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Thread: Big range scrap score

  1. #1
    Boolit Man sgms18's Avatar
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    Big range scrap score

    I got a chance to scavenge a place I've dubbed the lead cave. It's a dead space behind the bullet trap at an indoor range. The old water trap was replaced by shredded rubber & all the old lead is still back there. In 2hr this it what I got.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    If you call each box 50lb its 700lb. I think that's a conservative guess. The boxes are probably 60-70lb each.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master

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    Nice

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    "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master trails4u's Avatar
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    Be sure to call your brothers in SC if you need help with that!!
    "Do not follow where the path might lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" Ralph Waldo Emerson

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Nice Score. It looks like more than 700 pounds. How did your truck ride?

  5. #5
    Boolit Man sgms18's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by trails4u View Post
    Be sure to call your brothers in SC if you need help with that!!
    Unfortunately the range owner dosen't want me to bring anyone with me, which I can understand(liability & all). Once I start getn some of this stuff processed I may have some ingots to sell/trade. I'm sure we could work something out.
    Last edited by sgms18; 01-29-2020 at 01:07 PM.

  6. #6
    Boolit Man sgms18's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lightman View Post
    Nice Score. It looks like more than 700 pounds. How did your truck ride?
    The truck rode ok. You could definitely tell it was back there but it wasn't bad. The weekend before I rebuilt my privacy fence. Put 300 slats & 20 treated 2x4 in the back & she was about to ride a wheelie.
    It very well may be more than 700 that was just my conservative guess.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master

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    It was a nice score regardless of the weight. The stuff looks pretty clean too.

  8. #8
    Boolit Man sgms18's Avatar
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    Thanks! It is pretty clean. Some bits of wood & insulation but not alot.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master

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    VERY nice score. That will make a few boolits.
    "There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something."
    ~Thorin Oakenshield

  10. #10
    Boolit Bub
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    Nice looking scrap, mine all comes from a outside range and is so dirty.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Nice old truck, too. Chevy?

  12. #12
    Boolit Man sgms18's Avatar
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    Yes sir! I love my old chevys, had a pile of em over the years. That one is a 89.

  13. #13
    Boolit Man sgms18's Avatar
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    I started making ingots today & I was pretty disappointed. A box & a half & I only got about 50lb. I was amazed by how much trash there was. I piled my pot over the top & once I got the jackets out along w/a pile of dirt I had less than half a pot of actual lead.

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master

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    With range lead you never know. The stuff in your picture looks cleaner than that. Even though you're disappointed you will get about 700# of ingots from the stuff in your picture. Thats not bad!

  15. #15
    Boolit Man sgms18's Avatar
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    Yeah, it's still a pile of lead either way. I'm just surprised at how much waste there is. This is the 1st time I've melted range scrap. All my previous experience is with WW & the only real waste there is the clips. I think I'm going to dump it out in the driveway & hit it with the pressure washer to try & clean it up some before I melt any more. That's if it ever quits raining round here.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master Forrest r's Avatar
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    I typically get +/- 30% waste from my outdoor range scrap.

    Made a pot out of an old propane tank. The top half/lid comes in extremely handy. Put +/- 150# of range lead (bullets) in @ 1 time, put the lid on and crank it up.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    Come back around 20 minutes later and start stirring with a slotted spoon and then use that slotted spoon to shovel the jackets & crud into a small French fry basket. Wash rinse repeat until the jackets are out. A local scrap yard buys the jackets as #2 copper.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    The rest of the crud/rocks/mud gets scooped out and put in a coffee can and then it's ingot time. Typical ingots from +/- 150# of range scrap.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    The bigger patches are actually easier to do then several smaller batches. Good luck & a very nice score of range lead.

  17. #17
    Boolit Man sgms18's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Forrest r View Post
    I typically get +/- 30% waste from my outdoor range scrap.

    Made a pot out of an old propane tank. The top half/lid comes in extremely handy. Put +/- 150# of range lead (bullets) in @ 1 time, put the lid on and crank it up.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    Come back around 20 minutes later and start stirring with a slotted spoon and then use that slotted spoon to shovel the jackets & crud into a small French fry basket. Wash rinse repeat until the jackets are out. A local scrap yard buys the jackets as #2 copper.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    The rest of the crud/rocks/mud gets scooped out and put in a coffee can and then it's ingot time. Typical ingots from +/- 150# of range scrap.
    [IMG][/IMG]

    The bigger patches are actually easier to do then several smaller batches. Good luck & a very nice score of range lead.
    Thanks! That's a nice looking setup. I'm using a big Dutch oven with a lid. I'm getting alot more than 30% waste by volume not weight of course. My pot was piled 4-6" over the top when I started & was less than half full once I cleaned the trash out. I wish I could get 150lb in there at a time. There was so much crap on top I could even tell it was melted underneath, I probably cooked it way too long. Maybe it will get better once I clean it up some.

  18. #18
    Boolit Man sgms18's Avatar
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    I bought a 3lb bottom pour ladle from Rowell thinking it would be perfect for making ingots. In reality it's too big & hard too get a full scoop of lead. I guess if my pot was deeper & skinnier rather than wide & shallow it would be ok. Still, no matter the dimensions of the pot theres always going to be that last inch or 2 of lead in the bottom & the only good way to get it out seems to be picking the pot up & dumping it out(which seems like a horrible idea). What do yall use for a ladle?

  19. #19
    Boolit Master


    dondiego's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sgms18 View Post
    Yeah, it's still a pile of lead either way. I'm just surprised at how much waste there is. This is the 1st time I've melted range scrap. All my previous experience is with WW & the only real waste there is the clips. I think I'm going to dump it out in the driveway & hit it with the pressure washer to try & clean it up some before I melt any more. That's if it ever quits raining round here.
    Use the rain to your advantage! It will help clean the scrap.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    I use an even bigger #5 Rowell ladle that holds nine plus pounds of alloy, though granted I have a cut propane tank pot that holds 250 pounds. You're right that the top of the bowl sticking straight out from the handle makes it hard to fill. A deeper, narrow pot would actually tilt the ladle more, making it harder to fill.

    What I do is rest the big ladle on the rim of the pot, holding it steady with one hand. Your pot has to be tip proof to do this. With the other hand I use a soup ladle to fill the Rowell, then, setting the small ladle down, use two hands on the big ladle to fill the ingot mold.

    It's a bit labor intensive. As I don't have a big bottom pour that'd make big ingot pouring easy, and also want consistent weight, this does it. Three full small ladles consistently for one big pour. The small ladle also gets a lot more lead from the bottom of the pot (it helps that the bottom is curved). I either leave what's left in the bottom (10# or so) for the next melt or use vise locks to lift and pour into the last mold.

    More info here (and there are other threads too):

    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...tom-Pour-Ladle
    Last edited by kevin c; 02-18-2020 at 02:23 PM. Reason: Link added

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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