Hunting Washington Forum

Other Hunting => Turkey Hunting => Topic started by: cjjcb on February 18, 2022, 01:49:00 PM

Title: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: cjjcb on February 18, 2022, 01:49:00 PM: Sorry if it's a silly question but I honestly don't know. I know you can shoot 2 3/4" out of a 3"chamber so I'm guessing you could launch a 3" out of a 3 1/2".

Thanks for the help.
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: ellensburgpo on February 18, 2022, 01:50:24 PM: Yup
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: cjjcb on February 18, 2022, 01:51:55 PM: Thanks for the quick response E.

Appreciate it.
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: pianoman9701 on February 18, 2022, 02:42:16 PM: or 2 3/4"
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: cjjcb on February 18, 2022, 02:59:25 PM: Make sense.

Thanks MM.
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: Oldguy on February 18, 2022, 03:15:36 PM: I love it that this site is so helpful and respectful of people ask for help and it is given without criticism or making fun of the question. :tup:
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: wadu1 on February 18, 2022, 03:29:28 PM: Yes you can, it should be marked that way on the barrel.
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: h20hunter on February 18, 2022, 03:35:29 PM: Following along as my thought was well, maybe! Barrel tells the tale as mentioned as I assume the answer is not yes in every case. Better safe than sorry!
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: Parasite on February 18, 2022, 04:53:49 PM: A guy I knew when I was younger shot a 3" shell out of a 2.75" Ithaca bottom eject/loader. He had stolen one of my 3" shells and approached me to ask why the shell wouldn't eject out of his gun. I explained.

He was never the sharpest knife in the drawer and still isnt to this day.

By the way, shell fired fine, just got stuck ejecting. Still cant say I recommend it. Sort of like shooting "cut shells". I'm surprised shotguns can handle shooting those.
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: lokidog on February 18, 2022, 05:35:11 PM: Quote from: h20hunter on February 18, 2022, 03:35:29 PM
Following along as my thought was well, maybe! Barrel tells the tale as mentioned as I assume the answer is not yes in every case. Better safe than sorry!

How could it not be yes? :dunno:

Quote from: Parasite on February 18, 2022, 04:53:49 PM
A guy I knew when I was younger shot a 3" shell out of a 2.75" Ithaca bottom eject/loader. He had stolen one of my 3" shells and approached me to ask why the shell wouldn't eject out of his gun. I explained.

He was never the sharpest knife in the drawer and still isnt to this day.

By the way, shell fired fine, just got stuck ejecting. Still cant say I recommend it. Sort of like shooting "cut shells". I'm surprised shotguns can handle shooting those.

I had a duck hunt in So Cal and bought the last box of shells on the way to the desert. After the second one I shot failed to eject, I realized I had accidentally bought a box of 3" for my 2 3/4" 870. The first shat actually did eject as I was racking it for a second shot, the second one I went to eject into my hand and stopped. Luckily, one of my buddies had the right size shells for me and the right size gun for my shells.
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: BD1 on February 18, 2022, 06:29:23 PM: Just curious but what gun are you shooting that is strictly chambered in 3 1/2?
Title: Re: Can you shoot 3" when the gun is chambersed for 3 1/2"?
Post by: Bob33 on February 18, 2022, 07:31:19 PM: A gun chambered for 2 3/4 inch shells will fire a 3 inch cartridge. The problem is that the chamber its too short to allow the crimp to fully open without hitting the forcing cone. The best case is nothing bad happens. What could happen is damage to the barrel. It may even be possible to fire a 3 1/2 inch cartridge in a 3 inch chamber, but the 1/ 2 inch difference will almost certainly result in damage.

It should always be safe to fire a shorter cartridge than the chamber is designed for but not vice versa