BOSS Shotshell Review and Unboxing | Best Shells EVER? 

I shot BOSS for the 1st time last season out of my 12 gauge. Once I switched over to them mid season I didn’t have another cripple. I liked them so much I bought a case for my 20 gauge. They do cost more and that’s tough for blue collar hunters like myself, but just eat pb&j for a month to save the money because they’re worth it.

I tried out 2 boxes last season on sea sucks and divers and it CRUSHED them. No cripples or Insta-dives after hits. Gave some to my buddy in the next layout boat and he bought a case as well for this year cause he couldn’t believe how much better it was. My case arrives tomorrow after not being in stock for forever.

Good to see u. Hope ur summer going well brah.

I’ve ever had a problem knocking birds down yet but this year I will be giving BOSS a try to see if it makes it better if an experience when it comes to reachability. Great clip bud!

Great review if the BOSS shot shells. You knocked them dead last season with the 28. I always liked watching the Tom Knapp shooting vids, wish I could shoot like he did.

Got a case back in April exited to try them this year

Great review of your experience and outlook. In every gauge, Boss is hands down one of the best non-tox loads you can get outside of using a Tungsten TSS 15 or TSS 18 load (and who can afford that for waterfowling?). The science of shotgunning says it’s better, and when you get the right gun/choke combo paired with it it proves to be true. This year will be season number 3 for me. I started with the 12ga loads and last year tried the 28ga and went in deep on the 10ga. The stuff just flat out rocks birds. It’s more forgiving on bad shots too as it anchors birds that are hit poorly long enough to swat or for the dog to get to. It’s not lead or the equivalent thereof, but it’s a lot damn closer in real world scenarios than steel (iron) shot. Hands down, I am done with steel for regular waterfowl season. If I can save enough for it, i’ll run it stand alone in the ‘22 Snow Goose Conservation Order in 10 and 12 gauges too. Regarding your 28ga Tri-Star having issues with the loads, it’s due to a tight chamber. The .410 and 28ga Turkish guns have tight chambers for some reason and this can cause issues with the French made Cheddite hulls that Boss uses. The Ched hulls tend to obturate a bit more than Italian and American hulls do with hot/magnum loads and when you combine that with a tight or slightly rough chamber you are bound to have a stuck hull once in a while. I had this issue with my Mossberg International SA-28 (for all intents and purposes, the same gun as the Tristar Viper G2 with very slight cosmetic and mechanical differences). The fix was to first rough polish the chamber with 0000 steel wool wrapped around an old 20ga brass bore brush on a hand drill running at high RPM. Once you made a good run of the chamber with that, use a 20ga bore swab/mop covered in fine polish such as Blue Magic or Mother’s on it and repeat the process. You should end up with a near mirror finish chamber that feels like glass to the finger. This should resolve your issues. Regular chamber brushings (every couple hundred rounds) will keep the tighter chamber clear of plastic hull residue and carbon deposits and improve reliability on any autoloader, but especially a tight chambered one. Ultimately, if the above method does not improve reliability of extraction and the issue persists, I would buy a fine grit chamber hone from Brush Research and hone the chamber before you send it off to have the chamber reamed. Hope all that helps. I have a video in my channel regarding a fix for my 10ga Gold 10 that was suffering from extraction issues due to a rough/out of spec chamber and this method helped her run right as rain with Boss.

Awsome vid bro! Good luck hunting! I didn't even realize people hunted honkers n such with a 28 Guage. I'm not up with the times per say, always thought a min of a 20gauge would be required, then again I've never been waterfowl hunting, just know quite a few who have and still do, they all use 12 3inch min. Very informative and honest review!

I know this video is older but thank you for a good honest review! I just recently bought a browning bps 28 gauge and was thinking about what shell to use! I ended up ordering the 3/5 shot from boss!

I used boss first time last year and i ended up doing great on late season mallards didn't have enough to chase late season goose but im going to be using it again this year i ordered more and can't wait for duck season

Definitely planning on buying a couple cases this season. I lost probably 9-10 birds sailing them into other properties I didn’t have access to. Even watched the guys on the other property shoot my sailed birds a few times. It’s going to be a slow season with no water, but I’m still excited to see how boss works for me

New to your channel man and new to waterfowl hunting. Always great to see fellow Nebraskans on RU-vid. What part of Nebraska you in? (Don't have to give town names)

I would always buy the $5 Winchester steel target loads for shooting cripples so I didn’t waste tungsten or bismuth loads but i found I stopped even packing them in the blind bag after I started using the Boss. Still have steel since I couldn’t get any Boss but hopefully have plenty for this season now.

GREAT SHELLS I ORDERED SOME 28GA # 5 BEEN WAITING FOR TWO MONTHS SILL NOTTING CAME YET USED THEM OUT OF MY20 GA LAST YEAR LOST ONLY ONE BIRD .

I was having the same issue with one of my shotguns in the past (extractor ripping the rim on the brass) I found that the face of the bolt had made a small burr in the chamber from slamming into the rear of the chamber overtime. The Burr would hold the shell in and the extractor tries to pull it out then rips the rim. I polished off the burr and haven’t had a problem since, hope this helps!

