Penetration is not that bid a deal on thin skinned game like a turkey that is hopefully shot in the head that is why people can kill them with small shot like TSS #7s or #9s.
I'm a pretty good shot with a rifle or a shotgun but you shoot at enough turkeys and you'll eventually make a bad shot. When it happens I want a pellet size that I can depend on to smash through meat and bone and immobilize the turkey until I can put my foot on his head.
If Winchester ever came out with a reasonably priced TSS load with "Shot-lock" in a #5 pellet size I might give them a whirl...until then I'll shoot my #4 Winchester Longbeads.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for that. TSS shot from BP is >$50 a pound according to JB’s article, or over $3 an ounce. I used Active nickel-plated 5s on one some years ago from an old Stevens SxS. Just creamed him. In 2018, I shot at one at about the same range with the same shells in a different gun and he flew away unscathed. The next day, I called in probably the same bird (who was a lot more cautious) and killed him with those shells, but it was far from a clean kill. He flopped about 20 yards until I ran over and grabbed him. Not pretty. Was too busy the next two years to hunt, but decided to get a lighter gun and do it up right, including testing the patterning. Got that down, just need a volunteer. Might just test the setup that gave me trouble someday, but it’s dedicated now to claybirds so it would just be for fun.
