Bismuth shot identification

Pete McMiller

Pete McMiller

Well-known member
I just bought a jug of bismuth shot off of ebay. I got to thinking, what if it isn't really bismuth and someone substituted lead for what was in the jug, how would I know? Anybody have a good way to tell? Is the melting point of lead and bismuth shot that much different that I could tell that way?
 
Isn't Bismuth a bit brittle? You might try crushing a bb with the side of a knife. You could always weigh an ounce of lead shot, then take the same volume of bismuth and weigh that..should be about 10% lighter I think.
 
Take a piece of lead and hit it with a hammer it smash. The busmith will shatter. I hunt with a 28 ga and load it with busmith. A few years back I got some shells mixed up, that is how I seperated them.
JR
 
Could you PM me some of your 28ga. bismuth loads??? Just picked up a Remington 11-48 28ga auto and want to use it on close puddlers next season.
 
its frangibility and I think the solution to that was adding additional alloys to make it less likely to crumble.....

I'd bet that it would still react differently to pressure though so you might try smashing one that you know is lead in a vice and then comparing the Bismuth sample to the lead one.....

Gotta wonder how the WO would check it in the field when its a reload. He's going to stick a magnet on it and know its not steel, then ask, then he's going to have to decide if he believes you when you tell him Bismuth....I've "heard" of them cutting open reloads but then you're dealing with the same question you have....Just looking at it how do you know its not lead?

Steve
 
I only hope the DNR Pollici don't come out while I'm on a sneak to decide if my Bismuth reloads are real.
How much did you pay for the (7lb jug?)on ebay.It's up to 120-140 range now.
 
I got a 7 lb jub of #6's for $100.25 including shipping. More than I would have liked to pay but the cheapest I found it for sale was $120 plus shipping from Precision Reloading. Now I will have enough to load up about 5-6 boxes of 28 ga. for the teal spot I found last year.
 
Good price with shipping.Was 92.50 last year but like you say 120 +shipping from Precision.
 
Pete, The bismuth will be irregular in pellet shape and will not form under pressure like lead will. (hammer test mentioned before)

Eric
 
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