Copper Shot?

J

John Singer

Well-known member
Seasons are well on their way. Earlier this fall, there was a thread on this forum on the bismuth shortage. It generated a lot of discussion on Boss Shotshells and copper shot.

My question: Does anyone have any first hand experiences with copper shotshells and how they perform on game?
 
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I used copper-plated shells. I don't know if that's the same as "copper shot."

They are made by federal. Wing Shok
 
I have heard or the selling point of the copper-plated shot, was they stay round, they don't deform as much when hitting bones and maybe supposed to not pull as many feather through with them into the meat. Not sure about the feathers, but I can understand how the other could be true. I just load with whatever #5s I have around. I do have a few pounds of plated ones, maybe I will try those the next time reload.
 
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remy3424 said:
Those couldn't be much better than steel and multiple times the price. What advantage might copper provide..they won't rust?
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I don’t know, but after reading the thread about copper shot a few months ago, I asked a us f & w agent I bumped into at a gas station, and it’s not an approved non toxic shot at this point
 
He is talking about the new boss shells. BOSS makes pure 100 percent cooper shot to replace bismuth as a non toxic shot. It is suppose to be 95 percent the density of bismuth and penetrate the same in gel. I have heard some birds fly like not hit for 50 yards and drop dead. It is expensive at around 2 dollars a shell. I listened to a podcast and it sounds like getting it approved by USFWS as a non toxic shot has been real journey to say the least. The testing method has a patent on it, or something weird. The USFWS did okay it but one federal agent somewhere said he will write you up if you have it in a nontox situation. The podcast was from Scott Lindens Upland Nation, if you want to learn more.
 
So I was sent by Boss a preproduction pack of their soon to be on the market Warchief copper shot and they worked well. They sent me 5 Warchief shells and 5 legacy. I only hunted Saturday but went 3 for 3 with the Warchief!

That was my best percentage of the season, not sure if I just shot better or if the shot made a difference. Up until this past weekend I was using their old legacy copper plated bismuth in both 12 and 20 gauge.
 
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Pure copper shot is an approved (by the USFWS) non-toxic shot. The kicker seems to be the coating and a device to detect that coating without destroying a shell. BOSS says their product is legal wherever non-toxic shot is required. They are waiting for approval of a device they have developed to allow law enforcement to detect the copper shot without destroying a shell. Depends on the specific laws, but I don't believe law enforcement can require you to destroy a shell to prove what kind of shot is in the shell. If you volunteer to do so, that is a different story. I contacted SD Game and Fish with no reply received so I'm guessing they are waiting for USFWS approval of the coating detection device. In the meantime, if checked, I will volunteer to destroy a shell to prove what kind of shot is in it. No use making a game warden's job harder than it already is.
 
revs2ninegrand said:
So I was sent by Boss a preproduction pack of their soon to be on the market Warchief copper shot and they worked well. They sent me 5 Warchief shells and 5 legacy. I only hunted Saturday but went 3 for 3 with the Warchief!

That was my best percentage of the season, not sure if I just shot better or if the shot made a difference. Up until this past weekend I was using their old legacy copper plated bismuth in both 12 and 20 gauge.
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Thank you for a reply with your first hand experience. I realized it's a small sample set but it is interesting.
 
Goosemaster said:
There is no 100% copper shot that would be really expensive.
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Boss makes a 100% copper shot, it's their replacement for bismuth. I believe there are 1 or 2 other companies following suit to Boss. Luckily I have plenty of Bismuth in the safe to last me a couple of years so no worries here.
 
I like my bismuth, but as someone who prefers to shoot a gun smaller than a 12 gauge (& with no 3" option), bismuth is as ballistically poor as I can afford to go without sacrificing too much performance. Being significantly less dense than bismuth, copper can't possibly perform equal or better, as Boss claims.

Vincent Gambini might ask the Bossmen, "Perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your loading bench!?!"

I've got 2 cases of bismuth left, but eventually I may have to figure something else out if Boss doesn't go back to it, or another manufacturer (who CAN acquire bismuth shot) doesn't start making a suitable, mostly affordable 16 gauge bismuth load. Right now nobody does that I'm aware of.
 
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