Lead Shot?

[ACC]

My brother used to reload for a shotgun and now I have 5 heavy bags of lead shot. Can this be used to cast bullets? What is the make up of lead shot?

ACC

[kevin c]

It can be, but everything I've read here suggests other, better alternatives.

First, while some lead shot contains a small amount of arsenic which can help in hardening your casts by heat treating, you may not need it, and the rest of the shot alloy's composition may not match your needs.

Second, the shot is worth a lot more in its current form than the equivalent weight in casting alloy. If you don't load shotshells you could sell it here in the Swapping and Selling forum (if you've met the minimum of 30 days as a member criterion) and use the proceeds to buy a larger amount of alloy that works for you.

Third, some shot is graphite coated, and old shot can be oxidized. Either condition makes melting the shot a lot harder than melting clean lead.

So, yes it can used to cast boolits if there is no other lead available, but I don't think it'd be most casters' preferred choice.

[Rcmaveric]

Yes it can. Determine the kind of shot you have. Then you can use it to sweeten up the pot.



Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[bdicki]

I have to agree that it's worth more as shot, selling for around $45 per bag.

[OS OK]

You can download this 'lead calculator' here on CB's site and the member who provides it is 'Bumpo628' > http://castboolits.gunloads.com/memb...17417-bumpo628
Not all shot is actually what you think it is...in component & Brinell Hardness.



I inherited a few bags of shot from a fella that passed on...I don't load shotgun but do cast for rifle & pistol. I'm not totally insensitive to the $ value of this shot so I gave all the 4, 5 & copper <(in the cans) 6 shot to a friend...the rest I segregated by size and made ingots.



Knowing the rough composition of the various shot would be at varying hardness and would need different amounts of added tin or antimony for my purposes, I kept the ingots segregated so they could be identifyable and get marked after testing a couple days later.





There was plenty of soft lead in large sinkers too and I expected that to be pretty low on the Brinell scale...it too was segregated.



At the end of a couple days work it's all put away nice, compact and tidy...in 2 pound 8 ounce (avg) bars...



If you have a lot of lead to store or plan on collecting lead for future casting, I'd suggest getting a mould design with 'storage' in mind along with how well they feed the casting pot...



A member of CB's here makes & sells these moulds in case your wondering > joe leadslinger > http://castboolits.gunloads.com/memb...oe-leadslinger

[ShooterAZ]

As others have mentioned, most but not all lead shot has been hardened. I have around half of a 5 gallon bucket of loose shot that I occasionally add to the pot for hardening some rifle alloys. I haven't used it for anything other than that. If it's all still bagged, it has more value keeping it as shot.

[Markopolo]

holy moley OS... bringing tears to my eyes...

[Petander]

holy moley OS... bringing tears to my eyes...

Yeah,beautiful!

[Dusty Bannister]

Just a comment on testing ingots for hardness. A good friend gave me about 30 ingots of what he said was an unknown alloy he had blended. It was not what he thought and had not had it "scanned". I used the Cabin Tree test unit and had a hardness range from BHN 10 to BHN 14. I had BNE scan a sample of both and they were nearly identical in make up. I had two ingots that were far outside that range as well, but this proved to me that testing ingots for hardness can be inadequate to ID exactly what it is. While it is a good idea to keep the lots separate, you might still have some error to deal with.

[redneck1]

I've been reclaiming shot from the club to cast bullets with for a few years now , I treat it just the same as wheel weights without any issues at all . It does seem a touch harder but it's never been an issue for me . Just like wheel weights adding an ounce or two of tin to the pot cures any fill out issues you might run into .

But like everyone else , I'd say new shot is to pricey to cast up into bullets unless your in desperation

[OS OK]

Shot means nothing but boolit metal to someone who doesn't load for the shotgun and when you get it for free it is even less important as shot.
It didn't all go to waste as you imply here...I gave 200 pounds of it to a friend up in Utah.

[ACC]

You can download this 'lead calculator' here on CB's site and the member who provides it is 'Bumpo628' > http://castboolits.gunloads.com/memb...17417-bumpo628
Not all shot is actually what you think it is...in component & Brinell Hardness.



I inherited a few bags of shot from a fella that passed on...I don't load shotgun but do cast for rifle & pistol. I'm not totally insensitive to the $ value of this shot so I gave all the 4, 5 & copper <(in the cans) 6 shot to a friend...the rest I segregated by size and made ingots.



Knowing the rough composition of the various shot would be at varying hardness and would need different amounts of added tin or antimony for my purposes, I kept the ingots segregated so they could be identifyable and get marked after testing a couple days later.





There was plenty of soft lead in large sinkers too and I expected that to be pretty low on the Brinell scale...it too was segregated.



At the end of a couple days work it's all put away nice, compact and tidy...in 2 pound 8 ounce (avg) bars...



If you have a lot of lead to store or plan on collecting lead for future casting, I'd suggest getting a mould design with 'storage' in mind along with how well they feed the casting pot...



A member of CB's here makes & sells these moulds in case your wondering > joe leadslinger > http://castboolits.gunloads.com/memb...oe-leadslinger

Where can I get a lead mold like that!

ACC

[OS OK]

Where can I get a lead mold like that!

ACC

A member of CB's here makes & sells these moulds in case your wondering > joe leadslinger > http://castboolits.gunloads.com/memb...oe-leadslinger

[Springfield]

I have 5 or 6 ingot moulds just like that I have been planning on selling but wanted to bead blast them first as they are a bit rusty.