Joe Hunter
Senior Refuge Member
Boss vs. Kent vs. HEVI Bismuth loads
For those needing or wanting to shoot bismuth loads at waterfowl and/or upland birds, I recently dissected, and pattern tested six bismuth loads and one bismuth/steel duplex load from three shotshell manufactures to assess their components and patterning performance. Five of the six bismuth loads were patterned on the same morning, and one bismuth load and the bismuth/steel duplex load were patterned about a month prior.
To be clear here, I have no connections with any of these manufacturers nor did I get special loads to test. I purchased four of the loads (1 Boss, 2 Kent, and 1 HEVI) through normal channels (online or in-store purchases) and three of the loads (2 Boss and 1 HEVI) were purchased by other hunters and given to me for this test.
Below are my patterning results and some observations from the dissections and pattern work to give you an idea of the kind of performance you might get from these loads. In addition, I’ve included a few of my steel load pattern numbers to allow for additional comparisons to some commonly used steel waterfowl loads.
The patterning results are from a 12-gauge 3-inch Remington 870 Special Purpose with a 28-inch barrel and a factory flush Modified Rem-choke, .018-inch constriction from a bore gauge. The pattern counts and averages were derived from five separate pattern shots at 48-inch x 48-inch paper pattern sheets, and a 30-inch post-shot inscribed circle was used to define the pattern. The in-shell pellet count averages were obtained from dissecting five shells from the same box/lot as the shells to be patterned and counting the pellets. The average pellet diameters were determined from measuring 25 random pellets (five from each shell dissected) with a micrometer. The 40-yard patterning distance was established with a measuring tape from the muzzle to the pattern board.
PATTERNS / 40 YARDS / Modified Rem-Choke (.018” constriction)
Boss Unmuzzled Bismuth 2 ¾” 1 ¼ oz #4 Bi (192 pellets) / pattern 126 (66%)
Boss Unmuzzled Bismuth 3” 1 3/8 oz #5 Bi (267 pellets) / pattern 143 (54%)
Boss Unmuzzled Bismuth 3” 1 ½ oz #3/#5 Bi duplex (226 pellets) / pattern 121 (54%)
Kent Upland Bismuth 2 ¾” 1 ¼ oz #5 Bi (197 pellets) / pattern 119 (60%)
Kent Waterfowl Bismuth 2 ¾” 1 ¼ oz #4 Bi (212 pellets) / pattern 126 (59%)
HEVI-Bismuth 2 ¾” 1 ¼ oz #5 Bi (228 pellets) / pattern 85 (37%)
HEVI-Hammer Upland 3” 1 3/8 oz #3 Bi/#3 Steel duplex (181 pellets) / pattern 101 (56%)
Fed. Speed-Shok 3" 1 ¼ oz #3 steel (186 pellets) / pattern 128 (69%)
Rem. Sportsman 3" 1 ¼ oz #3 steel (193 pellets) / pattern 146 (76%)
Win. Xpert 3" 1 ¼ oz #3 steel (195 pellets) / pattern 131 (67%)
Fed. Speed-Shok 3" 1 ¼ oz #2 steel (154 pellets) / pattern 115 (75%)
Rem. Sportsman 3" 1 ¼ oz #2 steel (152 pellets) / pattern 110 (72%)
Win. Xpert 3" 1 ¼ oz #2 steel (146 pellets) / pattern 106 (73%)
Observations & Comments
All three Boss loads tested had consistent components (powder, pellet count, pellet size, and payload weight) and they were very close to the listed load in shot payload and pellet size. At the pattern board, the Boss 2 ¾-inch 1 ¼-ounce load with No. 4 Bismuth averaged 66% patterns which is at the top end of typical Modified choke performance (55% to 65%), and it registered the highest pattern percentage of all the Bismuth loads tested. The other two Boss 3-inch Bismuth loads (1 3/8-ounce No. 5 Bismuth load and 1 ½-ounce No. 3/No.5 Bismuth duplex load) fell just short of typical Modified choke performance by registering 54% patterns.
The two Kent loads tested (2 ¾-inch 1 ¼-ounce Upland No. 5 and Waterfowl No. 4 Bismuth loads) had consistent powder and pellet counts but both loads were light on their shot payload weights. The No. 5 load had a 518.1-grain payload, and the No. 4 load had a 514.0-grain payload, a 1 ¼-ounce payload should be close to 546.9 grains. And after comparing the pellet sizes from each load, both the No. 5 and No. 4 loads had very similar pellet sizes, .125-inch and .124-inch diameters, respectively. It appears that these two loads are pretty much the same loading, and the patterning results tend to agree. The No. 5 load averaged 119 pellet strikes (60%) and the No. 4 load averaged 126 pellet strikes (59%). Those patterns put both loads right at typical Modified choke pattern performance.
