For the record, I’ve never even tried a TSS load in anything larger than a 20ga…..for ANYTHING, much less turkeys. I do have some of the old Remington tungsten 00 buck in 12ga that I keep for armored hog use ;)….but never tried it. Some further premises:
—Harder shot deforms less, patterns better, and handles velocity better.
—Denser material resists external factors FAR more than less dense material.
—Lead is subject to deformation (especially above 1250fps), no matter what it’s plated with…..the epoxy binder in longbeards overcomes this somewhat, but it still doesn’t pattern as well as harder, denser shot.
—Pellet size is irrelevant to a CNS strike on a turkey, so long as there’s sufficient penetration.
—If load vs yardage penetration is sufficient, then pattern density is the primary factor with a turkey load.
—TSS #8s are likely the most versatile TSS size, and equals or outperforms #4/#5 lead loads. Pattern density is no comparison. Blows lead out of the water
—TSS #9 & #10 equal or outperform lead #6 loads.
—#7-10 TSS enable sub gauges to equal or exceed the lethality of lead 10 and 12ga loads.
The only logical argument I see against TSS is cost vs benefit, and for a turkey hunter, bitching about shell costs vs volume of shooting is idiotic. I’ve got more $ in single calls than a couple of boxes of TSS loads, and you can roll your own with next to no special equipment, at 1/3 the cost. Nobody is saying you need or have to have TSS to kill a turkey, but it’s a better mousetrap. Some had rather use a longbow over a rifle for deer, too. Go nuts. There’s just zero reason for me to carry a 12ga as a dedicated turkey gun any longer, though I have plenty of them. I can dedicate a smaller, lighter sub gauge gun for turkeys, that’s easier to pack, carry, and shoot. Shot string doesn’t matter. I can wing shoot other stuff with the 12s, where it might matter, and the volume of shooting is 1000x higher. What’s not to like about a 5-6# gun that stones turkeys to 40+, and that you can let the kid/lady next to you get their first bird with and not bust their nose?
