Titan ReloadingPBcastcoInline FabricationWideners
Load DataRepackboxReloading EverythingRotoMetals2
MidSouth Shooters Supply Lee Precision
Page 4 of 9 FirstFirst 123456789 LastLast
Results 61 to 80 of 166

Thread: Tips on Salvaging Range Lead

  1. #61
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    westcoast of Norway
    Posts
    208
    I give up on the copper-plated bullets, will take them (around 60pounds) to the scrapyard and try to get a deal. Even heating the copper red-hot doesnt release the lead.

  2. #62
    Boolit Buddy Andy_P's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    419
    Quote Originally Posted by blysmelter View Post
    I give up on the copper-plated bullets, will take them (around 60pounds) to the scrapyard and try to get a deal. Even heating the copper red-hot doesnt release the lead.

    Did you try smashing them with a big hammer to open the copper "skin" first? Works for me.

  3. #63
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    westcoast of Norway
    Posts
    208
    No, didnt try that. I dont see that as an option, time is valuable and spending hours handling and smacking bullets is hours better spent on an extra shift.

  4. #64
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    791
    blysmelter, if you're getting them red hot and no lead is leaking out, they may not be lead-core bullets. My experience with copper plated bullets is that they'll leak lead when brought to normal casting temperatures. It's possible you have sintered copper or copper-plated sintered iron "frangible" projectiles. I'm not certain, but I believe the expansion per F degree for lead is a good bit more than copper, hence the leakage even in new plated bullets.

  5. #65
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    westcoast of Norway
    Posts
    208
    This bullets, mostly Frontier, does deform on impact, but do not "open up", size and weigth looks about rigth compared to lead or FMJ. Anyway-off they go

  6. #66
    In Remembrance

    HABCAN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    East Central Alberta, Kanada
    Posts
    911
    Blysmelter: Years ago a gang of us used to regularly 'mine' the local trap range of shot, preferably just after a rain. The shot was 99% #7-1/2 size, and an appropriate shaker screen was used, about 12" square. Lawn rakes gathered the shot from the surface of the ground, and it was poured though the shaker screen a shovelfull at a time into a bucket. At home, we ran the garden hose into the bucket for a while, which flushed out the vegetable matter and most of the sand. We made up a tilt-board about 4' long from a 1x6 with wood strips angled on the face from the outside edges at one end to about 3" apart at the other. We poured the wet mix from the bucket on the 'wide' end of the board a little at a time and tilted it up until the round shot ran off into a 1 qt. glass jar, leaving flattened shot, stones, and junk behind on the board's surface. When the jar was about 1/2 full, we gave it a few good shots of light oil, and shook it all up as you would a cocktail shaker. What came out of the jar was clean polished shot ready to be reloaded back into 12ga. trap loads. Maybe this method has some application for you?

  7. #67
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    westcoast of Norway
    Posts
    208
    Good info! If just spring could come so I can get on collecting!

  8. #68
    Boolit Grand Master

    mold maker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Piedmont (Conover) NC
    Posts
    5,429
    Just be aware that trapped moisture is what explodes. FMJs can squirt lead about 4-6"in a fine stream, but this is usually when they are in contact with the liquid melt. As such they will be under the floating dirt and jacket material, so it isn't a problem.
    Adding fresh range lead to a cleaned melt is when you get the dangerous explosions from trapped water. First adding sawdust treated with oil or wax (flux), is a way to keep the fresh lead from plunging below the existing melt, and making super heated steam of any trapped moisture. Allways add lead slowly, as in a garden trowel full at a time, on top of the sawdust at the edge of the pot. This allows it to heat slow enough to expand without exploding. It's also safer to heat fresh lead with a lid in place. This method retains heat, speeds the melt, fluxes, and protects you at the same time.
    An even safer and faster method is to preheat the fresh addition before adding to the melt. This assures a dry, and explosion free, addition.
    I've been smelting all Winter and haven't had a problem out of over 700# of range lead. If its dry and above 55*, I mine the berms. If it's dry and cooler, I smelt. When its wet and cold I cast boolets in the basement.
    Man it's nice to be retired. I worked 44 years for this privilege.

