Best hunting shotgun under 1000

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What are yalls opinions

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It is very likely the gun will be used for goose hunting just as much as it would duck

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1. Is a 3 1/2-Inch 12-Gauge More Effective Than a 3-Inch?

I’ve always believed the brutal recoil of a 31/2-inch 12-gauge magnum negates any ballistic advantage over the standard 3-inch magnum. I have always suspected, too, that cramming what amounts to a 10-gauge load into a 12-gauge barrel produced poor, ragged patterns and longer shot strings that made the extra pain even less worthwhile.

Test Loads:
- 12-gauge, 3-inch, 11/4-ounce loads of Black Cloud steel BB shot at 1450 fps (Modified choke)
- 12-gauge, 31/2-inch, 11/2-ounce loads of Black Cloud steel BB shot at 1500 fps (Modified choke)
Results: Both loads patterned almost identically on a 30-inch circle at 40 yards: The 31/2-inch load put 72.6 percent of its shot in the circle, with 77 pellet hits. The 3-inch placed 71.8 percent of its shot in the circle, with 63 hits.

There was no significant difference between the lengths of the shot strings, which averaged 42 inches for the 3-inch and 49 inches for the 31/2-inch midway between muzzle and target. Both loads exhibited equal penetration in ballistic gelatin at 30 yards—5 inches—despite the 31/2-inch shell’s 50 fps head start in muzzle velocity.

The Takeaway: I expected the 31/2 to string out longer and pattern worse than the 3-inch load, but it patterned just as well. The higher pellet count of the 31/2-inch resulted in significantly more hits in the circle, but both loads put enough hits on target to kill geese.

However, the improvement in performance comes at a cost of a whopping 50 percent increase in recoil. Even with a gun seated in a massive rest, I could feel the difference, and the muzzle blast was noticeably louder in the test tunnel, too. I shot some of those same 31/2-inch shells while trying to shoot a triple on a five-stand range. I could hit the first target always, but recovering from the shot to make the next two was almost impossible.

Is the 31/2-inch more effective than the 3-inch? Yes—if you can withstand the recoil. “More” is only better if you can put it on target.

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Carson123987

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Have any experience with or sell any of the A350s? Is it just a 3.5" version of the A300 or is it a substantially different gun?

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