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Thread: I'm a Miner Now!

  1. #21
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    Got back out to the berm this morning but not nearly as early as I would have liked. After arriving I was roped into repairing some target stands so they are ready for tomorrow. Afterwards I once again picked a spot and started diggin. W/O even having to move my bucket I quickly had 100#. Sadly my screen sifter didn't hold up and the staples started pulling loose from the weight so I will have to fix that. Also by 10am when I gave up the temps were already 89* with high clear skies.

  2. #22
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by kmw1954 View Post
    Got back out to the berm this morning but not nearly as early as I would have liked. After arriving I was roped into repairing some target stands so they are ready for tomorrow. Afterwards I once again picked a spot and started diggin. W/O even having to move my bucket I quickly had 100#. Sadly my screen sifter didn't hold up and the staples started pulling loose from the weight so I will have to fix that. Also by 10am when I gave up the temps were already 89* with high clear skies.
    If you have a Goodwill or other thrift store in your area, keep an eye open for one of these:

    https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-27...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

    I have two of them and paid $3.00 for each.

  3. #23
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    I have looked for those and a few other designs. But thanks for the reminder.

  4. #24
    Boolit Master
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    i used 1" strapping and sandwhiched the screen between the boards i found a small 1 8" size worked good. If you have the the time and back for it you can build a larger unit. Also if you play around with "shaking" the lead/rock mix it will separate to some degree. Watch some videos of the commercial machines and get some ideas.
    Few years ago on a windy day we used batter powered leaf blowers and blew off the top 1/2" or so of loose dirt and exposed plenty of lead to hand pick.
    Since its " your job" you have some time and maybe resources to improve your skills.
    Few tips
    I have found alot of bullets nose dive at around 45' after passing through the target backer. I find a horde of alloy about 6' behind the pistol targets. The burm, i find alot of lead above the impact zone. It migrates over time. We can no longer mine lead at the clubs i go to other than hand picking.

  5. #25
    Boolit Master

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    At the club my brother belongs to south of OKC is in a river bottom. The berms are sand and easy to mine. He has a a sifting box made out of 2X2's and is about a foot square.
    Both of us work for steel fabricators and he got some small expanded metal and made 2 layers and offset the exp. metal so that it even held .22 bullets. With a rake and a small shovel
    we filled up a 5 gallon bucket is about 15 minutes. We could have filled a dump truck if we had the time.

    I still have about 300# of the stuff to process and am in no real hurry to melt it. I gave a 5 gallon bucket of ingots of the stuff and am in no hurry to process the rest.

  6. #26
    Boolit Master
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    mining berms is fun .i put sieve at 45 digrees throw shovel loads hard against it saves having to do so much shaking of the sieve.

  7. #27
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    So I have spent the last two days rendering down this 100 odd lbs of scrap in my way too small pan. So far from this I have 60lbs of ingots made with 16# more of scrap still in the bucket.

    This evening I took some time and surfed thru craigslist looking for a used turkey fryer with no luck. If this is to continue I will have to upgrade my equipment and technique.

  8. #28
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by kmw1954 View Post
    So I have spent the last two days rendering down this 100 odd lbs of scrap in my way too small pan. So far from this I have 60lbs of ingots made with 16# more of scrap still in the bucket.

    This evening I took some time and surfed thru craigslist looking for a used turkey fryer with no luck. If this is to continue I will have to upgrade my equipment and technique.
    You can find deals on line for High Pressure LP set ups.
    My burner has rotted out over time still works but the flame is no where near as sharp and blue/hot as it used to be.
    There where some good deals on line for 150,000 200,000 btu burners. Have not ordered one yet.
    Also try looking up used brewing equipment.

  9. #29
    Boolit Master
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    Here’s my proposal for a group buy:

    10 acres of surface + mineral in SE Missouri.

    Build a shack and start secretly mining lead a la “Paint Your Wagon”, minus the parts where Lee Marvin sings and the town sinks.

  10. #30
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kmw1954 View Post
    Well not exactly Free, still have travel and my physical labor. Wife was kind enough to point that out. I replied that , "but I don't have to pay money!"
    Sweat equity is free, unless you can make more money working. Most berms will yield 20-30# in about 15min. Go when the berms are dry after a rain. It is where I et most of my alloy since the lead ww dried up. Most berm lead will be about 8-9bhn, depending on what you are digging up.
    EVERY GOOD SHOOTER NEEDS TO BE A HANDLOADER.
    NRA Cert. Inst. Met. Reloading & Basic Pistol

  11. #31
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kmw1954 View Post
    So I have spent the last two days rendering down this 100 odd lbs of scrap in my way too small pan. So far from this I have 60lbs of ingots made with 16# more of scrap still in the bucket.

    This evening I took some time and surfed thru craigslist looking for a used turkey fryer with no luck. If this is to continue I will have to upgrade my equipment and technique.
    Yes you want a high btu turkey fryer & a old cast iron Dutch oven. They hold about 60# worth but I never have mine more than 50% full. Always leave an inch or so on the bottom, makes for faster melting next time.
    Last edited by fredj338; 07-22-2020 at 01:27 PM.
    EVERY GOOD SHOOTER NEEDS TO BE A HANDLOADER.
    NRA Cert. Inst. Met. Reloading & Basic Pistol

  12. #32
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    ferdj338 that 8-9bhn is also about what I'm finding. Again my first exploratory trip was after a hard nights rain and the sand was still wet. Made it hard to dig and sift as the sand was still clumping. Though there it was right in front of me, rivers of shiny silver and gold were the sand washed away. That day all I had was a bucket, small trowel and a small sifter and within a 1/2hr I still had over 30 lbs. Then I had to stop because it was getting too hot and humid and was feeling the heat.

    Next trip back it was dry and hot again but I had a larger sifter and a regular shovel. Still only lasted about an hour in the heat but came away with over 100lbs and never had to relocate to another area.

    Have also been working on a new burner for melting and just cut a helium tank for a pot. that topic is located here; http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...271-New-burner

  13. #33
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by kmw1954 View Post
    ferdj338 that 8-9bhn is also about what I'm finding. Again my first exploratory trip was after a hard nights rain and the sand was still wet. Made it hard to dig and sift as the sand was still clumping. Though there it was right in front of me, rivers of shiny silver and gold were the sand washed away. That day all I had was a bucket, small trowel and a small sifter and within a 1/2hr I still had over 30 lbs. Then I had to stop because it was getting too hot and humid and was feeling the heat.

    Next trip back it was dry and hot again but I had a larger sifter and a regular shovel. Still only lasted about an hour in the heat but came away with over 100lbs and never had to relocate to another area.

    Have also been working on a new burner for melting and just cut a helium tank for a pot. that topic is located here; http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...271-New-burner
    This was my favorite mining tool.
    Added finer mesh to the basket
    https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p...tdrtclmrks1fac

  14. #34
    Boolit Master

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    I usually do this about once a year. We had weeks of dry heat, then the day after I started me 3 week vacation, it dumped 4-5 inches of rain. It's much easier to get at the lead in powdery dry soil. Using a highly modified $.98 plastic Walmart colander, I can usual pull 200 lbs of raw "ore" in less than a hour. I usually get 75% return. 150 lbs a hour. I need to get out there...…..might have a heat stroke.

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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