Bismuth or steel shot

[Akblackdawg]

I’m a newbie that is pretty well set up for muzzleloading hunting for waterfowl. Using a 10 gage SxS pedersoli With chrome lined barrels .. And have shot cups and 2 & BB Shot and a lifetime of hunting gear. Season opens on 17th here. My biggest problem and concern is in reloading. I’m using shotgun size reloading tubes and can easily add powder and thick wads but using the plastic shot cups is a bear to get started in my mod and imp cyl barrels. I will work with it as best I can the first couple weeks, maybe I can smooth out my technique but it may take my rubber mallet to get the cups started quickly. Am considering switching to bismoth soon if things don’t improve. $ 150 /10 lbs slows me down. If I use 1 oz loads it works out to about a buck a shot for just the shot. Any ideas on how to speed up me reloading. Any other avid BP duck hunters have solutions to this problem?

 

[user 34300]

I did a fair amount of duck hunting with a Beretta O/U. This was mostly Bluebills from a silt blind in a salt marsh. Bluebills are really dumb and the shooting is extremely easy. The main lesson was the steel shot is useless at ML velocities.

I would try nice shot if I had the opportunity to do it again. http://www.niceshotinc.com
Bismuth is probably fine too. Tungsten matrix? Tungsten Bronze is great stuff but it is extremely hard. Tungsten Super Shot may be be the ultimate, the density is much higher than lead. You can shoot it slow and in smaller sizes. IT is very expensive. All but Bismuth and NIce-Shot will require special modern wads and tedious loading procedures.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I’m a newbie that is pretty well set up for muzzleloading hunting for waterfowl. Using a 10 gage SxS pedersoli With chrome lined barrels .. And have shot cups and 2 & BB Shot and a lifetime of hunting gear. Season opens on 17th here. My biggest problem and concern is in reloading. I’m using shotgun size reloading tubes and can easily add powder and thick wads but using the plastic shot cups is a bear to get started in my mod and imp cyl barrels. I will work with it as best I can the first couple weeks, maybe I can smooth out my technique but it may take my rubber mallet to get the cups started quickly. Am considering switching to bismoth soon if things don’t improve. $ 150 /10 lbs slows me down. If I use 1 oz loads it works out to about a buck a shot for just the shot. Any ideas on how to speed up me reloading. Any other avid BP duck hunters have solutions to this problem?

Well if you're using either bismuth or steel, that chrome lined barrel should be fine. Does Pedersoli say not to use steel?

You can omit the shot cups, or you can make paper cups that will fit past your chokes to rest upon your wads. When fired the tiny gap between the paper cups and the barrel walls will be eliminated. IF you absolutely have to use plastic cups, try 16 gauge cups.

You might look at the cost of modern shells, as Bismuth is running from about $1.75 per shell, and up.

LD

 

[NorthFork]

Bismuth all the way. Will not harm older barrels or muzzleloader barrels.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

As mentioned, velocities are too slow in a ML shotgun for steel to be effective. The plastic cups are a PIA & don't offer much improvement anyway. Keep it simple when loading in a duck blind environment. I use Bismuth one size larger than I would use lead for. 3 shot Bismuth is a good all around waterfowl shot size. I use a "cookie" wad (a lubed wool felt wad sandwiched between two thin overshot cards) over the powder & one overshot card over the shot. I've also had good luck with a 1/8" thick overpowder wad lubed with olive oil & it's a little quicker & easier to load. Start your wads vertical, then flatten them out when you get past the choked area. Use 1-1/4 oz. of shot, minimum. 80 to 85 grains of BP. Keep your shots at 30 yards max. If you are worried about the cost, you need to find a different passtime. It is what it is. Modern quality waterfowl non-toxic shells are approaching 2 bucks or more apiece. BTW, did you mic your bores to see what they actually measure? My 12 measures as a 12 gauge, but my 20 measures as a 19 gauge, so I use 19 gauge wads. Good hunting!!

 

[Rock Home Isle]

As mentioned, velocities are too slow in a ML shotgun for steel to be effective. The plastic cups are a PIA & don't offer much improvement anyway. Keep it simple when loading in a duck blind environment. I use Bismuth one size larger than I would use lead for. 3 shot Bismuth is a good all around waterfowl shot size. I use a "cookie" wad (a lubed wool felt wad sandwiched between two thin overshot cards) over the powder & one overshot card over the shot. I've also had good luck with a 1/8" thick overpowder wad lubed with olive oil & it's a little quicker & easier to load. Start your wads vertical, then flatten them out when you get past the choked area. Use 1-1/4 oz. of shot, minimum. 80 to 85 grains of BP. Keep your shots at 30 yards max. If you are worried about the cost, you need to find a different passtime. It is what it is. Modern quality waterfowl non-toxic shells are approaching 2 bucks or more apiece. BTW, did you mic your bores to see what they actually measure? My 12 measures as a 12 gauge, but my 20 measures as a 19 gauge, so I use 19 gauge wads. Good hunting!!

