Range Lead

[6622729]

I know it can be all over the map but do we have a sense of what an average hardness is for the typical mix found at public indoor ranges and outdoor ranges. Range scarp already cleaned and in ingot form looks mighty enticing right now. It seems to be available from a lot of sources in my area for the moment.

[Sasquatch-1]

I get my lead from an outdoor range. The range has been taking lead for many decades and on the surface there is more lead then dirt. On my Cabine Tree tester, it usually test out around 16 to 18 bhn. The problem is it in an area on the tester where there is a big jump on the conversion chart so I can't tell exactly where it is coming in.

I usually get dial readings of .85 to .89, which fall into the red highlighted area of the chart below. As you see that can be any where from 15 to 22 bhn. (Sorry for the chart. It doesn't seem to want to stay formatted.)

Tester Hardness Cross Reference
Material Dial Reading SAECO Brinell
Pure Lead* .020-.030 0 5
40-1 .045-.050 5.5 8.5
30-1 .053-.056 6 9
25-1 .062-.065 6.25 9.5
20-1 .068-.070 6.5 10
10-1 .072-.074 6.75 11.5
New WW** .074-.076 7 12.5 (est)
Aged WW** .080-.083 8 14 (est)
Lyman #2 .084-.086 8.5 15
Linotype (old) .086-.090 10 22
Quenched WW# .090-.095 10.5 23-24
Mono/stereo type .095-.098 10.5-11.5 24-28
Heat treated # .098+ 12+ 32+

[djgoings]

About 10 BHN for range scrap I've dealt with.

[6622729]

I love the stickies but information can be difficult to find. I happened upon an old thread just now about this very subject and it gave me the same idea. Anywhere from maybe 8.5-15. What I was looking for was whether I could consider range lead as my soft lead source. It looks like I probably can. I cast for 9mm handgun and 30 caliber rifle (300aac at under 1900fps).

[Sgtonory]

From what i have found i get around 10bhn but it seems to water quench nicely. I hi tek coat all mine now and have zero issues in pistol calibers.

[Rich/WIS]

The samples I tested were about 10-12 BH, but can vary depending I what I find. Sometimes mostly hard cast and a few soft rifle slugs , sometimes just the opposite. Since I smelt in large batches (50-80 lbs) figure it is fairly consistent. Works well in 45 ACP SWC target loads.

[lightman]

It will vary, depending on what is popular at your range. Some are heavy into Bullseye shooting and I like that lead better than most other stuff. Some are heavy into rimfire while others will be heavy with jacketed stuff. Smelting in large batches usually makes a decent alloy.

[mold maker]

Local PD range (currently almost all 9mm and .40 jacketed) ran 12 almost every melt. A few areas were as much as 45 yr old, and so impacted I had to pick it apart. I believe that to be mostly commercial 38 special LRN.

[garrisonjoe]

I get range lead that varies from about 6 BNH to 15 BNH. It all depends upon what is being shot at the range - DOH!
Does it all cast and quench well? Nope. If there's any Calcium contamination, it casts poorly. Significant Zinc contamination, it casts poorly, but not as bad as Calcium.

So, it really all depends, and asking for an average hardness is going to give you a number that is mostly worthless in the real world of working with range scrap to make good cast bullets. Each batch tends to be a critter with it's own peculiarities. Mix large batches, clean it well, then measure ingots that you got from that work and alloy from there to fix the problems. And avoid Ca and Zn contaminated ranges!

Good luck, GarrisonJoe

[PBaholic]

I have only bought range lead once, as it was pretty soft. It was only BHN 10, and I can usually find harder scrap at the junkyard.

[Ivarsson_SWE]

The scrap from my range (handgun only) has a hardness of 10 BHN as it is. It can be heat treated up to about 27 BHN. Very useful stuff

[Mica_Hiebert]

Mix it 1-1 with all that lino you scored and it should work out to a nice 16-18 bhn

[Kraschenbirn]

I've been mining our club's outdoor pistol range for several years and my RS ingots test a pretty consistent 9.5-10.0 (Lee Hardness Tester).

Bill

[runfiverun]

at 10 bhn I wouldn't call it all that soft.
getting several batches and mixing it into one big batch then treating it to do what you want is never a bad idea.
I have about 3-k pounds of big batch mixed alloy it isn't perfect 1% this or 3% that but it is all exactly the same alloy.
which means I mix it 7 to 1 with some lino for my 9mm's.
I cut it 4-1 with soft lead for my 308 cal rifle.
and I mix it 3 parts to 1 linotype and I add 2% more tin for my 223 and rcbs 30-165 silhouette mold.

hopefully I can scrounge enough other material to replace it when it's gone.

[rmark]

About bhn 10 from the 10% cast rifle, 40% cast pistol, 50% jacketed pistol bullets that I pick off our outdoor berm.

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

I'm not sure there is a "typical mix". Personally, I sort mine into cast and jacketed. I've never actually test them. But I have no problem using H110 under the cast mix (water quenched) for 300 blackout, 357 and 45 Colt. For softer 9mm and 45 acp loads, I usually mix 3 parts cast to 1 part soft (air cooled). I never add tin to either and they fill out just fine. If I had to guess. I'd say 15 for the cast mix and 10 or less for the rest. Personally, I don't care as long as it works. It usually works. Good luck!

[twc1964]

I averaged 8bhn with my last several batches of scrap. I had to stiffen it up with a bit of Super Hard for my uses.

[RoadBike]

I've run two batches of range scrap thus far and obtained about 50 pounds of ingots from each batch. I cast a couple of boolits from each batch for hardness testing with my Lee tester. I let the boolits "age" for about a week before I tested them. One batch was a 9 bhn, and the other was an 11 bhn.

Edit: Thanks for raising this question. I've been curious about it, myself.