Tss turkey loads

tss # 9 federal factory 1-3/4 0z in a TC encore with a .640 choke at a honest 40 yards, the same target with better lighting to see the pattern. 132 hits on the 5 " center circle on a 8x11 target. it knocks them dead.
 

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are you shooting #9,s, how big is the circle? with factory federal 1-1/2 ozl tss #7 and a regular factory full choke my rem 870 in 20 ga at 35 yards is a dead bird, with #9,s and a tighter choke I,m sure it would be a 40 yard killer. 40 yards is about as long a shot that I feel comfortable taking under normal conditions.
 
I'm shooting #9 and the target was shot at 40 yards and the circle is 10".
I know it will kill to 60 yards but I really don't want to shoot past 40 either. I really feel like 30-35 is about perfect for my set up.
 
#9 handloads put 345-360 hits in a 10" circle @40 yards. This is with a 12 ga with 2oz loads.
Cost is a non factor. I shoot 2 shells per year because I have a dedicated Turkey gun with a scope.
Going down to 1.75 oz loads next year because 2 is complete over kill.
Like others have said, getting close is the challenge and I often do, but there are times 50-55 yards is all I'm going to get because they're henned up. Nice to have the on/ off switch in your hand :)
 
The load I am shooting in my 20 is a 1 5/8 oz.. I also have a 1 7/16 oz load but the 1 5/8 oz load patterns better.
One place that I hunt is all woods and a 40 yard shot is almost impossible so I carry the 1 7/16 load there. When I get the few I have left shot up, I will load 1 5/8 just for the simplicity of it.
 
Oh and both my turkey guns, (Wby 459, and 870, both 20 ga) have a red dot sight on them.
 

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I started loading TSS with #8 for both 12 and 20 ga. I couldn't get the 9 shot at the time but the 8 was great for the 12 and 20. I had just bought an 11-87 in 20 guage for my daughter. I now only load the 9's for the 20 ga and no longer use the 12. No need for it. Also, I use a Carlson .575 when I carry it and I put the modified choke in for my 11 yo daughter. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot one at 50 yards with the modified choke. I once read that a bad TSS turkey load is better than any other turkey load on the market and after using TSS, I agree...no comparison. The picture is a 10"/20" circle at 40 yards, 2 oz. of #8 out of 12. The 20 does better than that with 9's.
 

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As a side note, the choke used in the picture above for my 12 ga was just the factory full. It would do much better with a tighter choke such as an Indian Creek or Carlsons but I didn't see a need for it.
 
I am as guilty as the rest, about chokes and loads, but in reality, I will not shoot a Tom past 20 yards. So, basically, any load will work for me.
 
With this level of performance what do you gain in terms of maximum effective range from using 12 gauge 3.5" 2oz of #7 shot VS 12 ga 3" 1.75oz of #7 shot. If a 12 ga 1.75oz load of TSS #7's will perform and kill just as well at all ranges as a 12ga 3.5" 2oz load of #7's then I would be willing to try out the 3" as they are $10 cheaper per box.
 
For the sake of comparison here is a picture of my typical performance with Winchester Long Beard XR 2oz of #5 shot at 40 yards out of my 24" 12ga 3.5" 870 Super Mag. Choke is a Remington A/M with a muzzle ID of .675"

Counted 227 pellets of 340 or 66.7% in a admittedly poorly drawn 10" circle with 27 pellets hitting the 2" orange target dot I was aiming at that I use to represent a turkey's head which is what I aim and sight in for. I think this is very good performance but would appreciate if anyone is knowledgeable enough to evaluate it and feel if I used a different choke constriction I could improve the performance.

Thanks,
Art.
 

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:)
With this level of performance what do you gain in terms of maximum effective range from using 12 gauge 3.5" 2oz of #7 shot VS 12 ga 3" 1.75oz of #7 shot. If a 12 ga 1.75oz load of TSS #7's will perform and kill just as well at all ranges as a 12ga 3.5" 2oz load of #7's then I would be willing to try out the 3" as they are $10 cheaper per box.
There are 185 #7's per oz so 370 pellets in the 2oz vs 324 pellets for the 1.75 oz so you have ~13% more pellets but generally a little less velocity in the 2oz load.
Another this to consider is that some guns don't feed 3.5" shells very well. For $10 more it's probably not worth worth it, how dead does the turkey need to be ?
But then again I only shot one turkey this year so I don't care if the shells were $20 I spent way more on gas:)

Edit; added info

18g/cc Shot Tungsten Super Shot (TSS)

TSS #2: 54/oz
TSS #4: 83/oz
TSS #5: 106/oz
TSS #6: 139/oz
TSS #7: 185/oz
TSS #8: 254/oz
TSS #9: 362/oz
Lead Shot

Lead #2: 89/oz
Lead #4: 136/oz
Lead #5: 173/oz
Lead #6: 222/oz
Lead #7: 295/oz


Shot Count Per Shell
#9 SHOT
2.5 oz - 905 pellets
2.25 oz- 814 pellets
2 oz- 724 pellets
1 5/8 oz- 590 pellets
1 3/8 oz- 498 pellets


Shot Count per Shell
#8.5 Shot

2.5 oz - 770 pellets
2.25 oz- 693 pellets
2 oz- 616 pellets
1 5/8 oz- 500 pellets
1 3/8 oz- 423 pellets

Shot Count Per Shell
#8 SHOT
2.5 oz - 635 pellets
2.25 oz - 570 pellets
2 oz - 510 pellets
1 5/8 oz - 410 pellets
1 3/8 oz - 350 pellets

Shot Count per Shell
#7.5 Shot
2.5 oz - 550 pellets
2.25 oz- 495 pellets
2 oz- 440 pellets
1 5/8 oz- 358 pellets
1 3/8 oz- 302pellets

Shot Count Per Shell
#4 SHOT
2.5 oz - 208 pellets
2.25 oz - 186 pellets
2 oz - 166 pellets
1 5/8 oz - 135 pellets
1 3/8 oz - 114 pellets
 
That is really hard to answer, every gun/shell/choke is different. If you are putting up good numbers in the 10, you will have energy enough to make clean kills at 70 yards and beyond
 
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