The HEVI Bismuth 2 ¾-inch 1 ¼-ounce No. 5 load had consistent powder and pellet counts but it was light on its shot payload weight. It averaged 485.4 grains when a 1 ¼-ounce load should be closer to 546.9 grains, and the average pellet size was one-half pellet size smaller than the expected No. 5 pellet diameter (.120-inch). At the pattern board, it could only manage a dismal 37% pattern which is much lower than any of the other loads tested.
The HEVI-Hammer Upland 3-inch 1 3/8-ounce No. 3 Bismuth/Steel duplex load had consistent powder and pellet counts but it, too, was light on payload. It only averaged 557.4 grains when a 1 3/8-ounce load should be close to 601.6 grains. Both the Bismuth and steel pellets averaged very close to the No. 3 size, .141-inch and .140-inch diameters, respectively. However, it could only muster a 56% pattern average, just reaching Modified choke performance.
Special Note on the HEVI Bismuth No. 5 load:
While shooting the five pattern shots with this load, the wads punched through the pattern paper and cardboard backing on all five shots. On further inspection of the three wads I could find behind the pattern board, there were loose pellets present in the base of these wads. Obviously, the wad had flipped upon exiting the muzzle and captured part of the payload within the shot cup and, as a result, it was performing like a slug load. It would not have been possible to confirm this if there hadn’t been an earthen berm behind the pattern board that stopped the wads so I could find some of them. Of course, having part of the payload captured in the wad could explain the woefully low pattern count average (85 pellet strikes) and pattern percentage of 37% for the load. As a side note, none of the other four Bismuth loads I patterned that day (20 pattern shots) had a wad punched through the pattern board!
Update:
I notified HEVI-Shot of my findings and they contacted me and are having the leftover shells picked up for their inspection and they are replacing the shells I purchased. I appreciate them contacting me and replacing the shells and I’ll let you know how the new shells perform when I get them.
I'm just the messenger so you can be the judge!
If you are wanting to see all the data from these loads, I'll post the numbers from the loads per the manufacturer.
For those needing or wanting to shoot bismuth loads at waterfowl and/or upland birds, I recently dissected, and pattern tested six bismuth loads and one bismuth/steel duplex load from three shotshell manufactures to assess their components and patterning performance. Five of the six bismuth loads were patterned on the same morning, and one bismuth load and the bismuth/steel duplex load were patterned about a month prior.
To be clear here, I have no connections with any of these manufacturers nor did I get special loads to test. I purchased four of the loads (1 Boss, 2 Kent, and 1 HEVI) through normal channels (online or in-store purchases) and three of the loads (2 Boss and 1 HEVI) were purchased by other hunters and given to me for this test.
Below are my patterning results and some observations from the dissections and pattern work to give you an idea of the kind of performance you might get from these loads. In addition, I’ve included a few of my steel load pattern numbers to allow for additional comparisons to some commonly used steel waterfowl loads.
The patterning results are from a 12-gauge 3-inch Remington 870 Special Purpose with a 28-inch barrel and a factory flush Modified Rem-choke, .018-inch constriction from a bore gauge. The pattern counts and averages were derived from five separate pattern shots at 48-inch x 48-inch paper pattern sheets, and a 30-inch post-shot inscribed circle was used to define the pattern. The in-shell pellet count averages were obtained from dissecting five shells from the same box/lot as the shells to be patterned and counting the pellets. The average pellet diameters were determined from measuring 25 random pellets (five from each shell dissected) with a micrometer. The 40-yard patterning distance was established with a measuring tape from the muzzle to the pattern board.
