Boss copper-plated bismuth shot shells

[LtCol Henderson Marriott]

Well folks, the plot thickens...

The Boss process is proprietary and within the industry, they have the copper -plating
process patents. Kent, Winchester use tin -plating. Mono-metal, shot supplier state they do no plating. Federal-Hevi are allegedly under the same company, and use unplated bismuth, apparently. Most of the others tin-plate or alloy their bismuth shot;OR order it from the bismuth shot manufacturer. The research shows that bismuth is both soft-close to the Atomic weight of lead-but it has brittle properties that may be related to the shot
forming process. Those who are brass case rifle cartridge reloaders know that brass work-hardens and may need annealing. The plating process that Boss uses is patented, and they were a bit closed-mouthed to research inquiries.

After the cost of tungsten or tungsten alloy shot became almost prohibitive,
the shot shell industry returned to bismuth. Most of this research in non-toxic shot metals is driven by waterfowl hunting and the non-toxic legislation requirements of the US FWS- as we know-hence earlier steel shot.

It is recommended that our fraternity of older double users, particularly hunters, read
the "Bismuth Shot Shell Review" under The New Hunters Guide" Series-
written by George Konetes, PhD-Feb 2023.

It was very informative on the latest bismuth brands, and their strong points or limitations.
Boss was rated highly, so we still may never get a final answer on that lot of Boss shells
within Jeff's Super. I suspect excessive brittleness. The Dr. Konetes Bismuth review mentions problems with
brittle shot pellets that other makers encountered. There were mentions of other rough bismuth pellets, particularly Hevi
bismuth. The Bismuth Shot Shell Review is recent and objective: recommended online reading.