A word of thanks to all

[grayscale]

Posting to say thank you to everyone on the site. I have been a lurker since I started casting to feed the beasts and during the famine ended up feeding a lot of friends beasts as well. But the big assist came after I bought some bismuth rounds to take an old 16g double
duck hunting. To my surprise I out shot my friends with their 12g 3.5 inch mags. I hadn't reloaded shotgun shells since the end of lead in the late 70's. but I thought I would try to load Bismuth, then I looked at the price of bismuth shot... YIKES! But I kept checking on
bismuth shot prices until last year I heard about roto-metals (here) and dug out my Dads old mec and loaded some in vintage mark V
hulls. Wow! it was like shooting lead back in the day. But still kind of pricey. So.. if I can cast boolits , why not shot? So I read and
I researched and practiced my google-fu. Lots of u-tube vids , lots of articles, and every post here on this thread. I found a Shannon shotmaster on fleabay and bought some bulk bismuth and tin. In short, IT WORKS! Using every thing I learned from you all I had success the first time out. ten pounds of 7-8's right out of the gate. With some small changes (drippers, temp, ect.) I have 6.5's on the second try. When I can make 5's I'm there. SO.. Thank You to Everyone who posted help and advice, you made it possible to avoid the steepest part of the learning curve and achieve early success.
Happy Fourth of July. And Thanks Again, Sincerely, Grayscale

[Markopolo]

Welcome Greyscale to the Cast Boolit family.. glad you found a home here. Any knowledge kept to yourself is knowledge wasted if you ask me...

Perhaps you could post some pics of your shot, or setup.. lots of folks here love looking at Lead Porn... me being one of them...

Have a blessed day, and again, welcome.

Marko

[grayscale]

Thank You for the warm welcome Markopolo,
I found it difficult adding materiel to the ladle without over cooling the low temp melt needed for bismuth. too hot and it runs too fast and results in
very small shot or solid streams that look like sand castles in the coolant can. So I have a lee 10lb bottom feed on order to use as a feed pot .
When it arrives, I'll set up for another run and take some pics. Then with the help of tech support ( My Kids ) I'll try (!?) and post them.
Always Learning, Grayscale

[Markopolo]

and That is the name of the game.. I have learned TONS of stuff from my boolit brothers here.

[Bazoo]

Welcome to the forum, glad your making good progress. I'm still in the infancy of shot loading. Gathering needed supplies and reading on it. Don't look to be too difficult. I'd like to get into making my own shot too but that's for a ways out.

Bazoo

[Markopolo]

when your ready, I can help you post pics.. its pretty easy once you get the hang of it. are you using an Ipad or a pc?

[GregLaROCHE]

Welcome. You can spend a lot of enjoyable hours here, as well as learning a lot too!

[RED BEAR]

Welcome aboard. Just keep at it you will get it.

[Petander]

Welcome!

I respect shotmakers so much... bismuth even more. Hats off!

[grayscale]

Very kind of You All,
Loading the shells is just like loading lead back in the day with my Dad, follow the recipe in the book and get results. I'm using the Lyman shotshell manual and the online Hogdon and Alliant sites. My dad and I picked up every empty we could find on the range or in the field so I have bags of empty hulls to work with. Some I can remember loading multiple times in the 70's. Winchester Mark V hulls were the prize finds because they were so tough. And I find myself getting a little misty sometimes working with his loading tools and remembering him. He would have loved seeing his Mec and all the hulls we hoarded getting back in the field.
Markopolo, I'll be working on a pc. When I have some pics ( soon I hope) I may be in need of your help. As for shot dropping or anything else anyone may want to do,
I have always found that the hardest part is making up your mind to do it. Give it a try Bazoo, The kick from success is worth more than shot!
Always learning, Grayscale

[jimb16]

Welcome aboard. I've been casting and reloading for 50 years and I still get valuable tips on this site. Never too old to learn and never so smart that you don't need to.

[dsh1106]

Welcome to the obsession!!!

What do you think of the Shannon Shot Maker? I have one as well. Does yours have the original drippers or have you purchased after market?

Scott

[grayscale]

Obsession?, Obsession ?!!, Just because its all consuming doesn't make it an obsession, does it? MUA HA HA HA!!!!
I like my Shannon shot maker just fine. Seemed like a good place to start without spending half a K on something I might not be able to make work.
( apologies to Littleton Shot Maker ) Now wishing the ladle was a little bigger but I think using a lee bottom pour as a feed pot will compensate for that. My shannon came with two original drippers size unknown. But they seemed to throw 8.5 - 9 shot in Bismuth, I bought two double drippers on fleabay that throw 7-7.5. And another set that
throw 6.5-7. The aftermarket drippers seem to work just as well as the originals. I plan on drilling out one the sets to .040 and see what that gives me. I'll report back when
the Lee pot arrives and I test my theories.
Always Learning, Grayscale ( also named Scott)

[dsh1106]

I use a lyman 4-20 pot as a feeder for the Shannon shot maker. Just make sure you can move the source from spot to spot. If you feed to the same spot all the time you may burn through the aluminum drip tray.