PATTERNS / 40 YARDS / Modified Rem-Choke (.018” constriction)
Boss Unmuzzled Bismuth 2 ¾” 1 ¼ oz #4 Bi (192 pellets) / pattern 126 (66%)
Boss Unmuzzled Bismuth 3” 1 3/8 oz #5 Bi (267 pellets) / pattern 143 (54%)
Boss Unmuzzled Bismuth 3” 1 ½ oz #3/#5 Bi duplex (226 pellets) / pattern 121 (54%)
Kent Upland Bismuth 2 ¾” 1 ¼ oz #5 Bi (197 pellets) / pattern 119 (60%)
Kent Waterfowl Bismuth 2 ¾” 1 ¼ oz #4 Bi (212 pellets) / pattern 126 (59%)
HEVI-Bismuth 2 ¾” 1 ¼ oz #5 Bi (228 pellets) / pattern 85 (37%)
HEVI-Hammer Upland 3” 1 3/8 oz #3 Bi/#3 Steel duplex (181 pellets) / pattern 101 (56%)
Fed. Speed-Shok 3" 1 ¼ oz #3 steel (186 pellets) / pattern 128 (69%)
Rem. Sportsman 3" 1 ¼ oz #3 steel (193 pellets) / pattern 146 (76%)
Win. Xpert 3" 1 ¼ oz #3 steel (195 pellets) / pattern 131 (67%)
Fed. Speed-Shok 3" 1 ¼ oz #2 steel (154 pellets) / pattern 115 (75%)
Rem. Sportsman 3" 1 ¼ oz #2 steel (152 pellets) / pattern 110 (72%)
Win. Xpert 3" 1 ¼ oz #2 steel (146 pellets) / pattern 106 (73%)
Observations & Comments
All three Boss loads tested had consistent components (powder, pellet count, pellet size, and payload weight) and they were very close to the listed load in shot payload and pellet size. At the pattern board, the Boss 2 ¾-inch 1 ¼-ounce load with No. 4 Bismuth averaged 66% patterns which is at the top end of typical Modified choke performance (55% to 65%), and it registered the highest pattern percentage of all the Bismuth loads tested. The other two Boss 3-inch Bismuth loads (1 3/8-ounce No. 5 Bismuth load and 1 ½-ounce No. 3/No.5 Bismuth duplex load) fell just short of typical Modified choke performance by registering 54% patterns.
The two Kent loads tested (2 ¾-inch 1 ¼-ounce Upland No. 5 and Waterfowl No. 4 Bismuth loads) had consistent powder and pellet counts but both loads were light on their shot payload weights. The No. 5 load had a 518.1-grain payload, and the No. 4 load had a 514.0-grain payload, a 1 ¼-ounce payload should be close to 546.9 grains. And after comparing the pellet sizes from each load, both the No. 5 and No. 4 loads had very similar pellet sizes, .125-inch and .124-inch diameters, respectively. It appears that these two loads are pretty much the same loading, and the patterning results tend to agree. The No. 5 load averaged 119 pellet strikes (60%) and the No. 4 load averaged 126 pellet strikes (59%). Those patterns put both loads right at typical Modified choke pattern performance.
The HEVI Bismuth 2 ¾-inch 1 ¼-ounce No. 5 load had consistent powder and pellet counts but it was light on its shot payload weight. It averaged 485.4 grains when a 1 ¼-ounce load should be closer to 546.9 grains, and the average pellet size was one-half pellet size smaller than the expected No. 5 pellet diameter (.120-inch). At the pattern board, it could only manage a dismal 37% pattern which is much lower than any of the other loads tested.
The HEVI-Hammer Upland 3-inch 1 3/8-ounce No. 3 Bismuth/Steel duplex load had consistent powder and pellet counts but it, too, was light on payload. It only averaged 557.4 grains when a 1 3/8-ounce load should be close to 601.6 grains. Both the Bismuth and steel pellets averaged very close to the No. 3 size, .141-inch and .140-inch diameters, respectively. However, it could only muster a 56% pattern average, just reaching Modified choke performance.
Special Note on the HEVI Bismuth No. 5 load:
While shooting the five pattern shots with this load, the wads punched through the pattern paper and cardboard backing on all five shots. On further inspection of the three wads I could find behind the pattern board, there were loose pellets present in the base of these wads. Obviously, the wad had flipped upon exiting the muzzle and captured part of the payload within the shot cup and, as a result, it was performing like a slug load. It would not have been possible to confirm this if there hadn’t been an earthen berm behind the pattern board that stopped the wads so I could find some of them. Of course, having part of the payload captured in the wad could explain the woefully low pattern count average (85 pellet strikes) and pattern percentage of 37% for the load. As a side note, none of the other four Bismuth loads I patterned that day (20 pattern shots) had a wad punched through the pattern board!
Update:
I notified HEVI-Shot of my findings and they contacted me and are having the leftover shells picked up for their inspection and they are replacing the shells I purchased. I appreciate them contacting me and replacing the shells and I’ll let you know how the new shells perform when I get them.
I'm just the messenger so you can be the judge!
If you are wanting to see all the data from these loads, I'll post the numbers from the loads per the manufacturer.
