by crbutler on Fri Nov 23, 2018 10:51 pm
I guess I should clarify a bit.
The bismuth pellets are actually a bit softer than lead- they are also a bit more brittle. Tin is added to the pellet alloy to help with that and is a big part of why the density is as low as it is.
Shooting bismuth shot in a fiber wadded shell (so called eco loads) works. It tends to leave some metal fouling in the bore, but is harmless to the gun. I had some issues with pellet fractures (found some split or broken pellets in game birds) but it still works well.
If you want to handload, you can use steel type wads, buffer, and modest velocities and it kills as well as lead.
If you are looking for factory ammo, the best local source is Ballistic Products, although anyone can order the stuff. Kent makes some loads for “classic doubles” which would be the safest for a heirloom gun. Frankly, a post smokeless repeater should be able to handle any standard lead level loading of bismuth shells. If it was a turn of the twentieth century Parker or something Damascus I would stick with the lighter classic doubles loading once it was proven safe by a gunsmith.
Bismuth other than its weights and density being different, is essentially loaded the same as lead, so handload it it is a non issue if you can load lead shells. Ballistic Products is big in this as well, but Precision Reloading is a player as well, and as they are SD based, you might save on sales tax. Rotometals also sells pellets and is less expensive, but they are a metal company and have no customer support for reloading.
My standard load for waterfowl is a 3.5” shell loaded with 1.5 oz of bismuth #4. It could easily be placed in a 3” shell, but the 3.5 discourages shell pilferers and borrowers.
You will have to look to get a 1.25oz 2.75” load (equivalent to the old duck and pheasant shells) but 1.125 oz is easily done. If shooting in an area where I want to avoid wad litter, I shoot a 1.125 oz paper hulled fiber wad shell that is not as capable as the 3.5 shell, but works a heck of a lot better than steel without making nearly as much report.
Get the Hodgdon shotshell manual and you can find some reasonable bismuth loads. Some of the newer manuals have a bismuth section. These tend to be using lead shot wads without buffer, but work reasonably well.