Tungsten Turkey Ammo: Is It Worth It?

[Ghost23]

$66 a box for five. Extra range? Worth it?

In a 20g and smaller yes. Not worth it in a 12g.

 

[idn713]

In a 20g and smaller yes. Not worth it in a 12g.

Exactly, it’s optimizing sub gauges. If you shoot a 12, longbeard XR is all you need.

 

[Ghost23]

Exactly, it’s optimizing sub gauges. If you shoot a 12, longbeard XR is all you need.

Yep! I only use longboard xr in my 12g with an Indian Creek choke. Shoots great groups as far as I feel comfortable shooting a turkey.

 

[BadgerRidge]

Just like lead the shot never touches the barrel as the wad is in between the shot and the barrel.

(snipped)

I'm not a shotgun expert... But I do recall when non toxic was first mandated for waterfowl... And that guys ruined barrels and chokes shooting steel through them because the shot poked a hole through the wad and was hard enough to damage the Barrel/choke. So, hard shot like TSS damaging barrels has and can happen.

Yes: nowadays the wads are better and the removable chokes are frequently made of harder alloys... But pellets poking through the wad can happen. You can find plenty of guys using old fixed choke guns in waterfowl blinds... But the smart ones are shooting bismuth.

I've personally picked up steelshot wads fired through turkey chokes by waterfowling fools who think they will get a tighter pattern... The wads had holes in them because the plastic was the only thing with any "give" when all that steel shot was forced through too tight of a choke. I've also had to remove stuck chokes from guys shooting steel through full or extra full chokes. TSS has to be harder than steel shot.

So as always with firearms: it probably wise to avoid saying things like "never" and and "always". Because it always seems there is an exception or an idiot who you can always count on messing something up.

 

[MrTom]

Badger Ridge is right. My take on the steel, bismuth and now tungsten is that it should be shot from cylinder chokings because the pellets, unlike the softer lead and plated lead pellets that would deform just in handling let alone when shot thru cokes, the newer shot is absolutely smooth and round. Lead shot dimpled badly and acted just a like a golf ball. If it didn't start out straight it would and will do some pretty weird things, hence the tight choking. I've used the steel and bismuth pellets for years to weight crank baits the way I want them with real good luck and know that they're as round and smooth as round and smooth can be. Now I am using the Tungsten pellets and they're the same, smooth and perfectly round. This shot does not need any choking and if choked much at all will do exactly as Badger Ridge has suggested. Steel, bismuth and tungsten are harder than hard and they do not compress well.

 

[Marplot]

Don't want to hijack a thread... But... I found a great deal at buds website. So I bought it. They canceled my order & Relisted the gun for about $100 more, and told me if I really wanted it to buy it, buy it off the new listing!

When I called and insisted they honor the original agreement, the guy on the phone said he couldn't do that. I asked for someone who could... The next guy was rude. Said buy it at the new price or walk. He didn't care. I insisted he honor the prior agreement. He hung up on me... Then canceled my account so I couldn't buy anything from them.

Hit them up with a Google review, Yelp and with "Pissed off Consumer."

I am about to harpoon another dealer as soon as their check clears! I bought a cartridge gun for $2400. They have a three day return policy on GunsInternational. I brought it back in time with the tags still on it, they put it back where it was originally. The owner on the phone said he would send me a check. I called him later and he said there was a 10% restocking fee and was deducting $240 from my check.

I am planning to smear him!

 

[BadgerRidge]

<snipped> Now I am using the Tungsten pellets and they're the same, smooth and perfectly round. This shot does not need any choking and if choked much at all will do exactly as Badger Ridge has suggested. Steel, bismuth and tungsten are harder than hard and they do not compress well.

Mr. Tom

Highest respect for you. However, I believe that all common alloys of Bismuth used for shot are softer than steel. Thus seeing they are more dense and softer than steel, most will regard them as a superior substitute for lead in shot guns when compared to steel. However Most alloys of bismuth are also brittle. Thus if they are over choked/constricted, the bismuth will give and/or crush, and if it did poke through the wad it is so soft it really cannot wear much on the barrel/chokes steel. So its considered safe even in full choke older guns.

