Thanks to all who responded, there is a lot of good information in the posts. Maybe I can negotiate a good price and have a steady supply if it all works out.
Thanks to all who responded, there is a lot of good information in the posts. Maybe I can negotiate a good price and have a steady supply if it all works out.
I've been smelting down indoor range scrap with good results. About 3/4 ton so far. I buy 5 gal buckets for $50 each, about 110 lbs, no freight or tax, and get about 90 lbs of ingots from each. It takes about $3-4 worth of propane per bucket and I sell the jackets to a scrap yard for $.65/lb. I've traded some back to the range for more scrap, 50 lbs of ingots per bucket of scrap and he sells the ingots for $1.50 Lb.
So that all adds up to less than $.50 per lb for ingots. I've had 3 batches analyzed by BNE on this forum and they are remarkably consistent, 98.5% Pb and 1.5% Sb, no Sn to speak of.
What I like is that it is very clean to begin with. No dirt, no zinc, dry, no razor blades, no sorting at all. I HAVE found two live 22LR rounds so far so I diligently watch what I add to the melt. Safety gear always used!
The alloy casts fine as is for handgun loads and is a good consistent starting point to harden up for more powerful loads.
C Scott
This is some great info! I talked to a guy last night that sells 14lb. ingots of range lead for $1 per pound. He is able to process (melt) about 3000lbs in a batch. After cleaning up WWs I decided his lead was a much better way to go. Just started casting 1 week ago and I find it addicting. Been reloading for 35+ years so this seems to make it a little bit more fun!
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 |