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With the United States celebrating its 250th birthday this year, ammo companies have introduced several commemorative offerings to mark the occasion. They are also making sure we have enough new shotshells to see the next 250 years in with a bang. Last year, high bismuth prices were the issue. This year, it’s tungsten prices that are rising. You can expect to pay a lot more for your TSS turkey loads, and you can look into alternatives, like Migra’s new Hybrid lead/TSS blends, or Winchester’s Last Call Double Shot, which similarly blends small TSS and larger steel pellets for waterfowl. There’s also plenty of all-steel and all-lead loads for hunters and clay shooters. Here are the new loads released in Las Vegas this week, plus other new shells that have already been on the market for a couple of months.
Federal America 250th Top Gun Shotshell
To mark the 250th birthday of the United States, Federal releases a special run of its Top Gun target loads. The 12-gauge loads contain 1 1/8 ounces of 8 shot at 1145 fps and are packed in a box decorated with fireworks, stars, stripes, and the Statue of Liberty. I've shot a ton of Top Gun over the years. It’s good stuff, and the hulls are easy to reload.
Federal Raptor Steel
Federal partnered with choke expert Rob Roberts on a line of steel shells named after Roberts’ Raptor chokes. More shot sizes join the lineup this year. Now you can choose among 1 3/8-ounce payloads of 2, 3, or 4 shot in 12-gauge or an ounce of the same in 20. Launched at 1400 fps, these loads hit hard, as I found out in Saskatchewan last fall.
Migra Hybrid Turkey Loads
One way to beat the high price of TSS is to use less of it. Migra’s new Hybrid loads combine lead 5 shot with their ballistic equivalent, TSS 9 shot. The 2-ounce 12-gauge load combines 217 lead 5s with 200 TSS 9s. The 20-gauge holds 141 lead 5s and 200 TSS 9s. Both loads have a velocity of 1100 fps. Migra claims more than 200 hits in a 10-inch circle at 40 yards with either load, and the price is well below what you’ll be paying for all-TSS this spring.
Federal Upland Steel
Federal extends its Upland Steel line in a very useful direction with the addition of 4 and 5 shot in 12-gauge. The 1 1/8-ounce, 1400 fps shells are loaded with pheasants in mind, and they are exactly what you need to hunt many state and most Federal lands where pheasants abound and lead is illegal.
Remington Final Strut
Final Strut shells contain 12-gram/cubic centimeter-density tungsten-iron pellets, the same as the original denser-than-lead HeviShot that changed turkey loads forever when it appeared in the late 90s/early 2000s. The lineup includes two 2-ounce 3-inch 12-gauge loads of 6 or 7 shot and two 3-inch, 1 ½-ounce 20-gauge loads of 6 or 7, all at 1090 fps, and these will hit as hard as HeviShot always has.
Fiocchi 100-Packs
Fiocchi combines its White Wing dove loads and its Arkansas Steel in four-packs with built-in carry handles for 2026, so you can pick up 100 shells and go. Having been whitewing hunting not long ago, I can see where 100 shells could come in handy on those days the birds fly extra-high. And the 12-gauge, 1 1/8 of 7 ½ shot at 1250 is enough to reach up for tall birds. The Arkansas Steel comes in 3-inch, 12-gauge, 1 1/5-ounce loads of 2, 3, or 4 shot at 1550 fps.
Winchester Last Call Double Shot
Last Call Double Shot delivers high performance at a price below all-TSS loads. Mostly steel with a pinch of potent TSS, Last Call Double Shot increases pattern density over all-steel loads. I shot the 12-gauge BBx7 at ducks and geese this fall and was very impressed. There’s also a 2 ½ steel x 9 TSS loading in both 12- and 20-gauge. Twelve-gauge velocity is 1425 fps, while 20-gauge is one ounce at 1350.
Winchester AA Super Spreader
Made with close-range sporting clays targets in mind, these spreader loads will be perfect for woodcock and early-season grouse when the canopy is thick with leaves. The 12-gauge, 1-ounce loads of lead 8 shot have a velocity of 1250 fps. The shotcup features an X-shaped post that forces pellets to spread quickly, opening patterns and giving you a much wider margin for error on close shots. Winchester claims patterns are up to 70 percent larger at 20 yards with these spreaders compared to standard target loads.
Winchester Long Beard TSS
Technically, Long Beard TSS is a new load for 2026, as it was introduced after SHOT 2025. But it was available in time for spring turkeys last year, and I was able to shoot one of my South Dakota toms with 12-gauge Long Beard and one with .410 Long Beard. The .410 loads were especially impressive when we had a chance to shoot patterns and gel blocks with them out to some very long ranges. The loads come in 3- and 3 ½-inch 12-gauge and 3-inch 20-gauge, 2 ¾- and 3-inch 28-gauge, and 3-inch .410 in 8 and 9 shot.
