Anyone Use Range Berm Lead?

[daddyseal]

Does it cast different than ww?

[H.Callahan]

It is generally a little softer than COWW, but YMMV depending on the range you get it from.

[geargnasher]

Naw, nobody here uses it.

Gear

[btroj]

Wow Gear. I am a nobody! Woop hoooo!

Yes, itis very frequently used. Look in the lead section and you will find many, many, many threads about range scrap.

I brought home 55 pounds of it today. I am now sitting on over 300 pounds and counting.

I use it as is for any pistol cartridge. I add a small amount of monotype for harder target rifle bullets. My 45-70 gets it straight.

[tomme boy]

Nope nobody uses it. Box up all you can and send it to me. I will take that nasty dangerous lead and dispose of it properly!

[btroj]

Forgot to add, it works well but don't use it for GC bullets shot without the GC........

[HARRYMPOPE]

Forgot to add, it works well but don't use it for GC bullets shot without the GC........

I like that one.

[geargnasher]

Forgot to add, it works well but don't use it for GC bullets shot without the GC........

And don't use it for non-tumble-lube boolits that you intend to tumble lube.

Gear

[btroj]

Dang, forgot that one.

But at least I know I shouldn't water drop, unless I need to air cool?

[zxcvbob]

And don't use it for non-tumble-lube boolits that you intend to tumble lube.


Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis?

[500MAG]

I ad some pewter to it and it works just fine.

[GP100man]

I cast some boolits on halves with a feller & they checked 10-11 bhn but I had to add O tin .

The isotope alloy I usually use runs 12-13 bhn but I have to add a bit of tin to get sharp fillout.

[Jim]

And don't use it for non-tumble-lube boolits that you intend to tumble lube. Gear


Dern it, Gear, why'd you do that? I been tumble lubin' non TL boolits for years, successfully I might add, and now you say not to do that. Wha's da' mattuh widdya'? Huh?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Does it cast different than ww?

Nahhhhh, it's about the same.

[MtGun44]

Usually need to add a bit of tin to make it fill out the better, but not much.

With good boolit design, fit and lube I can shoot it at full magnum velocities in .357 and
.44 mag.

Bill

[HARRYMPOPE]

our backstop lead has a lot of Lazercast and the like commercial "hardcast" and is good enough as is and no tin needed.If it was mainly 22rf i would say you might need tin.

George

[bob208]

i use every pice i can pick up. one time i got to clean out an indoor range bacck stop. they only shot .22 rf in it. got 5 wheelbarrow loads of it. it is the best for bpc boolits i have.

infact we had a bunch of t storms go through this evening. mite head out to the range tomorrow to pick up lead.

[1874Sharps]

My shooting buddy and I rigged up a seive and take it and a bucket and shovel so that we can mine the berm at the range. The range folks have no problem with this and it keeps us in shooting lead and then some. We generally segregate out the cast boolits from the jacketed so that we essentially get two alloys, one for fast GC boolits and one for standard velocity. For 38 special, 45 Colt, etc. velocities, a super hard alloy is really not needed. Using the soft alloy I can cast 45 or 44 boolits for both BP and smokeless loads. Yes, it is true that the alloy is of unknown composition and that it varies a bit from batch to batch, but for CAS blasting ammo and informal shooting it works just fine. The targets do not seem to mind a bit. With a good hot mold the alloy casts up just fine, although I am sure a little bit of Sn (tin) would help out.

[evan price]

Only the very coolest boolit casters use range lead. Anybody can go "buy" wheelweights. But when you go out in the wild and harvest your own lead in its natural environment, then you are part of the cycle of life.

There I was, braving the heat and dust while manning the bucket and scoop. I stopped to wipe sweat from my brow when I saw out of the corner of my eye, a 230-gr FMJ sneaking on my blind side, trying to get in position for attack.
I whipped out my trusty seive and after a brief struggle it joined the rest of them safely in the bucket. I went home that afternoon with a renewed love of the hunt, and a load of lead for my pot.

[imashooter2]

And don't use it for non-tumble-lube boolits that you intend to tumble lube.

