# Remington 870 3 1/2" Shells



## Nitro Mag

what could i do to be able to shoot 3 1/2 inch shells out of my Remington 870 Express. It is not magnum so max shell size is 3 inches. could anyone enlighten me if possible?


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## southdakbearfan

99% sure it is not possibly and not a good idea.

The reciever opening will not be large enough along with the chamber and 3 1/2" 12 ga. shotguns are made to withstand about 2500 psi more than 3" guns 12 ga. guns.

MAX 12 ga 3" 11,500 psi
MAX 3 1/2" 12 ga. 14,000 psi.

I have heard of 2 3/4 in being modified to 3", but they shoot to the same max pressure.


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## spentwings

If you used steel only a barrel chambered for 3 1/2" might be safe, but don't know if 3 1/2 will feed in a 3" action and as mentioned the receiver opening may be to small.

I have an older Rem 1100 2 3/4 that I bought a 3" barrel for and it works fine.... but safe with steel loads only.


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## dsm16428

THE *ONLY* WAY YOU ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SHOOT 3 1/2 INCH SHELLS OUT OF YOUR CURRENT 870 IS TO PUT IT UP IN THE GUN CABINET AND GO BUY THE 870 EXPRESS SUPER MAG!! EVEN THOUGH THE FRAME AND CHAMBER MIGHT NOT BLOW UP IN YOUR FACE AND SERIOUSLY *INJURE*, *MAME*, *AND/OR KILL YOU* THE FIRST (AND LAST) TIME YOU TRIED IT, IT IS JUST NOT A WISE THING TO TRY!! BESIDES...WHAT DO YOU NEED 3 1/2'S FOR ANYWAYS? DEEPENDING ON WHAY YOU ARE HUNTING EITHER A STOUT HIGH VELOCITY 1 3/4 oz. LOAD OF #4'S (FOR TURKEY), OR A 1 1/4 oz. LOAD OF BB (FOR GEESE SHOULD DO YA JUST FINE! BOTH IN 3 INCH SHELLS OF COURSE. 
AND IF YOU TRULY WANT TO SHOOT 3 1/2 INCHERS, YOU MIGHT WANNA LOOK AT THE MOSSBERG 835'S. WELL BUILT, SHOOT EVERYTHING, AND IS UTTERLY RELIABLE...AND USUALLY A WHOLE LOT CHEAPER THAN THE 870.


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## spentwings

The Oct issue of Outdoor Life has an interesting article... *Magnum Myth Do 3 1/2 shells kill birds at longer ranges?*


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## southdakbearfan

Yeah, I read that article, too bad it was a biased comparison where they used the 20 yr old 1 9/16 oz at 1350 fps loading for comparison to the new high velocity 2 3/4 and 3" loads.

I actually thought it was well below outdoor life standards.


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## NDTerminator

Nitro Mag said:


> what could i do to be able to shoot 3 1/2 inch shells out of my Remington 870 Express. It is not magnum so max shell size is 3 inches. could anyone enlighten me if possible?


You can't do it and will most likely be a sorry monkey if you try...

If you want to shoot 3.5", you have to buy one. With all due respect to the guys who have had good luck with them, I've had a couple Mossy 835's and both were lemons with major function issues out of the box. The 870 SP or Express Super Mag 3.5" are far superior. I never owned an 870 that didn't function perfectly. An advantage the 3.5" 870's have is that they cycle 3.5" with the same length pump stroke as 3" 870's.

Two days ago my wife bought herself a new Remington 887 SPS (Max 4 camo & comes with an extended steel IC choke) that is a very intriguing design. Supposed to be completely impervious to weather and cost Just $470 (the black non-camo version was $400).

I shoot 3.5" for some goose hunting but nothing else. Nice to have the option, though...


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## duckmander

Yep the only way to do this is to buy the 3 1/2" version.

Or you could reload your 3"ers and have better performance then either of them.


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