Duck shot

[fatelk]

I have a question for the shotgun guys here. It does seem a shame to melt down perfectly good shot into ingots, but what about larger sizes, like #4 and #2 duck and goose shot? It seems like there's not any real use for it anymore, since you can't use it for waterfowl hunting. Might as well as melt it down?

I ask because I picked up several bags of old shot for very cheap this weekend and am considering whether or not to make bullet metal out of it.

[Michael J. Spangler]

It’s good stuff with antimony in it.
I bet you could trade it off pound for pound for just about anything you want.
Either a proper size shot for your needs or a proper alloy for your needs.

The #2 and #4 might have a nice use for someone other than waterfowl. Coyote or maybe even the #4 for some good wild pheasant.

[M-Tecs]

Turkey and coyote hunter still use it. I have never smelted larger shot but doing the small stuff is a pain. Not sure if its the graphite coating or oxidization but basically I had to mash it against the side of the pot to break up whatever was holding the shape. If they were BB's I would be making a offer for a trade but I have enough 2's & 4's.

[Alan in Vermont]

fatelk, I tried to PM you but your PM box is full.

[fatelk]

Thanks, I had no idea it was even close to full. I wish there was an alert or something when that happens.

Thank you everyone for the input. I think I'll just put this shot on the back shelf. I don't load shotgun at all anymore, so shot of any size is no use to me. It's not worth bothering trying to sell because I don't know any shotgun guys around here, and shipping stuff like this is too much of a hassle to bother with. So, I'll just hang on to it for the day I run low on range scrap (which I have plenty of right now).

[barrabruce]

Good hard shot is hard to get now.
I’d put it in a safe place.
It ain’t going out of date anytime.

[Duckiller]

Coyotes,turkeys, foxes that don't live in California can still be shot with lead. keep it as shot.

[richhodg66]

#4 are popular for Turkey and I bet they'd make good pheasant loads too. I have a small quantity of #4 shot, been considering a 1 1/8 ounce 16 gauge load for squirrels that will leave less shot to pick out.

[megasupermagnum]

#2 you may have a point. You can still sell it for more than what bullet alloy is going for. #4 and smaller is best left as shot. BB and larger has lots of uses.

[skeettx]

I use #4 for pigeons in the winter time around feed yards.
It is a bit of overkill, but you do not get many cripples

[fatelk]

You all want to hear something funny? I finally got around to looking closely at what I really had, and it's certainly not what I thought. I had previously just felt the weight and shot size through bag. Now I don't feel bad about tossing it all into the melting pot, though it is a fascinating bit of vintage Americana.

Attachment 255137Attachment 255138

It's a good thing I didn't pay much for it: $30 for 80 pounds.

[fatelk]

For those that don’t instantly recognize it, this is reclaimed shot, but not from a shotgun. Every single pellet is flattened on one side like they hit steel, one at a time in rapid succession. Mixed in with the shot are tiny, shot up, scraps of white paper, with bits of red stars on them.

I’m sure most everyone gets it now. You all remember the air powered machine guns at the carnival, that you shoot the red star out of the paper target, to win a prize?

Attachment 255158

[rking22]

Interesting, a friend has a good bit of that but unfired. I believe those will be near pure lead, but cannot recall wby I think that, dang crs.

[beagle]

Even after that discovery, I once melted about 50 pounds of #2 shot from aircraft ballast bags. It was a pain and I ended up scooping a load of graphite and probably some antimony out and ended up with much less lead by weight than I started with.
Melting down shot is a no win situation unless you're desperate for lead. Too much mess and not enough pay off for me.
That stuff may be all right to melt down but I'm betting it was graphite coated at one time. Give it a try./beagle

[rockrat]

I still have some Magnum #2's left over from my crow shooting days. I have used some to alloy lead, it does take awhile to melt, but it finally does, so not too bad. Probably never use it all in my lifetime.

[Dusty Bannister]

I have had some of the same material. Use some care when you melt it down. I found it tended to snap, crackle and pop, as if it had water still entrapped in the material. After it get's hot, you no longer get the noise. It did test at near pure lead per BNE. It is not hard to work with, just put a lid on it when bringing it up to temp.

[lightman]

Now that you know what you have I would pour it all out in a tray. If it all looks like the same stuff I would melt it together as a batch and have it tested. It looks like a nice score!

[fatelk]

I put a few pounds in an empty pot and melted it down just to see what it did. It was actually pretty clean, melted fairly easy. I was a little disappointed that it's neither hard nor soft. The ingots ring a little when dropped and seem about as hard as the range scrap I collect. Still, it was a fair buy; less than 40 cents per pound for clean lead.

[rking22]

Take a mold you know casts well and see how it casts. Might be good 38 material, never know till you try.

[Geezer in NH]

4's are good for self-defense inside the house. 2's even better.