[No_1]

My dad and I picked up every empty we could find on the range or in the field so I have bags of empty hulls to work with. Some I can remember loading multiple times in the 70's. Winchester Mark V hulls were the prize finds because they were so tough. And I find myself getting a little misty sometimes working with his loading tools and remembering him. He would have loved seeing his Mec and all the hulls we hoarded getting back in the field

Welcome aboard Scott!

16 gauge is my favorite shotgun caliber. Glad to see you are using the skills, tools, and supplies you and your Dad used 40 years ago. I am sure the memories are gold.

Take care,
Robert

[grayscale]

Thanks No 1,
I bought the L.C. Smith 16g because I liked the look, then in the field I found out it was the near mythical "trained gun". You have to work to miss with it. And that led down this current rabbit hole, no way I was gonna shoot steel in an 80 yr old gun. Next attempt I'll try a feed pot,
larger drippers and flow restrictors to slow feed to the drippers from inside the ladle. Currently waiting on a pin vise to hold the very! small drill bits.
Always Learning, ( and this weekend teaching) Grayscale

[grayscale]

Further Note, I just received the 16g. mec 600 I found on fleabay, My first batch of bismuth shot (7-8's) is going dove hunting this september!
Always find a Way, Grayscale

[missionary5155]

Good morning and another Welcome !
I have been hanging around here awhile and there is still a ton to learn about. Lots of fine helpful fellers.
Mike in Peru

[grayscale]

ARRRGGGHHH.
I've got all the new bits and pieces to try for bigger shot and just can't get out to the garage and put them all together. Work, doctors appointments and that room
remodel can't be more important than shot dropping can they? Duck season is only Four months away. Just because I haven't installed the new stove yet doesn't mean that
this can wait, the old one still sort-of works. My Wife just doesn't understand priorities..... Tell Me I'm Wrong.
Always Learning ( procrastinating ) Grayscale

[centershot]

Grayscale - some words to live by:

"No one is more happy than the least-happy member of the family"

(sigh)

[dsh1106]

Grayscale - some words to live by:

"No one is more happy than the least-happy member of the family"

(sigh)

TRUTH
In other words - Happy Wife, happy life .....

[grayscale]

(?) Wha? Wrong impression given. No strife with wife. and she's supportive of my manias as I am of hers. Plus she shoots with me and that's a real plus in my book, (She loves the Seecamp she got for her birthday). She sends me off to hunt whatever, and cooks what I drag home. My stress is just about splitting limited time over too many projects. I'm doing bedroom remodels to her spec's. Wainscoting, chair rails, color scheme, ceiling tiles. All good, But takes time.
Always happily married (37 yrs.) Grayscale

[No_1]

Welcome aboard Grayscale!

16ga is my favorite shotgun caliber. I have the gear to cast shot and reload the empties but haven’t run out of factory rounds yet. One day the empty cases, shot maker and Hornady 366 will cross paths.

PS. I need a 16ga slug mold to round out the kit.


Take care,
Robert

[grayscale]

Progress Report.
Small shot is easy. Large shot is hard. I made multiple trials of larger dripper sizes yesterday. In most cases the bismuth would stream rather than drip Except at the start and finish
of a melt. This with the lowest practical heat setting on the ladle. When just starting to flow, and with melt level dropping below the dripper inflows, I was getting 2's 3's and BB's from a .040 dripper I drilled out from a smaller aperture. This tells me that the larger shot are do-able with adaquate control. So flow rate vs head pressure vs aperture. I puzzled on that all evening, then woke this morning at O dark thirty with an epiphany. And then couldn't get back to sleep darn it. Will gather more materials and do more testing this coming weekend. If Anything works I'll report details.
Always Experimenting, Grayscale

[dsh1106]

Progress Report.
Small shot is easy. Large shot is hard. I made multiple trials of larger dripper sizes yesterday. In most cases the bismuth would stream rather than drip Except at the start and finish
of a melt. This with the lowest practical heat setting on the ladle. When just starting to flow, and with melt level dropping below the dripper inflows, I was getting 2's 3's and BB's from a .040 dripper I drilled out from a smaller aperture. This tells me that the larger shot are do-able with adaquate control. So flow rate vs head pressure vs aperture. I puzzled on that all evening, then woke this morning at O dark thirty with an epiphany. And then couldn't get back to sleep darn it. Will gather more materials and do more testing this coming weekend. If Anything works I'll report details.
Always Experimenting, Grayscale

My experience with this machine is, if you want larger shot:
- use 1 a single hole dripper (block the other outlet off)
- extend the drip ramp allow shot to bounce more than once for entering free fall
- have adjustable base under the shotmaker (raise base to increase feed rate, lower to decrease feed rate)
- TC the melt in the pan so when you find the optimum temp for your alloy you can repeat it.
- TC the coolant tank and have a re-circulation pump (best temp I found was just under 100 degree F)

Scott

[grayscale]

Progress report Two.
After several attempts, have made a prototype adjustable dripper. Testing tomorrow. It may fall flatter than day old beer, but if it works....
Always testing, Grayscale

[Markopolo]

will be watching...

[grayscale]

Vaguely disturbing...

