2 3/4 " barrel vs 3"

[flrfh213]

i am new to shotguns, most i have seen have 2 3/4 shell only on tube, what controls shell size? if i get a second barrel can i get 1 able to shoot a 3" mag or is it the main gun part that controls shell size?
i plan to use it for skeet mainly, HD as an option , and may hunt with it next bird season. i am looking at a Remington 1100 pump with rem-choke for $150, what do yall think, what suggestions might yall have?

thanks in advance

 

[Tamren]

I'm not sure if control is the right term, the difference between a 2 3/4" and a 3" is how far the chamber is cut into the barrel.

You can fire a 2 3/4" shell out of a 3" chamber with no problems, but a 2 3/4" chamber doesn't have enough depth to allow a 3" shell to fully unfold during firing. That can lead to what's called a "pressure situation" or the possibility of blowing out the side of your barrel if the load is hot enough .

So, the barrel chamber determines if it's safe to shoot a 3" shell or not.

As for the internal working on a reciever, that depends on the model of the shotgun.

On an 870 for example, you can put a 3" barrel on an older 2 3/4" reciever with no danger of the gun blowing up, but the ejection port isn't big enough to allow the 3" casing to eject. This will mean trouble getting the spent shell casing out of the gun in between every shot, you may be able to get it out by hand, or you may have to take the barrel off every time.

 

[chas08]

i

am looking at a Remington 1100 pump with rem-choke for $150, what do yall think, what suggestions might yall have?

Well , first off, an 1100 is not a pump. It's a semi-automatic. And for the 1100 there are barrels that will shoot 3" steel shot perfectly fine on a standard 2 3/4 " reciever. but they are intended for "STEEL SHOT ONLY" in the 3" length (I have one and it works great) As I understand it, the reciever is the same on Magnum as well as Standard recievers with regard, to a couple of components that absorb the energy of the heavy "LEAD" shot charges. Forum member "Virginian" is much better equiped to explain this than I. I hope he chimes in. NEVER shoot a shell that is longer than the barrel is rated for. Best wishes...chas

 

[flrfh213]

thank yoy gents, i do not plan on shooting a 3 inch shell in a 2 3/4 barrel, i was asking if a standard gun with 2 3/4 remobe the barrel and install a 3 inch mag barrelon the 2 3/4 inch stock/chamber. but tarman hit it on the head. well guess i need to go look at the gun again, i thought it was stamped 1100 but i know for fact it is pump action. and for what it is wirth, several friends and family(with little to no knowlage) keep talking bout the 3 inch mag round.... is it that much better than 2 3/4 shell? but either way thank you.

 

[JimKirk]

If it is a Model 1100, it is NOT a pump, it is a auto loader.

Look again.

Jimmy K

 

[CajunBass]

I was told the Remington 1100 magnun receiver is NOT the same as the standard receiver. The ejection port is cut longer for one thing. Back in the day when I owned both, I was told you could put a 2 3/4" barrel on a magnun receiver and it would work. But you could/should not put a 3" barrel on a standard receiver. I know people who did, and it seemed they never had any trouble, but apparently it batters the receiver pretty hard, and the shorter ejection port is more prone to hanging up.

Again this is what I was told back then. I never tried swapping them around since (1) I had both guns and didn't need to, and (2) what I was being told seemed reasonable to me.

 

[lobo9er]

if 3"mag is what you want to shoot i would say pick up a new shotgun. there are plenty resonable shotguns that chamber 3".

 

[bob9125]

As to your question on whether a 3" shell is better than a 2 3/4" shell, it depends. If you shoot waterfowl at great distances, you might need a 3" shell for maximum performance, but many a duck and goose has been shot with the shorter shell. As a general rule, you will be more comfortable (from a recoil standpoint) if you use the shorter shell. Shells are tools for getting a job done. I take the position that using the smallest tool that will get the job done is a good use of resources. If you don't get a clean kill with 2 3/4", switch 3", otherwise stick with the shorter shell.

 

[ArmedBear]

I was told the Remington 1100 magnun receiver is NOT the same as the standard receiver. The ejection port is cut longer for one thing. Back in the day when I owned both, I was told you could put a 2 3/4" barrel on a magnun receiver and it would work.

I had an 1100 Magnum with a 3" and a 2 3/4" barrel and both worked. The 2 3/4" barrel cycled lighter loads fine. That said, I'd get something else.

BTW I'm no longer sold on the 870 for critical applications, either. I was duck hunting and stuffed in a shell backwards since I was watching the air, not my loading port. It was hell getting the gun un-jammed. Ditto for the 1100.

But for skeet, a $150 1100 would work.

 

[Virginian]

Labels aside, the only differences between a 3" Model 1100 and a 2-3/4" model are the barrel and the action bar sleeve. The receivers weigh the same and measure the same. The springs are the same, etc. On an 870 it's the barrel, ejector, and ejector spring that are different between the two models.
For home defense, 2-3/4" is way more than adequate for any conceivable situaton in any neighborhood I have ever lived in, unless, you want to play .... Maximum Mall Ninja. Then you need a 5 pound, pistol grip only, 12 shot, 3-1/2" Magnum, with a heat shield, flashlight, a laser sight, sling, a bayonet lug, and a door breacher on the end of the barrel.
I believe most of the serious competitors in tactical games use 2-3/4" ammo almost exclusively as well, but I am not well versed in those games. And I am not belittling anyones else's games either. All I am doing is playing too, just different games.

 

[rcmodel]

The 3" shells came to be more common after the passage of the law that banned lead shot for migratory waterfowl. And then they invented 3 1/2" shells for the same reason.

Steel shot is less dense then lead shot, so you need a longer shell to get more of in there.

If you plan to be a goose hunter, that's probably what you need to get.

For normal upland hunting of anything else, ducks over decoys, trap & skeet, sporting clays, shooting beer cans, and HD, a 2 3/4" shell is all you will ever need or want.

In certain models of guns, a 2 3/4" version may have a shorter receiver, pump action, and in general be lighter, easier to operate, & faster then the same gun with a Magnum length action.

rc

 

[Fred Fuller]

I was duck hunting and stuffed in a shell backwards since I was watching the air, not my loading port. It was hell getting the gun un-jammed

AB,

Works that way for every tubular magazine shotgun I've ever tried it on. And the backwards shell in the magazine is the worst tie-up a tube magazine repeater can see, IMHO.

The old gun skool trick of always loading with the support hand, cupping the shell to be loaded in the fingers, oriented with the crimp to the pointing finger and the rim to the little finger, and feeling for the rim in the process of getting the shell cupped, has always worked well for me in avoiding loading shells backwards.

I quit using magazine spring retainers in my working 870s just in case I ever mess up, though. Remove the magazine cap and dump out the magazine contents, reinstall the follower and spring and put the mag cap back on. Kinda interesting controlling the mag spring if the mag was mostly full, but hey- beats flopping around with a shut-down gun.

fwiw,

lpl