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The 3" shotshell wasn't introduced until 1923 and in only some heavily constructed heavy waterfowl guns.
This was the introduction of what we know today as the "Magnum" loading. 3" shells existed from back in the 1800's but they were not loaded particularly heavier. They had allowed for a better wad column with bulky powders such as either Black or Bulk Smokeless, both of which were the most commonly reloaded powders. About the maximum load for the day was 3Ľ to 3˝ drams or equivalent powder with 1Ľoz shot.
Western Cartridge Co. introduced their Super-X progressive burning powder loads in 12- and 20-gauge put up in their 2 3/4 inch FIELD shell in 1922. The Super-X 16-gauge load followed pretty closely on their heels but put up in the 2 9/16 inch FIELD shell. By the next year they got their 12-gauge 3-inch Super-X load of 1 3/8 ounce of shot on the market, put up in their high-brass RECORD shell.
Super-X loads 1923 --
Super-X loads 1929 --
It wasn't called a MAGNUM. While a number of our gun writers were throwing around the term, the first time I have found any of our North American ammunition companies calling a shotshell MAGNUM was when the 3 1/2 inch MAGNUM-Ten was introduced in 1932. The 12-gauge, 3-inch, progressive burning powder loads got the term MAGNUM in 1935, when along with the introduction of the Winchester Model 12 Heavy Duck, Western's Super-X and Winchester's Super-Speed were offered with a payload increased to 1 5/8 ounce of shot, but the 1 3/8 ounce loads were not called MAGNUM.
