I shot a bird a couple weeks ago with my son's 20 with herters TSS #9s at 17 yards. Not sure if it was a wad failure or what but I got no shot expansion. It was the 3rd bird killed this season with that combination. My son shot his at 50 and it dropped the bird great(no shot in breast). I shot the top of the head off one at 10 yards which should be expected. But then this one got me worried. It was walking and if I would have missed I dont know what I would have thought happened. Anybody else have issues with this shell?

Don't lay them on a magnet so long next time , Lol

I didn't know they made a TSS slug. I would switch ammo.

I know someone else who bought some Herter’s TSS and they said it was a HOT round. That right there at 17 yards shouldn’t happen.

Shoot it on paper and see what it looks like at close range. I have no experience with Herters ammo

For everyone that keeps asking why you would load your own when you can just buy them.

This is exactly why you roll your own, Guaranteed consistency!!

Frankie touched on something I've experimented with .

I know some of the Tungsten we use is not pure and must be an alloy. Pure Tungsten is non-ferrous . When I had a shot trap , I was retrieving shot with a magnet. I wasn't supposed to be able to do that with Tungsten . I took some to work and put it on a de-magnetizer . I found I could mag and de-mag it. I have a video where I magnetized what was "supposed " to be high quality Tungsten , pulling pellets around a surface plate with other pellets. After that , I always took both my used and new shot into work and ran it across the de-magnetizer.

As of now Herter’s are made by Winchester
Winchester is known for making the same named loads from differing components and making adjustments to the mix.

I tip my hat to you sir. That’s a great shot. I whizzed one over an Eastern at 12 steps this season.

Yep, you had it on him!

Winchester is one of few ammo brands I will not shoot under any circumstances.

I’d be cautious shooting Browning TSS. My little 410 absolutely sprays them out compared to Apex or Federal.

Yeah, I bought a very slightly used Stevens 310 a guy bought for his wife. I got a few Browning shells with it . I patterned it with Browning ammo and thought all this 410 stuff was BS . I polished the bore and started feeding it better ammo and it's a killer.

Nice shot

You were on that joker there! Very nice. I get antsy when they get within 20, within 10 I’m trying to take all the feathers off the back of their neck

I always liked the XX Magnums by winchester. But Ive never been able to get good results in the longbeard labeled shells. For waterfowl the drylok winchesters have always performed for me.

The smell was extra strong when I pulled the trigger too. And seemed like a paper filler hung in the air. Maybe there is some truth to the too hot theory or maybe that specific shell was loaded with too much powder.

I was very hesitant to buy TSS because Ive thought it is a waste of money due to its cost. But, since my 10 year old had such a bad experience last deer season I bought a couple boxes to make his kill range farther for his 20 gauge. He needed it in Illinois and it worked out great.

The shell I patterned at 30 looked great. I'd say 99% of shot was 10 inches. I would have figured at 17 steps that it would have a 5-7 inch pattern. At 10 yards I would hope 2+ inches. But I didnt shoot the $10 shells at those distances.

The setup is a winchester SX3 20 with a carlsons TSS heavyweight choke (.555).

I hate to have my son miss next year because I gave him a load that didnt perform like it should.

BTW: My older son shot his turkey in Illinois the same morning way too far away with remington nitro turkey loads and it killed it stone dead. He has a 3" 12 gauge though. I always have to get my nitro mag plug in! Hahaha Ive shot almost all of my turkeys with them going back to 1989.


Thanks for your insight aldeer members and beware.

I’ve just had a lot of inconsistencies with their ammo. I’ve had bad primers, bullets literally fall out of the casing, rifle bullets not expand etc. They very well may be doing fine for others, but I’m not taking the chance on anything Winchester sales, cause I’ve had it happen several times.

I hit a flying skeet one time with 00 buckshot. Your shot on that turkey has me beat.