Yes, Steel and TSS shouldn't be shot through a very constrictive choke or you will actually get fliers and bad patterns (modified is typically considered the best/tightest choke for steel... and it seem TSS follows that). And you risk the pellets poking though the wad and potentially damaging the barrel. That almost certainly isn't an issue if you don't use tighter than modified with steel and TSS.

Now-a-days with bismuth specific chokes, you will find they tend to constrict more like lead chokes to get similar results. So you can usually get excellent patterns with bismuth with say a Improved Modified choke, and sometimes a full choke, but around full choke you may start to get broken pellets and bad fliers out of the pattern. Bad patterns are almost certain with bismuth and extra full. But it is because the pellets are cracking and fracturing.

Bad patterns with steel and TSS with chokes over Modified are typically due to over constriction of a shot column that has no give: then when its out of the choke it 'springs' fliers and wider patterns... counter intuitively. That's why I railed against the guys shooting Steel BB's at geese through Turkey chokes.

YMMV, but I shoot 2-3/4" #5 1-1/4oz classic Boss (copper plated bismuth alloy without the buffer their new "warchief" has) through Light modified Carlson's chokes in both my VersaMax and my V3 with around 100 pellets in a 30" circle at 40 yds. Just out side of the cirlcle the pattern is still pretty consistent and even. I get the same in my V3 with Rob Roberts T2 choke (which is basically a light modifed choke). Though Rob Roberts has started to make chokes specific for Bismuth/Boss that are supposed to do even better. And I think you find the better choke companies are following suit. But I've found what I have works and I'm not into fiddling much after I've established a simple effective solution (so I'm not buying every choke out there and testing it.. I only have the RR chokes because I bought the gun used and it came with them).

I haven't done a ton of patterning, but it seems I can go all the way to Improved Modified if I want even tighter patterns and not get tons of crazy fliers (that probably come from broken bismuth pellets), So I go no tighter than Improved Modified (or my RR T3) with bismuth. But I've heard others shooting Bismuth/Boss through full chokes and having no issues. again YMMV.

So bottom line is that you are correct on steel and Tungsten (TSS) pellets not compressing and being a bad idea in full chokes... but Bismuth is a different animal that has some give, and f you compress it too much it will crack... and its relatively soft either way.

And the real bottom line here is that unless you diligently test your combinations at a patterning board, count pellets in circles and do math... its all just speculation as to real world performance... but if you do, you will probably find TSS and steel don't take tight chokes well (like Mr. Tom was saying).

 

[Marplot]

Exactly, it’s optimizing sub gauges. If you shoot a 12, longbeard XR is all you need.

https://www.winchester.com/Products/Ammunition/Shotshell/Long-Beard-XR

 

[snapbang]

I haven't read all the previous comments but my answer would be no. You have little to gain for spending all that cash.

 

[retrieverman]

Tripe B is now $35/lb shipped, I buy 50 to 100kg at a time directly from china and split it up with friends, last order over a year ago was $26 after shipping and customs import fee so I am set for a long while.
https://triplebmetals.com/

I was looking back through here and just saw this post. Thanks for posting the link, because I’ve been thinking about trying to load some tungsten and didn’t want to pay the BP price.
I see in here too that at least a couple of y’all use a 410, and I’ve been thinking about maybe trying an Encore 410 pistol for turkeys if a can get a tungsten load that’ll work.

 

[archer36]

Ballistically speaking, it is superior. Smaller shot is more lethal at longer ranges and more pellets per shell. If you can kill birds at long ranges, it will help. If you get them in close (less than 40 yds) then it's an unnecessary expense.

 

[eekjellander]

Ballistically speaking, it is superior. Smaller shot is more lethal at longer ranges and more pellets per shell. If you can kill birds at long ranges, it will help. If you get them in close (less than 40 yds) then it's an unnecessary expense.

