Lead Shot as an Alloy

[sdh56]

I have about 40 pounds of #4 and #6 lead shot, from shotgun shell reloading. The state now requires non-toxic shot for hunting, so it is of little use to me. I would like to melt the shot down and cast it into 38 Special plinker bullets.

Does anyone have any idea hard this shot is compared to wheelweights or have experience with lead shot? Thanks.

SDH

[bumpo628]

#4 and #6 should be 4% antimony. WW lead is said to have about 0.5% tin and 3% antimony.

You can try the shot as-is to see if it fills the mold out properly. If needed, add 1 oz of tin for every 12 lbs of shot to get to 0.5% tin for the alloy.

[Sonnypie]

WW are hard for me to come by. I have amassed a whopping 4.5 pounds so far. :(
So I found I could buy 25# bags of Magnum shot for $35. Magnum shot is said to have 4-6% Antimony in it.
I've been melting it down and casting .45 Boolits with it. And added about 24" of 1/8" Lead -free solder to it just for a taste of tin, to about a 20# pot full.
Seems to work fine for me.
I see this as a win-win for me. I can reload shotgun shells, or melt it down and make ball ammo with it.

I use Lyman #2 for my rifle boolits.

[caseyboy]

I use quite a bit from our trap range. Literally tons of it lying on the ground. I find it very similar to COWW. I add 2% tin and all is good.:bigsmyl2:

[Ole]

I bought 600 pounds of reclaimed lead shot in the summer of '09 and I've found that it casts very similar to clip-on wheel weights.

[fryboy]

i like to add it to questionable alloys and ww/pb mixes for the arsenic contained in the finer shot ( 8-9 ) just in case i want to quench or heat treat , as the others have noted it still has a bit of antimony erm and of course the lead , the thing to remember is that even with lead shot alloys the manufacturer had the most control followed by your smelting and fluxing technique so our results may vary

[bigjason6]

I use quite a bit from our trap range. Literally tons of it lying on the ground. I find it very similar to COWW. I add 2% tin and all is good.:bigsmyl2:

How do you pick it up?

[williamwaco]

So I found I could buy 25# bags of Magnum shot for $35. Magnum shot is said to have 4-6%



I havn't seen shot of any kind for less than $50.00 in several years. Where do you find this stuff?

[Sonnypie]

William,

Oak Tree Gun Club. (http://www.oaktreegunclub.com/)

I bought 4 bags of #7 1/2 last time there. (25# each)

[Sonnypie]

How do you pick it up?

Tweezers.
It's a lot of work!
:kidding:

The manager where I inquired said they sweep it up. How exactly I don't know. Probably a machine of some sort.

I know that there is "air cleaned" and there is washed and re-graphited.
He suggested I just buy the new shot and I could use that for my shotgun, or melt it down for casting.

I emailed the manufacturer of the Magnum shot I bought from them, but they (Supplier) no longer ship shot, warehouse pick-up only. :x

[alfloyd]

The range where I shoot, just had their shot feild "harvested".
The person doing it air cleaned it, tumbled and re-grapfited it.
I can buy all I want for $1.10 per pound (up to 6000 lbs).
If someone wanted, I could send them some for my price plus shipping.
It looks great and I bought a hundred pounds for my own use.

Lafaun

[bumpo628]

So I found I could buy 25# bags of Magnum shot for $35. Magnum shot is said to have 4-6% Antimony in it.

There is a place in Covina, CA called Phillips Wholesale that sells reclaimed shot for $28 / 25 lb bag. If you're in the area, check them out.

http://phillipswholesale.net/phillipswholesale_specials.html

http://phillipswholesale.net/Images/main-header.gif

[Sonnypie]

Dang, Bumpo!
Almost would pay for the trip for me. :drinks:

[bumpo628]

Dang, Bumpo!
Almost would pay for the trip for me. :drinks:

If you go, please note that he is only open Thursday through Saturday.
The guy that runs the store is very knowledgeable and nice to deal with. He also sells brass and lead by the pound, so you can find some good deals. He specializes in shotgun reloading, but he has some of everything. It's definitely worth a looksee.

[caseyboy]

I basically scoop up the first 1" of soil that has all the shot into a pan. Shake the pan back and forth for 20 seconds or so. All the shot moves to the bottom. All the lighter stuff sits on top. Brush off the lighter stuff and dump the remaining shot rich stuff into the bucket. When I smelt, this stuff from the bucket goes into the pot. When the lead has melted, again all the **** floats on top, and I basically pour the lead from under the **** into the muffin tins. I do about 10 pounds at a time. You will end up with a lot of **** in the ingots. I resmelt before the ingots cool too much as it takes little propane to remelt. I flux heavily and skim off the crud a couple of time and then I pour the nice clean ingots. Takes a bit of work, but the price is right, free!:smile:

I figure that this alloy is approx. 4% antimony, 96% lead with a dash of arsenic. Chilled shot is 2% and hard magnum shot is 6% so it probably averages 4%.