TSS Pellet Count Chart (per ounce)

This TSS pellet chart lists the approximate number of pellets per ounce of popular Tungsten Super Shot pellet sizes. TSS pellet sizes range from large #2 pellets to the smallest #11 pellets.

TSS pellets have a density of 18 g/cc and are 33% heavier than Hevishot and 38% heavier than lead. These heavy tungsten pellets are at the ballistic forefront for turkey, waterfowl, and predator hunting.

TSS Pellet Count Chart

For more info on TSS and the choke tubes that work well with it, read the TSS guide here.

What is Tungsten Super Shot?

TSS stands for Tungsten Super Shot and is a metal shotgun pellet used for waterfowl and turkey hunting. TSS is made up of almost pure tungsten at 18 g/cc (pure tungsten is 19.25 g/cc for comparison). The performance of this ultra-dense pellet exceeds standard shotgun pellets such as steel, lead, and hevishot.

TSS Pattern Improvement Tips

Patterning TSS for waterfowl has been a challenge for me and I would consistently hit birds at 30 or 35 yards and miss the birds at 10 yards due to the small pattern diameter. Here are some things I have done to help get TSS to open up.

1) Open up the choke tube

In the 12ga I use a 0.722” choke, in the 20ga a .620″ choke (improved skeet), in the 28ga 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 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 opens 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.

Conclusion

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.

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