Field-Testing: HOP Munitions TSS Turkey Loads Hit Hard

*Written by Mark Abel

“That’s the hardest I’ve ever seen a bird get hit” was my answer to Shawn, our company’s owner, when he asked how our first ever HOP Munitions TSS Turkey load performed in the field. 

It was a gorgeous sunrise, and a little late in what was proving to be a damp and difficult Ohio spring turkey season. The birds weren’t gobbling on roost and the woods only seemed to be filled with songbirds and squirrels. I set a single hen decoy out to the south in the middle of a cut in the woods, settled in on the base of a huge old oak and simply enjoyed the peace and serenity of the moment… But the morning quickly went from calm to chaos when a big tom to the east responded to some soft calls I made on my favorite glass call. I quickly and quietly shifted my position and called again only to hear several more toms, it seemed in every direction, open up.

For almost the next hour, I was given the almost surreal opportunity to be in the middle of multiple fired up thunder chickens, and was given quite the demonstration of why they are referred to as such. Needless to say, my heart was racing and I was doing my best to treasure every moment of what was transpiring around me.   

These birds were extremely wary, and this clearly wasn’t their first rodeo as they say.  A couple gobblers that had come in from behind me were so close I could hear them drumming, but couldn’t turn to see them. I knew if I attempted to move they would have no doubt busted me so I remained frozen.

Finally, and somewhat ironically, the first tom I heard that morning got tired of waiting around, got all balled up, and came through the fence line. He was strutting like a prom king on the way to the dance, confident he could handle, with ease, anything that awaited him as he approached what he hoped to soon be his prom queen. However, both him and I got quickly introduced to the lethality of what HOP Munitions new TSS turkey load is capable of. 

A single “BOOM,” and it was done,… over… finished, kaput. He barely flopped around and he was hit so hard that, even at 40 yards, was now facing about 90 degrees in a different direction from when he was strutting his way in.

It’s moments like these that we as hunters practically live for. We can all agree that they don’t happen often enough, but it’s part of what keeps us going back to the woods and the water, in search of them. 

It’s also why we here at HOP Munitions take our hunting rounds and shells so seriously. 

With every hunting shell and round hand manufactured and individually inspected you can have complete confidence and trust that when you choose to put ammo in your chamber that bears our name, that it will deliver as promised and will be the “BOOM” that will put the thrill in your moment and the treasure to your story!

We’re Testing What We Sell

At HOP Munitions, we don’t rush ammo to market—we build it in the field. Our TSS turkey loads are just the beginning. We’re actively field testing new turkey and waterfowl loads throughout the year, with plans to unveil our full turkey lineup at the Harrisburg Great American Outdoor Show.

If you’re serious about your hunts, keep an eye on what’s coming. These loads are built with one purpose: to perform when the shot matters most.

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