Day after tomorrow is opener in CA. I just substitute bismuth for lead. Same amount of BP.

This may be a silly question but if your are checked by a game warden and you are shooting hand loads or brass cased shells how do they check to see if you are shooting bismuth shot. Do they take one of your shells apart.

they certainly can if they decide not to believe you, as many as they want would be my guess

They have a magnet. It's good for steel but no so good for Nice Shot. You need to use a Hot Shot magnet or a rare earth magnet that they don't carry. A suspicious US Fish and Wildlife warden confiscated one of my shells to have sent to the laboratory. Name and contact information given. Never heard anything after that.

I have a Grade 2 hammer gun 2 7/8, which is at Brad's shop finishing a full restoration.

I have a case of RST lead 2 7/8 10s and they told me a few months back they will soon offer some non-toxic "Short" shells in several gauges, including the 10. As you may know, CA will ban lead for all game in, as I remember 2016.

The "before" pictures of this 10 are posted under the Hammer gun blogs and I'll post the "after" pictures there when I get it back.

I shoot a DH # 3 Frame - I love it above all others

I don't duck hunt, but sometimes use BP for pheasant and grouse.

Keeping up with fish and game laws is daunting in CA. Basically they can do anything they want.
BTW Rio of Spain is making bismuth shells in 12 and 20 3" shells. I'm looking forward to duck hunting with my 20 Repro with 3" bismuth.
Opening weekend of duck season got us 24 birds. My friend shot a Berreta auto and I shot a 1901 g grade with Vickers replacement barrels. He got a scotch double on Greenheads and I got one on Teal. More fun than a couple of guys should have.

Lets see the first 10 gauge double to arrive in our house was probably 1980 or so my pop bought this 1922 Ithaca NID Grade 2 32" barreled 10 gauge . I never fired it until a couple years ago . Then this past hunting season I shot this little unlucky buck with it at about 20 yards handloaded #3 Buck in the right barrel and handloaded 000 Buck in the left barrel .

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...psc6d89303.png

Have a circa 1881 W&C Scott 10 gauge 30" that my grnadfathers owned since about 1948 and at his death it came into my possession . It was given to him by Marion DuPont Scott . She happened to be a descendant of the DuPont powder Co. as well as owning the first American bred American owned horse to win the Grand National in England back in the 30's . I've owned this gun for 8 years now , I'd rather it was still with my grandfather and he was still here . This also happens to be the gun that got me started loading the short 10's . Twenty years before I had loaded 3 1/2" for a Remington SP-10 . Anyway here are a couple pics of the W&C with deer and dove it killed a few years back .

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...inghunt002.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...guns/Dove2.jpg


Picked a LC Smith Quality 2 circa 1890 10 gauge last summer . Needed to make a new firing pin otherwise it was okay . Used it last year during the DCP hunting and popped a doe at about 12 yards with handloaded #1 Buck .

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ps8ee0a988.jpg

We've had this nice old 1845-1860 manufacture "Macfarlane" 10 gauge muzzle loader for about 20 years and I finally got around to shooting it this year . Have a nice load using 80 grains 2Fg and 12 "000" pellets . Plan to plow a deer with it this ML season .

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ps01570cd1.jpg

This is a J Manton I bought by mistake about 5 years ago , it's a POS but I worked on it a bit and shot it some .

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...psb3b156a4.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ps59a6cd4e.jpg

And finally my latest and FIRST Parker 10 gauge . A circa 1884 Grade 2 with 32" barrels that seem to be choked about IC/M on a #3 frame . Actually finalized the deal for this one yesterday .

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ps7fca5e9f.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...psf7265fef.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ps0ade3e8b.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ps4fe686ca.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ps91309b8b.jpg

Very nice Craig. Ten gauges are great guns and underrated