Take care of your old balls

[DCP]

Removing Lead Oxide from my balls

When I received my 36 flintier it came with 3 unopened boxes of .360 Hornady lead balls. I don’t think they even make them anymore.(.360) So how old, who knows.

So I open the 1st box and there white (almost looks like PAINT)

I tried wd40 (not much luck)

So I tried Lime away let the set for an hour, put them in the Dillon with walnut media for an hour (not much luck here either)

So now I try vinegar, it turns white, hour later there in the Dillion for an hour (Better but no cigar)

Now I am not happy. BUT, By Hell and or High waters, I am going to get them clean.

Repeat vinegar and Dillon three more times. THERE CLEAN

I have 2 more boxes of these and I cant even look at the boxes let alone open them.

[Rick Hodges]

:mrgreen:From someone who is scheduled for hydrocele surgury on Thursday your post was most disappointing.

[DCP]

I truly wish you well.



:mrgreen:From someone who is scheduled for hydrocele surgury on Thursday your post was most disappointing.

[grullaguy]

I recommend high velocity oxide removal.

The target won't know the difference. Just wash your hands well when done shooting and before eating or drinking.

[Boerrancher]

I have shot tons of oxidized RBs. They don't shoot any better or worse than the ones that are nice and shiny.

Best wishes,

Joe

[waksupi]

They may give a squirrel a nasty infection, but aside from that, I wouldn't worry about it.

[TripHlx]

Won't mineral spirits remove lead oxide?

[sharps4590]

That seems like much ado over nothing to me. Boer is spot on but waksupi may have a point also.

[Boerrancher]

They may give a squirrel a nasty infection...

Yes I have to agree, I have noticed that round balls made of lead tend to be quite fatal when they come into contact with tree rats. Their health seemed to rapidly decline to the point of death due to an acute infection of lead poisoning.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Hanshi]

Don't waste your time trying to "pretty up" those balls. The oxide on them is the same as the dull coating accrued on brass, aluminum and other metals. It will not affect their use in any way. They will, as has already been said, mostly likely kill anything they strike. The admonition to wash hands after handling them is spot on. The metal itself is not particularly hazardous but the oxide can be.

[Longwood]

Do You clean brass>
I might try cleaning them in the vibrator cleaner with some play sand and dryer sheets to catch most of the dust.
Or,,, tumble them with a little bit of disposable media.

I sure would not shoot anything I planned on eating with bullet that were that corroded.

Melt them and make shiny new maybe.

[troy_mclure]

I found good luck just adding hot bp lube to them. They don't look so ugly that way.

[Geraldo]

I recommend high velocity oxide removal.


I've been using this same method for years with great success.

[Hanshi]

[QUOTE=grullaguy;1733587]I recommend high velocity oxide removal.





Good call, grullaguy. That's the only way I've ever been able to clean them and the only way I know of that works. They're safe as long as you don't carry them in your mouth and suck on them like candy.:groner:

[Boerrancher]

I sure would not shoot anything I planned on eating with bullet that were that corroded.

Not picking on you are trying to be mean, but some of you fellas just worry way too much about lead contamination. It is obvious that in massive quantities heavy metals are not good for you, but I can assure you that despite what the anti lead/ eco terrorist nut jobs say, you could eat one of those oxidized lead balls and suffer no ill effects from it. Now if you ate one 3x a day every day for a couple of years, then we might have a problem. Most don't know it because I don't talk about it, but I am a BioChemist by education, please folks stop drinking the EPA cool aide concerning the hazards of lead. The studies they did and are using are a bunch ****, cobbled together just like the UN's scientific study on Global Warming. It is junk science. You can't take a bunch of inner city, crack, FAS, and ghetto trash babies, and test them when they are 7 or 8 and say their low IQ is from eating lead paint and drinking water from pipes soldered together with lead solder. It just doesn't wash as a real study, and yet it has been the banner waved by the media and the eco nuts to get rid of lead.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Geraldo]

I sure would not shoot anything I planned on eating with bullet that were that corroded.


Let's give this some thought.

If you head shoot a squirrel, how can you possibly contaminate the rest of it? Even if you shoot a larger animal through the body, presuming you killed it quickly, how does the lead get anywhere other than the wound track? It takes a lot of exposure in humans to raise blood levels of lead, how does one bullet that puts a stop to all physiological functions result in contaminated meat?

If I'm wrong, tell me, but I really don't see any major threat.

[Black Powder Bill]

I've found if you wrap one in a cloth patch,ram it down a barrel and shoot it down range you never have to see the oxidation again.

[grullaguy]

Let's give this some thought.

If you head shoot a squirrel, how can you possibly contaminate the rest of it? Even if you shoot a larger animal through the body, presuming you killed it quickly, how does the lead get anywhere other than the wound track? It takes a lot of exposure in humans to raise blood levels of lead, how does one bullet that puts a stop to all physiological functions result in contaminated meat?

If I'm wrong, tell me, but I really don't see any major threat.

The neighbour kid and I used to have air rifle wars and carry pellets in our mouths for quick reloads. I have no idea how many I swallowed.
I have also been walking around with a chunk of lead lodged in my noggin for the last 37 years. Still not ill effects. (twitch twitch):bigsmyl2:

[Geraldo]

The neighbour kid and I used to have air rifle wars and carry pellets in our mouths for quick reloads. I have no idea how many I swallowed.
I have also been walking around with a chunk of lead lodged in my noggin for the last 37 years. Still not ill effects. (twitch twitch):bigsmyl2:

Gives you and excuse for not remembering birthdays and anniversaries though. :wink:

[mold maker]

Just like the big response to a broken florescent bulb, contamination by lead is highly overrated. Some one figured out a way to make money off your fears.