# Boss Shotshells



## HRCHLab

Read quite a few positive reviews on these shells. Anyone have any real life experience shooting them. 
Also, what gun and choke are u using.


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## West side shooter

We shoot them quite a bit, very happy with them so far.
They won’t make you a better shot or kill every bird at any distance- what we have noticed is we have far less cripples, more birds dead when they hit the ground. 
My son shoots a Tristar Vipermax with a factory full choke, I have an SX3 with a Browning full


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## michiganoutdoorsman

Franchi Affinity 3 20 gauge with Boss 3” 4’s or 5’s are killer. Never have felt undergunned with that combo. 4’s are a great all around load. 5’s for ducks only, 3’s for geese only. If going the 12 gauge route, 2 3/4” shells are more than enough. That’s about the gist of it wherever you look online and I have first hand experience with both 12 and 20, I just really enjoy shooting it through my 20. This year I’ll be trying .410 loads in 7’s for strictly duck shoots.


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## Bigeejakes

West side shooter said:


> We shoot them quite a bit, very happy with them so far.
> They won’t make you a better shot or kill every bird at any distance- what we have noticed is we have far less cripples, more birds dead when they hit the ground.
> My son shoots a Tristar Vipermax with a factory full choke, I have an SX3 with a Browning full


Well said! I've gone through 4 ot 5 boxes worth... And completely agree - I would say that it doesnt noticeably increase range over steel (I was shooting 2.75" #4), but that when birds were within range, I had less birds I needed a follow up shot for.

I did have more birds that I thought I "sailed"... Only to find them belly up as I tracked them down like 100 yards away.

Im on the fence if its worth it for me in modern 12ga guns... It really shines with subgauge and old shotguns that cant take steel.

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## The Doob

I'm a big fan of the stuff! I have shot a couple of cases of 2 3/4, #3's and found it to be more lethal with less cripples. I cannot attest to it's effectiveness at longer ranges as I rarely take shots past 35 yards ( the edge of my decoy spread).
I was paying $1.20 a round but I think the price went up. I previously used Hevi Metal which was running .90 -$1.00 per round while the cheapest stuff runs @ .50 per round.

My personal way of weighing out the cost/benefit of the BOSS shells is, though not scientific, that due to reduced number of shells expended for cripples I am spending nearly the same per duck bagged. I also believe that there is better performance by the premium shells at the margins. i.e. the tough crosser in high winds at the edge of killable distance.


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## adam bomb

I’ve had great results with the 2 3/4” #5’s. There’s 238 pellets and 1 1/4 oz payload. The birds fall like a bag of hammers because the pattern density is absolutely superb.

The only negative is be extra diligent when cleaning your birds. The stuff does fragment and you gotta be on the lookout for it. 


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## Shiawassee_Kid

$1.35 per shot. steel. 2.75"

nope.


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## shotgun12

thats a lot of money per shot, no thanks


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## Shiawassee_Kid

honestly think they are marketing pro's tho. they put it in the hands of all the guys that have visibility on social media. they box in 20 count boxes with fancy graphics (almost like a food company using same size box as competitor but its ounces of less of product to make you feel like yer getting a good deal). good designs in their marketing...huge cool factor. But just like a fancy decoys that look pretty, 90% show. I don't care if they kill them "Deader" 10% more of the time. I have nothing against them and yes i have shot some of it....but i'm not duck hunting for $1.00+ a shot. I'll load my own before i do it.


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## Fishfighter

Boss shells will knock em down at 50 yards and take the soul clean out of the bird. For the record I dont shoot boss shells and I was paraphrasing another member.


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## Bigeejakes

In terms of loading your own, I priced out loading my own bismuth a couple of years ago, and it was only a small savings over buying boss or kent bismuth, so i decided to just buy factory.

As I said in my above post, I'm torn on Boss for 12ga... It works well, I appreciate that they are a michigan company, and that every post I have seen from official Boss employees has always been for the right reason (reducing cripples) and not about increasing range... 

But at the range I shoot, modern steel in a 12ga does a good job, in anything less than 12ga, steel has a lot of drawbacks. In old guns, bismuth is one of the cheaper options for waterfowl.

So I recommend Boss to: people who shoot guns smaller than 12ga, old guns, or people that want to support a good michigan business that produces top end ammo.

In the end, I only shoot about 5 boxes of non-toxic shells shells a year (weekend warrior at this point in my life) so the price difference is very small.

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## bfaber

I am thinking about try them this year. If nothing else just because they are Michigan company. Torn on size my favorite goose load is 3 1/2 bbb and 4s for ducks. Also don’t suppose I could shoot it out of the kicks steel full choke either.


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## PTPD2312

bfaber said:


> I am thinking about try them this year. If nothing else just because they are Michigan company. Torn on size my favorite goose load is 3 1/2 bbb and 4s for ducks. Also don’t suppose I could shoot it out of the kicks steel full choke either.


