About Us
BOSS SHOTSHELLS IS A PRO-2A, FAMILY-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS PROUDLY DISTRIBUTING NON-TOXIC LOADS DIRECTLY FROM OUR DOOR TO YOURS.
Every shell is built for a specific purpose - to deliver devestatingly lethal payloads at a price that won’t break the bank.
Our customer always comes first. That’s not up for debate, as evidenced by the service you’ll get when calling or emailing The Shop or contacting us through our social channels. If you’ve got questions, we’re always here to help. There’s no artificial intelligence or call center BS here, just passionate team members talking to hunters.
We’re committed to being a positive force in hunting at a time when ‘authenticity’ seems to have come at a crossroads. We believe in true woodsmanship, like patterning your shotguns and lessening the number of crippled birds each year. For us, conservation is more than a cool-kids club - it’s a responsibility that falls on everyone.
Cash, Arkansas. 2017. Fresh off a dry-ground snow goose beatdown, Michigan’s basement ballistics wizard Brandon Cerecke drops a handful of 2 ¾" #5 hand loads with the guides at Mat Schauer's Northern Skies Outfitters. He didn’t build those shells for bragging rights — he built them because he couldn’t find a low-recoil load that wouldn’t rattle his young son’s teeth. So, like any third-generation metal finisher worth his salt, Brandon fired up his dad’s old press and made his own. It turns out they hit hard — really hard. Birds on the end of their line were dropping like flies, and the guides were noticing. But clear-hulled, no-name hand loads? That’s a hard sell...even when the proof is piling up at your feet.
As the story goes, the shells were tossed into a blind bag and largely forgotten until weeks later when Schauer's guys eventually chamber a few of these bismuth loads. The performance they saw blew their minds. Like the bygone days of lead, they're stoning birds at 50 and 60 yards. No cripples – and eventually, no more shells left.
When Brandon returned the following year, the boys at Northern Skies were salivating in the hopes he'd brought more with him — it was all anyone talked about during the off-season. Soon after, on tailgates, blinds and barstools, the hushed word spread like a brushfire among the nation's notoriously secretive waterfowlers. Rumor had it, there was a devastating new non-toxic load, it was actually affordable — and yeah, you could get some…but you had to know somebody who knew somebody who knew Brandon. To say that the legend of the 2 ¾" Shorty #5's copper-plated destruction happened organically would be a massive understatement.
By spring 2018, with a surge of demand building, Brandon knew he was on to something. After a flurry of calls to Schauer and other industry legends to figure out a game plan for bringing his shells to the mass market, BOSS was officially born. But building a business isn’t something you do on your own and from the beginning, a cast of characters was assembled to get it off the ground. Insert Meg as recruit #1 in Michigan, the first of the extended “family” to join the arsenal of misfits that found their way to the shop to bring this idea to life. Load shells, answer phones, fulfill orders…she did it all. Next came Dirk, Brandon’s longtime friend and partner-in-crime, working side-by-side to stretch a thin budget on a small-town dream. With boots on the ground (made of gold if you ask the rest of the team), he quickly became an industry favorite, a friend to all, and a sure shot in the blind. Then came Lisa, the favorite local waitress, who jumped in with both feet and picked up the phones to assist the list of die-hard customers growing by the day. Working together, the team grew BOSS Shotshells into Michigan’s very own David in a Goliath-sized industry, adding more grinders to their rag-tag crew along the way.
The phenomenon that became copper-plated BOSS traces back to a problem many waterfowlers feel in their bones - a nostalgia for lead's performance mixed with disgust over what it does to the environment. In search of an answer, BOSS found a way in copper-plated bismuth. With the non-toxic properties of steel and the deadly impact of lead, BOSS shells increased accuracy, decreased crippling rates and respected the environment. A win-win-win.
Above all, the BOSS brand lives old-school values: Conservation. Real woodsmanship. Patterning shotguns. American manufacturing. Customer service. In this, the #unmuzzled brand and our direct-to-consumer business model was born. We fully credit the stoke from the #BOSSmen community for the continued groundswell. Your support, comments and suggestions helped build this movement as much as anyone — and the rest of the Boss story is a narrative we're writing together.
MAD SCIENTISTS. HOPELESSLY OBSESSED WATERFOWLERS WITH SERIOUS HUNTING ADDICTIONS. HONEST, PRO 2A, RED-BLOODED AMERICANS WHO DON’T HUNT FOR LIKES AND FOLLOWERS, WE HUNT BECAUSE THAT’S ALL WE’VE EVER KNOWN.
