Why can shotguns only hold 3 shells?

I heard that the law only permits for a shotgun to hold no more than 3 shells. What is the reason for this? I can't make sense of that law.

Why can shotguns only hold 3 shells?
The law will only apply if you are in the field hunting. It has to do with conservation and keeping sport in sport hunting.



You can have as many shells as a gun can hold while not in the field hunting. My shotgun holds 8 rounds, for example.
Reply:One of my shotguns holds eight 2 3/4" shells. It"s a

Win. 1300 Defender.

Waterfowl hunters are limited to three shells. That's federal law and has been since I first started duck hunting in th 1960's. Every shotgun I've ever owned has a plug that you can remove to shoot more than three shots. Report It
Reply:In the magazine tube is a limiter plug ( that is removable).

To my knowledge the only 3 shell limit is for hunting various types of game animals and birds.

This very from state to state as to shell limit and species.

But for home defense or target shooting In my state there is no limit to number of shells it can hold.

As to other states you need to check out the laws.



D58
Reply:Hunting regulations hold that for 'sporting' reasons a shotgun may not hold more than 3 shells. Non-hunting shotguns can hold more shells but are not legal for hunting unless they are 'blocked' down to three or less shells.



H
Reply:shotguns can only hold three shells when a plug is in. Otherwise, they can hold from 5 to 7.
Reply:Like everyone else said, it's because of hunting regulations.



I have a Beretta Xtrema2 that holds 12 shells.



When I go hunting, I'm forced to plug my Remington 870 that would otherwise hold 6 shells.
Reply:3 rounds with plug in. law only when hunting certain animals, ducks and doves,quail. most can hold 5. you can buy mag. extensions that can make your gun hold 8 or 9.
Reply:most pump and automatic models can hold 5 shells, if the plug is removed.



the reason for 3 is, for most species hunted the law requires a 3 shell limit. it gives the quarry a "better sporting chance".
Reply:that is the rule for bird hunting. some shotguns only hold 2 in the magazine tube plus one in the chamber. Some hold 5 in the magaxine tube and have to have a removable block installed in the tube for bird hunting to limit it . Some shotguns can hold as many as 9 shells total in certain configurations. But anyway, that's just the way they past the hunting regs
Reply:It a long time federal law that you must have 3 shells in the shotgun for waterfoul hunting. As far as for pheasant (upland bird) hunting you could have as many shells you can put in it. Thats the only thing I could think of for this 3 shells in the shotgun law.
Reply:Mine only hold two, one in the left and one in the right barrel of each. The reason for the limitation when hunting is that some (and I've known a few of these) older guys in their youth would go out and murder a hundred ducks in a morning. This was just one way of calming them down.
Reply:The shotgun can actually hold 5 or more in some, but the law states you must have a plug in it which limits the gun to three shells. If you ever need three shots (besides a flock of geese or something), then you dont need to be hunting. It gives the animals a better chance if you can only shoot three times. I dont know about other states, but in mine, if you have the plug out of your gun anytime, even at home locked up, the game warden can legally take your gun.
Reply:in my state, that only applies while hunting birds. i assume its to be a little bit more sportsmanlike to the duck or whatever fowl you hunt.
Reply:You have to realizre that years ago state and federal natural resources departments established the 3+1 policy in order to limit magazine capacity for the in season licensed hunting of legal upland game. This is the only reason that this was required. You'll find that for any other application or use of a shotgun (example" home %26amp; self defense) these laws/regulations do not apply. You can easily purchase and mount magazine extensions/extra long springs, that will in some cases allow your Pump Action Shotguns to hold 9 shots. Semi-auto shotguns do not have this capability unless they are designed and manufactured with an extended magazine capacity tubes. Since these are gas operated the parts that provide this action are in the way and can't be removed or moved , to make room.
Reply:shot guns can hold more but in most cases if you are using them to shoot water foul(in Arizona) you must have it plugged this is so you don't fill the air with shot. and is more sportsman like. on other small game you only need the shot gun to fall within the guidelines for hunting. as for home defense you can have as many as your local laws will permit. (I don't think there is a limit in Arizona. they make a mag extender for my shot gun to hold 10 shells and it can be bought over the counter.
Reply:I agree my semi auto shottie will hold 5 (4+1) without the plug and only 2+1 with the plug. Maybe the lawmakers figure that if you can't hit what you want in the first three shots you should let the poor thing go. I always wondered if that limit applied if you are out on a trap or skeet range since technically you aren't really hunting live animals although the things are called clay 'pigeons' LOL.



The other weird thing is that in a lot of states or maybe all of them hunting isn't allowed on sundays but fishing is go figure. Whats the difference between hunting on sat or any other day of the week and sunday. I think it might be some kind of religious thing?
Reply:thank bill clinton
Reply:I'd think you'd be "happy" about that.

But, the reason is so that if you should have an accidental firing,only 3 rounds are availiable to go off.

In addition,the only shotguns that can hold more than one round,are semi-automatics and pumps, and if you quickly shoot them,the recoil of the gun is powerful enough to dislodge the stock of the gun from your shoulder,thus giving you no control over the gun as it continues to fire.Very dangerous.

There 'is' a way to load the gun with up to 5 shells though,you must remove the plug from the magazine.