Bismuth Shot Size for Reloading

John Fraser

John Fraser

Well-known member
Hello,
It's been a while since I've posted here, but I do still enjoy checking in from time to time to see what cool stuff you're all up to. I've recently gotten back into reloading shotshells and would like to buy a bag of bismuth shot to try on ducks this year. We mainly hunt divers (scaup, redhead, and buffies), brant, longtails, and a few scoter. Long pass shots are rare, as I enjoy getting them in the decoys. While shooting steel, my preferred load has been 1.25 ounce of #3. I'm planning to load 2.75" shells with 1.25 ounce of bismuth shot. I know I can decrease shot size when using bismuth, but am wondering how much to downsize. I'm thinking of going with #4 or #5. What would the bismuth shooters out there recommend?
 
I don't reload, but I do shoot the BOSS bismuth shells. I've used both the 3" 1.5 oz and 2 3/4 1.25 oz loads. The 2 3/4 oz seem to perform a little better over decoys, maybe due to lower recoil. (Not that the recoil with the 3" is notably bad.) I shoot 5's in the early season for Teal and Wood ducks, and they have a #3/#5 mix that I bought a case of that I use later in the season when more big ducks are around. I'll buy some 4's this year, too. A lot of people seem to like that 3/5 mix, but it may just be a marketing gimmick. They do kill ducks and geese over decoys just fine.
 
I've had good luck with Boss Bismuth #4. Granted, they are factory loads and Bismuth shot quality has a bearing on results. I mention shot quality because Bismuth is frangible, early Bismuth loads (early 1990's) had a problem with disintegrating pellets. From what I can see Bismuth pellet quality is better now.

As you note, Bismuth is between steel and lead in density. You'll never get lead performance, but it's closer to lead than steel. The #4's I've been using recently are great out to around 40 yards, performance decreases rapidly after that.
 
Jeff Reardon said:
I don't reload, but I do shoot the BOSS bismuth shells. I've used both the 3" 1.5 oz and 2 3/4 1.25 oz loads. The 2 3/4 oz seem to perform a little better over decoys, maybe due to lower recoil. (Not that the recoil with the 3" is notably bad.) I shoot 5's in the early season for Teal and Wood ducks, and they have a #3/#5 mix that I bought a case of that I use later in the season when more big ducks are around. I'll buy some 4's this year, too. A lot of people seem to like that 3/5 mix, but it may just be a marketing gimmick. They do kill ducks and geese over decoys just fine.
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I haven't tried the duplex loads, I'm in the gimmick camp. But, there's guys that swear by them.
 
I love my 3" 20 gauge shooting Bismuth 1 1/8 oz. #3,s and sometimes 4,s. Just remember to choke like lead. My 20,s like Briley Extended Imp. Mod. Straight Mod. gets a bit thin at 40 yds. Roto Metals Bismuth shot is what I load at 1350 FPS. They'll normally have the best price on quality bIsmuth shot. The 3,s allow for good clean kills even on geese and work exceptionally well on ducks. I,ve been handloading it for past 3 years for 20,s. Never felt it was needed with 12,s.
 
roy brewington said:
I,ve been handloading it for past 3 years for 20,s. Never felt it was needed with 12,s.
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Thanks all for your thoughts!

Roy,
I've never known anything other than steel for waterfowl and haven't really been disappointed in it's performance at reasonable ranges with the 12 gauge. The main reason I'm reloading is the availability factor. Two of my sons shoot older 2.75" guns and the local selection of 2.75" steel is often disappointing. Then when you add in New York State laws, reloading seems even better. I'm trying the bismuth as the recipes I found require many of the same components I'm using for lead shot. The steel recipes I found only went up to 1 ounce in 2.75" and required different components.

I've got another question for you; if checked by a conservation officer, how would I prove to him/her that I'm using approved non-toxic shot in my reloads?
 
John Fraser said:
Thanks all for your thoughts!

Roy,
I've never known anything other than steel for waterfowl and haven't really been disappointed in it's performance at reasonable ranges with the 12 gauge. The main reason I'm reloading is the availability factor. Two of my sons shoot older 2.75" guns and the local selection of 2.75" steel is often disappointing. Then when you add in New York State laws, reloading seems even better. I'm trying the bismuth as the recipes I found require many of the same components I'm using for lead shot. The steel recipes I found only went up to 1 ounce in 2.75" and required different components.

