tss users

[MannyMedeiros21]

I just run a kicks choke 665 constriction in my 12 gauge. Shoot 3.5” federal tss #7. I’m newer to turkey hunting, starting in 2021. In that span I have taken 7 birds between 20 and 50 yards. Have never missed a bird with it. I do also have an Indian creek 665, but prefer the kicks.


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[FrankAbagnale]

I also use a 12 gauge. I started with an Indian Creek choke and it was great. Switched to the RR Turkey Raptor just because and it’s also been great. I’ll keep using the RR. I’ve been using Federal 3.5” 9’s with 2.25 oz. Probably overkill but it does the job very well.

 

[Macintosh]

let me turn the question around.

Is there ANY combination of size 7 or smaller tss factory ammo shot thru a 12ga shotgun with a dedicated full or tighter choke, that WONT put 100 pellets into a 10” circle at 50 yards?

If there is I havent run across it yet.

 

[Ringbill27]

let me turn the question around.

Is there ANY combination of size 7 or smaller tss factory ammo shot thru a 12ga shotgun with a dedicated full or tighter choke, that WONT put 100 pellets into a 10” circle at 50 yards?

If there is I havent run across it yet.

Both my setups I don’t believe will. Both with .665 chokes and Browning 7/9. It’s the only TSS load I’ve tested yet. I might get 100 pellets in 10” at 30yds.

 

[Macintosh]

Thats really surprising to me. My wifes 20ga with a cheap carlsons turkey tube puts plenty of lead 6’s into a 10” circle at 30 yards—100% ethical turkey pattern with that combo with any 3” lead 6’s weve tried. My plain-jane 870 12ga with a remington turkey choke I picked up 20 years ago for less than $10 shoots about any lead 6’s well enough at 35-40 yards, as well as a lot if 5’s. Ive seen probably a dozen different 12ga’s using regular flush chokes or relatively inexpensive carlsons turkey chokes, and all of them were slam-dunks at 50 yards with tungsten shot, either the first-gen hevishot or newer tss from hevishot, federal or apex. My 870 with that cheap old remington tube, as well as my beretta with a carlsons mobil-choke tube both were over 100 pellets at 50 with size 7 tss both federal and apex, and the beretta shoots longbeard xr 6’s well enout out to 50. Hard for me to imagine a 12ga that wont do at least 50 with smaller tss shot.

So are there more cases where a 12ga with a turkey choke and size 7 or smaller tss would not reliably kill a turkey at 50 yards, or is this a rare example?

 

[Ringbill27]

So are there more cases where a 12ga with a turkey choke and size 7 or smaller tss would not reliably kill a turkey at 50 yards, or is this a rare example?

I hope I’m an outlier and look forward to trying other TSS. Ran out of money and time before season and was very successful with the longboard 6s.

 

[eamyrick]

Shot several turkeys out to 40 with 20 gauge beretta and longbeard #6s and Trulock longbeard choke. Pattern started to get spotty at 40. I bought a Benelli ultralight 12 gauge, 24 inch barrel as a duck gun for toting around public land duck holes. I run #9 apex 2oz out of the factory full. Pattern is beautiful at 40 and shot my turkey bang flop at 52 yards this year. I don’t think a tighter choke would work for my needs and would end up too tight for up close. Issue shooting bead sights past 50 is you start really having sighting issues. If I wanted a dedicated 60y rig I’d get a dot.

 

[dtrkyman]

TSS and 50 yds in a 12ga is certainly not a problem, but as an example at 50 yards 9s in a 12 will likely put over the 300 in the ten at 50 assuming 2oz plus load, so much more dense than 7s.

I don’t think there is a reason to shoot larger than 8 or 8.5 in TSS,I prefer a dense pattern, of course at reasonable distances it’s all good and you are definitely not likely to find and 7s hung up in the meat!


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[Macintosh]

I only say 7’s because that would be the least-dense pattern. Where I’m going, is that the most common question in this direction seems to be which TSS load and which aftermarket choke do I need in order to kill a turkey at 50 yards. And it seems to me like people are approaching this as if it’s a rare combination and takes a lot of experimentation. In my experience, this is a “one and done, just get any combination and it’ll do it fine” sort of affair, and all this hand-wringing over nuanced combinations is “pole-vaulting over mouse turds”. You wanna kill a turkey at 70 yards, fine, agonize over loads and chokes and do a lot of pattern testing. But with a 12 gauge if you just want 50 yards and you’re going to use TSS, just get what’s available and you’ll be fine— it’s the equivalent of a 100 yard shot on a deer, there is absolutely zero question whether it will kill the deer. That’s my point. In my experience that has absolutely been the case, but the example above would say otherwise. I’m just trying to understand if enough people have had trouble specifically using smaller shot with TSS and a 12 gauge, that it really is common to require some testing to find a suitable combo?

 

[CMP70306]

thx again guys. Im gonna go with 9s, now to pick a company. Im leaning towards rogue or apex, prob rogue.

I hope I’m an outlier and look forward to trying other TSS. Ran out of money and time before season and was very successful with the longboard 6s.

