B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot – Great Waterfowl Load

Description

The three inch chamber exists so you can put more payload behind the same bird, and with an expensive shot material that extra quarter ounce matters. The B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot carries 1 1/4 ounces of blended bismuth at 1350 feet per second, which is a serious waterfowl load in a metal that will not hurt your barrel.

• What the extra length buys
• Full specifications
• Why bismuth is worth the money
• Honest notes before you buy
• Ten to a box, and managing the cost
• The bottom line

What the extra length buys

Compared to the 2 3/4 inch version of this shell, the B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot carries roughly five percent more shot at the same velocity. In practical terms that is a slightly denser pattern at forty yards, which is the distance where a duck load either works or does not. Over a season it is a handful more birds in the bag.

It also gives you a little more margin on bigger birds. Canada geese, big divers, and late season mallards with heavy feathers all reward a fuller pattern of dense pellets. The B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot has the payload for that in a way the shorter shell does not quite manage.

Full specifications

• Caliber: 12 gauge, 3 inch shell
• Bullet weight: 1 1/4 ounce of bismuth, a blend of 4 and 3 shot grain
• Bullet: blended 4 and 3 bismuth shot, non toxic
• Muzzle velocity: 1350 fps
• Muzzle energy: not published for shotshells ft-lbs
• Ballistic coefficient (G1): not applicable to shotshells
• Case: reloadable boxer primed brass
• Quantity: 20 rounds per box
• Part number: 10 rounds per box

The blended shot is the design idea. Mixing 4 and 3 puts two pellet sizes in one payload, the 3s carrying energy out to the longer shots and the 4s filling in the pattern at closer range. Rather than committing to one distance, the B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot tries to cover the spread of shots a real hunt produces.

Why bismuth is worth the money

Two reasons, and only one of them is performance. Bismuth is denser than steel so it retains energy better downrange, which is why the B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot does not need the two shot size jump that steel demands. That is the performance argument and it is real but modest.

The other reason is the one that sells it. Bismuth is soft, close to lead in hardness, so it is safe in older barrels, thin walled guns and fixed chokes that steel would damage or bulge. If your duck gun is a fine double or an heirloom, the B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot is what lets you hunt with it legally.

Honest notes before you buy

Your gun does need a three inch chamber for this shell. Most modern waterfowl guns have one, but plenty of older doubles are 2 3/4 inch only. Check the barrel marking before ordering, and if your gun is the shorter chamber, the 2 3/4 inch version of this load is the one you want.

One honest caveat even with bismuth. It is much kinder than steel but it is still not lead, and a genuinely antique or thin walled barrel deserves a gunsmith’s opinion before you shoot any modern ammunition through it. Most sound guns handle the B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot without any concern at all.

Ten to a box, and managing the cost

Bismuth is genuinely expensive, which is why the B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot comes ten rounds to a box rather than twenty five. The metal is a byproduct of lead and copper refining and the supply is limited. Nobody prices it this way for fun.

The practical approach most hunters take is to carry a few of the B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot for the shots that matter and cheaper steel for the rest, assuming their gun tolerates steel. If it does not, then bismuth is simply the cost of hunting ducks with that gun, and ten round boxes make it manageable in small steps.

The bottom line

For serious duck and goose hunting with a gun that cannot take steel, the B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot is the heavier of B&P’s two bismuth offerings and the one to reach for on big birds. You can read more about the bullet design at swiftbullets.com, or browse the rest of our stock on the MAG5 Firearms ammunition page.

MAG5 Firearms keeps the B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot in stock and moving, and we are glad to talk through bullet choice before you order. If you are working up a load for a new rifle, a single box of the B&P Dual Bismuth 12ga 3in 4+3 Shot is a sensible place to start.