You don't need a 3.5 in gun. What u have will work fine for geese. I can tell u , you won't like the recoil of a 3.5 in shell in that gun.

 

If someone says they have never had a malfunction they are either lying or have not been shooting/hunting very long. Every gun can have problems. The 870 is probably the most popular pump shotgun in the US.

 

I have used both an 870 (super mag) and a Browning Maxus hunting geese. I also have a Beretta Xtreme plus I got this year that I used for waterfowling and would have shot a goose with it while duck hunting but none came in this year. They are all fantastic goose guns. If shooting 3.5" shells, I would highly recommend a gas semi.

One of the only failures I've seen for an 870 is a friend in N. Dakota hunting geese. His was full of grit and to release the forend, he jammed the stock on the ground and the synthetic stock shattered. He also cares not for his equipment (breaks anything and everything) and has the anti-midas touch. He could break an anvil. So I would not base anything on his experience, but it did happen.

 

I have an 870 Express super mag and had to send it back to Remington twice to fix a failure to eject problem, and it still didn't fix the problem. I also honed the chamber a couple of times. Now there's no more Remington to get help from. At the time, I found out online that there were many failure to eject issues with the gun.

I bought it for and used it on waterfowl and the shell I was using at the time was 3" Kent fasteel loads. I can't recall if I ever tried a 3.5" shell through it. Since I quit using it, I've had other guns fail to reliably eject the Kent fasteel loads, so it may be the issue is not so much the gun as the ammo.

 

I have an 870 Express super mag and had to send it back to Remington twice to fix a failure to eject problem, and it still didn't fix the problem. I also honed the chamber a couple of times. Now there's no more Remington to get help from. At the time, I found out online that there were many failure to eject issues with the gun.

Yes! I forgot about this. I got mine in 1997 or so. I did have issues when I first got it with the extractor. I had to stone it smooth as it was super rough and would cause ejection issues. Once I did that, it has been fine (my friend just used it as a loaner gun a couple weeks ago on ducks and had never shot a pump and had no issues).

 

I shoot Canada Geese over decoys with a 12 gauge 3inch chamber 870 full choke using Federal speed shok 3 inch 1.25 oz BB... but I wait for shots 35 yards or less. This load is very effective at this range.. but out 40 or 45yds it gets iffy because the load gets thin and the shooters ability to lead properly. I hunt in very bad weather...never had a malfunction.

 

I have taken an 870 many times goose hunting, didn't have any failures, kick was more than desirable with 3" mags. I've also taken my SBE and Xplor many times with one failure with the Xplor, the mag cut-off pins fell out, kept hunting though and fixed it later. All good guns.

 

I had an 870 Super Mag and used it for duck and goose hunting. Used it for several years until I bought an Ithaca Mag 10 for those geese. The 3 1/2 inch shells recoil stoutly and were not pleasant to shoot but got the job done. With the 3 1/2 shells you had to be very deliberate when pumping to eject the fired shells or it would jam. Basically like when you short stroke any 870 is what it was like. A 3 inch Mag will be all is needed for duck and goose quite honestly.
870's are excellent guns. Turbo

 

I second the idea of you don’t need 3.5 inch shells to hunt geese. And they kick like a mule on steroids.

The worst thing about goose hunting is dumb heads skybusting.

 

If you want a full scale thunder stick try and find a used Browning BPS 10 gauge. No longer made, they will bring down anything that flys. Very reliable, top tang safety, recoil is manageable.

 

I have the bps in 10 & 12ga 3-1/2
I also own the Mossberg 835 ULTIMAG both the 12's will kill anything Just as far and just as fast as My bps 10 does and the kick on the 3.5 12 ga isn't bad at all,

 

because then i cant explain to my girlfriend why i need another gun 😂 in all seriousness i was told i needed to shoot 3.5” at goose and turkey if i wanted to down em w no issue. After reading these comments i see that i can shoot 3” and i could take my turkish investment if i felt like it. but i bought the 870 for this specific purpose so i might as well.

 

Anyone who told u that you need a 3.5 in to kill geese is an idiot and doesn't know squat about waterfowling. How did we kill geese in the past with 2 3/4 in guns?? Lol!
A 3in gun will kill every goose in range IF u do your part.

 

so then whats the point of the 3.5” shells? surely its not for shooting pheasant

 

Skybusters that think u need them. If u want to shoot them go ahead. Someone always wants more perceived advantage. 99 % of the patterns I shot with 3 1/2 in shells were worse than any 3 in or 23/4 in shell. If you want a real 3 1/2 gun go with a 10 ga. At your stage of learning , you have a ways to go before you need the gun for longer ranges. Keep shooting your Turkish gun and it will kill any goose in shotgun range or your ability to shoot.

