They started making these in early 1980s. Later the MAG was dropped because it became 20ga standard. Is it a local thing, because I never seem to find guns suitable for 3" shell. All i see is guns with barrels marked 2&3/4". I noticed the same at places like Guns International, Gunbroker. Many must have been made at King Ferry and in Ohio yet they seem to be hard to find? Why is that?
PaulJS
Many many parts are different between the 2 3/4" versions vs the 3" versions. Hammers, receiver, forearm and slide. There are other differences. As has been noted, a 3" shell will feed into a 2 3/4" receiver that has a 3" barrel on it, but can't eject as the shell gets pulled reward and is supposed to pivot downward.
A fired 2 3/4" shell is about 3" long, that is why a 3" unfired shell will feed.
The changes to allow a 3" shell were for the most part, forward of the trigger group. You just can't mill the ejection port back to the trigger group. They added 1/4 forward, allowing for the shell to clear the barrel and pivot on its arc to eject.
Trigger guards are the same, hammer is different.
Here are pictures of a 3" and a 2 3/4" hammer. I stole the pics of eBay and converted to jpg's. Credit to the folks selling these.
A person can go onto IthacaGuns website and look at the internal parts (where available) and see the ones that are specified for 3" guns vs all guns (gauge specific where appropriate of course).
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A fired 2 3/4" shell is about 3" long, that is why a 3" unfired shell will feed.
The changes to allow a 3" shell were for the most part, forward of the trigger group. You just can't mill the ejection port back to the trigger group. They added 1/4 forward, allowing for the shell to clear the barrel and pivot on its arc to eject.
Trigger guards are the same, hammer is different.
Here are pictures of a 3" and a 2 3/4" hammer. I stole the pics of eBay and converted to jpg's. Credit to the folks selling these.
A person can go onto IthacaGuns website and look at the internal parts (where available) and see the ones that are specified for 3" guns vs all guns (gauge specific where appropriate of course).
Yes, because that is the size of the 3" shell versions. I just measured and the design change was to add .200 to the front of the receiver. 72mm = 2.834 inches. The early 50's I just checked measures 2.634 inches. So .200 difference. I also verified the ejection port of a MAG-87xxx I have. It measures 72mm / 2.831 (manufacturing tolerances here).
The definitive answer is if the ejection port measures 72mm / 2.834 (ish) then it is a 3" receiver, regardless of what barrel is on it.
To really twist things up, a 2 3/4" chamber will pattern better than a 3" chamber. My buddy is/was a gunsmith who specialized in building turkey shoot guns. Up to and including the race guns that will blow the middle right out of turkey shoot targets. He says that for TS's that specify stock guns only, to get a 2 3/4" gun.
He made LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of money building turkey shoot guns. How many have you built ? In this case, I am blatantly going to tell you that you don't know what you are talking about.
He built guns using seamless tubing to rebarrel actions, created stepped chokes to deform the wad and cause it to stay with the shot column.
I think he knows what he is talking about.
When you shoot a 2 3/4" in a 3" chamber, due to the forces the column starts to expand and then is crammed back down when it hits the forcing cone. Some as with a long through BPCR rifle and the slug starts to expand and then in crammed back to size when it hits the rifling.
That is how you get deformed pellets. Would you notice it shooting at clay targets, rabbits birds etc? No. When you are shooting at the little "X", yes.
On a turkey shoot gun, you want a more consistent, condensed pattern, especially going through a fixed full choke when one pellet can spell the difference between the pot of money and nothing.
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