TSS through a truglo gobblestopper choke...

Package says lead only. Is it safe to shoot TSS through it? What say you all?

I have asked the question of Truglo and am awaiting their response, just curious what the consensus is among the tman folks.

Technically no. Same with Gobling Thunder. It's probably all right for a few shots but the temper of the metal in the tube is not hard enough.

I shot it thru a rem choke with no ill effects.

Looked at the Carlson site the only mention of what not to use was shot larger then #4 steel, sabots or buck shot in their turkey tubes

TSS is very dense and will not compress like soft lead. I would not shoot TSS through a choke made for lead only.

Jelly Head or Rhino

No answer yet, but I only asked last night.
I like how the choke patterns lead so I'll probably just move on and not shoot the few rounds of TSS I have.
Still interested in the manufacturer response, I'll update the group if you all are interested

Watching this...

Factory TSS loads use wads designed to prevent the shot from contacting the barrel or choke for that reason, so it should be fine. However they may not give you a specific answer since it was never tested for TSS shot.

Trying not to be a b-hole but what part of lead only did you not understand ?

I have shot TSS through a couple chokes labeled lead only with no ill effects. I had chatted with a rep from Apex ammunition that makes great TSS ammo and they had performed testing without ill effects either. As mentioned above the wads is meant to protect the barrel. A lot of the confusion comes with the hardness which sometimes requires less constriction to get the same pattern with steel or harder shot. The TSS will be shot at a low round count anyway its not like you are shooting 1000's of round a year for sporting clays or something. At the recommendation of Apex I also don't shoot as tight a choke with TSS I.E alot of people shoot a .550 or .560 choke with standard turkey loads, I shoot a .565 iwth TSS and get nice even patterns and not that super hot pattern up close of the tighter constrictions.

Perhaps you don't understand that the choke tube in questions was made before TSS was really commercially available, and at one point "lead only" just meant no steel. It's a legitimate question he has. But one that I doubt he gets an answer for.

Trying not to be a b-hole but what part of lead only did you not understand ?
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Totally legitimate question Jbyrd...this is entirely out of curiosity and because I happen to have a box of TSS shot laying around. I was paraphrasing the instructions and now that I re-read them it actually says "no steel shot" and not "lead only"

I have seen a lot of speculation on the internet while trying to research the answer so I thought maybe an answer straight from the manufacturer would help some folks on here who may also be curious.

I suspect the TSS manufacture will say good to go but the choke manufacture will say no go. That's what happened with Kicks when I asked the same question.

TSS is fairly new on the market so lead only would be printed on chokes before it came about that would be common you would think, so how different is bismuth from TSS would be a good question to get a answer to also.

Carlson turkey chokes state no steel larger then #4 should be used in some of their turkey choke tubes at their site so it looks by that TSS would be fine seeing how it’s a smaller size shot. If that’s the way it reads it should be fine by that standard.

Need to look at Carlsons, Long Creek or Jebs if you are wanting to shoot TSS

Totally legitimate question Jbyrd...this is entirely out of curiosity and because I happen to have a box of TSS shot laying around. I was paraphrasing the instructions and now that I re-read them it actually says "no steel shot" and not "lead only"

I have seen a lot of speculation on the internet while trying to research the answer so I thought maybe an answer straight from the manufacturer would help some folks on here who may also be curious.

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LOL OK That makes it even more simple! IS TSS steel? IF so then there's your answer. IF people didn't take the leap how many hunters with "special turkey chokes could TSS manufactures sell to. ZERO or almost as stated some chokes allow steel bet they aren't choked down as much.

The lead only part has to do with steel shot being bigger ( #4 and larger). The larger steel shot will bridge in a tight choke due to it being much larger and harder. With tss the shot sizes (for turkey) go from #7 to #10.

It might say lead only, but I doubt it would be a good idea to shoot 00 buck through it. That is why most list shot sizes on the chokes.

Tss is not new, it has been around for a long time. It just became popular in the last few years. Pretty sure the guys that started working up loads for tss over 10 years ago did not have a tss choke. Go check out gobblernation.com. Lots of info on that site. There is even a thread for loading the larger shot sizes for coyotes. They have killing patterns at 80+ yards.

No response as yet from Tru Glo... this is not unexpected as I assume it will take them several days to respond (if they do). I also reached out to Federal just to see if I could elicit a response from them.

I am of the opinion that Jbyrd63's last post and Jerry Jr. (and everyone else whose posts are similar) are probably right... that since the TSS shot is "not steel" and the warning on the packaging is "no steel shot" that it is probably just fine and I will probably go swat some paper with the TSS rounds to see if they pattern well out of the choke... but I am hoping for a response from the manufacturer.