I can attest to Boss being deadly but which shell isn't in the proper hands. I shoot Boss # 2s for geese and Boss # 5s for ducks. I'm not sure on the kicks choke as I am running a Stoeger M3500 with a factory mod. The Boss factory is only 20 minutes from my home and I visit twice a year. Very knowledgeable and friendly people. You can even take a tour of the shop. I personally know the owner so that helps as well. I do know if you pick up shells from the factory is saves you on shipping and they knock off normally $15-$25 per case.


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## Andrew H

I have patterned the 2¾" #5s, 2¾" #4s, and 3" #3s out of my sbe3 and they do like a tighter choke. The pattern held up pretty nice out to 40 yards using a jebs 685, and the 40 and 50 yard pattern out of a patternmaster 665 was excellent. Obviously we like to have them closer than that but if you've got a day where those birds aren't cooperating a really tight choke will get it done. Just something to keep in mind


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## adam bomb

Pretty good info here.







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## Deadeyedeek

They are killer for Turkeys, cant afford to shoot them for waterfowl


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## PTPD2312

Deadeyedeek said:


> They are killer for Turkeys, cant afford to shoot them for waterfowl


So you are using the Boss turkey loads at $6/each round and yet can’t afford to shoot the bismuth at $1.35/round?


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## Tavor

PTPD2312 said:


> So you are using the Boss turkey loads at $6/each round and yet can’t afford to shoot the bismuth at $1.35/round?


Why is that hard to accept? I know guys who shoot cases of shells during duck season and, in a good year, get one or two shots at a turkey.


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## PTPD2312

Tavor said:


> Why is that hard to accept? I know guys who shoot cases of shells during duck season and, in a good year, get one or two shots at a turkey.


Oh I can understand that, $30 for 5 shells for turkey and $32 box of 20 for waterfowl. It's not what other guys shoot a season, it's what you shoot a season. So what are you shooting for waterfowl then? There are much cheaper options for both turkey and waterfowl if money is tight. What side of the State are you on? I have plenty and could share some.


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## Reef runner

I haven’t shot any Boss loads. I did hear from a young gentleman about how good these loads are. He said kills them dead out to 90 yards. 🤔 How far does a guy lead a bird at 90 yards was my next question? I prefer hevi shot. IMO shoot the best loads you can afford and pattern it. You can buy $6 turkey non tox loads to shoot geese with. But if they don’t pattern out of your gun/ choke, they aren’t worth the money


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## Bigeejakes

Most likely "his" 90 yards is really more like 45.

Regardless of speed and copper plating - its still bismuth... Which isnt as dense as lead, and is more dense than steel... When i ran the distance numbers, you can gain a few yards of range of steel in the same shot size... But its not as much as you would think.

Based on a lot of reading (i havent tested these numbers); maximum distances based on penetration of pellets for ducks :

Steel #3 = 35-40 yards
Steel #2 = 45-49 yards
Bismuth #4 = 50
Bismuth 3 = 55-59

There are two tough parts to long distance shots #1 is practicing long target shots enough to know what the lead would look like. #2 is having a good enough pattern at that distance (most bismuth loads are getting pretty thin by 40-45 yards).

Copper plating might get you a little more, but not much.

My opinion is shoot what you have, and some days shoot what you like. I use bismuth on slow days where I only expect a few shots... If am expecting lots of fast paced shooting (early teal and opening day wood duck spots) Ill probably run my steel loads.

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## birdshooter

My son ordered a case from them over 2 weeks ago . And nothing has arrived not even email confirmation of the order, but they took his money.


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## ajkulish

My buddy ordered a case last tuesday and had it in hand wednesday lol ^


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## birdshooter

Update: his shipped out today after 1 call delivery tomorrow.


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## PTPD2312

I don’t believe anyone that says they shoot geese at 90 yards with any shotgun ammunition. I’ve seen 60 but 90 seems quite a distance and unethical. The closer the better.


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## The Doob

Checked their website last week and they were out of the 2 3/4, #5's.
Checked just now and the price on a case (200 rounds) has jumped to $300. (They are still out)
I believe I bought it last year for $240 - so a 25% cost increase. OUCH!


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## gaustin

The Doob said:


> Checked their website last week and they were out of the 2 3/4, #5's.
> Checked just now and the price on a case (200 rounds) has jumped to $300. (They are still out)
> I believe I bought it last year for $240 - so a 25% cost increase. OUCH!