Perhaps in a BP muzzle loading shotgun it might help as those patterns seem weak @ times . Not traditional but maybe a big advantage with water fowl yardage and patterns ,and required by law . Only negative it is extremely expensive for a limit of anything!!/Ed

 

[archer36]

I was looking back through here and just saw this post. Thanks for posting the link, because I’ve been thinking about trying to load some tungsten and didn’t want to pay the BP price.
I see in here too that at least a couple of y’all use a 410, and I’ve been thinking about maybe trying an Encore 410 pistol for turkeys if a can get a tungsten load that’ll work.

This fascination with the .410 is a little extreme. Yes, the use of these "hevi'shot" options make taking turkey with smaller gauge guns possible, but in my opinion, NOT desirable. The smallest I would go is 20 gauge. Just think, a few years ago, the hardcore turkey hunter was using a 10 or 12 gauge with lead shot. To go to a .410, even with better shot, is a big jump. I would think that it makes turkey hunting more possible for Kids and small women. That's a good thing.

 

[retrieverman]

This fascination with the .410 is a little extreme. Yes, the use of these "hevi'shot" options make taking turkey with smaller gauge guns possible, but in my opinion, NOT desirable. The smallest I would go is 20 gauge. Just think, a few years ago, the hardcore turkey hunter was using a 10 or 12 gauge with lead shot. To go to a .410, even with better shot, is a big jump. I would think that it makes turkey hunting more possible for Kids and small women. That's a good thing.

As I said, I’m still in the thinking stage of this project and to be honest not enough of a turkey hunter to even go down the rabbit hole of reloading tungsten.

 

[retrieverman]

Ballistically speaking, it is superior. Smaller shot is more lethal at longer ranges and more pellets per shell. If you can kill birds at long ranges, it will help. If you get them in close (less than 40 yds) then it's an unnecessary expense.

Of the turkeys I’ve killed, the furthest has been 36 yards last fall with a crossbow, and the closest was 8 yards last spring with a 12 ga.

 

[ElDiablo]

I see in here too that at least a couple of y’all use a 410, and I’ve been thinking about maybe trying an Encore 410 pistol for turkeys if a can get a tungsten load that’ll work.

I think a .410 pistol with TSS would be fantastic for turkeys to moderate ranges. One of my hardcore turkey hunter buddies just built one.

 

[retrieverman]

I think a .410 pistol with TSS would be fantastic for turkeys to moderate ranges. One of my hardcore turkey hunter buddies just built one.

View attachment 43306

Factory Encore 410 barrels are ridiculously priced, but I recently discovered SSK is making them at much more reasonable prices. If I do decide to follow through with this brainstorm, that’s the route I’ll go.

 

[Decay]

I think a .410 pistol with TSS would be fantastic for turkeys to moderate ranges. One of my hardcore turkey hunter buddies just built one.

View attachment 43306

Dammit, you just had to show a photo of this. About 1989 I saw a photo of a Ruger Redhawk that was set up right and went out and bought one. Now I want one of these too!!! Then I"d buy a Lee handloader in 410 rather than convert my Dillon so I could save about 50% on shotshell cost. I first shot an Encore pistol in 357 Herrett, about 1978, and loved it. This could replace my Rem super mag. I wonder if red/green dot or reflex would like to sit on top of the rib. This rabbit hole is as big as the grand canyon.

 

[LBAhunter]

So the last three years I’ve used my Steven’s 410 for turkey and I’ve killed three birds with it. All public land birds. Stock gun, stock choke, and a cheap 90 dollar red dot. The one place I do want to spend my money is on the all important shell for the trigger pull. Once you have a shell you like, and you are patterned, think of it as 6-9 dollars a turkey. Solid deal in my opinion. ESPECIALLY if I get the benefit of a 4lb, loud as a .22 turkey slayer that I can hike up hills without it even crossing my mind. The 40 yard patterns I get are absurd and I’m 100% confident it would drop a tom at 50 if the shot lane was there (not that I’m trying to long range kill birds).

So long story short, as a tool to allow you to harness the benefits of the sub gauges, it’s absolutely worth the money. I’ll attach a pic of my latest 40 yard pattern. View attachment 43148

Load details, please.

 

[LBAhunter]

I think a .410 pistol with TSS would be fantastic for turkeys to moderate ranges. One of my hardcore turkey hunter buddies just built one.

View attachment 43306

SWEET!!!!