Stoeger M3500

[JLS]

If you can't kill a bird by hitting him twice with #2 and once with BB, my guess is you're shooting too far.  Lots of ducks have died to 3" loads, heck the other day I found out at the end of the shoot that I was shooting 2 3/4 " loads.  I grabbed the wrong box in the dark.  Good shots still killed the birds.

Pattern your gun, go to a tighter choke and/or a different load.  I've killed a lot of birds with Winchester HV steel, waterfowl and upland.

Don't get me wrong, I've knocked down plenty of ducks with this setup. And you have a valid point about the distance of the shot, this Drake was past the decoys which ended about 35-40 yards. But i would like to have the option of having 2 3in with a 3.5in backer. I would also like to chamber a 3.5 for any goose possibility, and my Winchester won't. Am I crazy for wanting to have this option? Ultimately my post was about a stoeger m3500 and if anybody happened to have tried it.

Okay, I misunderstood.  I thought you wanted the 3.5 inch because the greenie didn't die from the 3 inchers.  I've never shot 3.5 inch, so I won't even try to speak to whether it's worth it or not.  My Beretta is 3 inch.  If I was field hunting geese a lot, I may have looked at the 3.5, but given the price of ammo and the extra money for the gun it really wasn't worth it to me.  Plus, I use it for upland so weight was an issue.

I can say that a good friend bought a Stoeger and has been VERY happy with it.  He shot my Beretta, and was leaning towards the Extrema but got the Stoeger instead with no complaints.

[duckmen1]

I have been out 15 to 20 duck trips this year and haven't had a jam yet with the 3500. Even have the 2000 and never seen a jam in that gun and probably shot 150 ducks with that in years past. Stoeger makes awesome guns.
I also bought a mossberg 935 2 years ago and after about 20 shots it will jam consistently. Been that way since I bought it. Some times it don't even take that many shots. It gets dirty very quickly.
The stoegers stay very clean for a long time. Even when I try to clean it there isn't much to clean.
I do by kicks high flyer full chokes for hunting ducks and don't have many cripples. Sometimes I think it's overkill. But I'd rather over kill than chasing cripples around.
Stoeger was bought out by benelli/berreta, so that there tells you it's a good gun.
You will get a good gun at half the cost.
I know some may bad mouth me for this but dicks sporting goods had it for 650 a few days ago.
Awesome gun

[LeftCoastLoren]

Thanks duckmen I really appreciate the post. I have been researching a lot, and everybody seems to have pretty good things to say about it. It's nice to hear from actual users though.

[carpsniperg2]

I am a bowhunter for turkeys but this year I did not have much time in the fall hunt for my bow. So I decided to try the stoger out on and thunder chicken. I did have 2 shells hang up on me when shooting at the range. They seemed to have a little longer crimp and the shell stuck in the ejection port. I think they were federal shells. I did not have any problems with other brands.

[LeftCoastLoren]

I have been out 15 to 20 duck trips this year and haven't had a jam yet with the 3500. Even have the 2000 and never seen a jam in that gun and probably shot 150 ducks with that in years past. Stoeger makes awesome guns.
I also bought a mossberg 935 2 years ago and after about 20 shots it will jam consistently. Been that way since I bought it. Some times it don't even take that many shots. It gets dirty very quickly.
The stoegers stay very clean for a long time. Even when I try to clean it there isn't much to clean.
I do by kicks high flyer full chokes for hunting ducks and don't have many cripples. Sometimes I think it's overkill. But I'd rather over kill than chasing cripples around.
Stoeger was bought out by benelli/berreta, so that there tells you it's a good gun.
You will get a good gun at half the cost.
I know some may bad mouth me for this but dicks sporting goods had it for 650 a few days ago.
Awesome gun

Also, I shoot left handed. Do you think i'm going to get pummeled in the face by the shells?

[duckmen1]

I can say it is my favorite gun on the market. It just plain works, the price is awesome, and is well built. It's a tuff gun that has the inertia design without breaking the bank. The biggest difference is that it is just a bit heavier than the actual bennelis and has a bit longer forearm. Great gun you won't regret it.

[crow killer]

Me and my dad have stoegers he has the 3500 and nothin went wrong with it and it shot very smooth he said. And we went through I think 2 boxes with no problem

[h2ofowlr]

Me and my dad have stoegers he has the 3500 and nothin went wrong with it and it shot very smooth he said. And we went through I think 2 boxes with no problem

2 boxes???  It's not even broke in.  I think Benelli recommends a case of shells. 

I think I am around 36 cases of shells through my Benelli SBEII.  I am on my 3rd ejector plate and second recoil spring cylinder.  I shaved off 1/16"+ off the tail end of the plate and haven't had any issues since.

[duckmen1]

I've put though 300 trap loads as well as a few turkey loads and many duck loads in my 3500. No issues with any loads other than when I first bought it I forgot to get the cosmolene out. Clean that out and you will have a flawless gun. It will make your clean job easier in the future.

[Andrew8235]

my buddy runs a 3500 and loves it. the only issue he had with it was the butstock coming loose from the stud inside it. but some locktite and a locknut did the trick my brother has a 2000 and cracked the bolt carrier using the remington hypershock tho....

[Bucks2Ducks]

The 3500 is a good gun, a lot better then the the old 2000 that would consistently have issues. Honestly though I would spend the extra hundred or two on  a Win SX3! Great gun, I would even compare it to the 1600$ Benellis and Beretta's. I find a 3in chamber plenty suitable for ducks by using a larger shot size like BB, especially if your using cheap steal. But I do love the option of being able to use 3.5's when needed. 

[duckmen1]

You better be careful using Remington hypersonic loads with any gun. Lots of factory and aftermarket chokes are not rated for the speed/power of those loads. In a lot of cases it will fuse the choke to the barrel and it will be impossible to change chokes. That could be what happened to the guy on here that said his choke was stuck from rust, he may have not had so much a rust issue but a fused choke from shooting loads faster than the rated 1550 or to big of shot size for what the choke can handle. Just a thought. Plus them things kick like no other load and are a considerable amount louder. There is a lot more pressure in those loads regardless what they advertise for their new wad design. Have quite a bit of experience with things involving shotguns, for that is my passion over any other weapon.

[WSU]

I have had a 2000 for 3 years now and haven't had an issue.  I don't think I've had it jam yet and I have at least 4 or 5 cases of shells through it.

Also, I agree that you should go buy a tighter choke for whatever gun you end up hunting with.  It can make a big difference when it comes to actually killing ducks.

[duckmen1]

One big difference I've seen with after market chokes is an even spread in your pattern versus strings of shot or clumps of shot from the factory chokes. The four aftermarket chokes I've tried are truglo, primos, Carlton's, and kicks. Kicks is best by far with of everything you shoot patterning well. As far as loads go the only load I would stay away from is Winchester blindside. Tried that load in five shotguns with different chokes in each gun and consistently had the worst result I have ever seen in patterning. Plus even at close range the birds just don't seem to die consistently. Just our experience with a few thoughts to keep in mind.

[crow killer]

Me and my dad have stoegers he has the 3500 and nothin went wrong with it and it shot very smooth he said. And we went through I think 2 boxes with no problem

2 boxes???  It's not even broke in.  I think Benelli recommends a case of shells. 

I think I am around 36 cases of shells through my Benelli SBEII.  I am on my 3rd ejector plate and second recoil spring cylinder.  I shaved off 1/16"+ off the tail end of the plate and haven't had any issues since.

we haven't got the the lead yet for shooting clays