I've got another question for you; if checked by a conservation officer, how would I prove to him/her that I'm using approved non-toxic shot in my reloads?
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Personally I've never been checked for that since I started shooting Bismuth so i'm not the one to know. I guess if need be from a particularly pesky warden be prepared to pry open the top of a shell. Seriously doubt most wardens would even then be able to identify the shot as Bismuth. They would only know a magnet would,t attract it. I do mark my bxs with Bismuth and shot size but my hulls are everything from Fresh Cheddite's to once fired or more factory loaded Cheddite hulls. Various manufacturers, some marked steel, some marked Bismuth, some unmarked.
 
roy brewington said:
Personally I've never been checked for that since I started shooting Bismuth so i'm not the one to know. I guess if need be from a particularly pesky warden be prepared to pry open the top of a shell. Seriously doubt most wardens would even then be able to identify the shot as Bismuth. They would only know a magnet would,t attract it. I do mark my bxs with Bismuth and shot size but my hulls are everything from Fresh Cheddite's to once fired or more factory loaded Cheddite hulls. Various manufacturers, some marked steel, some marked Bismuth, some unmarked.
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Thanks Roy. To avoid confusion on my end, I was thinking of hitting the primers with a Sharpie marker. Blue for bismuth, red for lead "game loads", and no color for the lead trap loads. I guess for the warden I could carry a copy of my receipt from purchasing the bismuth shot.
 
The easy way to show that the shot is Bismuth is to crush with a hammer. It shatters into a million pieces.
 
I shoot 3.5s (available from Rotometals). In the ‘22-‘23 season I loaded 1.125oz of 4s and found I had a decent number of crippled birds. In the ‘23-‘24 season I loaded 1.25oz of 3.5s and had more dead birds. Now I worked a whole lot on my shooting last summer, so this is by no means an apples to apples comparison. But half of this game is all about what you believe…and I’m sticking with the 3.5s! Seems like a good balance of pellet count and lethal shooting distance. Plus I feel a bit more comfortable if a goose comes into the spread.

I’ve found 5s work well on woodies and smaller ducks, but larger birds like black ducks seem to need a larger pellet.

As for the question regarding proof of material, I keep my license, duck stamp, and the marked shot bag that the bismuth was delivered in located in a zip loc bag in my blind bag. The one time I was stopped I just told the ECO that the reloads were bismuth and they didn’t ask for additional proof, but the shot bag is a good backup in the event that they do.
 
Tim Clark said:
I shoot 3.5s (available from Rotometals). In the ‘22-‘23 season I loaded 1.125oz of 4s and found I had a decent number of crippled birds. In the ‘23-‘24 season I loaded 1.25oz of 3.5s and had more dead birds. Now I worked a whole lot on my shooting last summer, so this is by no means an apples to apples comparison. But half of this game is all about what you believe…and I’m sticking with the 3.5s! Seems like a good balance of pellet count and lethal shooting distance. Plus I feel a bit more comfortable if a goose comes into the spread.

I’ve found 5s work well on woodies and smaller ducks, but larger birds like black ducks seem to need a larger pellet.

As for the question regarding proof of material, I keep my license, duck stamp, and the marked shot bag that the bismuth was delivered in located in a zip loc bag in my blind bag. The one time I was stopped I just told the ECO that the reloads were bismuth and they didn’t ask for additional proof, but the shot bag is a good backup in the event that they do.
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Thanks Tim!
 
I seem to remember that Pete McMiller was always big into reloading, especially sub- gauge waterfowl loads. He might have a wealth of information.
 
There's also some great data on Dave in AZ's blog: https://pipesf16.wordpress.com/bismuth-shotpayload-size-analysis/

He's done quite a bit of testing on various high-density alternatives to lead, and this is generally a good starting place for me. If you're looking for load data, I'd recommend Tom Roster's book on Buffered Bismuth loads. I don't buffer my reloads anymore - both out of concern for blasting thousands of tiny plastic pellets into our water bodies, but also because I found sifting the buffer to be tedious.
 
Ballistic Products loads of the week section has several great loads for 20 & Bismuth. And of course they sell all the components to create them.
 
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