3 1/2 magnum worth it?

B

Blindstitch

New member
I'm looking for a new Turkey and Goose gun and I stumbled on a great priced Mossberg 835. I'm a Mossberg fan so the gun looks like it will work great. Was thinking 3 1/2 inch mag for turkeys and regular 3 inch for ducks/geese.

Currently I don't have a gun willing to eat 3 inch and sometimes finding shells is tricky with steel shot.
 
You've got it backwards. You don't need or want 3.5 " shells for turkey. Those shells out of a typical weight shotgun have recoil in the same class as 458 WM. No turkey is worth the recoil and at best you'll add 5-10 yards to your effective range over 3" shells which are more than enough. A heavy 2 3/4" shell will do 90% of what you need for turkey.

Where the big shells pay off is when you have to use steel shot. Even for ducks steel 3" shells are usually enough. The only practical use for 3.5" shells is for geese. Also the steel shot doesn't recoil as bad because a typical shell will have less shot by weight.

Steel shot is lighter than lead and the rule of thumb is to go up 2 shot sizes in steel to get similar performance on game. When you go up to larger size shot you have far fewer pellets in each shell. Going to longer shells helps overcome this.

The 835 is a decent gun. Just because it will chamber 3.5" shells doesn't mean you have to use them. It will still shoot 2 3/4" as well as 3" shells just fine. But does give the option for those rare times you will need the bigger shells.
 
When I started turkey hunting the only shotgun that I owned with a 3" chamber was a single shot 20 gauge. It worked fine for my first two birds but I felt I needed something more so I bought a used 835 to be better suited for the purpose.

I have used the 3.5" turkey loads in #4, 5, & 6 shot through the years on a lot of birds and all have performed very well out to surprising distances. All have also delivered a very solid 'whump' to the shoulder, but it's not something you typically notice in the heat of the hunt. Patterning day at the range is another story all together and you will know that you've used 3.5's at the end of the day.

At typical distances say 15 to 30 yards, I don't honestly believe that there is much difference between a 3" and a 3.5" inch shells for turkeys, though my 835s (I now own 2 of them), do seem to shoot a slightly tighter pattern with the 3.5s over the 3". When you stretch that distance out to say 40 yards and further, I believe that the additional pellets in a 3.5" can and will put more pellets in the kill zone over a 3", but pushing out to say 60 yards is edging on pushing too far, though I have harvested a few effectively through the years at that distance with 3.5s.

Jmr40 is right, you don't need a 3.5" shell for turkey, but whether you want one or not is personal preference, and an 835 does provide you with that option should you choose it.
 
My reasoning for 3 1/2 inch for turkeys is I hunt well trafficed public land. Bringing a bird close may be possible but I have the feeling I won't have that luxury. I need all the bb's I can to stretch the range on these heavily hunted birds. Besides we're talking one or two shots not a whole box. I'd be happy to be bruised if I got a bird.

Goose hunting in a metro area won't be easy but geese are a lot more abundant.
 
not in my opinion, but....

Jmr has summoned up the ammo situation. I will tell you without qustion that 3.5" shells in the allow framed Moss 835 will get your undivided attention. We have one, and I have no interest in running 3.5" shell in it, no need.

With modern lead and heavier than lead shot, 3" is plenty for gobblers. The 3.5" came about as the result of migratory game bird steel shot laws. No need to worry about that (yet I hope) for turkeys.

The 835 is a pretty interesting gobbler gun. Recent models have a lot of good features, sights, reasonably short barrel, ported and back bored as well. They have a reputation for throwing good patterns too.

Colonial Arms makes a choke tube that is the near equal of the old Star Dot turkey tube and if you get the Mossberg you might want to consider one. The Star Dot is the holy grail for the 835, they sell used for a pretty penny, but the new Colonial is moderately priced, and much the same.
 
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The "more payload equals better patterns" logic makes sense, but is often not the case. A 3.5" long shot column in the barrel is alot of pellets getting deformed, and 3.5" patterns may not equal traditional 3" ones. It will take shooting to tell, and you will notice that.

As an example, I have some 3" shells that throw tighter patterns with 1-3/4 oz of shot, than shells with heavier payloads, , and often the 1-3/4 loads will yield denser patterns with a shot size heavier, ie, 1-3/4 oz of #5 will pattern better than 1-7/8 or 2 oz of #6. The 1-3/4 oz loads are faster too, which are a component of killing power and reach.

I suspect we have about reached the limit of useful payload in the 12 ga at 2 oz of shot. No proof of that, just an opinion. Moving up to 10 ga makes for a shorter shot stack ( did I just invent that phrase?) and maybe over 2 oz of shot work better in the 10 ga, I dunno. The 835 is back bored to 10 ga dia, but the 3.5" 12 ga shell still has the longer stack. And 10 ga guns are not really that portable for ridge running gobblers.
 
Recent models have a lot of good features, sights, reasonably short barrel, ported and back bored as well.
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They certainly have changed, without question. My original one is in the ancient looking Trebark kind of camo pattern, that is the one that is scoped. The newer one that I purchased used as well is in the Mossy Oak pattern or something like it and is ported with a fancier shaped forearm and such. I bought it in a pinch when I had a failure of another shotgun and was taking a trip in a couple days to turn a newbie onto stalking turkeys whom I was also loaning a shotgun to. I have since repaired the other shotgun that he was originally intended to use, but needed a quick fix at the time.

They changed something in the comb and or ergonomics of those two shotguns, because when I fire the newer one regardless of shell size, I wind up with a sore cheek from the recoil of shooting it. The original has never left me with a smarting cheek after shooting it, and I have taken the scope off to use it on clays and other game like geese through the years.
 
Here's one thing I don't get. There is a 835 Turkey at a local walmart for $385 and the nearest 535 turkey is $375 on sale. I even looked at a 500 turkey today at yet another store and I hope the price was wrong but it was camo with the flex stock for almost $600.

I also have a question about the 24 inch barrel of the 835 turkey. If you add the choke that's about 26 inches I think. Do you think it would be acceptable to shoot geese with just by adding a different choke? and not buying the 28 inch field barrel?

Reason I'm looking for another gun besides just getting a new barrel for my mossberg 500 that hates 3 inch shells is I'm the guy that takes a gunless friend hunting or to shoot clays. $125 for a new mossberg 500 barrel just makes sense to turn into another gun for me.

By the way I'm a fan of #4's for reaching out and slapping down birds.
 
Do you think it would be acceptable to shoot geese with just by adding a different choke?
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It worked just fine for me, but I could never find a palletable way to prepare the greasy buggars so I don't hunt them any more.
 
barrel length

There are lots of folks who waterfowl with a 24" turkey gun, in fact we acquired ours from a duck hunter. The shorter turkey barrel may or may not work for you.

The thing with longer barrels is sight plane and weight for a better swing. Most folks seem to find that a longer barrel points better and the additional weight forward enhances swing and follow through, important for consistent hits when wing shooting. Before I ran out and bought a barrel, I'd shoot some informal claybirds and see how it goes. Since waterfowling has a mag plug 3 shot rule, you might add a "heavy" plug to see if that helps with swing.
 
I think i'm going to wait a while on this purchase. Rational says I should pay off my truck first. That should be done by goose season.

I would prefer a 28 inch barrel but i'm sure I could make the 24 work. I have a month to go before my turkey weekend so I guess I'll focus on more important things.

How is the price of $385. Seems low to me. That's why I was going to jump on it.
 
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