed on me all the time also. I ended up selling it after half a season. I bought a berretta A390 and LOVE it. I shoot thousands of rounds through it a year and do minimal maintence on it. I do now need to send it in for a good cleaning after 5 years of INTENSIVE use. I love it.

[Benny]

I am going to give this Browning one more season, if it gives me any problems I will get the Mossberg.

I am a big fan of the Mossbergs, own several now.

I wanted to wait for a year to see how the 935 was, so far all the reports are good.

I hated the 835 though, it rattled, it jammed, it was just plain crappy all around.

The newer ones are better, Mossberg reworked thier tooling to fix a few flaws so I wouldn't mind another new one.

Benny

[natebuddy]

I bought a new 3.5 SX2 3 years ago and had it for 2 weeks. Hated it, I couldn't hit a thing and it just didn't seem to feel right. So I traded it it for a new Browning Gold Hunter 3.5 I love that gun. I use it for geese only and it has never jammed. I've only cleaned it once since I bought it. I've never been one for taking really good care of my guns unless there was a problem. I own a benelli M1 Super 90 for 8 years now and that thing is rusted and beat to hell. Its been at the bottom of the lake twice and used for a paddle once and it has only jammed once. Both are sitting in the gun cabinet with mud still on them from last season. But after owning a pump 3.5 and then a couple of autos, I would only use an auto, the recoil is so much less than the pumps. By the way the mossberg 935 is junk. I have friend who has one and when it gets really cold, it is just a single shot. Jams after the first shot no matter what.

Buy the Browning u won't regret it!

[jblabsnduck]

Like I stated before about my 935, it has NEVER failed me.

I am not saying you are not a hardcore waterfowler but I am a hardcore and I have been out with that thing when it was a good 8 degrees and lower and had NO problem emptying that gun on a flock of buffies that gave a good buzz by.

Call them junk all you want but I love my fail never gun.

I have a friend that was with us in MO snow goose hunting and his browning piece of dog turd had to be put away because it kept jamming on him. Sounds like a good gun to me.

[lawdog]

The only thing you should shoot a 3 1/2" shell through is a ten gauge! Anything else is just pretending! Same powder, more pellets = slower shells and lower velocities, that's what you get going from a 3" 12 to a 3 1/2" 12. Plus they are just about as heavy to carry as a 10.

[fishermann222]

Lawdog are you saying that with a 3 1/2 inch 12 gauge shell they do not use a different kind or more powder? I dont know much about it because I dont shoot 3 1/2 inch shells but it seems to me they would use more powder and if not more a hotter burning powder to get more speed. In the past I had been told that a 3 1/2 inch 12 gauge shell is better than a 10 guage. Anyone have info on this?

[Rainman]

Beretta Extrema, the one and only for me! I hunt with 4 other peope that have them now, and they can't believe how they perform under the tough conditions!

I think 3 1/2" shells do have more powder in some of them! That is how you can get faster speeds out of them with the same load as a 3" shell! As far as the 10 gauge goes, you couldn't give me one of those things. Just my opinions here!

Rainman

[frabillfisher]

Who forgot benelli?..doesnt anyone shoot benelli anymore?...Lol not to be racesist or anything but cant believe that many guys shoot mossberg ...I would use a stick to kill a duck before i used a old moss back but i guess that just the way i was raised...dont give me any dump for this just havin alittle fun

[Rost]

Alright, Frabil- I'll say it! Benelli! I bought my M1 in 1996. It has jammed on me one time because I oiled it too heavy then took it out in zero like temps.

Between shooting trap and hunting, I'd honestly guess that the gun has shot at least 3-5000 rounds. She is getting banged up on the out side, but still shoots flawlessly. I believe that other guns perform (especially when they are brand new ) , but check back in 10 years.

No need to baby it or keep it clean. Mud, dirt, water, it doesn't matter, this gun shoots. Time after time.

PS: Lawdog has a great point. Go with a 10 gauge if you want to get serious about killing geese. A BB traveling 1550 fps out of a 3" is the same as a BB traveling 1550 out of a 3.5".

[Nova]

How could you forget about Benelli. I have one, my sons both have one, both my brothers have them, my Dad and brother in law. Would never buy anything else. I shoot 3.5" sheels all the time. You can say they are slower or not as affective as 3"ers, but I am convinced. For geese I only use 3.5" BBB. The BB are ok for ducks, but the BBB are absolutely the best for geese. I have never had a jam or heard of a jam in any NOVA and the M1 is incredably reliable as well. I will sit side by side with anyone who wants to shoot 3"ers and I'll shoot 3.5" and I guarantee I will hit them harder and kill them deader at farther range. Not that I am going to skybust with them, I hate skybusters, but I know my range and it's longer with the 3.5" shells.

[lawdog]

I haven't looked at them in a long time and I'm sure they have made improvements in the 3 1/2" 12g shells, but when they first came out me and a buddy of mine were real hot on killing honkers. We each had 10's but he decided he needed to try that 3 1/2" twelve. He hunted with it 2 maybe 3 times and got rid of it because there was just no comparison to the 10 ga and it was NOT a "universal" gun. You wouldn't want to carry the thing pheasant hunting all day and it couldn't kill like our 10's so what was the point??? That gun didn't last a full season in his gun collection...

[Guest]

According to Federal their Ultra Shok 10 ga 3 1/2" 1500fps and 12ga 3 1/2" 1550 fps. Win SX2 8lbs - Remington SP-10 10 3/4lbs A Mossberg 12ga 3" 930 and 835 3 1/2" 7 3/4lbs.

[nolte]

I'd have to go with Benelli also. Quite spendy but lasts and keeps a higher resale. Although I don't own one yet, almost every person I have hunted with does. I've shot them a bunch and they are pretty darn sweet and reliable. In fact I haven't seen one jam yet in the field. I have seen them hang up a time or two with those real light low base shells and new guns.

The guys I've been around have had, rem 1187, 100s, X2s and have all switched to Benelli SBE. Nobody I know uses Mossbergs, anymore. Even the guys who started with the 535s switched to the Benelli Nova.

My old beat up 870 feels like a club compared to the SBEs but it will always have a place in my gun cabinet. My next one will be an SBE II (hopefully this fall if I can get enough scratch together). I also wouldn't compare the weight of an SBE to any 10 guage.

[frabillfisher]

Now were talkin ..for a second there i thought mossberg was takin over the market ..