 

It depends on what kind of goose hunting you are doing. If you are hunting in layout blinds over decoys most of your shots are going to be 20-35 yards and you don't need a 3.5" shell for those situations. If you are going to be in a pit shooting passing geese 50 yards or higher a 3.5" shell isn't a must but it sure helps. I waterfowl hunt a bunch and kill a lot of geese every year with my Benelli and 3" shells but depending on conditions I've used 3.5" shells in the past. A few die hards in our group still shoot 870s and generally don't have problems. It's a pump shotgun and if it has a problem feeding or ejecting you just end up with a single shot for the rest of the hunt. It's not an ideal situation but you can make it work. You might want to try some 3.5" loads before you go hunting with them. They can pound you a bit.

And you don't need a 3.5" shell to kill turkeys. I've been killing my limit of turkeys every year longer than most of you have been alive and have always used a 2 3/4" mag dram equivalent load of lead #5s... Never had one get up an run off or fail to drop dead..maybe with a little flapping. LOL

 

for anyone not aware the super express magnum is chambered in 3.5” and i bought it thinking i would use it for an upcoming geese hunt.
I commented to my dad and he said that 100% of the 870’s hes seen used in a goose hunt have failed, and that every benelli/beretta that has gone has always worked.
With that comment out of the way who here has taken an 870 on a goose hunt and had malfunctions? Who here has not had malfunctions? Who here has had malfunctions with a B gun on a goose hunt

I used an 870 Express SM for geese for a season quite successfully but hated the way it kicked and sold it to one of my hunting buddies who's been running it now for about 15 years with zero issues. Have seen the same basic results with three other people that I hunt with regularly. The only time I've seen any ejection issues with one was one guy who didn't handle the rather mule-like jolt from 3 1/2" Black Cloud shells well and wasn't really racking the gun. We convinced him it was operator error by two others of us taking the gun and killing limits with it with no problems while he shot a gas auto I handed him. Net result: The 870 is now permanently parked in his safe beside a spanking new Beretta that he actually uses.

I second/third/fourth others here telling you that you really don't need 3 1/2" shells to kill geese.......BUT: If you REALLY want to go full howitzer on 'em, find yourself a 1st generation BPS 10 - that 10 Lb cannon soaks up recoil FAR better than a lighter gun and opens up the option to efficiently use shot larger than BB. I quit lugging mine around about the time I turned 65 in favor of an SX3 that kills geese just fine and weighs about 3 Lbs. less.

 

If You’ve already purchased the 870 then use it, especially if thats why You bought it, but You don’t have to use 3.5” shells just because it accepts them. I’m only saying this in the event You’re new to shotguns/hunting/etc. You’ve been asking a lot of questions,……good questions, and I wasn’t sure if You were aware of that. Save You’re shoulder, 2.75 & 3” will work quite effectively.
BTW: That 870 is an excellent shotgun.
Have a good hunt young man.
Shoot Well
Bob

 

for anyone not aware the super express magnum is chambered in 3.5” and i bought it thinking i would use it for an upcoming geese hunt.
I commented to my dad and he said that 100% of the 870’s hes seen used in a goose hunt have failed, and that every benelli/beretta that has gone has always worked.
With that comment out of the way who here has taken an 870 on a goose hunt and had malfunctions? Who here has not had malfunctions? Who here has had malfunctions with a B gun on a goose hunt

Really ? I have hunted all over Canada and Mexico for Geese and my Old Wingmaster
has never failed me .Could it be operator's error ? Even though my 870 is a 3" gun I
mainly shoot 2 3/4" shells hand loaded for the birds I'm after !

 

Canada geese too! Don't you know you need a flak 88 to take those down?

 

Bought an express the first year they came out for my daughter. I have used it for goose hunt hunting every year since. Never had an issue with it. Mud,snow,sand and rain doesn’t stop it from working. The only thing I have done was to polish the chamber with steel wool. With steel BBs in a modified choke you can kill large Canada geese out to 50 yards if you do your part.

 

You don't no stinking 3.5 inch mega 12 gauge load. With modern ammo, with the latest non-lead shot, you don't need that much gun. Check out this video of a goose hunter taking his limit of geese over decoys using a 28 gauge:

 

Every Guide I've ever hunted geese with was using 3.5 inch shells.

