Another New Source for Lead

[farmbif]

I have a difficult time melting down any perfectly good cast bullets. you never know what firearm and reloadable brass might make its way to you next. in fact the only cast bullets I have ever melted down were a couple big ziplock bags full of 38 wadcutters coated with alox that I found scattered in the scrap yard that had sand stuck to them

[almar]

Now this only applies if you have a property you can shoot on but the one great investment i made to maintain my lead supply was to get a bullet trap. I'm planning on making a bigger one some day with a better lead recovery system.

[Brassmonkey]

Over some years, I filled a 5 gallon bucket, with piles of random cast boolits and round balls that I picked up at gun shows for pennies. It melted into ingots just fine.

[Iron369]

I’ve bought reloading tools, equipment and lead in lots (usually estate sales) that almost always have projectiles I’m not going to use. Since I didn’t spend time casting them and the projectiles weren’t even the reason I made the purchase, I have no problem melting them down.

[fredj338]

I tend not to cast a large amount of bullets I am not sure I will need. So while I have melted small quantities of bullets I no longer need, it is far from enough to keep me shooting something else.

[upnorthwis]

One of the worst casting mistakes I made was to cast a pot full of pure lino into 240 gr. for .44 mag. How could they possibly not work. Well, they didn't shoot for squat, but they're all sized, lubed, and gas checked and it just hurts to melt them into something else. Maybe when I run out of lino I'll have to use them.

[RogerDat]

If I had a bunch of already cast bullets available, I would borrow or buy a new gun to shoot them rather than destroy them!

You my friend are getting close to needing an intervention!

My bench has a small loaf pan for culls and pull downs, that pan gets dumped into the smelting pot when I melt down drippings, dross, and dibby dabs from bottom of the pot. Have three 5 pound slabs of that mixed lead under my bench. If it gets up to 20 pounds I'll melt it all together, get it tested and use it.

The loaf pan along with a babbitt ingot weigh down the base a powder thrower is mounted on. So it works as a weight until it becomes casting alloy again.

[white eagle]

all the time if I have a batch that has been sitting there for ever
I melt them down and cast into something I am using at the time
cause I have molds for what I need
lead is meant to be reused and recycled again and again

[dondiego]

You my friend are getting close to needing an intervention!

My bench has a small loaf pan for culls and pull downs, that pan gets dumped into the smelting pot when I melt down drippings, dross, and dibby dabs from bottom of the pot. Have three 5 pound slabs of that mixed lead under my bench. If it gets up to 20 pounds I'll melt it all together, get it tested and use it.

The loaf pan along with a babbitt ingot weigh down the base a powder thrower is mounted on. So it works as a weight until it becomes casting alloy again.

I am referring to well cast, lubed and sized, bullets. I would just shoot them out of something! I am open to an intervention if you bring the beer.

[GregLaROCHE]

I have a commercial size can from baked beans. Maybe twice the size of coffee cans. When it’s full I melt down all into ingots and mark them with a ? . I have a few of those ingots and if I run low on lead, one day, I’ll use them. Any culls when casting go back in the pot right away.

[RogerDat]

I am referring to well cast, lubed and sized, bullets. I would just shoot them out of something! I am open to an intervention if you bring the beer.

What sort of fellow does and intervention and doesn't bring "refreshements" I'll snag a pack of fig newtons to make sure we don't starve.

If you find yourself with a bunch of good looking well formed lubed bullets you want to send to the berm I do hope you'll call, hate to see you doing all that shooting all by yourself, many hands make light work and all that.

I do a fussy inspection when I size or before I powder coat or size so end up with culls at the bench. When casting I watch for obvious culls and toss in the pot as previous poster does but don't really "inspect" as I cast. It seemed to break my casting rhythm too much.

[Charlie Horse]

We have a "Free to Good Home" table at my club. One day there were enough BP projectiles in odd boxes to fill 1-1/2 milk jugs (once I got them home). It was my lucky day. They couldn't have been there long because we have plenty of cast-booliteers at my club.

[Alchemist]

I have a couple hundred heavy 357 boolits that I would melt down if I knew how to recycle the gas checks. I hate to waste checks at 4 cents each