to 3.5" or not to 3.5"

J

john in jax

New member
Found a good deal on a 12ga Mossberg 835 multi-mag and for no good reason bought it. It will shoot/accept 2.75", 3" and 3.5" shells.

I'm a deer and hog hunter that doesn't get to hunt often, but when I do get out in the woods I'm usually toting a .308 during general gun. The shotgun only sees daylight during small game when I'm hog hunting (since center-fire rifles are not allowed).

Is it worth paying the xtra $$ for 3.5" 00 buckshot? 3 additional pellets is a good thing and I guess worth the loss of +/-100 f.p.s., but is really that much better than a 3" mag 00 buckshot?

AND, "NO" I really don't know why I bought another shotgun - I think I need to find a 12-step program somewhere. . . but it was a bargain, it was camo, I didn't have one . . . as I said no good reason.
 
I would guess that you would find out why it's being sold for such a good deal just by firing it with 3.5" mags. It should pretty much shake your fillings right out of you.;)
 
all of my friends and i have bought 3.5" shotguns (i started it) and have never looked back. what i like the best about them is its like having a 10ga that you can hunt any game with, and use it like a 10ga when you need to. im going to try and start reloading for mine, but lead only since i don't really hunt ducks i can just buy a box for that.

i think that the 3.5" 12ga will be replacing the 10ga in a while.
 
recoil of a 835 mossberg

+1,2,3,and for for the recoil factor.I got a 835,will knock the :barf: out of someone who isn't familiar with that much recoil,just ask my cousin,he thinks he's tough and thought it wouldn't hurt that bad:D,and volunteered to try out some federal 3.5 ooBuck,one pair of 150.00 oakley's split into and a bloody nose he figured out he wasn't so tough.
 
3.5"s have some serious kick. For fun a bunch of guys on a farm near here (including myself) took turns shooting one 3.5" each at a variety of empty boxes. It knocked one guy down (unprepared, I guess), and gave us all a renewed respect for it.
 
For whatever reason, my mossy 835 has BRUTAL recoil with 3.5" shells. I also have a baikal mp-153 gas auto, and shooting the same shells it kicks about half what that sorry mossy does, and the mooseturd even has a ported barrel! Also, the 835 will actually jam frequently--totally unacceptable for a pump gun.
 
Wow! Not exactly what I expected to hear. I'm built like a tank, and don't mind recoil so I think I'll buy one (1) box to give it a try. Many thanks for the advice, hopefully it'll keep me from landing on my backside.

I've got plenty of 3" to fall back on if I can't take it.
 
I have an 835 and hunt turkeys with 3.5" shells. Yeah, they kick... but it's not as big a deal (to me) as most make it out to be. It's comparable to shooting a hot 45/70 or 450 Marlin load in a rifle. One or two ain't so bad, but you wouldn't want to shoot a lot of 'em at one time.
 
I have a Benelli and it is pretty light.I patterned it with 3 1/2 buckshot and it is unpleasant,but you don't notice it in the excitement of shooting at game.It may have some advantage in duck hunting because the shot string is longer.I don't know that the difference in 15 or 18 shot is going to matter much deer hunting.
 
Thanks guys. I know patterning the gun is going to be rough, but as mentioned above, when hunting, adrenalin should momentarily keep me from feeling the pain of 1 or maybe 2 shots a day.
 
3.5"s do kick out of the 835, i love it though. the gun, not the recoil. i've gotten nicer scatterguns since but i'm keeping the ol' pump as my dedicated turkey gun. patterning in is always a party. first time i ever did it i put at least 2 boxes of 3.5"ers down, had a little bit of a black eye the next day from keeping my head down on the stock. this last year i kept it to 3 or 4 shells of my preferred ammo and it still gave me a headache. the good news is you never feel it in the field.
 
for those that can't handle the kick of the 3.5 get a knoxx stock for it. It really reduces the recoil more than half. Originally got one for a 30/06 on a mauser action I was building for a friend and when I shot it I coulnd't believe it, felt like a .223. I bought one for a 500 mosberg I have and my wife (5'5" 115lbs) can shoot 3" mag goose loads the whole day with it (still can't get her to shoot a .357 pistol but that is a different story).

As far as the 835 I would recommend the knoxx stock and the reasons you bought it were the same I use to convince myself. I always say that I am just getting one more, I can always quit whenever I want to :) . Happy hunting.
 
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