doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 3" shells, a solution to a problem we don't have

The .410 hunting thread got me thinking about how we try to make one bore or gauge do what the one above it does. Like a 3" 20 trying to do what a 2 3/4" 12 can easily do. Or a 3" .410 doing what a 28 can easily do.

So my question is, are 3" shells really needed or should we just move up one size? It is not like we don't have other options in most cases. It is sad to hear guns lament being left behind while we take out others just because we have 3" shells.

Not that I would ever admit it to my wife but I could cover everything with just a 12 and a .410. Half ounce up to well more than 1 1/2 ounce, all covered by two guns. It is just too simple. Thank goodness she never will learn it from me.

Well, some say weight is an issue with hunting guns so a 3" 20 will weigh less than a 12 most of the time.

Me? I am different!, I use a different gun for each dove outing from 410 to 10 gauge during the season. That way the gun crib stays in harmony.

Way to go! Five days, five guns in five different gauges, for me.

Probably. I would say single triggers on a double are from the same column of answers we didn't ask the question of, as well.
In Europe, a lot of the 28 gauge guns were chambered and proofed at 2 1/2".

Best,
Ted

Whatever it is, You don't have to buy it. If nobody else bought it, they wouldn't make it.

In some places we are restricted by law to twelve.
They only said how round & not how long.
Three is good in that condition.
Get a decent payload of steel with more oomph.
Who can complain.
O.M

We may be missing the obvious here. That there are thousands of homes where a .410 single shot is the only gun a kid has, or is the garden gun of the little old lady of the house. We have multiple guns, in multiple gauges, and can choose between any gauge we want. It's all disposable income for us.

I started out chasing quail, rabbits squirrels and doves with a .410 S x S at age 8. I never even saw a 2 1/2" shell until I was well into my middle age. There are lots of kids still like that, I believe. The 3/4 oz. loading is a great option in that gun.

I don't think the 3" shell is a solution to a problem. I don't think there is a problem there. It's just another choice. One that I happily embrace. I'm in the process of working up a 3" load of 3/4 oz. nickel plated 8s. It's just fun, but you're right, it's not something I need.

SRH

The 2 1/2 inch 28-gauge shell with a load of 1 3/4 drams of bulk smokeless powder pushing 5/8 ounce of shot was the "standard" in the U.S. from the 28-gauges's introduction until 1932. Unlike the 12-, 16- and 20-gauge shells in the first thirty years of the 20th Century which came in a plethora of lengths, the only optional length our North American ammunition companies offered for the 28-gauge was 2 7/8 inch which could be had with a slightly hotter 2 dram load pushing the same 5/8 ounce load. With bulk smokeless powder --



With dense smokeless powder --







In late 1931, Western Cartridge Co. introduced their 3/4 ounce 28-gauge progressive burning powder, high velocity, Super-X load put up in their 2 7/8 inch FIELD shell.





Shortly before the U.S. got into WW-II our ammunition companies began offering 28-gauge skeet loads put up in a 2 3/4 inch shell and shortly after WW-II they did away with the 2 1/2 and 2 7/8 inch lengths and standardized the 28-gauge in a 2 3/4 inch hull.

Thank you Researcher- your post are always great. I just love looking at the old ads and pictures.

I've always shot 3" steel at ducks (not counting the good ol' days of lead) and I bought some 2 3/4" steel a couple years ago on a whim, and they seem to be doing the job just fine for me. Love the low recoil.