doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Bismuth velocity

For those of you shooting bismuth in your doubles for ducks, what velocity gives good performance without too much recoil? Is 1250 fps enough for bismuth 4's and 5's?

I have a similar question: roughly what is the velocity of Bismuth #4 needed to kill a duck (yes, of course it depends on where and by how many pellets it is hit). In other words, what is the maximum distance for an effective shot?

I have reloaded bismuth for 12 ga. 2 1/2" and 10 ga. 2 7/8" using 2's and 4's.
The 2 1/2" load is 1 oz of #4 at 1150 and is a stone cold killer on ducks out of my cylinder bored McCrirrick hammergun. I thought it would be of limited use on ducks but was totally wrong.
The 10 ga. load (BB,2,4) is 1 1/2 oz around 1200 fps and is capable of killing any waterfowl at any range I care to shoot at.
Factory ammo is quite a bit faster but no more lethal.

Thank you, Blue Grouse. This is what I suspected.

I have hunted with, and reloaded, bismuth for many years. Both waterfowl and the uplands when required. I rarely shoot at birds beyond 40 yards unless favorable shooting angle. My loads are between 1225 - 1250 fps. I typically shoot 1 oz payloads of #6 for early season smaller ducks and #5 for mid-late season larger ducks. Years ago I had a nice 12ga 1 1/16 oz load of #4 @ 1260 fps that was very effective on 40 yard birds but a little hard on the shoulder. Most of the time I just shoot a 1 oz #5 load @ 1225 fps.

In shooting a muzzle-loading smokepole, I have found that the velocity needs to be @ least 1100 ft/s and optimum velocity for effective harvesting lies around 1200 ft/s. These velocities are group velocities.


Cheers,

Raimey
rse

I've been shooting bismuth reloads for nearly twenty years at ducks. I have settled on 1 1/4 oz. at 1250 as my favorite bismuth load. It's normally used in my big Fox HE grade, which has extremely tight chokes, and is the hammer of Thor. It is the only gun and load I've ever had to take a clean 6 duck limit with 6 shells.

How far it will kill a duck (cleanly) is a question not easily answered. It depends on the size of the duck, and the "presentation", i.e., is it settling into the dekes, is it an incomer, is it pass shooting crossers, or is it flying straightaway? Why the presentation matters is because some views hide the vitals, such as a straightaway shot in the rear, and some offer all the vitals and wingbones to the shooter, such as an overhead incomer. It also depends on the amount of choke you're working with in a particular gun, and how the load patterns in it. Because of so many variables I would not want to offer an answer in yardage. But, I will say this ...... with the proper choke and load 1 1/4 oz. of bismuth 4s will dishrag a big mallard drake farther than most of the people I've shot with in my life can hit them.

SRH

I shoot light loads of ITX 6's nd 5 Bismuth typically 7/8 and 1 oz. The 1150- 1200fps numbers work perfect for me, all my shooting is over decoys. Although I only hunt public lands I rarely have to compete with other hunters. I don't hunt weekends and am rigged to be able to get into spots others can't get to. My big boat only draws a few inches of water and I have no problems walking it quite a ways through the shallows, I have a power canoe that can get large decoy rigs back in and a little marsh boat I can get into places without landings. I've been known to get back in a ways and camp there for a couple days.

I greatly appreciate the feedback!

I'm thinking 1 oz. of bismuth 5's at in that 1150 - 1200 fps range would handle our early season if not all season.

Any reason not to start with 1 1/8 oz lead data?

While scanning the the confuser on bismuth in the UK I came across this site. I hope the link will transfer: https://pipesf16.wordpress.com/kent-bismuth-smaller-euro-shot-thoughts/