A box of Federal Black Cloud steel was listed at $23.94 for 25 shells on October 18, about 96 cents a shot. A 10-round box of Apex TSS listed at $52.49 the same day, about $5.25 a shot. Kent Bismuth sits between them, starting around $2.40. Every one of those is legal for ducks, and every one of them kills ducks. The question is what the extra money buys, and the answer is a single number: density.
Why density is the whole story
Lead was banned for waterfowl nationwide in 1991, and everything since has been an attempt to replace it. A pellet's ability to carry energy and penetrate comes down to how much mass it packs into its diameter. A dense pellet keeps its speed longer and pushes through feathers and bone more easily.
| Shot | Density (g/cc) | Vs. lead |
|---|---|---|
| Steel | ~7.9 | About 30% lighter |
| Bismuth | ~9.6 | About 15% lighter |
| Lead (banned for ducks) | 11.3 | — |
| Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) | 18 | About 60% heavier |
Winchester rates its Last Call TSS at 18 g/cc and describes it as 125 percent heavier than steel and 85 percent heavier than bismuth, according to its product announcement. Steel and bismuth figures are standard material densities.
What that density does to pellet size
This is where TSS stops looking like a luxury and starts looking like a different tool. Because each TSS pellet is so heavy for its size, you can shoot much smaller shot and get the same penetration potential, which means far more pellets in the pattern.
| Load | Pellets per ounce | Penetration index* |
|---|---|---|
| #2 steel | ~125 | 1.18 |
| #3 steel | ~153 | 1.10 |
| #4 bismuth | ~157 | 1.25 |
| #9 TSS | ~359 | 1.44 |
| #7 TSS | ~184 | 1.80 |
*Our calculation: density multiplied by pellet diameter, a rough stand-in for how a pellet penetrates relative to others. Pellet counts are calculated from standard shot diameters and densities; they match Federal's published TSS counts within about one percent.
Read the #9 TSS row against the #2 steel row. The tiny TSS pellet scores higher on penetration potential and puts nearly three times as many pellets in each ounce. Federal makes the same point in its own terms: it says a #9 TSS pellet carries at least as much penetrating energy as a #5 lead pellet at all ranges, and its testing put about 350 #9 TSS hits in a 10-inch circle at 40 yards from a 1 3/4-ounce load, against 100 to 130 for #5 lead, per Federal's Hook & Barrel explainer.
So which one?
Steel is the sensible default for decoying ducks inside 35 yards, and on cost it is not close. If ducks are finishing in the hole, a good steel load in #2 or #3 kills them, and at under a dollar a shell you can afford to practice. In a year when mallards are down 11 percent, how well you call and hide will decide more than what is in the shell.
Bismuth is the answer for older guns. Bismuth is soft, closer to lead in how it behaves in a barrel, which makes it the usual choice for vintage doubles and fixed-choke guns not rated for steel. Check your gun maker's guidance before you shoot steel or tungsten through anything old.
TSS earns its price in three situations: when birds hang at the edge of range, when you are shooting a 20 gauge or smaller and want 12-gauge performance, and when you are hunting late-season birds that will not commit. It is also harder than steel, so follow the ammo and choke maker's recommendations. Plenty of hunters carry a handful of TSS for the end of the hunt and shoot steel for the rest; a leather shell bag on the belt makes it easy to keep the two separate.
We have not patterned these loads. The densities, prices and pellet data come from the manufacturers and retailers named, and the index and counts are our labeled arithmetic. Pattern your own gun with your own choke before the season; patterns vary more gun to gun than most hunters expect.
The rest of the setup
The shell is one variable. A call you can actually run matters more on a slow day, and our single-reed call guide walks through that. Wet-weather hunts are a gear problem first; see our wet-weather guide. Breathable waders like the Paramount Deacon's Marsh and the rest of our waterfowl gear are where the cost per hunt actually adds up. And if the shell prices above surprised you, here is why ammo costs what it does in 2026.
Prices listed by Midwest Gun Works (Federal Black Cloud 12 ga 3" 1 1/4 oz #3, sold out at time of check), Kinsey's (Apex TSS Z-Series 12 ga 3" #7.5, MAP) and Molly's (Kent Bismuth 12 ga 3" 1 3/8 oz #4, starting price) on October 18, 2026.