I have a Pedersoli 20 gauge that measures as a 19 gauge. I had sucha time loading that gun..then I measured the barrels and started buying 19 gauge materials and all is well.

I don't mind using Steel Shot in my guns...I've never seen any damage...no streaking, gouging...nothing. But I do using shot cups to keep the shot from directly contacting the metal in the bore.

 

[Woody Morgan]

I have a Pedersoli 20 gauge that measures as a 19 gauge. I had sucha time loading that gun..then I measured the barrels and started buying 19 gauge materials and all is well.

I don't mind using Steel Shot in my guns...I've never seen any damage...no streaking, gouging...nothing. But I do using shot cups to keep the shot from directly contacting the metal in the bore.

Isn't 19g smaller than 20g? What was the difficulty? I have one coming.

wm

 

[Grenadier1758]

A 20 gauge round lead ball diameter is 0.615.
A 19 gauge round lead ball diameter is 0.625.

 

[Woody Morgan]

Isn't 19g smaller than 20g? What was the difficulty? I have one coming.

wm

A 20 gauge round lead ball diameter is 0.615.
A 19 gauge round lead ball diameter is 0.625.

Aww jeez. I'm an *****. Never mind.

Still, if the 20 is smaller, what was the problem?

wm

 

[Grenadier1758]

Problems of gauge determination have affected us all. I saw an old ball mold languishing on ebay with no bids. It was identified as a 21. Seeing that it was stamped 21 on the mold, I went ahead and entered a bid and won it. Sure enough, it was a 21 gauge mold and perfect for my 20 gauge fowling gun. Well, it throws a somewhat egg shaped ball, but still very usable.

 

[griffiga]

I have a Pedersoli 20 gauge that measures as a 19 gauge. I had sucha time loading that gun..then I measured the barrels and started buying 19 gauge materials and all is well.

I don't mind using Steel Shot in my guns...I've never seen any damage...no streaking, gouging...nothing. But I do using shot cups to keep the shot from directly contacting the metal in the bore.

I've been using 14 gauge wads in my Pedersoli double 12. I think it's choked full. Sounds like your 20 is as well. Do you find that the plastic shot cups tend to leave a plastic residue in the barrel after shooting them with BP? I had a heck of a time cleaning one of my old originals from having used them. I did find, however, that if I cut off the bottom part of the plastic wad and set it on top of a fiber wad, it minimize the problem. Something to consider if that starts happening to you.

 

[Historian]

I make my own bismuth shot. That is what I am holding in my hand on my Avatar. Bismuth is excellent for waterfowling and I have been using it for 20 years +. I use leather over powder wads using a 16 mm wad punch which is closer to 19 ga for my Pedersoli 20 ga. I also use the same wad punch for my 3/8 inch wool felt wads I lubricate with olive oil and beeswax. I had a Pedersoli 10 ga. I used the following load in mine with great success.
110 or 120 grains of 2Fg BP. Leather OP wad. Lubed wool felt wad 3/8 inch. 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 onces of Bismuth #4's or 3's. Then top that off with another 3/8 inch lubed wool felt wad. I had no problem with bagging ducks out to 40 yards. I used a 20mm wad punch for my 10 gauge. You want your wads slightly over sized. PM me if you need help.

 

[drstrangelove]

I use nitrated coffee filters to roll a cartridge cigar around a mildly tapered wooden dowel that just fits past the chokes. I twist the powder end closed after glue sticking the side seam. Remove dowel. The open end gets my 12ga load... 70gr FFg first, then a corn based foam packing peanut rolled tight enough to slip inside over the powder, then 1 1/8 oz bismuth #4, and twist closed. In this pic I smeared bore butter on the upper half of the cartridge (not necessary after testing).
To load, I tear the powder end and dump the powder down the bore. Then I put in a 1/4" olive oil and beeswax lubed felt wad to max finger depth. Then slip in the rest of the nitrated paper cartridge, then one thin overshot card. Then I ram the whole magilla down the barrel, compressing the peanut against the felt and possibly tearing the nitrated paper shot sidewall with vertical force.
Works great. No loading back pressure or need to slit cards. Nitrated paper and corn peanut completely combust (less fire hazard), and the felt wad lubes the barrel and ensures I don't get a rapid corn foam peanut melt and powder/shot mix. The key to my good patterns is to never, ever, exceed 70gr powder and always use at least 1 1/8oz of shot.

 

[azmntman]

1 lb nice shot is $40.00? $2.50 per shot for shot? Nawww

 

[Akblackdawg]

I have 20 ga pedersoli mod/improved. I am using 12 ga shot plastic cups,steel shot etc. finelly found a combo easy to lost. Use speedoader one end pyrodex the other end steel. Not really happy with it. Only hunted 4 times last season while used to hunting 1 or 2 times a week. I’ve been considering bismuth for next season. Everything better but the price and I can live with that. Bud