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Every shot at a turkey is a unique and random event. You throw hundreds of pellets downrange, hoping a few find the head and neck. It’s a target, as one custom choke maker once described it to me, “the size of a walnut balanced on a pencil.” Hitting that target seems like a haphazard proposition, but it’s highly repeatable if you choose the right shotgun, choke, and load.
As turkey hunters, or at least as turkey shooters, we live in a strange and wonderful time. Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) shoots patterns—even from smallbores—that we could never have imagined possible a few years ago. The extreme density of TSS means that shot as small as 9 and 10 are adequate for turkeys—which means that TSS payloads contain more shot than lead shells ever could. More shot, especially if it’s uniform, round, and dense as TSS is, result in patterns that produce, frankly, double and triple overkill on turkeys at normal ranges. TSS also permits longer ethical shots than were ever possible before.
TSS isn’t cheap, though. But just as hunters have decided it’s okay to pay $400 for a cooler or $1000 for waders, we’ve collectively agreed that $10-plus per shell is a reasonable price for high-performance ammunition. Many of us have, anyway. There are still solid lead options on the market, too, for those who don’t want or need to spend so much on ammo. This year, Federal adds a bismuth turkey load to the mix for those who need a non-toxic load that won’t damage an old gun and choke. I pattern-tested several new loads, as well as some old stand-bys, to help you pick your turkey poison for 2025.
The Best Turkey Loads of 2025
Best Pattern: Apex Turkey
Best Lead Load: Winchester Long Beard XR
Best Bismuth: Federal Hevi-Bismuth
How We Tested the Best Turkey Loads
The first step was to examine the exterior of the shells, then dissect each shell, examine the components, and count the pellets to be sure the manufacturer’s specs were accurate. Pattern tests with each shell were conducted at 40 yards. I used a 10-inch circle to evaluate patterns (see below), as that small circle is the right size to encompass a turkey’s head and neck. And, it has become the standard for testing turkey loads in place of the traditional 30-inch circle used to evaluate patterns for wingshooting.
The results were tabulated and evaluated for effectiveness. Any failures to function (dead primers, etc.) were noted, although this year, aside from one slightly misshapen Hevi-Metal Xtreme hull that still loaded and cycled, there were no ammo malfunctions. I used one 12-gauge (870 Super Mag with Rob Roberts .660 choke), one 20-gauge (Winchester SXP Long Beard with factory choke), and one .410 (Mossberg 500 with factory choke) for my tests, in full knowledge that some loads prefer other guns and other chokes. For Federal bismuth, I broke out my old 3-inch, factory Full Model 12 to represent the type of gun that ammo is made for. Your mileage might vary from my results, but these are all common guns in the turkey woods.
Best Pattern: Apex Turkey
Specs
Gauges: 3 ½-inch 10-gauge, 3 ½-, 3-inch, and 2 ¾-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch and 2 ¾-inch 20-gauge
Material: TSS
Payloads: 2 ½-ounces (10- and 3 ½-inch 12-gauge) and 2 ¼ and 2 ounces (3-inch 12) 1 5/8 ounces (3-inch 20-gauge), 1 ½ ounces (2 ¾-inch 20-gauge)
Velocity: 1100 to 1200 fps
Shot sizes: 7 ½, 8, 9
Load tested: 3-inch 12-gauge 2 ¼-ounce 9 shot
Price: $57-84 per 5
Apex was the first company to factory-load TSS, beating Federal by a nose. “Factory” is a slight misnomer since every TSS turkey shell that comes out of the Apex plant is hand-loaded. The red-hulled 12-gauge shells have roll crimp with a white over-shot card on top. Inside, there are lots of small, very round, shiny pellets packed in ample amounts of plastic buffer. There’s also a thick felt filler wad at the bottom of the shotcup.
In my 870, these shells put an average of 287 hits into the 10-inch circle at 40 yards. That is a lot of holes, bringing to mind the quote, “quantity has a quality all its own.” My results in the field with these loads last spring did nothing to disprove that statement. I shot one bird at 30 yards and a second at 50, and that latter turkey was extremely well-hit. When you care enough to send the very most, a 12-gauge load of Apex makes a great choice.