Only thing is sly IT IS steel shot. tungsten is steel that is harder than normal steel shot..
I wouldn't shoot it......Not in a turkey choke marked NO STEEL !!! Just put you a plain full choke back in if it came with one. Heck according to the koolaid drinkers it will pattern so good you can shoot it out of an improved cylinder !!!

Found this on internet.
considered steel shot?

designs, pellet materials and cleaner burning powders have changed things dramatically. In fact, Tungsten Super Shot or TSS is slowly becoming the gold standard –tungsten's density is nearly identical to gold– as tungsten is nearly twice as dense as lead and five times harder than steel




Third, TSS pellets are very hard, like HEVI-Shot and steel shot, requiring steel-shot-type wads to properly protect barrels and chokes from scoring and erosion. And fourth, TSS pellets are the roundest, smoothest, most uniform-sized pellets I have ever seen or tested.

Yes it’s fine for turkey hunting. Just like OTC medicine is directed as taking so many pills, you could actually take half a bottle if so desired, lol.
Now if you’re on hog patrol with the USDA shooting thousands of rounds a year, the choke is the least of your concern. You’ll be replacing that barrel once a year. I’ve shot Hevi13’s and TSS for years through a Kicks GT with no ill effects. I shoot a custom choke now that will shoot anything I want to throw down the barrel.

Interesting. I will say that I fired the TSS (and some other stuff - Winchester longbeard, Federal lead turkey #5 shot, etc.) through the factory x-full choke and it all patterned terribly. Like, nothing patterned well. Gun is a Mossberg 935 if that matters.

I have fired some lead shot through this choke and it does seem to be a big improvement but honestly it was not optimal setup for patterning the gun so I will probably try to do a better experiment with the lead shot this weekend.

Here we go again!!
Sorry jbyrd63 but Tungsten or Wolfram atomic symbol W is NOT STEEL. It is a very rare ELEMENT #74 on the periodic table of elements. It IS a metal that is about five times harder than steel and about the same weight as gold. Steel is an alloy of iron which is another element, atomic symbol Fe and other metallic elements such as chrome, nickel, molybdenum ect.

Pertaining to the OP. Large steel shot acts like RipRap as it moves very little if at all when you walk on it whereas
small steel shot tends to flow like sand. This is the reason size restrictions are put in. ie no steel larger than #4
Both Steel and Tungsten will score and damage a steel bbl if they come in contact with it. The “bridging “ effect of large steel shot mentioned earlier has a double whammy as it’s more likely to “pinhole” the petals of the wad, allowing the shot to come into contact with the bbl, and to bulge the choke due to the shot charge’s resistance to flow through the restrictions of the choke.
Will the TSS turkey loads damage a extra full turkey tube?
Due to the small shot size of most TSS loads I seen advertised 7,8,9, and the super heavy duty wads used
by the manufacturer probably not ( flow and resistance to “pinhole”). It will be interesting to hear the choke mfg
answer. Hope this helps a little.

I can tell you what the manufacturer will say...No. Why say that his choke will work when they can sell him another choke that “is” approved, lol.
Someone above mentioned patterns with a choke. I shoot 3” 1 5/8oz of #8.5’ and 9’s out of my turkey gun and get a nice even no holes pattern at 40. Now if I shoot that exact shell with only 1 3/8oz shot, it doesn’t perform as well. My particular choke just likes the larger payload for some reason.
They are coming out with a 1.75oz load of #9’s that I’ll probably shoot to see what they do.

Slydogx Anything back from Tru-Glo yet?
Curious what they’ll say.

Nothing yet

Federal just responded and suggested contacting Truglo for "a definitive answer" LOL
Still waiting on word from Truglo

Thanks, keep us posted ? I’m inclined to agree with Wanna Be. Tube mfg no. Shell mfg Shur no problem.
I do know that the waterfowl steel specific extended tubes are made of some really tough stuff 17-4? if I remember correctly. They also have a very gradual taper to the restriction. And shot size and even velocity disclaimers.

Truglo will never say its okay because it was never tested and TSS wasn’t considered when the choke was designed. Its just a liability thing. Theres no reason it shouldn’t work, but if you’re nervous buy a new one.

With the liability laws in this country you can bet if it was a danger to shoot turkey loads through a turkey tube you can bet warnings would be all over the boxes/tubes. LOL

That ankle deep kiddie pool with the no diving sticker comes to mind here.

