Shotgunning: Stacked Loads
These versatile and affordable shotgun shells can be an effective option for many waterfowlers
May 05, 2025 •
3
min read
Ryan Campbell
By blending pellets of different sizes and materials, stacked loads can improve pattern density and deliver more energy on target for birds over the decoys.
A stacked shotgun load combines two or more shot sizes in one shell. The idea behind these loads is simple enough: large pellets add energy to a pattern, while small pellets contribute density.
As the cost of raw materials has pushed the price of high-performing nontoxic loads out of many hunters’ budgets, stacked loads make economic sense. Mixing a quarter ounce or so of premium pellets with steel is a way to improve performance while keeping prices down. Hevi-Shot’s original Hevi-Metal, introduced around 2010, combined small tungsten Hevi-Shot pellets with large steel pellets. The idea was to choose two shot sizes with similar ballistics so that they would stay together in flight.
Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) waterfowl loads, first offered by Apex about seven years ago, were devastating on birds and budgets alike. They could be effective out to about 70 yards, but they cost over $5 per shell. The only way to make TSS affordable was to mix it with steel shot. Hunters can now choose from stacked loads that combine TSS and steel, Hevi-Shot and steel, bismuth and steel, and even steel and steel.
Premium Shot/Steel Loads
Typically, TSS/steel loads blend a quarter ounce or so of small TSS pellets with larger steel pellets that have similar downrange energy. The one I’m most familiar with is the 3-inch Apex load that combines 1/4 ounce of TSS 7 1/2 shot with 1 1/16 ounces of steel 2 shot. In my shotgun, these shells shoot 75 percent patterns at 40 yards with a modified choke, and almost 90 percent of the 55 TSS pellets remain in the 20-inch center of a 30-inch pattern, where they do the most good. In total, they average 180 hits in a 30-inch circle, which is far more than you could achieve with a load of straight 2 steel shot. These shells work well for birds over decoys, and the extra pellet count of the small TSS shot makes them effective on cripples that hit the water swimming.
Federal, Apex, Migra, and other manufacturers offer TSS/steel blends. Hevi-Shot makes loads with both Hevi-XII/steel and bismuth/steel. The latest Hevi-Shot combo loads, announced this year, put a twist on the standard stacked load. Instead of combining larger and smaller pellets of different materials, these loads pair equal sizes of steel and Hevi-XII shot to put a few extra hard-hitting pellets into the heart of each pattern.
Steel/Steel Loads
Some manufacturers are offering stacked loads that combine different sizes of steel pellets. By loading the larger pellets on top of the smaller pellets, ammo makers say, it’s possible to keep the smaller shot in the pattern longer. The larger pellets do the hard work of fighting wind resistance, and the smaller pellets get a free ride behind them. That’s the theory, and there may be something to it. Kent’s 1 1/4-ounce BB/2 Fasteel+ load put the same number of hits in a 30-inch circle as a standard Fasteel 2.0 1 1/4-ounce load of 2 shot, despite having a lower overall pellet count. The difference is, with the Fasteel+ load, some of those pellets striking inside the 30-inch circle are hard-hitting BBs, so the shells achieve their goal of putting more overall energy on the target.
Federal’s stacked Ultra Steel 1 1/4-ounce BB/2 load with the FliteControl Flex wad patterned over 75 percent at 40 yards with a modified choke. That’s excellent performance, and either this or the Kent BB/2 load makes a good choice for mixed-bag hunts for geese and big ducks. Not every stacked load I have tried performed as well as those two, however.
When to Use Stacked Loads
When you combine shot sizes, you inevitably get longer shot strings as the range increases, no matter how carefully you choose the two shot sizes. And, at long ranges, smaller shot runs out of sufficient energy for clean kills. When used within the effective range of the smaller shot in the load, stacked loads can put more energy on target. I think they are best used to hit birds harder over decoys. For long-range shooting, skip the stacked loads. Instead, choose a load containing one size of large shot and shoot it through a tight choke.
