Turkey hunting has been my favorite hobby since I killed my first spring gobbler in 1966, using a 20 gauge Winchester 37. Since then I have used a lot of different guns and types of shells. Though a turkey is a big bird, he has a central nervous system that is quite vulnerable. From the top his head to the base of his neck is about 16". Punch just one hole through that and he will probably die. Punch a lot of holes through it and he will die instantly. This vulnerability is the reason many hunters started using TSS; I've used it for 9 seasons.

In that time, I've shot turkeys with TSS in size 7, 8, 8.5, 9, and 9.5. I started out using #8 in a 12 gauge gun. A #8 TSS pellet is the same weight as a #6.4 lead pellet, and that seemed to me to be as small as I wanted to go. But over the years other hunters were having success with #9 and smaller, and they were able to do it with smaller gauge guns. I decided to try #9 in 20 gauge several years ago and have switched to it exclusively. It does seem like small shot for such a big bird, but the fact that we are shooting them only in the head and neck is the reason it is so effective. My gun will produce around 300 hits in a 10 inch circle at 40 yards, and that translates into a whole lot of hits in the CNS of the turkey.

I hope this explanation helps everyone understand why the small shot is so popular.