The Top Tungsten Turkey Loads for 2025 – Expert Tested

There has always been a connection between hunting large birds and shooting large shot sizes.

For doves, I shoot #7 shot; for pheasants, I usually have #5s; ducks, #4s; and for geese, you will be hard-pressed to find me shooting anything but BBs. However, with the introduction of tungsten to turkey loads, there has been a new trend for hunting North America’s largest upland bird: lowering the shot size but increasing the payload to create denser patterns at all ranges.

My first introduction to tungsten loads in the field was with my college roommate. He arrived at our annual patterning day to double-check our red dots before opening day with #9 tungsten shot packed in a 3 ½” shell. To say I was impressed by the pattern was an understatement. I just wasn’t quite sold on leaving behind my #5, #6, #7 blended shells for that small of a shot size quite yet. That was, until I saw how well he held an ethical pattern past 40 yards. I have always made 40 yards my max shot for a turkey—partially because I enjoy the thrill of working a bird as closely as I possibly can, but also because I felt that’s where my old shells started to develop holes in their pattern.

But then, I compared TSS loads from some of the top names in hunting shotshell production to show you how they stack up against each other.

About The Test

To understand how these shells stack up to one another, I wanted to stretch them out a bit, so I set up my 3-foot by 3-foot patterning board at 40 yards and covered it with large sheets of brown paper to catch the patterns. I chose this distance because it is still an ethical shot range but will allow me to count the individual pellet impacts for comparison, instead of the typical TSS giant hole-punching we see at 20 yards.

All loads were shot through my personal turkey hunting set up to make sure that everything was tested under a constant. I used my 12 ga Benelli SBE II with a 24” barrel. My current choke of choice is an Avian X Crusher Turkey Choke in .665. I top it all off with a Burris Fast Fire III red dot. For consistency, I took all the shots off a stable shooting bench and used Caldwell AR Tactical DeadShot Combo bags, which allowed for a solid rest with my pistol grip style gun stock.

After firing each load, I labeled and collected a separate paper for each. Once home, I identified where the core of each pattern was (I did not sight my red dot for each load) and traced a 10” circle around it. I then counted the total impacts inside the circle and recorded the results below.

*This post contains links through the Bass Pro Shops Affiliate Program. While all products are independently selected by our expert Riff Outdoors team, unless stated otherwise, if you use these links to make a purchase, we may earn a commission.

Results

Boss Unmuzzled Tom

#9 Shot
2 ¾”
1050 FPS
905 Factory Pellet Count
MSRP: $65.00 for 5 Shells

Out of my test gun, I found that the BOSS Unmuzzled Tom loads performed the best. 482 (53%) out of the original 905 pellets landed in the 10” circle. It was impressive that the BOSS loads shot 50% of their pellets into the 10” core at 40 yards. The performance of this load is on par with, if not better than, most non-TSS loads at half the distance.

APEX Next Level Ninja

#8 ½, and #9 ½ Shot
3”
1190 FPS
854 Factory Pellet Count
MSRP: $74.99 for 5

APEX lived up to my bias toward blended shotshells with these Next Level Ninjas. With almost 50% of the total payload landing in the 10” core at 40 yards, I was more than happy with the 421 (49%) pellet count. Personally, if there were more time before the season, I would have liked to dial in my red dot and run these shells for the season. Given the choice, you’ll likely find blended loads in my vest during the spring season!

Federal Custom Shop

#9 Shot
2 ¾”
1100 FPS
N/A Factory Pellet Count
$149.00 for 10

Before beginning my testing, I was most excited about shooting these Federal Custom Shop loads. Not only have I always been a big fan of Federal shotshells throughout my shotgun sports career, but I was also intrigued by the Custom Shop “hand-loaded” designation. Through their website, you can select the shell length, shot size, and muzzle velocity. Federal then hand-loads your order and ships it to you. Even though I saw an almost 100-pellet decrease between these and the APEX loads, the Federals seemed to be the truest shooting—point-of-aim—through my setup, still putting up an impressive 331 pellet count in their core.

Migra Custom Turkey

#7 and #9 Shot
3”
1200 FPS
545 Factory Pellet Count
$69.99 for 5

Although Migra came in with the lowest pellet count at 247 (45%), I wasn’t disappointed in its performance. This shell threw a solid pattern with no significant holes. There’s no doubt in my mind that this shell would live up to any expectations. I’d also like to mention Migra’s shell box: they’ve incorporated a push-button locking system, which I thought was quite clever and keeps each round secure against the rigors of travel. No one likes unpacking all their gear when they arrive at camp only to find their shells floating around.

Conclusion

While each of these loads will perform differently depending on the gun and choke they’re shot through, this test provided a look into how the four loads stacked up against each other. The results point to Boss as the best performer, but there’s no denying that any of these shells would provide a lethal pattern at extended ranges.

Thanks to tungsten’s high mass, which allows for smaller shot sizes, all of these shells threw a dense, hole-free pattern at the tested range. If you’re on the fence about switching from your trusted non-tungsten load, it might be time to take the leap of faith.The post The Top Tungsten Turkey Loads for 2025 – Expert Tested first appeared on Whiskey Riff.