![]() ![]() ![]() payloads: no heavier than many older 23⁄4-inch lead loads, much less 3-inch 12-gauge shells.īut even though standard-length shells and the guns that shoot them can certainly get the job done, we cannot deny the appeal of shotguns that will shoot 31⁄2-inch shells, in part because they will shoot nearly any 12-gauge shotshell out there. Typical steel 31⁄2-inch shells are 13⁄8-oz. The 23⁄4-inch “baby magnum” lead shotshell has always had a 11⁄2-oz. The preconceived notion is that a 31⁄2-inch shell is automatically a Roman candle-but that is far from the truth. Whether a 31⁄2-inch 12 gauge makes a lot of sense today is another matter. Thats not quite obsolete, but Federal Cartridge currently lists only five 10-gauge loads, while the company offers more than 75 different 12-gauge shotshells. It was the Mossberg 835 slide-action that helped launch it, and it was the proliferation of the long shell that sealed the demise of the 10-gauge shotgun, as you can actually get more performance out of a 12-gauge 31⁄2-inch load, chambering it in a shotgun that is less bulky, more versatile, and less costly to shoot than a comparable 10-gauge gun. ![]() Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1988, the last “new” production shotshell cartridge of any note was introduced by Federal Cartridge Company: the 31⁄2-inch 12 gauge. ![]()
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