All About Bismuth
Before diving into the specifics of Federal’s latest offering, it’s important to understand exactly what it entails. Bismuth – in particular that from dominant manufacturer Hevi-Shot – is advertised as being 22 percent denser than steel, consequently delivering harder hits with more energy retained downrange. In addition, bismuth allows for higher pellet counts than comparable steel loads.
Not only have bismuth loads shown regular patterning density, but the downrange power is a major factor for hunters. That’s especially true for waterfowlers, often requiring solid hits on far-reaching, larger flying targets. Yet, that’s not all.
Bismuth has actually been quietly appreciated for decades by shooters of fine old double shotguns. Its metallic properties make bismuth shot safe to fire through those classics, which can be damaged by other more common – and overly hard – shots like steel.
Just because bismuth won’t harm lovely old firearms doesn’t mean the shot is a slouch. In fact, it performs handsomely in other platforms, including the semi-automatics and slide actions commonly found in goose and duck hunting grounds. That’s where Federal’s Hevi Bismuth addition comes into play.
Federal Hevi Bismuth Background
It’s no stretch to find Federal, a dominant force in the hunting ammunition market, offering a line of waterfowl-specific bismuth loads. In fact, we’ve been expecting it. In 2021, Vista Outdoors, parent company of Federal, purchased Hevi-Shot, the proven brand that had been perfecting its craft in the specialty shot market for decades.
With bridgework in place, why would Federal not turn to Hevi, the Oregon-based company that had been crafting its own bismuth pellets? Thus, Federal’s new product with a hat-tip to Hevi right in the name, offers hunters yet another option.
As an aside, we’ve found that having more choices is never a negative, especially after we’ve all seen how quickly ammunition inventory can disappear. While ammo shortages made news for pistol and rifle rounds, waterfowl hunters found themselves equally low on legal options in the non-toxic sections, from steel to bismuth to combined blends of both.
All About Federal Hevi Bismuth
With a tagline of “Never compromise performance,” Federal touts the new shotshells’ ability to hit upland birds and waterfowl harder. The payload is a 9.6 g/cc density bismuth pellet crafted by Hevi. As you’ll see in our dissected shotshell imagery, the bismuth shot is lightly buffered with polymer material of the same color as the maroon hull.
That payload rests in Federal’s proven FliteControl Flex wad, the same rear-deploying wad used in several of the company’s other longer-range hunting shotshells. The theory is that it maintains the most consistent pattern possible, which becomes of utmost importance when taking longer shots at large flying waterfowl targets with a goal of clean lethality.
This is not Federal’s first foray into the bismuth market. In fact, the company offered a Federal Premium MeatEater-branded line of upland and waterfowl bismuth shotshells, which looks to have been quite short-lived, but no less practical in the field. The new loads, bearing the Hevi name, are available in a wide range of offerings for hunters.
The Bismuth Bang
When Federal leaked word of the upcoming Hevi Bismuth launch, both 12- and 20-gauge selections were announced. As summer 2023 wears on, we’re just starting to see the first boxes of this newbie making its way to dealer shelves. So far, they’re all 12 gauge, which is no grandiose surprise, as that bore holds the lions’ share of the market. We’ve been able to try out three different loads:
- 12-Gauge, 3-inch; 1-3/8-ounces #4
- 12-Gauge, 3-inch; 1-3/8-ounces #5
- 12-Gauge, 2.75-inch; 1-1/4-ounces #4
We fired them through a Winchester SX3 semi-automatic shotgun with a magnum 3.5-inch chamber. All three loads, including the 2.75-incher, cycled cleanly and with ease. Though we often shoot larger shot sizes on geese, the move to bismuth actually put out impressive pattern density through a full choke.
The move away from 3.5-inch magnum loads continues, and specialty shots hold large part in that trend. Materials like bismuth and tungsten pack higher pellet counts and increased performance into smaller spaces; thus, we’re seeing both firearms and ammunition manufacturers shifting to 3-inch standards. While the larger shot sizes will be welcome on the biggest birds, the slightly smaller selections should play well with duck-sized game.
Extensive Options
The full list expected to be available in time for the Fall 2023 Upland and Waterfowl seasons:
- Hevi-Bismuth 12-gauge 3 inch 1 3/8-ounce No. 3 1450 fps
- Hevi-Bismuth 12-gauge 3 inch 1 3/8-ounce No. 4 1450 fps
- Hevi-Bismuth 12-gauge 3 inch 1 3/8-ounce No. 5 1450 fps
- Hevi-Bismuth 12-gauge 2 3/4-inch 1 1/4-ounce No. 3 1350 fps
- Hevi-Bismuth 12-gauge 2 3/4-inch 1 1/4-ounce No. 4 1350 fps
- Hevi-Bismuth 12-gauge 2 3/4-inch 1 1/4-ounce No. 5 1350 fps
- Hevi-Bismuth 20-gauge 3 inch 1 1/8-ounce No. 3 1350 fps
- Hevi-Bismuth 20-gauge 3 inch 1 1/8-ounce No. 4 1350 fps
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Hevi-Bismuth 20-gauge 3 inch 1 1/8-ounce No. 5 1350 fps
Cost and Benefit?
