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One day, components will be available again, so I'm taking the time to do a little research on the subject of reloading TSS shells.

I have an idea of what factory TSS shells cost pre-panic, but I don't know how much it cost bandleaders to duplicate them.

Take a 3" 12 ga. shell, for example, with 2 ounces of TSS #2, BB or T shot. What kind of component costs were shooters looking at, per shell, before all the craziness happened?


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If you are turkey hunting, and it sounds like you are if you are contemplating loading 2 ounces, then I wonder how many shells you shoot per year, and how much those ammo costs could factor into the equation when all the other associated costs are considered.

I haven’t penciled it out, but to give you an idea, I found what turned out to be a GREAT 20-ga quail load:

1/8 oz #9 TSS
7/8 oz #7 steel

1400-plus fps

Say a pound of TSS is $50. 16 ounces x 8 = 128 shells. That's $0.39 / shell, or $9.75 / box just in TSS.

We have a daily 10-bird limit, and a pretty long season, 3-plus months ... let’s say my ammo costs this season were $100 (I did not shoot near a flat of shells)

See what I mean? Factor in fuel, food, ice, license, etc, and the difference in ammo costs really didn’t amount to much for me. The flipside is this ammo flat SMOKES them, so much so that before this season I would have told you that were it not for Cali mandating lead-free, I'd still be shooting lead. That's not true anymore. At least for this little 20-gauge and this duplex load, I would not go back to lead.

Now all that goes out the window if you want to shoot a full oz (or 2) of TSS at volume. That’s why I duplexed ... and it worked GREAT!

[Linked Image]

In your case, you’ll probably need to buy all the components (none of the available data included any of the components I had on hand), so $20 for a bag of primed hulls, $25-30 for a pound of powder, $10 for special wads, maybe a few bucks for some fillers (try to avoid them), and then probably $100 or more for 2 pounds of TSS, which will give you 16 shells at 2 oz/per.

In your shoes, and depending on how much you shoot per season, I might just buy them. That's a lot of hassle and expense for 16 shells.

Also, do you really NEED 2 oz of TSS per shell? At $50 / pound that payload cost you $6.25 / SHELL just in TSS

This stuff is dead - LY! Some other guys here who hunt turkey might have more input on that.

Bottom line: sharpen a pencil and figure out how much you shoot per year, maybe talk to some turkey hunters about reducing that payload without losing effectiveness.

At least for quail, I found a happy place.


"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated." Thomas Paine
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Rick, thanks for the reply. I already suspected that reloading TSS, even at pre-panic prices, would be poor economy.

For myself, I want shotgun loads for called predators; coyote, fox, bobcat. Now, if I stuck with 2.75" 4B loads, I could do pretty well. That load has been working nicely for a long, long time.

But the looney in me is bedazzled by what I'm reading on line about TSS in smaller sizes. Yeah, 2 oz. of TSS T shot may not be 10 times as deadly at 1.25 oz. of 4B within 50 yards, but ... damn.

I probably will end up buying loaded shells. If they're ever offered again.

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Ahhhh, predators. I see. Man I can see the temptation.

Well, one thing I left out of the above is the availability factor. I haven't checked lately for TSS components specifically, but if those are available and loaded shells are not, then price may become a much more secondary factor.

Gotta hunt ... smile

Yeah, a couple years back I was reading those same accounts of TSS lethality and shaking my head. Cali going lead-free pushed me over the edge. And what I found was those reports were all true. Even with just spiked loads (duplex), I was just amazed at the lethality.

You should PM Ronnie (Reloader7RM). I am just a rookie at this.


"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated." Thomas Paine
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I'll do that. Thanks.

IC B2

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Been picking up TSS shells for turkeys here and there when I found them, .410 and both 2 3/4” and 3” 20s. Wanted enough to pattern a bit and sight in my guns, then hunt. Got enough now, maybe a lifetime supply for a turkey hunter of my skill level🙄.
Pricey, but like the man said, just one small part of the expense.


What fresh Hell is this?

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