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I duck hunt with a Ruger Red Label that is chambered for 3" shells, but discovered today that it REALLY likes 3 1/2's. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether or not this is safe, and whether or not a gun built for 3" shells will stand up to the thump of the 3 1/2's?

I know that the gun can take the recoil. there is one manufactorer that builds large caliber african loads on the stock and action of the red label. now whether or not it is safe or not. I would never have put a 3 1/2 inch in a 3 inch gun anyway, so I wouldn't be the best to give advice about the safety.

On the barrel it should say something similar to 2 3/4" and 3" ONLY.

They mean ONLY. I split a 30" barrel on a Mossberg into a top half and bottom half when I was younger. Split from the muzzle all the way down to where it attaches to the mag tube.

Wingman, that was what I was looking for. They chamber perfectly and eject fine, but I just wasn't sure about the strength of the barrell, chamber, firing mechanism, etc. I only put about 8 or 9 rounds through it and wanted to research it before I did it again. No information available that I can find on the internet, though. Probably won't do it again. Better safe than sorry I suppose.

Don't. Do. It.

at what point did this sound like a good idea.... I really hope you're kidding....but the bottom line is it is not safe....

landscaper wrote:Wingman, that was what I was looking for. They chamber perfectly and eject fine, but I just wasn't sure about the strength of the barrell, chamber, firing mechanism, etc. I only put about 8 or 9 rounds through it and wanted to research it before I did it again. No information available that I can find on the internet, though. Probably won't do it again. Better safe than sorry I suppose.

you will prolly have to buy a new barrel in the "NEAR" future anyways, because you have prolly done that one alota damage, it could blow with 2 3/4 in now

At the risk of sounding even more foolish, I wasn't kidding. The only reason I even tried it was because a friend, who is second only in gun expertise to maybe gun designers or gun builders, asked if I had tried it and felt confident that the gun was perfectly capable of handling it. I still needed someone to tell me that they knew for sure and certain that it was ok, or to tell me that they had split a barrel from stem to stern. If someone else has had a bad experience I won't be trying it again unless someone from Ruger tells me it's ok. I don't expect Ruger's legal department would like that, though!

it prolly voids the warranty.

if it says 3" only then they mean ONLY for a reason

Let him do it. He could be the next candidate for the Darwin Award!

it will handle it but the barrel is not cut in the throat far enough to let a 3.5 open fully. barrel for 3.5 in are made out if same thing 3 in is. they dont go buy different material to build a 3.5 ... you can go to a gun smith and get barrel cut to handle 3.5 bullets. i had a 2.75 done like that to shoot 3 in through it . it would shoot but to get gun right had to have it bored a lil bit more

some break opens can be bored out to hanlde the longer shells safely

until that is done by a professional gunsmith I would say it not very safe

the doc

You can borrow mine for the week. Wear it proudly.

i can,t believe you done it the 1st time.

judge jb