Like the channel and the hunting videos....i have tried all the bismuth loads including boss and not been impressed at all. Lots of fragmentation. I had to look up penetrability to see if it was actually a word...good luck and cant wait for more videos

Hey Matt, I know this is an older video but I just ordered some 7/8 oz #5 Boss for my 20 gauge and was wondering if you could attest to its effectiveness at ranges around the 40 yard mark since that is the same load you have been using for your 28 gauge? This is where I’m comfortable shooting ducks to and just wanted to make sure it has enough oomph to knock em dead at that range if need be. I shoot 95% wood ducks so there’s few big ducks involved in my hunts

After seeing your videos and how well the Boss shells work I bought a case because I want to get more into layout hunting for divers and I know how tough they are to knock down. I bought the Boss warchief 3" 12 ga 3/5 shot I was going to buy the 2 3/4" but it wasn't that much more for the 3". They were not cheap I paid $420 for a case but I was buying black clouds and paying almost a dollar apiece for them. I'll have to wait until next November when our season in Fl starts up to see how well they work.

I ordered some for me and a buddy. Awesome! Steel works but heavier stuff is better

I'm going to try to take my swan this year with a 28 gauge with either bismuth or TSS.

I could afford them, but I think that hevi metal or black cloud will do. Ammo is very important, but 295 is quite a bit for shells.

Grabbed two cases of #5's for my 28 gauge. Can't wait to slap some ducks

Matt question for you, do you ever notice a delayed death with bismuth? I was running Hevi Metal #4’s this past season and there’s no doubt bismuth hits like a hammer. But I had multiple occasions where the ducks would fly another 100+ yards after impact and then go belly up and drop out of the sky, stone dead. ~Chris Costa

What happens when boss's bismuth hits bone? From my understanding, bismuth normally shatters when it hits bone, has this been your experience too?

Good review bud,,,,im in british columbia,,,,,,iv never heard of em before,,,,ill do some checking to see if available in Canada

I shot Bismuth for the first time last year. I'm a believer. Im pretty sure I won't go back to steel.

Would you say that a mod choke on a 12 gauge would be good for 40 yards and below shots. If I am good I think it’ll be fine

What size BOSS shot, length and sgotsize are your favorites. I got my ethos cordoba best showimg up tomorrow and am looking for 28ga suggestions on mallards and possibly a goose or two mixed in. Thanks matt.

What aftermarket choke tube is recommended to shoot the best boss shells

What aftermarket choke tube is recommended to shoot boss shells?

Almost got a case. Found some tss for better price. Yeah I was shocked too. Black cloud. Before it’s all over, I’ll probably get some for the 16 gauge.

Can these be used in my vintage SxS shotguns? Shooting 1907 LC and 1923 Fox.

Curious why they use so much brass on their shells. Thanks

Limited experience with field performance, and as other said everything dropped-but shots 25-30 yards. However, inconsistent patterning out of 3 different shotguns. Yes, I was using factory and aftermarket full chokes. They are not using a full length wad, about 1/4" short. The shells I cut open had inconsistent cooper plating and numerous fractured pellets in the payload. Also, out of 8 used for patterning, about 1/2 ran almost 100fps slower through a chrono than their published 1350fps velocity. Big disappointment was no response from BOSS when using their site contact form about the issues. So, I'll finish shooting my case, and looking at other options for replacement.

Wha was your effective range on ducks with the 5s.

Never shot bismuth or tss,,, jus lead and steel, anyways does Bismuth Compress like lead? Or is it hard like steel

I've been shooting 20ga 2 3/4" Boss for public land pheasants the past 2 seasons. It works pretty well. The main reason I use it, and Kent, is because I'm shooting a 50 year old O/U or an 80 year old pump. Bismuth is great for vintage guns that are able to take SAAMI spec ammo. Is it like lead...nope. People who say so aren't old enough to have shot lead at waterfowl. But out to 40 yards it's very good, and it does make me more picky on shot selection. Something that isn't a bad thing.

Yes... The best hands down. I order it by the case. Gotta choke it down though.

Will you Continue to use bossshotshells from now on?

Case is now 350 fml. People say they fragment is this true? I don't want my kiddos eating internal mystery metal

Painful. Love the hunting vids.

👍

super late to the vid, but with how expensive they are, and how well they preform, how many of y'all would pay 315-320 for a 200 ct case of a "pick your shot" case? By that I mean if you didn't want to buy a whole case of #4's, but wanted a bit of everything? 7 for dove and pigeon, 6 for upland and teal, and 4,&3/5 for ducks and geese. And if you're into it, I bet 3's would be pretty good on predators. 2's even better if they come out with them

So let me get this right $270 gets you 8 boxes of shells in a bag, not boxed you have 2 boxes that you can load them into, at $33.75 for. Can’t you get tungsten for slightly more than this and it comes in a box lol

Your hunting level is really great. Every time I watch your video, it feels cool. I really hope to go to the wild duck with you one day. I want to invite you to test and review our newest hunting rangefinder, and I'll send an official invitation email later, please check. Have a great day. Neil

too bad they are so hard to get, always out of stock

Kinda lame they dont box them all

am con fuzzzed. a case ??? miss alot i take it ?