Good analogy

Well, no answer from Truglo so I'm going to assume I won't get a response anytime soon. If I do hear from them, I 'll update the thread

Well, no response from Truglo but this is settled for me. I ran 1 round of Federal 3rd degree TSS through and no damage or scoring was evident...but
All pics at 20 yds, in order
Federal 3" #5 turkey shot
Winchester Supreme 3" #5 turkey shot
Federal TSS - still a dead bird, but no sense in spending the extra money in this gun

If those pics are in order then I won’t ever spend money on Federal TSS.
And don’t take this wrong, but at 20yds that looks like a Modified choke. With a turkey choke you should almost be blowing the center of POA out. That first pic should be what your 40yd shot looks like.

Federal #5 loads are my choice looks to be the best that last target has a big miss spot in that pattern.

Kent 3 1/2 2 1/4 #5 diamond shot at 41 yards (41 yds so I could sit on the porch).

From the TSS I have shot in 12 and 20 gage, TSS does not like the constriction of your typical extra tight turkey chokes. I shoot hand rolled TSS in my 20 through a factory full choke and it has a better pattern at 40 yds than any posted on this thread. My standard for patterning TSS is 40 yds and I get over 200 pellets in a 10" circle with my 20 at 40 yds.

Very nice pattern...and I like your thinking (41), lol!

I'm going to keep trying until I get something the gun likes, but I have a limited amount of time to get out and do things like patterning guns. I may even invest in another gun for turkey and keep the Mossberg as a goose killer.
Results through the factory x full choke and the Truglo choke have not been really satisfactory

Them 1st and 2nd targets look doable to me.

OK looks like your wasting your precious time if you want something better than the first pic!! LOL. Just how dead you want the bird. ??? TSS IS NOT the end all some claim. Been MILLIONS of birds killed with lead and they are still dead !!!

Serious question Jbyrd as I am new at this and trying to learn...is the first pic a good pattern at 20 yds? I have been lead to believe from my research that that pattern would be good at 40 yds and like the poster above noted, much tighter at 20.
I honestly have no idea what to expect beyond the stuff I see on YouTube. I am willing to listen to everyone's opinions and eager to become a better turkey hunter.

Same gun and choke at 28 yards this might answer that question.

28 yd



41 yds

Thanks Lawdog...what I take from that is that there is definitely room for improvement from my gun, but I know that it will kill a turkey inside 30 LOL.
I wish I had more opportunities to just shoot, but really, my options are practice or hunt... doing one removes my opportunity to do the other on any given day. We are so busy at my job right now that it is challenging to get out even on a Saturday.

The best pattern I have ever seen was my Nephews Mossberg combo pump with the factory full choke it fills the target with a lot of evenly spaced pellets it’s just amazing.

Its pretty well known TSS doesn’t really like tight chokes.

Here is a 20 yard pattern for my sons 20 ga. It’s just a little to the right.

Here is the 42 yard pattern, best place to shoot from the bench.

That is with a primos tight wad .570. I have an Indian cheek .555 to test in it, but have not gotten to try it yet. This was with Federal TSS # 9. Have have tried some of the 3rd degree and while better than some others, not overly impressed with it.

3rd degree is built to cover a wide range of distances so it loses some of it pattern down range so they say basically in the description.

I wasn’t knocking the pattern itself, just the distance. As long as you don’t shoot past 30 you should be good. Unfortunately I know very few people that can actually judge distance accurately when turkey hunting, myself included. My issue is open areas or fields where I don’t have a reference. I really really misjudged this year on my second bird. The bird was dead, but I do not like shooting that distance and if he had been in the woods and outside of what I ranged or my determined range, then I would have passed the shot.

I haven't taken issue with anything anyone has said here wannabe, I assume everyone is trying to help.
My opinion is the same as yours, it would be a great pattern at 40 yds...at 20, maybe not.
I have fount that this shotgun just doesn't seem to perform well with turkey loads. I've tried factory full, factory x-full and now the Truglo choke all with a variety of ammo and the best results I've ever gotten are above.
I have to believe that you can get much better performance out of a turkey set-up than what I have gotten so far.
The answer may be a dedicated turkey gun for next season or perhaps a second barrel for this old workhorse

I took a Remington youth 870 20ga and had a custom choke made for shooting Hevi13 #7’s at the time and it throws a real great pattern with 3” #9’s or 8.5’s TSS. I take my turkey hunting very seriously and want to know if I screw up on distance then I still have a dead bird after the boom. I pride myself on ethical shots but this year shows I still screw up from time to time. Still resulted in a dead bird, but it still bothers me.

I also put a Burris FastFire III on it and that really helps. Doesn’t matter if I hold it sideways or upside down, if that red dot is on the target, then it’s a dead bird.