Boss had a Q&A FB Live session last week addressing production issues and the price increase. They talked about how powder had three increases in the last year, shortage on hulls, wad shortages.
They even gave a little insight on how their getting creative what shells will be in production with the shortages


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## Ducks10

The Doob said:


> Checked their website last week and they were out of the 2 3/4, #5's.
> Checked just now and the price on a case (200 rounds) has jumped to $300. (They are still out)
> I believe I bought it last year for $240 - so a 25% cost increase. OUCH!


the prices went up August 1st boss sent an email out the the pices are up,they are paying more
For powder, materials, and having a hard time getting The Hulls. I shoot number four and number 5 in 3” they both went up $30.00 per case of 200 rounds. $315.00 now.


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## laterilus

birdshooter said:


> My son ordered a case from them over 2 weeks ago . And nothing has arrived not even email confirmation of the order, but they took his money.


I bought a case in back May 3in #4’s, just showed up yesterday.


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## TSS Caddis

PTPD2312 said:


> I don’t believe anyone that says they shoot geese at 90 yards with any shotgun ammunition. I’ve seen 60 but 90 seems quite a distance and unethical. The closer the better.


Anything can be done with time and money.

Hand load tungsten 18 and you could do it with a 20ga if that is what floats your boat.


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## Duke of Flintown

I just got the email from Boss that the 12ga were back in stock, got onto the website 10 min later and EVERY 12ga load was sold out again.......... Website running slow...... Crazy man.


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## birdshooter

Observation after seeing my son run this for a week early goose …
20 gauge stoeger 
boss 3” stacked 3s/5s 
carlson mod choke 
1. my son is a good shot to begin with so there is that 
2. on good shots it kills dead as does anything else he has shot in past
3. on a couple poor shots taken with as many as only 3-4 pellets found while cleaning it still made clean kill.
4. Expensive but less follow up shots as matter of fact 0 follow ups 

my thoughts is it’s still pricey but I can’t argue effectiveness so far , will I run it? Probably not …


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## lastflight

birdshooter said:


> Observation after seeing my son run this for a week early goose …
> 20 gauge stoeger
> boss 3” stacked 3s/5s
> carlson mod choke
> 1. my son is a good shot to begin with so there is that
> 2. on good shots it kills dead as does anything else he has shot in past
> 3. on a couple poor shots taken with as many as only 3-4 pellets found while cleaning it still made clean kill.
> 4. Expensive but less follow up shots as matter of fact 0 follow ups
> 
> my thoughts is it’s still pricey but I can’t argue effectiveness so far , will I run it? Probably not …


If you haven't already, try patterning through a full choke. Bismuth likes to be choked fairly tight. Here is my pattern through my SX4 20 gauge with a factory full choke and Kent Bismuth #4.


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## charcoal300zxtt

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> honestly think they are marketing pro's tho. they put it in the hands of all the guys that have visibility on social media. they box in 20 count boxes with fancy graphics (almost like a food company using same size box as competitor but its ounces of less of product to make you feel like yer getting a good deal). good designs in their marketing...huge cool factor. But just like a fancy decoys that look pretty, 90% show. I don't care if they kill them "Deader" 10% more of the time. I have nothing against them and yes i have shot some of it....but i'm not duck hunting for $1.00+ a shot. I'll load my own before i do it.


But But But But.............They come in a really cool bag!


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## birdshooter

charcoal300zxtt said:


> But But But But.............They come in a really cool bag!


No they don’t ….they come in a plastic garbage bag in a box with little boxes to fill yourself and a cool bag .


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## birdshooter

lastflight said:


> If you haven't already, try patterning through a full choke. Bismuth likes to be choked fairly tight. Here is my pattern through my SX4 20 gauge with a factory full choke and Kent Bismuth #4.
> View attachment 786131


Wonder if that will be the case for bismuth that’s copper plated .. I did forget to mention that some of the shot found while cleaning birds were split like shrapnel.


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## lastflight

birdshooter said:


> Wonder if that will be the case for bismuth that’s copper plated .. I did forget to mention that some of the shot found while cleaning birds were split like shrapnel.


My guess is the copper plating will have little impact on patterning.

The fragile nature of bismuth is the biggest drawback to me. I've always been anti-bismuth, but with the current prices of steel shot, I figured I would pick up a case to play with.


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## Bigeejakes

For me the best patterns with boss were with my factory full chokes. Anything less than improved mod. I didnt like.

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## TSS Caddis

We are going to pattern it in the 20 this year. Last year would go from no missing with Kent bismuth in a LM to lots of missing once the boss shells went in. Stop shooting boss and run steel, back to hitting


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## sswhitelightning1

I won several boxes of boss the last couple years for my sick mud boat driving at mayhem lol. I used it all up on merge and GoldenEye. I worked just fine but not well enough for a cheap skate like me to purchase for a guy who hunts more than a few times a year. I will say the water proofing is nice. No wet powder was nice on wet days. I'm pretty notorious for shooting any ole wet she'll rolling around in the bottom of the boat at crips. Boss never failed there whereas my cheap ammo often barfed out my barrel


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