doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Best Bismuth and shot size(s)

If someone is interested in getting a load checked now, Precision Reloading offers testing services. I sent in a turkey load for testing several years ago and they did a quick and thorough job. My load was under the SAAMI max pressure, but not by much.

There's a community of turkey hunters that have been handloading 18g/cc density tungsten for about a decade now, and many of us have used the Precision lab to test loads. Nearly all of the loads have PSB buffering; it does raise the pressure but definitely tightens the patterns. It's too much trouble to me to add buffering for anything except turkey loads

https://www.precisionreloading.com/view.php?pg=shot_proof

Stan, reread what I wrote. I'm not talking about "wiggle room" or pushing anywhere close to the edge. Nor am I using a damascus or even an old gun. A 1990s vintage Merkel with 3" chambers and relieved forcing cones is not your bud's Boswell, now is it?

Please find a load that is published as safe for lead and unsafe for Bi. The published loads I found are quite the opposite. What is safe for one is safe for the other.

While I agree that being careful is paramount, staying in bed all day might qualify as "too careful". We could, in the name of carefulness, simply melt down all of our shotguns, couldn't we?

brent....several people, with what looks like greater experience in reloading than you or I, are suggesting that your theories about substituting powders and shot material are suspect at best. No gutter here, as you apparently know exactly what you are doing, despite suggestions to the contrary. And to suggest that most reloaders do not measure their shot drops....gives me more pause.

I have a universal charge bar on my MEC. I weigh every powder drop until it's within a grain or two max, then re weigh every 5 to 7 drops after that. I do the same with my shot, typically within one or two pellets when using #7 1/2 shot. when I make small batches I weigh everything for every shell. I follow published and tested loads....why...why not? All the hard work has been done.

It has become very apparent, as you admitt here, that your conclusions come from the fact that your very stout and solid shotgun has not suffered any damage yet, and therefore, your lead bismuth recipes are sound. Hmmmmmm....

Like I said, dal, show me a load that is safe with lead, unsafe with Bismuth. Just show me.

For anyone that is interested, BPI Bismuth is a 6% tin alloy, like Rotometal. I got a note from Shannon Swahn saying, "Anything less than that is not going to produce a round enough pellet."

Ok, I'll take a bunch of my grouse/pheasant lead hand loads and make them up using bismuth. Then I'll shoot them out of my Krupp barreled Zoli, it should be strong enough to handle any over pressure, and if the barrels dont burst...I'll consider them good loads and pass them on to others.

Or I could send test loads to Tom...

dal, I'm not sure why you want to be so antagonistic. Do what you please, but take it elsewhere. You have nothing constructive or insightful to contribute.

as opposed to you just saying its ok to just switch reloading componants purely based on the fact that that so far you have not had a barrel burst?

very insightful indeed.

others have added constructive comments, but you continue to say that you are on the right track.

good luck.

Can't find such a load, eh?

"Can't find such a load, eh?"

Nope....no sense going on your journey until I finally find one that bursts my barrels....or send hundreds of loads to Tom, which I can't do.

So I'll let you have at it...and I'll stick with published loads.