The Gould brothers: Busting clays at 180 yards

When you're shooting moving clays, what's your maximum effective range with a shotgun? For the Gould brothers, that range is 180 yards, a new world record.

Steve and Aaron Gould, exhibition shooters sponsored by Federal Ammunition, recently made a 170-yard shot and then a 180-yard clay-busting shot in an attempt to break the previous world-record clay-busting shot with a shotgun. The previous record was 160 yards, also set by the Gould brothers.
In their record-breaking attempt, Aaron first broke a flying clay at 170 yards, then Steve at 180. The secret? Along with excellent shooting skills, the Gould brothers were using Federal Heavyweight TSS ammo.
Heavyweight TSS (Tungsten Super Shot) uses heavier-than-lead tungsten shot to deliver downrange energy. If you check out Federal's website, you can see TSS loads in .410, 20 gauge and 12 gauge. It's available in shot sizes 7, 8, 9 and 10 (.410 only available in #9 shot). All loads are 3-inch, except for 3.5-inch options for 12 gauge.
Heavyweight TSS uses Flitecontrol Flex wads, with "advanced buffering material." It's not your standard tungsten shot, either. Federal says the Heavyweight TSS shot is "22 percent denser material than standard tungsten; 56 percent denser than lead." That explains how the small pellets are able to carry so much downrange energy.
The Heavyweight TSS line is marketed towards turkey hunters, not sport shooters, as it's very expensive stuff. Here in Canada, you can pay upwards of $75 for a 5-round box of 12 gauge Heavyweight TSS. That's pricey even for the few rounds a year you'd need for turkey hunting.
However, there's no denying the long-distance power, as the Gould brothers demonstrate here. Hang around veteran goose hunters for a while, and you'll hear tales of bone-busting power to 80 yards or even further, back when they used 10 gauges stuffed with the heaviest lead shot available. Even these days, you'll hear some waterfowl hunters brag about extremely long-range kills with high-speed steel shells and fancy-pants chokes, but 180 yards would eclipse most braggarts' claims by a considerable margin.
The Gould brothers
You can find out more about the Gould brothers on their website, or check them out on YouTube. If you were American, you could even book them to entertain your guests at your next garden party …

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