Mining Berms?

[kmw1954]

I recently started working a part time job at an outdoor range and one of the bennies is having access to mine the berms. Also seems I will be the only one doing this. Have already made up a 2'X1' sifting screen with 1/4" hardware cloth.

So far in the mornings I have been able to get to the berm on the 300yd range and pick up pcs just lying on top of the dirt and am finding/seeing many pcs that are just separated jackets. I'm guessing I won't see as much of this once I get to the 25yd or 100yd ranges. So the question is how do you more experienced miners deal with this?

I am finding some very nice sized slugs and whole bullets at the 300yd but what to do with all the empty jackets. Going to the other yardage ranges has to wait until Mondays and Tuesdays when the range is closed.

[kevin c]

I've not done it myself, but some metal recyclers will buy the jackets as a form of copper. I've read that they are more likely to do so if there is minimal residual lead. That means not just skimming them off the melt but also using some method that lets the molten lead drip or get shaken out.

If possible, selling the jackets can help recover some of your costs. My club hires a company to clean out our berms, so I let them take mine, since the local recyclers seem reluctant.

[kmw1954]

Guess my question is moew in line with how do I keep the empty jackets out of the pot in the first place, so that I am not 1/2 filling the pot with waste.

[dpoe001]

every time i mine the berms i have 1/4 screen over a wheel barrow to collect the dirt in 5 gal buckets to put the bullets in. i dump the buckets back in the wheel barrow and wash and try to separate loose jackets and use wire cutter on full metal jackets. After smelting in an old cut in half propane tank, all the jackets floating on top i let them cool then take a strong magnet over them what the magnet picks up goes in the scrap steel bin whats left goes in the scrap brass bin. the local scrap place just uses a magnet in the bucket to see if anything sticks then dumps the whole thing in the big box they use for brass.

[richhodg66]

You'll do a lot better in terms of yield on a pistol range than a rifle range.

As to jackets, I took some along with a bunch of cartridge brass and rather than ask for money, I asked the guy what he could give my as credit against any lead he had. I'm sure I didn't really get full value, but struck a deal for a tote of Lyman ingots someone sold to him. Asking for store credit would be a lot more palletable a request than asking for cash fr them.

[kmw1954]

You'll do a lot better in terms of yield on a pistol range than a rifle range..

I believe you whole heartedly as much of what I am seeing from this 300yd berm is that the majority of it is fragmenting when it hits the dirt and what I am mostly seeing are empty jackets.

[kmw1954]

Just out of curiosity, yesterday I rendered down the small pile of scrap from that 300yd range I gathered last week and quickly learned that working that rifle range will be a waste of time. From about 2lbs of scrap I recovered less than a pound of lead.

Now hopefully I can arrange time to try and hit the pistol range berms next week while they are closed and I don't have any Dr. apts..

[Markopolo]

you need a rocker box.. a 1/4 mesh on top box on 4 legs that you shake back and forth. about 2 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet... use a shovel and drop a shovel full on top. shake shake shake. remove any rocks, throw all bullets into a bucket. when its full, watch your back. it would be even smarter to setup a propane crab cooker and dutch oven near by... melt it down at the range. pour rough ingots when the pot is full. i used to get 3-400 lbs of lead a trip using this method... be sure you dont pour cold bullets into melted lead.... let the pot cool a bit and be solid on bottom before refilling it. and get a LID for your dutch oven. and use it.

oh and watch for live rounds... dont know how they get there into the berm, but they do.

marko

[Markopolo]

oh, and like Rich says, you will get way more lead from a pistol range.. the 45's really add up. I never used side cutters on the full metal jackets... i used a small sledge hammer on a big stone or something. just give them a good wack and they split. just be sure to wack them before you try to melt them. dont wack them HOT... dont ask me how I know. you will hear them popping in your melt

and folks using shotguns on our pistol range were a huge plus for finding slugs.

[Drm50]

The only scrap buyer we have is about 40mi away. He doesn’t buy steel other than stainless. He also will not sell or trade anything. He claims he is buying under contract and his books don’t allow for sale of metals. I go there about twice a year with copper & brass. He has always got lead ingots in his pile. What he pays for dirty lead is less than .20 lb. I might be that so many are selling scrap with everyone at home with CV19

[cp1969]

Guess my question is moew in line with how do I keep the empty jackets out of the pot in the first place, so that I am not 1/2 filling the pot with waste.

Don't worry about it. You're bound to be putting a certain amount of waste in the pot anyway and anything lighter than lead floats to the top and you skim it off.

[kmw1954]

At this point I think the 25yd and 100yd are going to be the most productive. Both are very busy all week long and I have been seeing a good number of shotgun being shot with only slugs being allowed on the rifle ranges. Also seeing a good number of very large caliber such as 45-70, 35, 444 so it should prove a positive experience.

As I have seen the hi-power/high velocity rifles seem to fragment once they hit the dirt. Also did find a few that I believe are solid copper as they didn't cut.

[djryan13]

If your pistol range allows steel shooting there is no need to mine. It’s all over the ground in front of berm. I joined a club in January. They allow you to pick up as long as no one is around. Started this week. Good stuff.

[Conditor22]

I found that IF I don't flux with some kind of wax I don't get all the lead off the copper jackets.

[kevin c]

If your pistol range allows steel shooting there is no need to mine. It’s all over the ground in front of berm. I joined a club in January. They allow you to pick up as long as no one is around. Started this week. Good stuff.

At my range the range surface is coarse gravel, so picking up the smaller discs of lead left after hitting steel is problematic. And it seems to me that you only get back a fraction of the slug, most being lost to splatter.

Maybe it's a trade off: digging and sifting the berm through a screen versus hand picking lead slugs in front of the steel. Hard on the back, either way.

[kevin c]

I found that IF I don't flux with some kind of wax I don't get all the lead off the copper jackets.

More heat or more some chemical reaction? Either way, if the cost is minimal it's good if it gets the metals recycler to accept the jackets

[facetious]

After my range lead melt I found that the jackets were not worth the effort . They told me if you clean it and get all the steel, rocks and dirt out that they would pay .20 a lb. for it. So if you can get 50 lb's all washed and sorted you would get 10.00 . Just not worth the time, effort and cost of fuel on a small scale melt. Maybe if you are set up for large scale and have people to help you MITE get enough to make it worth it.

For me I started with about 233 lb's and ended up with 64 lb's of jackets and stuff and 169 lb's of clean lead .

[kmw1954]

Just not worth the time, effort and cost of fuel on a small scale melt. Maybe if you are set up for large scale and have people to help you MITE get enough to make it worth it.

For me I started with about 233 lb's and ended up with 64 lb's of jackets and stuff and 169 lb's of clean lead .

That's about the same way I feel. Also to me anything more than a 50% lead is in my mind excellent.

Now I have been told that these berms haven't been cleaned in over 5 years and no one else has been digging in them!

[GregLaROCHE]

Maybe for sifting through a dirt berm, you need to use a 1/4 inch screen. If I used that big of a screen at the indoor range, where I collect mine, I would be loosing a lot of good lead.

[kmw1954]

Maybe for sifting through a dirt berm, you need to use a 1/4 inch screen. If I used that big of a screen at the indoor range, where I collect mine, I would be loosing a lot of good lead.

So what are you using that is finer than 1/4" hardware cloth? I as this because I have thought the same thing while on that rifle range were there too the bullets are fragmenting. All that lead still has to be there somewhere.