  9. #69
    Banned
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Saco, Maine
    Posts
    285
    Quote Originally Posted by redbear705 View Post
    Our range is going to mine the shotgun fields.
    Thanks....JR

    How would you go about doing that?

    Some kind of Gizmo that you pull behind a tractor?

  10. #70
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    266
    After the screening, you could weed out a lot of the rocks/litter by way of a "sluice". It's used in small scale mining and could be built with wood. Basically looks like a washboard with water flowing over it. The heavies (lead) stay behind and the lighter rocks go with the water flow... A boat bilge pump or a motorized trash pump could be used to supply the water flow. If you design the riffles right, it should leave you will mostly bullets. And if you're lucky, maybe a gold nugget!

  11. #71
    Boolit Master and Generous Donator
    floodgate's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Posts
    2,227
    kamikaze1a:

    Actually, you can, I believe, still buy a "dry washer" from one of the outfits that peddles gold pans and other tools to prospectors and "gold bugs".

    Fg

    EDIT: Yep, here's the first in a long string of citations from Goggle:

    " Small Mining - Dry Washer for Desert Areas
    All stones over about 1 inch in diameter generally are discarded in mining. A dry washer usually is run by a small gasoline engine which saves the labour of ...
    www.minelinks.com/alluvial/dry_washer.html "

    Fg
    Last edited by floodgate; 08-17-2008 at 12:31 AM. Reason: Added info
    NOV SHMOZ KA POP?

  12. #72
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    1,597
    If the shot is OLD and oxidized it may NOT melt very quickly. I found out that a HEAVY roller could break the oxide layer so the lead will melt a LOT easier. I was using a turkey fryer and large iron pot as a melter. As always ,BE CERTAIN the lead is DRY when it goes into the pot!

  13. #73
    Banned








    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    munising Michigan
    Posts
    17,725
    I believe its chilled shot that has arsnic in it. I would bet that most shot that used for trap loads is near pure lead.

  14. #74
    Boolit Mold Owens's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Levelland,TX
    Posts
    27
    I've been reclaiming bullets from an indoor range that my employer is so considerate to supply. Mostly jacketed stuff, but it does have a steel plate backstop system. You do have to pick out the shotgun wads, but thats easy. I can have all I can carry. I don't get too far too fast because of my equipment, but I have so far accumulated around 120# of ingots. Currently I'm using a Lyman 8# pot for reclaiming and a Lee bottom pour for casting. I'm somewhat new to casting, but in that short time I have found it very addicting.

    I start by screening the scrap through an old carburetor cleaner basket. It has holes that are just under 1/8". I end up with a pan full of led 'sand'. I find this melts out really quick and fills the pot quickly. There is a fair amount of heavy scud on top to be skimmed off. Not sure what it is, but it's heavy and yet floats on the melt. I think it may be from a few non lead rounds, but not sure.

    This weekend I sifted through 2 five gallon buckets of scrap and came up with enough of this 'sand' to cast thirty 1# ingots. Still haven't melted the larger scrap yet. The stuff I have reclaimed hardness tests around 10.4 with a Lee tester.

    Just thought I'd throw my bit in here.
    Owens
    Life Member NRA, TSRA

  15. #75
    Boolit Lady Reddot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Northwest corner of the Northwest
    Posts
    81
    One final note on range lead. I have found live rounds that someone tossed into the berm. Make sure to watch for them or you might have one cook off in the pot.
    If you get a woman involved in the shooting sports you have involved her whole family. This in turn dramatically increases the number of people who support the 2nd Amendment. Please support women in becoming shooters.

    Are you going to be there? http://secondamendmentmarch.com/

  16. #76
    Boolit Buddy redbear705's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Rochester,Michigan
    Posts
    193
    Wow time flys !!!

    Here is an update on the lead harvesters at our club.

    There sprayed the vegetation and waited three weeks for it to die and disintegate.

