The price and payout of TSS - Is it really worth the price?

TSS ammunition (TSS meaning Tungsten super shot) is made with Tungsten which is denser and harder than lead which is why is quickly becoming the popular choice among turkey and goose hunters. 

TSS is another tungsten- composite type round that is available in two different densities (For the moment), similar in hardness to HEVI-shot or steel shot, and are often regarded as the smoothest and most uniform pellets that most have tested.

If TSS was to be objectively tested based solely on ballistics, it possesses the highest densities of all currently available shotshell pellets (Both toxic and non-toxic), like mentioned earlier TSS is very hard which ensures that it will emerge from the muzzle essentially undeformed and without need of buffering which results in high patterning performance. 

Because of TSS’s high density it also allows for a smaller diameter pellet to do the same job as a larger but lower density pellet. TSS is also far more lethal because you can use a smaller shot for a more dense pattern and its a heavier load so it doesn't lose steam as fast, and its smaller pellets penetrate far deeper because of the smaller surface area per pellet.

 Now that I've told you how great TSS is and how it's revolutionizing a lot of bird hunters' success rates and hunts there is one catch, the price. Because of TSS being so high in Tungsten content that does lead to one downfall which would be the price at around $45-50 per 5 round box. There are some other options for mixed shot boxes of TSS meaning instead of one 5 count box of regular 9 shot you will get a box of 7-9 shot or 5-6-7 shot which can be great because you often get a ‘price break’ on mixed boxes so instead of $50 a box its $30 a box.

Using mixed TSS does come with a little warning though, TSS is super hard, like we talked about above that's part of its ‘magic’, so when it has bigger shot size like 4,5,6 mixed in it is tough for it to wanna squeeze through the super tight turkey chokes some people use and can cause blown patterns (patterns with "holes" in them vs. a nice even spread of pellets). Therefore, it's likely you'll find that opening your choke up a bit will actually yield tighter and more even patterns than conventional wisdom would tell you (meaning tighter choke tighter pattern) which isn't quite true with TSS. However, the smaller shot, 7,8,8.5,9 etc DO tend to pattern very well from tighter chokes because it doesn't have to work so hard to compress.

Even with the variables of TSS it still can be a little pricey compared to more ‘traditional’ lead shotgun rounds, which begs the question is it worth it? In my opinion I think it is, for turkey hunting I don't want my birds to try to fly or run away after they are hit, I want them to drop immediately and for that reason id have to say for me TSS is worth the price for what it is, Of course there are many other factors that go into it such as, are you newer to using firearms? If you take a shot and miss with that ten dollar round that might suck- but if you're comfortable I think TSS is a great option for most hunters. There's also the added fact that in Maine (Where OFW is located) if you decide you want to shoot a turkey with a .410 then you actually are required by law to use TSS ammo! As with almost all firearm related things we recommend doing some testing for yourself and finding what works for you, because ultimately not all brands make TSS equally. At the end of the day I think TSS is worth the cost and worth it for a lot of hunters out there!