is it possible to make a roundball out of bismuth?
Yes, it is....unfortunately, it would be so brittle as to be practially useless. Current bismuth (or the last batches that were made) were a mixture of tin and bismuth (not sure of the ratio). Prior to that, some folks shooting bismuth would have nothing by a grey cloud of bismuth dust come out of their muzzles! The setback forces of the shotgun would pulverize the shot as it was fired.
Remington briefly toyed with copper plated round balls partially in response to the fears of handling lead some years back.
Copper can be just as toxic as lead.
I don't know that bismuth or antimony are any better for the environment or living organisms than lead (heavy metal poisoning isn't specific) and certainly more expensive at present.
Bismuth is nontoxic; antimony isn't. Bismuth is the main ingredient in peptobismol, used to treat stomach & intestinal disorders.
A tin/silver mix (silver solder is 4% silver) might also be a solution, but light.
I was thinking along the lines of a silver/bismuth alloy....nontoxic and heavier. Tin shot has been used for waterfowling in some areas of Europe; it was used because some of the hunting was done in areas that were timbered; steel pellets would damage the saws; tin wouldn't. However, tin shot was too light and didn't kill very well. It is approved by the USFWS, but I don't know of anyone who manufactures it.
I watched a National Geographic where tiger poachers melted a metal toothpaste tube to form the bullet. What were those made of?
They used to be made of tin, and there are quite a few bullet casters out there that are sad to see 'em go to plastic! That was a good source of scrap tin for bullet casting!
Lead bans have nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with disarmament. This won't be defeated by trying to creep around the edges or slipping through the cracks. Expecting some kind of exemption for the purposes of historical preservation is hopeless as well. It's time to realize that America's history as a nation of free armed citizens is a history that the statists specifically want to deny and/or eradicate.
Time to stop picking fights with fellow shooters and join with them to confront this thing head-on. We've much more in common with inline shooters and centerfire shooters than we do with statist lefties.
I agree, but what do you do in the mean time? Hang up your front loader and go "Oh, well"? That's what they want you to do. As far as getting in bed with the inline and centerfire shooters, they already have nontoxic alternatives: plastic sabots and brass solids. It may seem like a good idea to sleep with the devil now, but trust me...you will have to pay for it later. Where is the NRA when it comes to defending our 'traditional' rights? Oh, that's right...their too busy trying to get inlines & scopes allowed in every states traditional season. :shake:
The scientific studies show that the lead found in geese and ducks from post mortems come from being wounded during hunting season, and NOT from any lead pellet found in the craws of the birds. In fact, later studies ( after Glen Sanderson's initial study) show that the pellets in the craws of the birds are swallowed, and move through the digestive track to be excreted and are replaced almost daily with new stones, or pellets that the birds pick up.
Not necessarily
[url] true....In[/url] areas of heavy hunting pressure, you will find birds dying of lead poisoning where lead is used. It does get ground with the grit and enters the blood stream. It doesn't just 'pass straight through'.
Whatever material is used, it will most likely have to be an alloy or amalgam.....Density-wise, bismuth falls halfway between steel and lead; Tungsten matrix is much, much closer to lead in density. I don't know if the material can be casted into round ball or conicals, however. Seems to me if it can be made it small spheres, then it can be made into large spheres as well.