 

When the 3.5" shell was first introduced the steel 3" factory shells were quite pathetic as far as killing & not crippling waterfowl . Slow velocity's really hurt them. The 3.5" was a great help if you couldn,t shoot a 10 gauge. As years have progressed steel waterfowl ammo in the 1400 FPS and higher range has greatly improved the effectiveness of 3" & 2 3/4" shells. A 3' x 1 1/4 oz. shell with 2,s ,1,s or BB,s will cleanly kill geese at 40 yds and maybe a bit farther with the right shooter. Stick a mod. choke in that 870 and shoot some 3" x 1 1/4 oz. 2,s or 1,s . If you hit them they,ll die.

 

for anyone not aware the super express magnum is chambered in 3.5” and i bought it thinking i would use it for an upcoming geese hunt.
I commented to my dad and he said that 100% of the 870’s hes seen used in a goose hunt have failed, and that every benelli/beretta that has gone has always worked.
With that comment out of the way who here has taken an 870 on a goose hunt and had malfunctions? Who here has not had malfunctions? Who here has had malfunctions with a B gun on a goose hunt

100% of 870s failed, that’s BS. Unless he saw one 870 that had problems. I have owned more than one 870 and they were very reliable. Like others have said 3.5” shells are brutal in a fixed breach gun.

 

Install a FalconStrike pad on that Express and feel the difference. They really work! I have them installed on three of my shotguns.

 

I dont want to ruffle feathers or hurt feelings but the statement, as many others have said, of 100% of 870s failing in the field is pure BS. It had to be of only 1 gun. Why did it fail and what was its failure?
I used to waterfowl guide in Southern Illinois in the great lead waterfowl era. Geese by the millions came down n through. We killed em like no other. I guided hunters with guns l had to put together for they knew not how to straight from the box. Clothes still had tags or creases because they were brand new. We killed geese. I shot a model 12 with reloaded Federal paper 2-3/4" copper 2s of 1-1/4oz. Then copper BBs, same load but 1-1/2oz. Last load was a 3". Killed hundreds of them as my own harvested bird, or as clean up for cripples for clients. Used 4s for cripples.
Along came steel. I quit. Would not shoot it. Too slow, not good at all. Waterfowl hunters wanted/needed more. Steel gets stuffed into bigger hull. Reaching 10ga payloads. And recoil. I have guys wanting me to guide for them at some of the major clubs in So Il and Ky. I get back into it. I see every brand of manufacture come out in 3-1/2", shells n guns.
Weather gets brutal cold, gas guns are freezing up, slow to eject, if at all. The 2 that stand alone in the pit and layout blind mud n water, Remington 870 Super Mag and Browning BPS. My BPS was always my take along gun as back up/extra gun when l had clients. It never failed me. I also watched what shells failed and excelled. We bought shells by the half pallet. I always had extra shells for clients in case they ran short or forgot, or brought wrong ammo. We have seen it all.
And the military and LEOs cant be wrong with 870s as their 1st line defense weapons for specialized tactical situations.
And as a 33yr retired LEO for 3 major agencies, l have laid some rounds down range as a tactical operator to firearms instructor and armourer over the majority of those years. From less lethal to slugs to speciality situation rounds, l will take our 870 Super Mags with all the bells n whistles any day. I like it over our Benelli SBE everyday. IMHO, They will never let you down. Buy quality ammo, not that cheap walmart crap, and 3" is all you will need. Pair it with a choke tube that is designed for waterfowl loads, pattern the gun n see how it shoots with various chokes n shells and you will never look back.

Here is a pic of my half gauge or "kids gun" as my buddy calls it. 20ga, 1-1/8oz of ITX shot, 2s n 4s. Reload. 1 shot each. Last 1 was a tad shy of 45yds.

 

I have an 870 Express Magnum that will shoot 3.5” shells. While I’ve never taken it on a goose hunt, it’s never failed to shoot the 3.5” shells that I’ve run through it. The recoil is pretty significant but it shoots em. I personally think that my barrel length isn’t as long as a goose gun barrel should be, but I would think that longer barrels can be bought and used. They certainly make them. I have a Winchester single shot 12ga with a real long barrel and an adjustable choke that shoots 3” shells. That’s my goose gun. Anyway… You have the gun. Why not take it out and see if it works or not? (Kinda sounds like someone is trying to talk you into buying a more expensive gun. I’d want to prove him wrong.)

 

I'll stick with my 3.5 bps 12 &3.5 inch original. hs #4 for waterfowl, niethier have failed, to kill. Ducks or geese from 10 yrds, out to 60+yrds