By Jeff Johnston, Hunting & Shooting Editor
It’s a shame that out-of-state hunting is so expensive these days, but that’s exactly why I don’t go cheap with the one-and-only item that actually touches a trophy animal: my ammo.
For reference, Full Draw Outfitters charges $2,750 for a three-day Merriam’s turkey hunt; combine that with the Colorado tag, fuel/airfare and all the other leeches and suddenly $25 extra bucks for the best turkey loads money can buy doesn’t seem so bad. Hell, when you consider a top-end shell can gain you perhaps 20 extra yards, it begins to seem foolish not to.
Quite simply, TSS (tungsten super shot) has revolutionized shotshells for turkey hunting.
Why? Because with lead shot there’s a tradeoff. That is, a hunter must choose between larger pellets (like No. 4s) that have enough energy to kill at long range (55 to 70 yards) but that have thinner patterns thanks to fewer pellets. Or he can choose smaller pellets (like No. 6s) that have a shorter max range but denser patterns. Many hunters compromise with No. 5s.
TSS offers the best of both worlds because tungsten pellets of equal size to lead are heavier. (Tungsten features a density of 18.1 g/cc; lead = 11.34 g/cc; steel = 7.86.) Another way to say it is that a No. 9 TSS pellet (1.2 grain) weighs nearly the same as a lead No. 7.5 pellet, and therefore has the same downrange energy, but is smaller in diameter so many more pellets can fit into the shell, producing a denser pattern.
Now Fiocchi is loading this stuff in its Golden Turkey TSS load, and it hammers birds.
I sprung for a couple boxes of the 12-ga., 3”, 1 ⅝ oz. No. 9s, because I knew I’d spend several shells finding what choke it preferred. My J.P. Sauer shotgun with its extra full choke tube put 15 pellets through a turkey target’s vitals at 65 yards.
But my preparation was all for naught, because when a suicidal Merriam’s tom stuck his beak over a log at about 25 steps, I let him have it. And while some more astute readers might remind me that I could’ve killed that gobbler with a No. 8 beer can load from Wal-Mart, I’d remind myself that not stepping foot into a Wal-Mart is worth a great deal also. $60 per box of 5.
Pros: long range capable with dense patterns
Cons: about $12 per shot
