The use of 3 1/2 shells is important only if you want to shoot those shells. If you do, you have made the choice.
You don't say what kind of gun. I do not have a lot of good things to say about the Savage double guns. They were made to a price and often give trouble. But when they do work, they are reliable and rugged. In other words, there is little in-between; they work OK or they don't work.
The problem with Charles Daly is that it is not a manufacturer, it is a trade mark, and CD guns have been made by many makers, mostly foreign, over the years, so the guns can range from quite decent to near-junk. Worse, the importer at any given time might or might not offer support or honor warranties on guns imported by previous companies.
Jim