Casting bismuth for shot?
So I plan to test some heavy bismuth loads this year in 10 ga 3.5" and I will probably end up buying a T shot mold from Martys. Every 10 ga ive owned both 2 7/8"s and the 3.5" magnums have always patterned T shot well in lead and steel(3.5"). I have seen some guys hand load large bismuth shot by casting their own and looking at the cost you can either buy 99% bismuth and mix it with tin to get the 94/6% ratio for about $12/lb. Or I could buy 10lbs of reject 94/6% bismuth shot to melt down for $12/lb so I dont see a reason to mix the bismuth and tin myself as there doesnt look to be a cost savings just adding more work/time to reloading.
I think a Bismuth T at 1200 fps will pass through a goose or probably any bird hit by one and a Bismuth T fired at that velocity is moving faster and carrying more ft/lbs of energy at 40 yards vs a Steel T fired at 1500 fps so I think the killing power is definitely there. The real question is finding out what grade of felt I will use for punching wads the price varies greatly depending on the tensile strength of the felt.
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