• Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.

    We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.

    Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103

Bismuth shot questions

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JJohnson2023

40 Cal
Joined
May 5, 2023
Messages
111
Reaction score
93
Location
U.S.A
I'm thinking of ordering some bismuth shot from roto metals for goose and duck hunting with my ML. Any recommendations on shot size or info from your experiences?
 
I also use #4 for most of my typical waterfowl hunting, although I do use BB for tundra swan. Check Ballistic Products for the shot also, sometimes they are a bit cheaper.
what is your typical load for geese if you hunt them?
 
I still use#4 bismuth over decoys. I found my 10 gauge SxS likes 100gr of 1f Swiss and patterned best with a dry over powder card followed by a greased over powder card, 1 1/2 to 1 5/8 ounce of shot, topped with another over powder card. My 62 cal HATES this load sequence regardless of powder size or charge. It did much better with just 3 over shot cards on top of the powder and another single card over the shot.
 
I still use#4 bismuth over decoys. I found my 10 gauge SxS likes 100gr of 1f Swiss and patterned best with a dry over powder card followed by a greased over powder card, 1 1/2 to 1 5/8 ounce of shot, topped with another over powder card. My 62 cal HATES this load sequence regardless of powder size or charge. It did much better with just 3 over shot cards on top of the powder and another single card over the shot.
Thank you @x_count I ended up ordering some #3 bismuth to play around with. I went with the larger size because my muzzleloader has a shorter barrel than most and I figured I could bank on lower velocities.
 
#4 bismuth works great for geese over decoys. I did several hunts using 80gr. 3F and 1 1/4oz. shot using a volume measure. No shot buffer used.
 
I've taken some coots with #6 bismuth and a couple of turkeys as well. I use cornmeal as a buffer & that has helped the patterns. I've been told that Bi will shoot the same as lead but I've not found that to be the case. Bi shot is brittle. My patterns are much wider with Bi than with Pb. I think the Bi shatters on its way out the barrel, sending shot in odd directions. Using cornmeal and a thick fiber cushion wad has seemed to help me. I got even better results going to a choked 12 ga instead of a cylinder 20.
 
Take this advice with a grain of salt! But most of the turkey hunters use 7,8,or9
shot with Bismuth. I read where using Bismuth you could drop two or three sizes
and have the same penetration.
 
Thank you ,your are correct.
There's some guys who do use TSS in their muzzleloaders. I think bismuth is better because it isn't as hard as steel so it wont damage the barrel, vs tungsten which is harder and needs to have a protective wad. It's also crazy expensive, but the performance is supposed to be second to none.
 
I shout a lot of assorted geese and cranes with #5 Bismuth but I went to 4 bismuth this year. Cleaning the birds, I thought my son’s #4 shot seemed to penetrate a bit more. Loading 1 1/4 oz scoop of powder and shot using just a bunch of card wads.
 
I shout a lot of assorted geese and cranes with #5 Bismuth but I went to 4 bismuth this year. Cleaning the birds, I thought my son’s #4 shot seemed to penetrate a bit more. Loading 1 1/4 oz scoop of powder and shot using just a bunch of card wads.
So you're using an equal volume of bismuth shot and powder that I assume is 2f?
 
. It's also crazy expensive,
Sadly, everything in the shooting sports is getting/has gotten crazy expensive. Might be going a bit off track here. But, I see this as a form of gun control. The middle and lower income folks just cannot afford the high priced stuff, whether ml or modern and just do not enter the game. 🤕
 
Back
Top