[Willie Lowman]

Something like 15 pellets for the 3" vs 9 pellets for the 2 3/4"

I have not met any critter in my part of the world that looked me in the eye and said "Willie, you are gonna need to hit me with 6 more .33 caliber pellets because the first 9 weren't enough."

Unless defending against black bears, I recommend quality buffered 2 3/4" over any magnum 3" shell.