doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Kent Bismuth and Tungsten Pressures

The Sterlingworth has been restocked. The original stock broke shooting trap loads a number of years ago. This was my grandfathers gun and the gun I began hunting with 50 years ago. Actually it was the only gun left in the gun cabinet after my dad and older brother grabbed the pumps. The NID is in great original condition that I picked up for $299 at Cabelas when they didn't know what they had. Neither would see heavy shooting with non-tox, just enough to show up my brothers shooting those fancy new guns.

I have one box of RST bismuth remaining although I was not very impressed with it. The Sterlingworth has F/F chokes and I am wondering if that is too tight for bismuth. The NID has mod/F chokes which may work a little better.

I was never impressed with Bismuth on waterfowl. I always considered it barely a half a step above steel.

+1

King, I guess you've given up on bismuth also.

I have never found any fault with bismuth, and I've shot a good bit of it. I shot the original Bismuth Cartridge Co. loads at first, then began reloading it. I use nothing but 4s, though I recently won an auction with some 2s, 4s and 6s. Haven't tried any of the 2s or 6s yet. Bismuth 6s ought to be dog nuts for woodies in close quarters.

These red legs didn't think too highly of it, tho'.



SRH

Early 2's had a problem with shattering when shot. Casting large bismuth shot is not easy I am told. Later bismuth did not have the same problem because I was told they had figured it out by then. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that kind of remark.

I like Bismuth shot but find size does matter, speed matters and you just have to pattern it to see what works in your gun. Slow Bismuth is not very good in my experience but hyper speed does not work well either. 6's work well for woodies all day long. I even had a batch of 7's that worked well in a pinch.

Now the down side of Bismuth, in my experience, was that it did not anchor geese worth a darn. I've had multiple Geese hit and fly off only to die in flight half a mile later. I've watched it happen and been forced to take my dog and walk to try to recover them. On the water most geese are out of my direct sight before then and most likely lost. So if geese are involved I go with non bismuth shot. And truth is that I can afford three bucks a shell for no more geese I am going to shoot most years.

I gave up on early bismuth because birds didn't fall as they should, and covering cripples on the water with a plume like Niagara didn't kill them---as if they were protected by some sort of magic. Then the word shattering came in vogue and I put it down to poor technology.

I just bought a flat of 12ga Kent 2 3/4 bismuth to see if there's improvement but expect it will kick the snot out of me as last year's 2 3/4 Kent TM 1 1/4oz at 1400. Killer load in my Beretta but to enjoy old classics will have to go back to new jugs of bismuth. Beretta 686 good but not the same.

He's not fond of us using lead shot either!

I don't want to get this thread off track but just another example of a bloated government agency taking inadequate data and shoving it down our throats for no other reason then, "Because we can."

I think this would be easier:

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/593297178

It wasn't that long ago that if you showed up at Holland & Holland's shooting school in 'ole Blighty, you got handed one of these by your instructor.

Way cheaper than a restock, too.


Best,
Ted