I've played some with bismuth and ITX in my old guns and been well pleased with it. I tend to hunt small water with only a handful of decoys and keep my shots close, regardless of the gun and ammo choice. Bismuth 6s on close in, decoyed ducks is very effective but I haven't tried any long shots with it. I tried 6s because that season none of the suppliers had 4s or 5s in stock. I have a good supply of ITX 2s, 4s and 6s to load this year and am going to order some bismuth 4s as well. The ITX 4's really crush ducks well. I found its performance very similar to lead 4s though I know it's a bit lighter. Of course it's been 30+ years since I've fired a round of lead at waterfowl so my memory might be suspect on that. I haven't used the ITX 2s or 6s yet.
I like that either will get my old guns back in service, even if it's just for a couple of hunts. I have my Browning Sweet 16, a Lefever 12 gauge, a Thomas Bland 2 1/2" 12, an Ithaca Lewis 10 gauge 2 7/8" and my Dad's Ithaca 37 20 gauge. While I don't get each of them out every year for a hunt, it's nice to know I can grab anyone of them and put them to work in the duck blind.
