doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Request to BPI for Low Pressure ITX Loading Data

This is a request to all fellow non-toxic reloaders for vintage doubles.

Please send a request to BPI for low pressure loading data for their non-toxic ITX shot.

The address is: loadoftheweek@ballisticproducts.com

Here is the request which I sent:

Dear Curmudgeon,

Is there a safety factor expressed in PSI for loading ITX instead of lead shot?

I load low pressure 2.88" "Short Ten" gauge and 12 gauge for Damascus side by sides such as Parker and LC Smith. I like to keep pressures at 8000 PSI or below. Many of my gun collecting peers tell me that they buy Nice Shot because they post a 1500 PSI safety factor. With that information it is easy to develop a waterfowl load based on a 6000 - 7000 reference load. I have shot Nice Shot for the past two seasons with great success. This year I purchased 21 pounds of ITX but now I realize that I do not have good low pressure data.

Goose and Duck season fast approaches. If you could provide low pressure data for us followers of the Damascus Deity you will earn a place in paradise. Or, we would at least buy more ITX!

Mark, New Era ammo has listing for the ITX loads. Might give them a call and see if he would comment on his professional experience. He's selling 12 and 16 at $45/box which is half what others are selling nontox loads. Please share loads if you find any. Randy

Randy,

I know Brian Erickson of New Era well. He loads his new era ammo with components not available to the public.

Please send BPI a request for low pressure BPI data.

Mark

Message sent. Thanks for the motivation to speak out.

In switching from bismuth to nice shot or ITX, would there be a much of a pressure change if you were using the same weight of shot in each load. I know that there would be a difference in number of shot in the load but it seems there should not be much pressure difference. I have been wondering about this for some time. Any comments appreciated.

Dwight,

Yes, with equal weights the pressure is likely to increase when one substitutes non-toxic for lead. The reason is that non-toxics have different material properties than does lead. Simply put, ITX is harder than lead and does not compress as much during firing. The primer explodes, powder burns forming an expanding gas. The expanding gas creates an increasing amount of pressure which pushes the wad and shot against the crimp. The resistance of the crimp to opening contributes to the pressure. The piston in the wad mitigates some of the pressure as does the characteristic of the shot to compress a little bit.

Nice Shot lists on their web site to add 1500 PSI to your max pressure calculation. I suspect ITX will be similar if not more. The total additional pressure would of course vary due to weight of shot, wad's ability to mitigate the force of the pressure, bore size, and other factors unknown to anyone not having the gear and time to test for pressure change from changes to components, crimps, and other variables.

Note: A roll crimp lessens pressure as compared to a folded crimp.

So, if all would ask Ballistic Products Inc. to develop low pressure loading data for us shooters of vintage SxS's perhaps they will.

Respectfully,
Mark

PS: I have shot Nice Shot for a couple years and it is perhaps the best non-toxic available for hand loading. Over decoys on my pond I routinely kill Canada Geese at 60+ yards using 1 3/8 oz #2 Nice Shot from a Damascus Parker 2 7/8" 10 gauge. I've done the same with 1 1/8 oz Nice Shot from a Damascus LC Smith 12 gauge. I like Nice Shot in a Damascus gun better than Hevi Shot in an autoloader. Nice Shot may not be better but bagging geese and ducks with a 100+ year old SxS is what it's all about!

The price of Nice Shot is however 50% more per ounce than ITX. This year I bought a few bags on ITX on sale along with a few pounds of Nice Shot. More to follow...

Thanks for explanation. I get my bismuth from a local guy (Lund) here in MN who makes the stuff up for custom order. I have shot it for a few years now mostly in my Wesley hammer 10 ga for ducks and geese. My range is more in the 40 yard category for the gun is not tightly choked. I have quite a few bismuth recipies so have stuck to them. I might try a tighter choked hammergun in 12 ga this year. Most of my hunting is out of the boat over decoys for ducks.

Dwight,

I do not think that Nice Shot requires much choke to pattern tightly. I do not know about ITX.

A few years ago when I hunted with a Benelli M2 and Hevi Steel I used a Skeet choke which as good for over 40 yards. I suspect that the harder the shot, the less choke one needs!

Mark

Mark,
That might be a good option for me. I know they stated something about the tighter patterns when I was looking for an alternative to the bismuth I could not get. Lund's Specialty Products made the bismuth up so I did not try the nice shot in my waterfowl loads. I load 1 1/4 bismuth now and use longshot powder with 2 7/8" roll crimp. I really do not shoot that many shells to make a big money difference. Duck populations here in MN have really gone down but the geese population seems to be more. They seem to migrate early from the S part of our state.

Mark, Got an email off to BPI regarding low pressure data on the ITX. Very little review on ITX. Price is lower than that of Nice Shot, but does that reflect in the quality of the product? Does your friend at New Era have any field results from his customers on the ITX compared to the Nice Shot? I would like to put some ITX in the air this fall. Early goose is only about a month away. As you know. If the waterfowl season up north is like the last couple years, I'll only need 3 or 4 shells Hope you get some positive response on the ITX. If the added pressure is 1500psi, that should be workable with our lead, low pressure loads that are in the 5000-6000 range now. We load 1 oz bismuth in our 16/12 reloads for waterfowl. If you find any ITX reviews out in the internet world please share. Randy