[grayscale]

Progress report Three,
Works well as a flow rate control, but drop size still dependent on aperture vs temp vs ?. More drill bits arriving soon for further testing. At minimum its nice to
be able to turn the flow on and off. And I finished installing the ceiling tiles, oh my aching neck...
Always busy, Grayscale

[grayscale]

Progress Four,
With a (.036) aperture I can reliably produce #6's, Yay, I've reinvented the wheel. .038 and .040 produce 6's with an small admixture of 5's and 4's. Moving up to an .045 produces a mix of 45% #6,
45% mixed 4's and 5's and 4% 3's, 2's and 1's with the remainder blobs and rejects. Temperature seems to be less a factor than head pressure as the larger shot are produced at the end of a run when
the melt is dropping below the dripper inflow. The dripper design seems to work, now I have to address controlling head pressure over the duration of the run. But that will have to wait. Last duck season I loaded Roto Metals #6 Bis and it was outstanding. I set out to make # 6 Bismuth at a lower cost and I'm there. I've got 50 lbs. of Bismuth ( Hallmark Metals fleabay store $310 & free delivery)
its just over a week till the beginning of dove season and little more than a month till duck season. I gotta make shot and load shells for myself and a few friends. But I'm not going to stop thinking about
making larger shot and I'll get back to it in the spring. If larger pellets drop as an uncontrolled part of a run then I just have to figure out the random factor. When I do, I will present a full report with images.
Going Hunting, Grayscale

[grayscale]

Note: 1 1/8 oz. size 6.5 Bismuth at 1250 fps is a real dove smasher.
Happy Hunting, Grayscale

[Txcowboy52]

That sounds like a wicked dove load !!

[dsh1106]

I didn't think dove would be that tough to kill ..... never tried dove hunting.

[gpidaho]

I haven't hunted dove since high school years. My shotgun at the time was a full choked model 12 Winchester made in 1917. (I still own it) As I remember I just used low base loads most of the time with a few Pheasant loads if I was cash poor and had some laying around. With the heavier loads there wasn't much left of the bird. grayscale I've enjoyed reading about your dripper tests. Gp

[grayscale]

Not hard to kill, but fast and erratic, great practice for duck season and very tasty too! Could have used a lighter load but my old (my Dads) Browning A5 runs best with a slightly heavier load and I love hunting with it. 1 3/8' oz. loads are great for ducks over decoys.
28 lbs # 6 made on Saturday, Keeping busy, Grayscale

[grayscale]

Wah! 44 lbs. # 6 made with an additional 2 lbs. of incidental 2's and 4's. Picked up a harbor freight tumbler and my Marty's Arms T shot mold arrived yesterday!!
It's all coming together. LOOK OUT GEESE!!
Thinking predatory thoughts, Grayscale

[grayscale]

Load note, Duck and goose begins in less than one week and I have my heavy goose load. From Lyman # 5, 2 oz of hand cast Bismuth T shot in a Remington 3 1/2 inch mag. ( Insert evil laugh ) Patterns 96 percent through a Modified choke at 40 yards. Punches through 3/8's plywood at 50 yards. Now that's a wicked load.
Cackling with Glee, Grayscale

[centershot]

Have at 'em, grayscale, I see duck plucking in your future!

[grayscale]

Thanks for the thought Centershot but unfortunately,
it was My turn for a dose of irony, Woke up Friday morning to get on the road and found that my flu shot had worked, I had the Flu. Haven't gone anywhere for days.
My partners got seventeen ducks and Eight (!) whitefronted geese between them. (*&^%$#@) Oh well, the season, around here starts in a week and and a half,
I'll be better by then.
Hacking with the crud, Grayscale

[grayscale]

I am happy to report that my home brewed shot works a treat on ducks, limited out in an hour and a half. Then I took a nap on the bank while waiting for my friend to get his limit. (He didn't, but that's just luck) I woke up to him calling to geese, the only opportunity of the day. Two whitefronts passed between us at forty-five yards altitude. My two ounce t-shot loads have now accounted for their first goose with the hope for many more. They do speak with authority at both ends of the gun! Knee deep in feathers, Grayscale

[centershot]

I am happy to report that my home brewed shot works a treat on ducks, limited out in an hour and a half. Then I took a nap on the bank while waiting for my friend to get his limit. (He didn't, but that's just luck) I woke up to him calling to geese, the only opportunity of the day. Two whitefronts passed between us at forty-five yards altitude. My two ounce t-shot loads have now accounted for their first goose with the hope for many more. They do speak with authority at both ends of the gun! Knee deep in feathers, Grayscale

Ya' see? I toldja'so! LOL! Nice shooting, Grayscale!

[skeettx]

Well done, well done,
Thank you for the reports
Mike

[grayscale]

And just to add to the fun: Sunday took the long walk ( 2 miles ) to the north end of the bypass and got two Honkers, ( the local limit ) not a common thing around here. All great till I had to carry
them Two miles back to the parking lot ( errr my back ) And I got them with the #6's Wow! Never had a chance to change loads, they just drifted right over me. Next time I'll take a decoy cart even
if I don't take decoys.
Hunting like I mean it, Grayscale