Has anybody opened up a Hevi-Metal longer range load to see what size the Bismuth shot is and counted the pellets on each type of shot? On some of the duplex load advertisements the ammo manufacturers show a percentage but they don't say if it is a percentage by weight or by pellet count. Hevi-Shot Hevi-Metal Longer-Range Shotgun Shells use a blend of 30% high-density bismuth shot, layered over 70% steel shot, which increases range and lethality over standard Hevi-Metal loads. Steel pellets are coated with dry-film lubricant for corrosion resistance. For the 30% of bismuth shot to give longer range to a steel shot load the bismuth shot would have to be superior ballistics wise compered the the steel shot size it is duplex-ed with. By duplexing bismuth shot with a steel shot load that will lower the pellet count compared to the same weight and size of a steel shot load. If the 30% bismuth is superior to the steel shot then you would be counting on 30% of the shot to be doing the killing at longer range. If anybody has a Hevi-Metal Longer Range load they could open up and do a pellet count and size measurement on both types of shot and could post it on here that would be great. If I know the pellet sizes and densities I can run them through KPY to show the differences in speed, energy and penetration at 35 yards and 50 yards. For EMI to advertise that adding Bismuth to the new Hevi-Metal Longer Range makes it have longer range than the older Hevi-Metal, pretty much shows that what they called Hevi-Shot in the old Hevi-Metal was no where near being the good old 12g/cc Hevi-Shot.
You make some astute observations, bob. That's the problem with multiplex loads: by the time the larger shot's additional energy comes into play...as on a long range shot....there aren't enough of them to ensure 4-5 hits on target. Choose a shot size that is appropriate for the size of your target, chose a load that has plenty of payload, choke for the distances you'll be shooting, then shoot no further than that distance!!
Overpriced shell with the marketing to make it ignorant people think they can kill birds at 70 yards... but i believe the bismuth is the same size as the steel shot so u ain't gonna have the higher pellet counts u had with old hevi metal shells... and with bismuth weighing alil more than steel probably less pellets in a 1 1/4oz shell of hevi metal than standard steel in 1 1/4oz but I could be wrong... I dont trust anything EMI sells anymore
Only shell I might give a shot that they sell is the hevi bismuth for my 20ga in #2's cause I cant find #2's in any other bismuth shells in the stores around me
I wondered the same thing. I don’t have any of the longer range stuff but I do have a box of the older stuff with “hevi shot” in it that was given to me. I can do the pellet counts on that and we can compare the two if someone else has the new stuff. Just let me know. cheers rob
I'm willing to bet the pellet counts a good bit higher in the older hevi metal shells than the newer stuff
There never was 12g/cc Hevi-Shot in Hevi-Metal shells. If they did have the good 12g/cc Hevi-Shot in Hevi-Metal shells they would have cost 3 times more than what they did. The Hevi-Metal pellets that were in with the steel shot on the original Hevi-Metal shells probable were not as dense as Bismuth and that is why they are calling it Hevi-Metal Longer Range because the Bismuth shot is denser than the Hevi-Metal pellets were.
Just open up the crimp and pour the shot out, then put the shot back in it and crimp it. You don't have to destroy a shell to open it up.