Shooting a sub-gauge gun has been a game changer since I started shooting BOSS. When you buy from the BOSSmen, you’re supporting American made, down home, down to earth people, just like me and you. Their customer service can’t be beat, and their attention to detail is incredible. That’s why I shoot BOSS.
I am one of the owners at Fowl Plains here in Central Kansas. We aim to provide a quality experience and exceptional hunting opportunities for our clients from all over the country. To help our clients be as successful as possible. We recommend the best shot shell on the market, BOSS. There is no better shot shell and no better company out there then BOSS Shotshells. We see substantially less cripples/winged birds with the BOSS shells then any other shell out there. If you want the hardest hitting most bad ass shell on the market, do yourself a favor and do what we do here at Fowl Plains. Shoot BOSS Shotshells.
Why BOSS? Copper plated BOSS hits like a vintage 40’s Joe Louis uppercut. As Joe said “everyone’s got a plan until they’ve been hit”. There is a whole lot less cripple chasing going on when everyone’s shooting the BOSS, and that’s a fact! Brandon and the Crüe are passionate about this country and provide top of the line made in the USA products. These guys are the definition of patriotism and grit combined with a lifetime of knowledge about plating metals and every aspect of the shot shell. Keep your eye on BOSS because this is just the beginning.
Being a fellow Michigan company with the highest product standards in the industry has been a perfect fit since the beginning. A great core of people behind the brand that are true innovators on all aspects of the spectrum. I feel truly lucky to be able to work with such great people that share the same ethics and morals about hunting and business.
I noticed the difference right away, especially in cold temps both with velocity and impact/penetration on late-season birds. WOW!
We demand reliability from the gear we take to the field. Day in and day out BOSS answers the call.
The effectiveness of BOSS shotshells has not only brought back the lethality and pattern density of lead but has allowed me to enjoy the world of sub gauge shotgunning once again. Pick up a box of THE BOSS and give it a go and take a step back in time.
We hunt some of the most Extreme Conditions for waterfowl and BOSS never fails to perform. Pair that with unmatched customer service and the choice is simple, BOSS Shotshells has a permanent spot in our blind bag.
Shells that are built for the Fowler looking for clean burning, consistent down range performance, with ground pounding knock down power and quality made right here in America to go along with a top notch customer service to help with any questions.
BOSS is the most versatile round I have ever used. The payload delivered in a 2 3/4” round gets me by most of the year, with a great reduction in the amount of cripples to be chased down.
BOSS has definitely got me into their sub gauge offerings, especially the 28 gauge loads. I have more quick efficient kills, with less recoil, and amazing pattern density.
Hunting at home with my friends in Michigan, or guiding in Oklahoma at Goose Reapers, BOSS gets the job done. Pattern density is king, and BOSS delivers.
BOSS Shotshells have been in my blind bag since their beginning, my very first box sealed the deal! Great American company, game changing product, and even better people! My go-to's are the 12ga 2 3/4" #5" and 20ga 3" #5's.
Superior down range effectiveness created by the determination to bring the absolute best product forward while utilizing American resources.
What I think is so badass about the BOSS is it’s manufactured in the USA by great Americans that you can put a face to. These dudes hunt. It’s the hardest hitting ammo on the market by far allowing me to take down anything with a 20 gauge clean and quick.
It’s refreshing to find a company these days with integrity, honor and best quality product for a fair price and BOSS is all of that. I love the authentic desire to educate hunters and make us all more responsible advocates of conservation. Of course having a solid load to push through the old guns again doesn’t suck either!
Come on now, shoot that BOSS you guys. I ain’t chasin’ no damn cripples now, you’ve seen my legs.
When your moniker's “One Shot Lu” ya gotta shoot Boss.
I shoot BOSS Shotshells because they hit harder then anything else I have shot! With boss you either kill the bird or you missed... no cripples!
Being cattlemen we know a little sumthin’ about a brand and who and what it stands for, the BOSS brand is one we stand with. They also just so happen to make the best damn shell on the market.
You won’t find another shell on the market that can match the performance of BOSS and being a direct-to-consumer company I know my hard earned money goes into top quality product and nowhere else!
Apples to apples comparison, Boss outperformed lead while hunting in Argentina. I overheard the guys whispering among themselves about El jefe, the magic duck cartridge from America.