Best Lead Load: Winchester Long Beard XR
Specs
Gauges: 3 ½-, 3-inch, and 2 ¾-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge
Material: Lead
Payloads: 2 1/8 and 2 ounces (3 ½-inch 12), 1 7/8 and 1 ¾ ounces (3-inch 12), 1 ¼ ounces (2 ¾-inch 12), 1 ¼ ounces (20-gauge)
Velocity: 1000 (20-gauge) to 1300 fps (2 ¾-ounce 12-gauge)
Shot sizes: 4, 5, 6 shot (20-gauge in 5 and 6 only)
Load tested: 3-inch 12-gauge 5 shot high velocity (1 3/4-ounce payload), also one shot high velocity 12-gauge 6 shot
Price: $35.99-42.99
Winchester Long Beard is unique among turkey loads. There’s an extra step in the loading process: after the shot drops into the shotcup, molten resin is poured onto it. The resin then hardens into a solid casing, which shatters upon ignition. That casing turns into shards of cushioning buffer that protect the lead shot and keep it round as the shot accelerates from 0 to 1200 fps in an instant. Buffer keeps the pellets round, and round pellets fly true. Long Beard adds yards to lead’s effective range while remaining much more affordable than high-dollar tungsten-iron.
At 40 yards, Long Beard delivered a sure-killing 108 hits on target with 5 shot. Because I found a random load of 6s that had somehow made it into my range bag, I shot it as a bonus. It recorded 168 hits in the 10-inch circle. Either load would flatten a turkey at 40 or a few yards more. Long Beard comes in both magnum (heavier payload) and high velocity. Although increasing velocity should open patterns, I’ve found the HV to be great loads.
Best Bismuth: Federal Hevi-Bismuth
Specs
Gauges: 3-inch 12-gauge
Material: Bismuth
Payloads: 1 ¾ ounces (12-gauge), 1 ¼ ounces (20-gauge)
Velocity: 1300 fps
Shot sizes: 4/5 blend
Load tested: 12- and 20-gauge
Price: $23.99/5
Hevi-Bismuth is a name familiar enough to waterfowl hunters, and this year HeviShot offers bismuth turkey loads in 12- and 20-gauges. They come packed in the traditional tan HeviShot hull in 12-gauge and yellow in 20-gauge, with a star crip and the familiar flax-seed filler. The pellets, like HeviShot pellets, aren’t especially round or uniform, and I couldn’t always tell the 4s from the 5s. The shotcup is fairly thin because the brittle pellets can’t hurt a steel barrel, and the shot is nestled in along with a fine buffer material to help cushion it during setback.
Given bismuth usually patterns a little less efficiently than lead, I wasn’t expecting greatness from these shells. My results with the 20-gauge and turkey choke were uniform and uninspiring. I wondered if passing through a tight choke might be hard on the bismuth pellets, and when I ran some of the 12-gauge loads through a Full choke Model 12, they averaged 55 hits in a 10-inch circle at 40 yards, putting them on a par with many lead loads. Given that, I would reserve these for shots inside of 35 yards. The best use for this shell would be an occasion where you wanted to shoot non-toxic shot through an older gun that can't handle TSS.
Boss Tom
Specs
Gauges: 3-inch 12- and 3-inch 20-gauge, 2 ¾-inch 28-gauge
Material: TSS
Payloads: 2 ½ ounces (12-gauge), 2 1/16 ounces (20-gauge), 1 ¼ ounces (28-gauge)
Velocity: 1050 fps
Shot sizes: 7 and 9
Load tested: 20-gauge 7 shot
Price: $60/5 (20-gauge)
Boss offers heavier payloads than anyone else in their Boss Tom TSS line. The 3-inch 20-gauge shells I tried hold over 2 ounces of shot—2 1/16 ounces to be exact—which is nuts. The hull has a folded crimp and nicely stamped printing on the side. The uniform, copper-plated shot is pretty, too. It’s also buffered, and both the buffer and the plating help the shot flow smoothly through the choke.
Although a friend’s gun shot impressive patterns with this load in 9 shot, my results with the factory Winchester choke were very good, but not great. Still, they averaged 110 hits in a 10-inch circle at 40 yards. Given that TSS 7 shot should be superior to lead 4s in penetration, that’s a lot of punch from a 20-gauge and a dead bird ten times out of ten as long as I don’t stretch too much beyond 40.