    Then they came in with tractors with big rototillers on them and tilled up the earth till it was very fine soil. They ended up doing this twice because it rained pretty hard for a couple of days.

    They then used a front end loader to scrape up the soil and put it into a sifter. The heany stuff of course went into a slide and then into a front loader and then into a dump truck.

    They then did the proceedure again because they found alot more shot down deeper so they harvested some more.

    When done they replaced the soil and re seeded.

    Ends up 160 tons! of lead! Good payback for the club.....but the harvesters would not sell any to me...they claim they had a contract and could not sell any to anyone else....

    Bummer for me!
    Member Migigan Gun Owners www.MiGunowners.org
    NRA member NRA R/O
    IDPA member
    IDPA Safety Officer
    Member Linden Sportsmens Club Linden,MI
    Member Detroit Sportsmans Congress Utica,MI

  17. #77
    Boolit Mold
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Texas panhandle
    Posts
    3
    I saw a machine once that was harvesting shot from the impact area of a skeet range. It was mounted on a flat bed trailer pulled with a regular truck-tractor. It had had operation levers for operatiing the machinery and for steering the tractor-trailer arrangement mounted on the side of the trailer. It had some hoses that went along the ground and sucked up the loose shot, some dirt & grass of couse, then ran everything through a shaker like a farm combine. The loose stuff was blown off by air pressure, the grass and dirt went one way, the lead shot fell by gravity to a conveyer belt that took the shot to a 55 gallon drum on the back of the trailer. Noisy, due to air compressors and vacuum pumps. The operator walked along beside it and guided it back and forth across the filed.

    Very ingenious device, fascinating to watch it in action. Someone really put a lot of thought to it. They were out of Arkansas, if I remember correctly.

    rayyb43

  18. #78
    In Remembrance


    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Michigan Thumb Area
    Posts
    5,948
    Hello Redbear705. For that amount of lead to be harvested it has to be a old and well used club. Is it Oakland County Sportsman`s Club?Robert

  19. #79
    Boolit Bub Ithaca1911's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Grand Rapids Michigan
    Posts
    70
    cohutt- thank you for the suggestions and pics on this thread, I stole your design and spent about 20 minutes moving the berms UP, came out with over 400 lbs of scrap. thank you.

  20. #80
    Boolit Master Russel Nash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Proud new citizen of the Show Me state
    Posts
    1,282
    I have a ramp like what cohutt posted pictures of back on page 2.

    I am a member of a range with a bowling pin "pit", as they like to call it.

    It is almost an indoor range.

    It has a steel angled backstop, and most of the bullets do end up in layer of sand at the bottom.

    since some of the bullets shatter and then fling little lead slivers all over the place, I tracked down some 1/8" by 1/8" hardware cloth.

    Then I built a ramp/chute like cohutt.

    But in my case, I added legs to the back end of it to make it incline just so.

    I would dump in a shovel full of sand, bullets, and the wooden splinters from the bowling pins at the top of this ramp.

    It would gradually slide down the screen and most of the wood splinters and all of the sand would drop through.

    But it was kinda slow... so I used tie wire to cinch my porter cable "sawzall" to the side of the ramp. Then I used a zip tie around its trigger.

    I plugged it in and the vibration from the sawzall would shake the stuff to the bottom, making it lose the sand and wooden debris before it hit the bottom.

    Yeah, I would still get wood splinters in with the lead. So that kinda still sucks.

    I picked up one of those blue plastic drums. I think I am going to take a hole saw to the sides of it. Then I am going to cover the holes with that same 1/8" by 1/8" hardware cloth.

    My plan is to put a few shovel fulls of sand, wooden splinters, and boolits into the drum and spin it horizontally.

    hopefully, they will work better and/or quicker than the ramp.

    Now, if I could just figure out a way to get the wood splinters out of there.

    Yeah, I tried water already.

    I might try adding a bunch of salt to see it that makes them float to the top.

Page 4 of 9 FirstFirst 123456789 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check