Bismuth available again!

[catnthehat]

So it seems that Bismuth shot will be readily available once again in Canada for hand loaders !:sHa_shakeshout:
This is VERY good news for us hand loaders who like to use steel alternatives, and shooters who use vintage muzzle loaders and cartridge shotguns that cannot use steel.
Eley in England has been making Bismuth, and I was told tha they were actually supplying most of it here for some time, as the American outlet could not keep up with the demand.
Will Bilozir of Bilozir.net has struck an agreement with eley to bring in Bismuth and Eley ammunition, so this is exiting for me as a shooter of original shotguns, and 'm sure others will be looking forward to it as well, seeing how at te moment we have only ITX and Nice shot as alternatives.
I was told tha the bismuth is going to be cheaper than both of those.....
Cat

[Pudelpointer]

Hey Cat. Interesting news.

I would be surprized if it was cheaper then the alternatives though. Last time I checked (just before you could not get it anymore) Bismuth was ridiculously expensive.

On a related note, I checked out Bilozar's site when they announced Nice Shot (or maybe it was ITX) and compared the price between the manufacturer and Bilozar and I was shocked at how much more he wanted for it. It was double IIRC. In the US it was about 25% more than quality steel, so I am not sure why it was so expensive here.

I hope you are right though; I have a number of old guns I would like to take out for ducks.

[Scar270]

Yeah I hope Bismuth comes available again at a reasonable price, last time I saw it it was over $25 a pound, if memory serves.

[catnthehat]

The biggest problem with nice shpot and ITX was getting it across the border, shipping is very high.
IIRC , Will gets his Nice Shot from overseas, and it is cheaper that way, but still expensive.

I can't recall the price for Bismuth, but IIRC it is going to be a bit cheaper than it was, I will look into it for sure, because most of the guns i love to shoot cannot do steel, and lead is out for waterfowl!:(
Cat

[Hunter Trav]

I found a guy who was making Bismuth shot in Minnesota, you may have seen the threads on Shotgunworld forums Cat. I got in on the bulk buy they had, and got mine for around the $15/lb mark. It seemed to be a good product, and I ended up buyuing more from him later on. Only problem was that he had a hard time making anything bigger than #4. I prefer #2's for the geese myself, but the 4's worked ok, just had to bring them in close is all. Keep us posted as to when Will gets some in, I may have to go and pay him a visit...

[catnthehat]

I found a guy who was making Bismuth shot in Minnesota, you may have seen the threads on Shotgunworld forums Cat. I got in on the bulk buy they had, and got mine for around the $15/lb mark. It seemed to be a good product, and I ended up buyuing more from him later on. Only problem was that he had a hard time making anything bigger than #4. I prefer #2's for the geese myself, but the 4's worked ok, just had to bring them in close is all. Keep us posted as to when Will gets some in, I may have to go and pay him a visit...

I missed that thread completley!
I did see a thread on reconstituted shot, but not the Bismuth.
I may be wrong, but I though tha stuff had patents on it?
Cat

[Hunter Trav]

Just the method of making it was patented I guess, and he made it using the drop method, vs. what the factories did. The shot wasn't perfect, but seemd to work well for me. And he only charged the current market price for the bismuth, plus shipping I believe...