Winchester Long Beard TSS
Specs
Gauges: 3 ½- and 3-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge, 3- and 2 ¾-inch 28-gauge, 3-inch .410
Material: TSS
Payloads: 2 ¾ ounces (3 ½-inch 12), 2 3/8 ounces (3-inch 12-gauge), 1 9/16 ounces (20-gauge), 1 ½ ounces (3-inch 28), 1 ¼ ounces (2 ¾-inch 28), 9/16 (3-inch .410)
Velocity: 1050-1100 fps
Shot sizes: 8 or 9 in 12- and 20-gauge, 9 in 28 and .410
Load tested: 3-inch 12-gauge 8 shot
Price: $60-$100 per 5
Winchester responded to customer demand for a TSS turkey load by coming out with a full line of Long Beard TSS in 2025. Available in all gauges (including 3-inch 28) except for the 16, Winchester Long Beard TSS has a shell for any turkey gun. These new loads are buffered, although not with the epoxy buffer of the lead Long Beard, because TSS pellets are too hard to deform. Instead, the buffer helps the heavy payloads flow smoothly through a tight choke tube.
Winchester offers the 12- and 20-gauge shells in either 9 shot, which is common in TSS loadings, or 8 shot. Eights are a nice compromise, as the pellet counts of 9 shot veer deeply into oversaturation and overkill territory, while 7 shot gives you a ton of penetration energy (perhaps more than you need) but sacrifices pellet count. There are 254 pellets in an ounce of TSS 8 shot, so the 2 3/8-ounce 12-gauge load contains 600 pellets, each with almost the penetration energy of lead 2 shot. Long Beard shot one “bad” pattern of 146 hits in the 10-inch circle, and even that is more than enough. Overall, it averaged 198 hits, which is very good performance, especially because these size 8 pellets retain monster energy.
Remington Nitro Turkey
Specs
Gauges: 3 ½-, 3-inch, and 2 ¾-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge
Material: Lead
Payloads: 2 ounces (3 ½-inch 12), 1 7/8 ounces (3-inch 12), 1 ½ ounces (2 ¾-inch 12), 1 ¼ ounces (20-gauge)
Velocity: 1185 (20-gauge) to 1300 fps
Shot sizes: 4, 5, 6 shot (20-gauge in 5 only)
Load tested: 3-inch 12-gauge 5 shot
Price: $14.99-22.99
I will always be fond of these shells because I shot my first turkey with a 2 ¾-inch Remington Nitro Mag load of 5 shot out of my Browning Double Automatic with a fixed Modified choke. The bird was 35 yards away and fell just as dead as it would have had I hit it with a swarm of TSS 9s. That was a long time ago, but there is still a place for lead in the turkey woods, and it has a huge cost advantage over TSS. You can almost buy ten of these for the price of one TSS shell. Still, turkey hunting is a one-shot game, so your one cheap shell has to deliver. Shooting these loads and counting holes was like a lesson in turkey-hunting history. They averaged 55 hits in a 10-inch circle at 40 yards. By the standards of the '80s and early '90s, we’d have called that a near-40-yard load.
I did have problems with the hulls sticking to the chamber of my gun, which can happen when rough chambers and inexpensively made hulls meet. These may work fine in your gun, and if you want to save money and shoot your turkeys at 35 yards or less (which is a win-win, frankly, because shooting turkeys close is way more fun than shooting them far away), these shells might be your answer.
Apex Mossy Oak Greenleaf Turkey
Specs
Gauges: 3-inch 12, 3-inch 20, 2 ¾-inch 28, 3-inch .410
Material: TSS
Payloads: 3-inch 12 Gauge (2-1/4oz) and 20 Gauge (1-5/8oz), 28 Gauge 2 3/4″ (1-1/2oz), .410 (7/8 ounce)
Velocity: 1060 fps
Shot sizes: 9/10 blend
Load tested: .410
Price: $84.99/10 in .410
Packed in a 10-round Mossy Oak Greenleaf camo box with the gold Apex logo on top, these shells impress before you ever get a look at the black hulls inside. Like the larger Apex Turkey load, they have a roll crimp and a round overshot wad. There’s a skinny .410 shotcup inside with a layer of tiny TSS 10 shot on top of some 9s resting on a foam cushion wad. The total pellet count between the 9s and 10s is 362 pellets.
