TSS shot has been an absolute game changer for turkey hunters, allowing the use of much smaller shot sizes than had ever been considered applicable, in an undeniably effective manner. Where the ‘bigger-is-better’ mentality held sway two or three decades ago, the Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) has shown how a non-toxic material, which is denser than lead, can redefine our accepted minimums for the neat dispatching of a tom turkey.
TSS is a dense metal, weighing in at 18 grams per cubic centimeter (hence the Hevi-18 product name) versus lead’s 11 grams per cubic centimeter, allowing the use of finer shot sizes. The old timers who started me on my first turkey hunts could never imagine using No. 9 shot for anything larger than a clay pigeon, let alone one of the tough old gobblers in the New York woods. With a pellet count of 362 per ounce, it isn’t difficult to understand why the patterns offered by the smaller, denser shot material is an advantage over our more traditional lead shot.
In addition to heavy loads of large shot size commonly used in decades past, smaller bores are all the rage as well. I have had a soft spot for the 28-gauge since using one at the SHOT Show’s Industry Day at the Range years ago to bust clays in the dry Nevada desert; though I am no wizard with a shotgun, I was shooting that Stevens very well. That Model 555 became a good friend—the stack barrel might weigh five pounds and is absolute hell on rabbits—and now that little gun has the capability of handling turkeys as far out as I can shoot them. Hevi-18 is now loaded in 28-gauge in a 3-inch shell, holding 1 ¼ ounces of No. 9 TSS shot, at a muzzle velocity of 1,200 fps.
Being completely honest, these are not cheap, with a box of five shotshells carrying an MSRP of $61.99, but if you’re serious about putting a gobbler in the salt, these might be the solution for a low-recoil, hard-hitting combination. The TSS shot is certainly the cure for that gobbler who hangs up beyond 40 yards, and Hevi-18 is one of the best means of delivering that potent payload from the little 28-gauge. Learn more about them at hevishot.com
