doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Current nontox options?

I know there have been many threads on nontox, but it might be worth revisiting as we head into bird season. I've received a number of tips on places to find woodcock and snipe, several of which are on USFWS land where even carrying lead shot can get you into trouble.

What are folks using for small upland birds where nontox is required? RST NiceShot shells sell fro $3 ea., and their Bismuth for $2.60 plus shipping. Their price list shows shot sizes down to 7.5, but availability seems a bit spotty. Kent bismuth and tungsten matrix are offered in #6 and larger. Rio bismuth is made down to size 7 and available for $2 ea., in 2 3/4" only. My gun options include a couple 20s and a 16 with 2 3/4" chambers and a 2.5" chamber 12. Is there any option better (or cheaper) than the RST bismuth? Anyone try Polywad's GreenLite shells? http://www.polywad.com/greenlite.html

Thanks!

Bill

RST has not stocked Nice Shot in years

you can still get Nice Shot in bulk for reloading - sizes 6 and 7.5 great stuff- just pay attention to the pressure- they say it adds 1500PSI - but with one load i had tested it was 2000 over the data in the Lymann book

http://store.fastcommerce.com/niceshot/nice-shot-bulk-40288bd844a0c0860145067c6dca28d7-c.html

the Kent Bismuth is a new alloy and is said to have resolved the fragmentation issues

i have had good luck with it on duck in the larger sizes

Kent TM is great stuff - a little pricey

I secured some (11lbs worth) Bismuth 12 ga loads at $1.35/ctrdg last season.
That's the best I could do. Currently it is $1.50 or so for a 1 1/16oz Bismuth ctrdg.
The alternative is buy non-lead Turkey loads at season's end, and cut them up.

1 3/8 1 1/2, or 1 3/4, or 2oz Bismuth or KTM turkey loads makes 2 20ga loads. Scrap the remnants.

No one is going to go into that market in the US as cheap as the Euro's. The demand isn't there.

What happened to RST and their Nice Shot shells? I have one box left of 25, 2 1/2 number 5s I bought a few years back from them and they are great patterning shells.

I have been using Kent Bismuth in my waterfowling so far this year and I have been very satisfied with it's performance on woodies and mallards.

Nice shot has priced itself out of the market running double the price of Bismuth and ITX. It looks like RST has dropped Nice shot and is now loading Bismuth. My last order of Bismuth was $15.00/lb shipped in 10 lb lots.

ITX-10 is $22.00/lb in 7 lb lots plus shipping but there are discounts at times

Looks like the sight shown for Nice shot above has Nice shot at $39.00/lb plus shippiing

I stopped at the manufacture of American E Shot and do to lack of demand they are no longer making it

they could not get it in the quantities needed to load commercially, even for a smaller operation

I believe you can purchase tungsten straight from China at a pretty good price, but is that safe in older guns? I've always read tungsten is much harder than bismuth.

I wouldn't shoot it in an older gun, it is harder than steel shot. TSS(tungsten super shot), Hevi-18, Hevi-13 and ITX-13 are hevier than lead and as hard or harder than steel most soft toxics are near lead in density/weight and softer than steel.

This is how it works.

You practice a range of shots all year long that mimic the shots you see where non-lead is required. You spend a couple grand on cheap 1200fps lead cartridges, a few hundred on lessons to get better, and then about $300.00 on a season's non-lead ammunition.

Then, when you go shooting, your kill to cartridge ratio is very high. You choose your shots, and don't throw non-lead shot at presentations you know you won't hit.

That comes from practice, not ammunition choice.

Of course, if the $300.00 is a problem, well, the rest is just wishful thinking anyway. And you probably shouldn't be fiddling with old doubles as well, because a single repair commonly costs a couple hundred.