Poll of the Day > Have you ever fired a 3" Magnum Buckshot shell? (12 gauge)

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've been shooting for about 25 years, and I recently went to buy more ammunition to stock up at the house. They were out of the 2 3/4" 00Buckshot that I usually use for home defense, they only had 3" magnum shells. I figured, well, I know my shotgun is rated for it, so what could it hurt? But I know I needed to test fire it at the range before I loaded it for a home defense round... so I packed up my gun and headed to the range.

Fuck that!

That was the most awesomely brutal thing I've ever fired in 25 years. I have a lightweight shotgun with the shortest legal barrel length, so the recoil is a little harder in general than a full weight shotgun, but still. By the time I ejected the 5th cartridge, I was extremely certain I would never, ever, ever want this round for home defense. 2 3/4" stays in my gun today, men.
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Also, yes, I'm aware there's a 3.5" magnum shell, but my shotgun isn't rated for that, so 3" is my max.
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Yeah, that seems like it would defeat some of the purpose of using a shotgun for home defense in the first place.

I did shoot a 10 gauge magnum once, my grandfather used it for goose hunting. It was a heavier gun overall, I used to joke that the barrel was long enough that he could just hit the birds with it, so the recoil probably wasn't as bad but definitely not something I'd want to spend a whole day firing. (Or carrying.)

I haven't but I've seen a video of a guy who did.
It was pretty badass. :-)
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rjsilverthorn posted...

Yeah, that seems like it would defeat some of the purpose of using a shotgun for home defense in the first place.

I did shoot a 10 gauge magnum once, my grandfather used it for goose hunting. It was a heavier gun overall, I used to joke that the barrel was long enough that he could just hit the birds with it, so the recoil probably wasn't as bad but definitely not something I'd want to spend a whole day firing. (Or carrying.)

That's hilarious lmao. Yeah, I put the rest of my 3" shells in the safe, just in case we ever get invaded by armored rhinoceroses.

Also, LOL. I just found a video of someone shooting the 3.5" Magnums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrwJrImw2R8
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SusanGreenEyes posted...

I haven't but I've seen a video of a guy who did.
It was pretty badass. :-)

Awesome. Yeah, it was wild, but I left very convinced that the tried and true 2 3/4" was the way to go for anything I'd likely encounter in my life. lol
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NO!
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Nope, I'm not really a shotgun guy so I haven't ever bothered with it.
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