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As I said, you're getting them fairly cheap. As such things go.

Did a bit of research on the patents, and both US Patent 4949644 and Oz AU199058368A1 were issued in 1990. So with the 20 year patent term now in force, they have another five years to run. Bugger! Don't look for the commercial stuff to get any cheaper before 2010; they'll be getting the most out of their last years of exclusivity [The Bismuth Cartridge Co. is very aggressive in issuing 'cease and desist' letters in the US - even to people discussing making shot for their own use. It's been mentioned on the Double Gun BBS].

Bismuth shot is significantly harder than lead, and load data I've seen tends to use very slow [in shotgun terms] powders. Hodgdon only uses 'Longshot' in their bismuth loads, and that's not ADI made, so not much use to us. Can't get a burning rate comparo for Longshot ATM, as Steve's Pages seem to be down. It's a slow one though.

But see here for a couple of example loads - SR4756 is similar to AP-100 in burn rate.

There seem to be only two mobs that publish load data for bismuth - Ballistic Products and Precision Reloading. They also both sell the shot - USD 84.95/ 7lb.

ADI might be able to supply data if you contact them direct . Nothing in their latest guide.

Interestingly enough, it seems that the Kiwis can get bismuth shot fairly readily - NZ Forum page

Some have been loading bismuth 'volume for volume', using lead powder charge data. This results in a slightly reduced shot charge [lower bulk density for bismuth]. Definitely not good practice though, considering the difference seemingly minor component substitutions often make to shotgun pressures. Them manuals ain't all that expensive!

One thing about bismuth, it does perform a lot better on game than steel.

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Cheers,
Doug

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