ITX Shot (new non-toxic)

[pmwest]

Got the new Ballistic Products catalog in the mail today. ITX Shot is listed as a new product. It is also listed on their website but is shown as out of stock. $130/7# jar. Some of the claims: 20% denser than steel shot, similar to bismuth but not as brittle, USFWS approved non-toxic. This looks like a promising alternative for waterfowling.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

did I read that right - 130$ for a 7pound jar? someone is makeing a killing!

 

[bigbore442001]

That is the problem with any shot other than old fashioned lead. They are all up there in price. I wish we could get some alternative that was reasonable.

 

[Dave K]

How about hardness? Can it be used without a protective shot cup? Can it be used in a Damascus barrel?

 

[pmwest]

Here is a cost comparison for non-toxic shot for waterfowl hunting:

ITX - $18.57/lb
Tungsten/iron - $19.70/lb
Steel - $1.70/lb
Hevi-shot - $22.71/lb

Chilled lead - $1.87/lb

Steel is the cheapest but is also the least desirable in my opinion. I never could develop a 12 gauge load that would have enough speed to make steel an effective killer. I guess the cost of good shot is just the price you have to pay to shoot waterfowl with a muzzleloader.

The ITX comes in #4, #2 and BB. No mention of other sizes or when it will be available. The advertising says that it is comparable to Bismuth, but better. Hardness is equivalent to chilled or magnum lead so it should work in anything that will handle lead. The images I have seen of the pellets show little belted round balls, like bullets for a 2 groove rifle. Each pellet is individually molded. The technology is powdered metallurgy.

 

[bingo1952]

I wonder what that "belt" is going to do for patterns? :hmm:

 

[roundball]

And EcoTungsten/Nice-Shot is $27/LB

 

[Joel/Calgary]

 

[Joel/Calgary]

The advertising says that it is comparable to Bismuth, but better. Hardness is equivalent to chilled or magnum lead so it should work in anything that will handle lead.

from the B.P. spiel:
"In fact, ITX falls below the readable scale of Rockwell "C" (the baseline average of this scale is 27.0). Like lead and bismuth, ITX does not register above 27.0 on this scale of hardness. Other tungsten-based pellets register 29.1 and 31.7 on the Rockwell "C" scale. ITX is soft enough to crush with a pair of pliers."

Call me sceptical, but why use the Rockwell C scale, where undifferentiable is only a couple of points below TOO D^MN HARD? I won't trust it until I see numbers in a scale that DOES differentiate them, preferably the Brinnell. I'm still somewhat suspicious of Hevi-shot Classic Doubles shot, because nowhere do they give the hardness quantitatively, just the bald reassurance that the shot is soft enough that their loaded ammo is safe in older barrels.

Joel