Tips for mining range burms.

[Trail Finder]

I am going to look into this at my local range and want to see if you guys have any tips or tricks. I was planning on just screening and back digging. Unless you guys have a better method.

[btroj]

Much expends upon the soil type in your area.
My range has a fairly heavy clay type soil, screening doesn't work very well at all. I once got into a sandy berm, screening worked great.
I generally try to just use my fingers and get 10 to 20 pounds each time I go shoot. I have a goal this year of bringing home more lead each time than I took.

Try a few different things, see what works for you and your berm.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i just use a sifter the berm at my range is like sand

[40Super]

I had to dig with a small gardening trowel and pick out the chunks by hand. Real time consuming and a pain.The soil around here has too much clay,rocks and junk that a screen won't work.I did get over 70lbs though in about an hour.Right now I have an easier source from an indoor range. Already shoveled into buckets.

[clodhopper]

With my range having clay, crushed gravel, clay bird chips it's easyest to just hand pick the nuggets. With heavy use, bullets come to the surface on impact of new bullets, some roll to the bottom of the berm, some fly over the berm.
Picking is best after heavy rain or wind

[Oreo]

Go in the summer when there's been no rain for a while. Pick a stinking hot day when it sucks to be outside. Use a cat litter scoop. In these conditions even clay soil becomes dry enough to sift easily. Use a garden trowel or something if you have clumps that need to be dug or broken up. Don't waste any time picking out non-bullet stuff. Just scoop, shake to sift, and toss in the bucket. Work quickly and gather all you can. It's easy to waste time getting picky over what goes in the bucket. The reality is that most rocks on a range berm get shot into pulverized dust. Most stuff that looks like rocks are actually deformed bullets covered in dirt. Real rocks and other debris won't hurt you a bit in the smelting pot where removing them is much easier and more time efficient.

Also, Keep in mind that bullet jackets can be sharp as razor blades in the berm so be a little careful. I usually don't wear gloves or anything but I do come back with scratched up hands. Make sure your tetanus vaccination is up to date.

[Kraschenbirn]

The berms at our club are all built-up from a mix of clay and (black) topsoil. I don't try to 'mine' the anything past the 50M berm simply 'cause I'm lazy. 99% of what's shot at our 100, 200, and 300 meter berms is high-power rifle and buried too deep to be worth the effort (without a backhoe, anyway). On the other hand, for the 25 and 50 meter pistol berms, I just wait a couple days after a very heavy rain and clean off the faces of the berms with a leaf rake, screen out the lead (and, unfortunately, the larger piece of gravel/trash), then shovel the loose dirt back onto the berm. I do this a couple times a year and, usually, come up with 50-60 lbs of usuable 'range scrap'...after washing and smelting...and, mixed 50/50 with WWs, this becomes my primary working alloy for both handguns and smokeless loads in the .45-70 and .38-55.

Bill

[waynem34]

Hi I'm Mot and I'm a lead hoarder. I'm trying to retrieve lead at my own pistol range.I have red dirt, some clay, rock and shell like rock thats is very soft.Depending on how high or low you shoot changes where the boolitt is gona come out of the hill.I know some go deep, but we have very steep bank, which is a variety of soil types.Its gona be like a Lead piggy bank.I'm trying to remove the larger rocks to avoid a recochet.The shell type rock breaks under boot easily.I may try the sifter method with armored cloth and 2x4 frame.I carry a large coffee can for range lead. I used to toss them into my range bag. BAD IDEA.Always invite friends over to shoot.They leave lead.There is no hope for me.You maybe able to lick this addiction.Best of Luck with all your endeavours.God Bless you All and your Families.

[Shiloh]

Bring a large sieve.
Mine is about 18x24" with 1/4" screen nailed on. A brace in the middle.

If you value your fingers and hands, wear heavy work gloves. jagged copper from expanded hollowpoints and shattered FMJ's will shred your hands. Fill sieve and swirl with your gloved hand to smash up dirt clods.

Shiloh

[clodhopper]

Go in the summer when there's been no rain for a while. Pick a stinking hot day when it sucks to be outside. Use a cat litter scoop. In these conditions even clay soil becomes dry enough to sift easily. Use a garden trowel or something if you have clumps that need to be dug or broken up. Don't waste any time picking out non-bullet stuff. Just scoop, shake to sift, and toss in the bucket. Work quickly and gather all you can. It's easy to waste time getting picky over what goes in the bucket. The reality is that most rocks on a range berm get shot into pulverized dust. Most stuff that looks like rocks are actually deformed bullets covered in dirt. Real rocks and other debris won't hurt you a bit in the smelting pot where removing them is much easier and more time efficient.

Also, Keep in mind that bullet jackets can be sharp as razor blades in the berm so be a little careful. I usually don't wear gloves or anything but I do come back with scratched up hands. Make sure your tetanus vaccination is up to date.

I tried the sifter, and just do not like the burning clay birds, so for me it's either pick out the clay bird chips, or pick out the bullets, bullets tend to be bigger and easyer to identify.

[tomme boy]

Put the bullits back in your sieve. Now blow air up from the bottom. Just about every piece of clay bird will go flying out. Some of the rocks will go also. Being how heavy the lead is, it usually stays.

[bobthenailer]

I use a 10" to 12 " long needel nose plyers to pick up the bullets. it really saves the back from bending all the way over and it extends your reach.

[mac1911]

try a shovel with a section cut out and covered with 1/8" sifter screen or 1/4" if you just want the larger chunks. One gent out our range has a 5 gallon bucket on wheels horizontally. he fills about 3/4 full and then drags it back to the truck. The whole drum rotate. There are a few cut outs on the sides with screen covering them. most of the dirt falls out by the time he gets back to the truck.
I was useing a Clam rake/shovel covered in screen and just scooping up the top 2" or so. This worked well. I left it at the range and it has not been seen since!!!!!

[clodhopper]

Put the bullits back in your sieve. Now blow air up from the bottom. Just about every piece of clay bird will go flying out. Some of the rocks will go also. Being how heavy the lead is, it usually stays.
That's a really good idea, I suspect the ulpolstery in my saturn will suffer even more when I load an air compressor.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

My sifter is made of plaster mesh. It is sharper and cuts up the clods better.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202090276/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=plaster+mesh&storeId=10051

[1845greyhounds]

My sifter is made of plaster mesh. It is sharper and cuts up the clods better.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202090276/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=plaster+mesh&storeId=10051

Leather gloves required. That stuff will cut you to ribbons, especially if (when) it breaks.