In a Mossberg 500 turkey gun with a factory choke, the Apex Greenleafs averaged 118 hits in a 10-inch circle at 40 yards. That’s enough hits to make this a 40-yard turkey gun. Beyond that distance, the smaller 10-shot may begin to run low on penetration energy. I did have a problem with these sticking in the chambers of the 500. As I mentioned earlier, it takes both the wrong shell and the wrong gun for this problem to occur. I fired a couple through my H&R single shot. I was confident a break-action would eject the hulls, and it did.
Migra TSS
Specs
Gauges: 3-inch 12, 3-inch 20, 3-inch .410
Material: TSS
Payloads: 2 ounces (3-inch 12-gauge), 1 5/8 ounces (3-inch 20-gauge), 7/8-ounce (3-inch /.410)
Velocity: 1100 fps
Shot sizes: 7/9 blend, 9
Load tested: 20-gauge 7/9 blend
Price: $70 per 5 20-gauge
Migra, the boutique shell-maker from South Carolina, built a reputation among duck hunters for its stacked TSS/steel loads. For turkeys, Migra goes all-TSS, offering both straight 9s and 7/9 stacked loads in 12- and 20-gauge and .410. They come in a bulky but handsome box, and the shells themselves look great. I appreciated the shot size stamped on the steel cartridge head, where it will last longer. Most turkey shells are loaded and unloaded many times before they are ever shot, so it’s nice to have durable printing that won’t wear off, leaving you to wonder what’s inside the hull.
The shell is closed with nice 8-point crimp, rarely seen outside of target loads. That crimp, plus the overshot card underneath it, assures that moisture (within reason, these aren’t duck shells) stays out and the fine-grained buffer stays in. The stacked loads combine 40 percent 7 shot on top of 60 percent 9 shot for a total of 444 pellets in my 20-gauge test shells. At 40 yards, they averaged 134 hits in the 10-inch circle, which is good and could probably be better if you tried different chokes. It's more than enough that I’d be confident in shooting at 45-yard-plus turkeys with these shells.
FAQs
Q: Are tungsten turkey loads worth it?
Tungsten shells are expensive, no question. They also outperform lead by a wide margin. But are they really worth $10 or more per shell? If you want to ethically hunt with a .410 or 28-gauge without limiting yourself to shots inside 20-25 yards, you’ll need TSS. That’s because you can fit enough small, dense TSS pellets in those slender hulls to have adequate pellet counts, resulting in patterns tight enough to reliably put several hits on a turkey’s head and neck at ranges to 40 yards. TSS is also worth the money if you want to take shots beyond 50 yards with heavier 12-gauge or 20-gauge loads. If you keep your shots inside 40 yards, which is incidentally the most fun way to hunt turkeys, then regular lead loads are all you need.
Q: What’s the best shot size for turkeys? 5 or 6?
In lead shot, both 5 and 6 are very popular among turkey hunters. Six shot has the advantage of higher pellet counts per ounce (about 220 for 6s vs 170 for 5s) so most of the time, a load of 6 shot will put more pellets on target, and that’s important when that target is as small as a turkey’s head and neck. Five shot is bigger and heavier and retains more energy than 6s at longer ranges. For shots over 40 yards, that extra energy matters because you want pellets that will penetrate the bones of the skull and vertebrae. The answer is to pattern your gun and see how it performs with each shot size. You can evaluate patterns by how many hits your shell puts in a 10-inch circle at the range you hope to shoot a bird. Ideally, you’ll see at least 100 pellet strikes in that circle with whatever shot you choose.
Q: What choke is best for turkey loads?
Most turkey hunters choose very tight extended choke tubes for turkey hunting, with constrictions much greater than you find in a standard full choke. Such chokes produce the “hot center” that packs a lot of pellets into the pattern core for head and neck hits. In 12-gauge, .660 and .665 chokes are popular. Before you buy a special choke, try the standard Full that comes with your gun. It should be fine for shots inside 35 yards and be a little easier to hit with, as the pattern will be slightly bigger than it will with a turkey choke at closer ranges. Also, I have found that TSS shoots very tight patterns with a regular Full choke, although I do use turkey chokes in my guns.
Pattern Your Gun to Find the Best Turkey Load
This guide should give you an idea of what’s on the market and how it might perform. However, your gun and choke will pattern differently, possibly much better, maybe worse, with some of these loads than mine. There’s no substitute for shooting your own patterns. Take the time and money to do some testing with your gun, choke, and loads before the season.
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