Try the Herters TSS at Cabela’s, pretty much as cheap as TSS gets and my 40 yard test in my old fixed full choke 12 gauge showed it worked plenty good enough. I want to shoot one more shell to kill a turkey with it then move on to a gun better suited to TSS.

 

[juju]

One of the reasons we use shotguns for turkeys is to have projectiles which lose lethality quickly. We don't want someone 100 yards down the bottom catching pellets when we shoot a turkey.

A T9 is supposed kill a gobbler to at least 70 yards. A T9.5 puts divots in my aluminum ladder from 100 yards. I'd be concerned about what a T7 might do that I did not intend when I fired the shell.

 

[Macintosh]

You’re missing the point. I asked the question about 7’s specifically because it’s the largest tss shot size commonly used for turkeys. For this reason it will have the least-dense pattern since there’s fewer pellets in any given weight of shot—it was a worst-case scenario for the patterning question I asked, not a suggested size.

 

[CMP70306]

One of the reasons we use shotguns for turkeys is to have projectiles which lose lethality quickly. We don't want someone 100 yards down the bottom catching pellets when we shoot a turkey.

A T9 is supposed kill a gobbler to at least 70 yards. A T9.5 puts divots in my aluminum ladder from 100 yards. I'd be concerned about what a T7 might do that I did not intend when I fired the shell.

Accidentally shooting people has zero reason to do with why we hunt turkeys with shotguns. It is entirely culturally based as the people who set the rules pretty much dictate that gobblers should be shot at close range after calling them in.

Here in PA rifles were legal for turkeys in the fall season until a couple years ago when they suddenly decided to ban their use to “help reduce the hen harvest” because apparently shooting 900 hens with rifles was a detriment to the population but shooting 3,600 of them with a shotgun was fine and dandy. It became even more apparent that the issue was entirely political in nature when the following year they went and also banned handguns and muzzleloaders using single projectile ammo, something that by their estimates killed less than 100 turkeys per year.

 

[UKwildcatfan]

Hevishot magnum blend has worked great for me. 45 yds is my self imposed limit. Everything has dropped right there. Most birds are 20-30. Heck, I've killed several birds in Mexico with 2 3/4" #6. Box of 25 for $12.

 

[bnsafe]

shot my last bird today so Im done tho may do some guiding. problem this year is I shot horrible. now, I have keratoconus and cant see great. Im not sure if my eyes are the issue or something else but it was a horrid year shooting. Ive got my shotgun and ammo picked out. It patterned great so know thats not the issue. Im trying to decide what to put on it for a sight next year. Ive used the tru glo gobble stopper and hawke lpvo 1x4. I dont super care for either. I like the hawke better but hate the weight an size. I might try the pa micro prism. Id like a fixed 2x but thats not an option so not sure rather to add some magnification due to my eyes or just deal with a 1x. My confidence in shooting is not good now.

 

[Irish Miner]

Hevishot magnum blend has worked great for me. 45 yds is my self imposed limit. Everything has dropped right there. Most birds are 20-30. Heck, I've killed several birds in Mexico with 2 3/4" #6. Box of 25 for $12.

Yep. While I am certainly a fan of the TSS shot, this year I used the magnum blend because I had four loads left from several years ago and figured I would use them up. One shot, dead gobbler at 39 yrds. Have killed a few with them and still like them. Now I have three left. The TSS might have to take a back seat for another year or two.

 

[juju]

Accidentally shooting people has zero reason to do with why we hunt turkeys with shotguns. It is entirely culturally based as the people who set the rules pretty much dictate that gobblers should be shot at close range after calling them in.

Here in PA rifles were legal for turkeys in the fall season until a couple years ago when they suddenly decided to ban their use to “help reduce the hen harvest” because apparently shooting 900 hens with rifles was a detriment to the population but shooting 3,600 of them with a shotgun was fine and dandy. It became even more apparent that the issue was entirely political in nature when the following year they went and also banned handguns and muzzleloaders using single projectile ammo, something that by their estimates killed less than 100 turkeys per year.

Sounds like y'all have a culture based on having your heads up your own backsides. Where we have common sense, we use shot to limit lethality.

 

[Macintosh]

Others may simply have a culture based on being sure of our target and whats beyond it. Limiting EFFICACY as a tool to increase opportunity, by mandating a weapon that has a shorter effective range, is a common thing—but thats not what you said, and that isnt based on safety.

Also, in my state it is illegal to use shot smaller than #8 for turkeys.

 

[ddowning]

Without opening myself to a lot of criticism, if you want to pattern the gun, 9s will work to 70 yards or so. They are the ticket, as the pattern density is the best it can be unless you reduce yardage and shot size. There will be no problem with pattern density. The pellets run out of penetration energy around 70 yards. If you want to go beyond 70 yards, play with 7/9 duplex or plain 7. A 12 gauge should do it no problem. I always try to get birds as close as possible, but tss avoids injuring birds if you don't judge the yardage correctly. I have had great luck with federal tss 7/9.

 

[doc holiday13]

I didn't trust 9's until a few years back, but really you're hamstringing yourself by not using them.