TSS 10 shot and 11 shot are some of the smallest tungsten pellets available for waterfowl and turkey hunting. It’s almost unbelievable that pellets this small could be effective, but they do have several applications where they excel.
Hunting smaller ducks, such as teal and wood ducks, inside 40 yards is one of these scenarios. TSS 10 shot contains over 500 pellets per ounce. This pellet density is unmatched by any other load, but do these pellets have the power to penetrate?
TSS 10 Shot Ballistics
| 10 Shot TSS | Results |
|---|---|
| Pellets per ounce | 525 |
| Feet per Second (FPS) | 1300 |
| Max Distance (1.5″ penetration) | 50 yards |
| Final Velocity (FPS) | 586 |
The chart above shows the ballistics for TSS 10 shot at 1300 fps and the max distance at which it will penetrate to 1.5”. This indicates that 10 shot is effective to at least 50 yards for most waterfowl.
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Real World Results with TSS 10 Shot
The real-world results and reviews for TSS 10 and 11 shot have been mixed. While it has resulted in clean kills on medium sized waterfowl past 40 yards, there is some concern over the need to dispatch wounded birds more frequently.
This could be a result of poor shot placement which is more prominent due to smaller pellets not being able to adequately bring down birds if multiple pellets don’t hit vitals. Another factor could be that shots are being taken beyond the effective ranges of these small pellets.
Regardless, 10 and 11 shot seem to provide a niche for extreme pellet density on controlled shots on waterfowl and turkeys inside 40 yards. The true potential of these pellets has yet to be discovered.
SUMMARY
Very few field tests exist for TSS 10 and 11 shot, but the consensus seems to be that it’s a viable pellet size if you can stay within the effective range. Expecting too much out of these small pellets is only increasing cripple rates.
TSS Pattern Improvement Tips
Patterning TSS for waterfowl is a challenge since it patterns so tightly. Being able to consistently hit birds at 30 or 35 yards, means likely missing the birds at 10 yards due to the small pattern diameter. Here are some things you can do to get TSS to open up.
1) Open up the choke tube
For the 12 gauge start with a 0.722” choke, in the 20 gauge a .620″ choke (improved skeet), in the 28 gauge a .542″ to .545″, and a .410″ in a .410. Start by patterning with a cylinder choke and work your way to skeet, improved skeet, and finally improved cylinder to see what works the best. To see what diameter your chokes are, check out the diameter chart here.
2) Put a hard wad or straight wad under the shot
If you reload ammo have a lot of cushion under the shot, it will tighten your pattern. The hard surface under the shot acts as a disrupting force once the shot column is put into motion and it doesn’t allow the column to compress as tight.
3) Duplex TSS with steel in a combo using an open choke
Duplex loads aren’t anything new, but TSS tends to work well duplexed with steel shot. The steel pellets open up quicker to take birds down close range and the TSS does the job for longer range birds. If you happen to center a shot on close-range birds though, it will make swiss cheese out of the bird and that does happen occasionally.
Bottom Line
TSS 10 shot is effective under 40 yards for small ducks. It retains enough penetration out to 50 yards, but real world results show that it lacks consistent knockdown power at that range.
TSS 11 shot should only be used for in close decoying action where shots rarely exceed 30 yards. The effectiveness of 10 and 11 shot is not well known, nor widely used at the moment. More results and testing will be needed to fully evaluate these small pellets for waterfowl hunting.
If you’re considering a new TSS choke, check out the latest options here.
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Last update on 2025-09-05 / Affiliate links / Product Images from Amazon Product Advertising API