Are 28-Gauge Shotguns Legitimate Turkey Guns Without TSS?
The short answer is it depends. The long answer depends on what distances you expect to shoot and what type of turkey loads you plan on shooting.
For instance, I would feel confident shooting a bird with a 28-gauge at 40 yards with some of the high-performance, non-TSS loads, like HEVI-Shot's Magnum Blend, which was released in 2025 in 28 gauge specifically for turkey hunting.
Here’s why.
Shotshell manufacturers use various pellet materials in their turkey load construction, including bismuth, lead and tungsten, each with different densities. For example, the density of lead is 11.2 g/cc, while the density of TSS is 18 g/cc.
In addition, different turkey loads will come in a variety of shot sizes, usually between No. 5 and 10, depending on the metal used in the load. For the lower number of shot size, the larger the diameter of the pellets within the load. So, when comparing the same loads with No. 5 or No. 7 shot, the smaller number shot is going to have larger pellets that hit harder, but fewer will fit in a load, which creates a less dense pattern.
HEVI-Shot's Magnum Blend does a little bit of it all, using a denser-than-lead 12 g/cc tungsten with a blend of No. 5, 6 and 7 pellets. The hard-hitting No. 5 shot is complemented by the pattern-filling No. 6 and 7 shot.
I cut open one of the loads to see the different shot sizes all blended together. I also asked a rep from HEVI-Shot about how many pellets were in the load. For the 2¾ HEVI-Shot Magnum Blend load, there are 201 pellets, and there are 214 in the 3-inch load.
The 3-inch load features a 1-oz shot charge and 1,300 fps, and the 2¾ load features a 15/16-ounce shot charge and 1,200 fps.
Using a full choke in a 28-gauge Benelli Super Black Eagle III and just the factory bead sight, I had solid patterns shooting the 3-inch HEVI-Shot Magnum Blend loads, and it would likely be better if I had a turkey choke for this gun. My pellet count at 20 yards was 151 pellets within a 10-inch circle, and at 40 yards the pellet count was 80 pellets within a 10-inch circle. The latter of which is a little more than 37% of the total load, and the former a little more than 70% of the total load.
The rep at HEVI-Shot said the company considers anything over 30% of the total pellet count in a shell inside of a 10-inch circle a passing grade. My 40-yard pattern exceeded that mark. Moreover, with 10 pellets in the vitals, I am confident in this load at 40 yards.
Aside from the capability of the turkey hunter or the modifications to the gun, the lethality of turkey loads isn’t black or white; rather, it is a spectrum influenced by pellet density, pellet count, pattern consistency and distance.
So, are 28-gauge shotguns legitimate turkey guns without TSS? The answer will always be: it depends. Based on my experience for a 28-gauge shotgun shooting HEVI-Shot's Magnum Blend in a 3-inch load within 40 yards, the answer is a resounding yes.