Bismuth comes to the Gamebore Dark Storm range

As we have noted before, Gamebore’s Black Gold Dark Storm are the UK’s favourite shotgun cartridges. According to the Game Shooting Census, among those who have made the switch to lead-free loads, Gamebore’s Dark Storm Precision Steel (with Bio-Wad) are also the front runner in terms of popularity and acceptability by leading shoots.

Now Gamebore have added a third product to the Dark Storm range: Dark Storm Bismuth HD.

The cartridge sees the UK based cartridge manufacturer bring their revolutionary biodegradable Quad Seal wads to a bismuth load for the first time, resulting in an ultra-high-performance shotgun cartridge that will deliver the Holy Trinity of non-lead cartridges: high velocity, low recoil and knock-down power at long ranges.

What is Bismuth?

Bismuth is a metallic element and it sits right next to lead in the periodic table. In terms of alternatives to lead, Bismuth very nearly matches lead’s density, meaning that the shot maintains significantly more of its kinetic energy down-range than steel shot, much closer to that of lead.

Bismuth is not quite as soft as lead, but is significantly softer than steel and so can be safely used without a fully protective wad unlike steel shot.

Gamebore manufactures the shot used in Dark Storm Bismuth at their factory using an exclusive process which eliminates previous issues of shot brittleness in bismuth and which gives it very similar malleability to lead. This ensures that with Gamebore bismuth, no pellets break up either on detonation of the cartridge or when they strike the target.

Why use Bismuth cartridges?

There are several reasons why you might opt to use Bismuth over other non-lead options. The first, and perhaps the most important, is that Bismuth performs in a very similar way to lead. Because it is less dense, it is recommended that you move up one shot size, but thereafter you can expect it to do pretty much what lead does, so you won’t have to adjust the way that you shoot.

Bismuth is also a good choice for use by people who own older shotguns that are unsuitable for steel shot, either for reasons of being too-tightly choked or having pre-1954 proof house limitations (steel shot should not be used in guns made before 1954 or that have greater than half choke if using the larger shot sizes

While steel shot is widely considered perfectly suitable for the vast majority of game shooting in the UK, there remain doubts about steel’s ability to bring down the very highest of birds. It is generally accepted that the effective range of the standard steel loads on the market at present is around 40 yards. For high bird and extreme high bird shooting Bismuth represents an option that would ensure that you can still tackle those 50-yard plus birds with the confidence that you’ll achieve a clean kill.

Bismuth is also a good choice for anyone attending a mixed duck and pheasant day, who doesn’t want to have to swap between lead and steel loads throughout the day, especially important on mixed drives.

How much do Bismuth cartridges cost?

At present, a slab of Gamebore’s premium lead cartridges retail for around £130. By comparison, a slab of Dark Storm Bismuth HD retails for around £470, about three and a half times more. Simply put, Bismuth is just a less common metal in the earth’s crust, and is often harder to get at, consequently it costs in the region of 7 times more than lead.

Despite the higher cost, many guns will consider that it is a price worth paying, either in order to continue using a much-loved heirloom shotgun, one with tight fixed chokes unsuitable for steel or to continue shooting the high birds that they enjoy.

Are Bismuth cartridges really that expensive?

If we consider the average day’s shooting - a day of 120 birds at the average price per bird of £45/bird - the total cost per peg is around £675. On a day such as this each gun can expect to shoot 15 birds, and assuming a ratio of 4:1, that means firing 60 cartridges.

At £1.88 per bang, the total cartridge cost for the day if using bismuth would be £112.80, versus £31.2 when using lead loads, a difference of just £81.60. To put it another way, that’s the cost of around one more bird in the bag.

High-performance bismuth cartridges

Gamebore’s Quad Seal technology employs a patented four-ring gas seal design to give a significant reduction in the amount of gas that can leak past the wad, about 4 times less than a plastic wad, resulting in much improved down-range striking energy and unmatched ballistic consistency.

It also means that Gamebore can use high quality powders which generate lower pressures to achieve higher performance, resulting in a smoother cartridge with less recoil.

Green credentials

Of course, Bismuth poses no danger to either wildlife or human health, but the eco-credentials don’t stop there. The Quad Seal wads are made from a fully biodegradable, environmentally safe, water soluble material that means it will fully dissolve when it rains and disappear within a shooting season or sooner.

The material from which the Quad Seal is made, fully conforms to the European CEN 13432 standard meaning that the Dark Storm Bismuth HD are some of the most environmentally friendly cartridges available today.