Gear

I use it for many thousands of non tumble lube boolits that I tumble lube. Film lube works fine on conventional lube groove designs.

[btroj]

I use it for many thousands of non tumble lube boolits that I tumble lube. Film lube works fine on conventional lube groove designs.

I am pretty sure that was sarcasm. Gear and I were having a bit of a sarcastic interchange regarding a question that has numerous active threads regarding the same thing.

[daddyseal]

Thank You All for your input...I Appreciate it~!!
(I'm working on understanding all the abbreviations y'all use)

[alamogunr]

I''m a little late to this party, but I've got about 100 lbs of ingots from range lead. At least 95% was from jacketed. I found it is a PITA to pick up and clean up. I don't want to shovel and sieve since the berms at the range I use wash pretty badly anyway.

Also, the scrap dealers around here are so difficult to deal with, that I end up just throwing the jackets away. It didn't happen, but I expected one guy refuse to buy because it might be dangerous.

[Shiloh]

Yep.

Shiloh

[1Shirt]

Only when I can get it!
1Shirt!

[jmsj]

I have been given permission to get one 5 gallon pail of range lead from a range where they do cowboy action shooting. Going to try and go this afternoon after church.
Good luck, jmsj

[Ole]

Have noticed it doesn't harden up as much when you water drop it vs COWW's.

Other than that, IMO it casts very similar to COWW's. I usually add a pound or two of lino to a Lee 420 pot full of range lead for a little extra antimony if I'm water dropping.

[zxcvbob]

If you fill the bucket up near the top you probably won't be able to lift it. Take a dolly to move it, and a spare bucket. When you wheel it over to your truck you can scoop a little into the other bucket to get the weight almost manageable, then pour about half into the other bucket.

It's much easier to work with 2 half-buckets than 1 full bucket, but if that's not the deal you just need to be prepared. :)

[jmsj]

If you fill the bucket up near the top you probably won't be able to lift it. Take a dolly to move it, and a spare bucket. When you wheel it over to your truck you can scoop a little into the other bucket to get the weight almost manageable, then pour about half into the other bucket.

It's much easier to work with 2 half-buckets than 1 full bucket, but if that's not the deal you just need to be prepared. :)

I know exactly what you are talking about. when I collect range scrape, I usually use empty 1 gallon paint cans or small buckets that hold about a gallon. One time we collected a 5 gallon pail of muzzle loader balls. This bucket lacked between 1 1/2" to 2" to being full to the top. When I finished smelting it down into ingots it made 173 pounds of ingots.

[daddyseal]

If you fill the bucket up near the top you probably won't be able to lift it. Take a dolly to move it, and a spare bucket. When you wheel it over to your truck you can scoop a little into the other bucket to get the weight almost manageable, then pour about half into the other bucket.

It's much easier to work with 2 half-buckets than 1 full bucket, but if that's not the deal you just need to be prepared. :)

Great idea, friend.
I'm going to fill up two 5 gallon buckets with lids stacked on top of each other...get them to my truck with a dolly...dump half of each into two empty 5 gallon bucket.
Then I bring them home, run them about a gallon bucket at a time over some 1/4" mesh screen to get dirt out...put in my smelting pot inside a deep fryer basket and melt out the lead...and put all the empty copper jackets out all at once....Very Easy

[Griz44mag]

My son and I "harvest" brass and lead from a local test range. I have a couple of thousand pounds waiting for smelt now. It shoots great, I do add a bit of Lino to it for the magnums and a bit of tin for the little guys (9 and 38)

[captain-03]

Is this what you are speakin of?

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss241/captain-03/Casting%20-%20Loading/IMG_3969.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss241/captain-03/Casting%20-%20Loading/IMG_3979.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss241/captain-03/Casting%20-%20Loading/IMG_3980.jpg

Would not think about using it!! LOL!!

[daddyseal]

Is this what you are speakin of?

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss241/captain-03/Casting%20-%20Loading/IMG_3969.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss241/captain-03/Casting%20-%20Loading/IMG_3979.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss241/captain-03/Casting%20-%20Loading/IMG_3980.jpg

Would not think about using it!! LOL!!
Yep, that's it...

[daddyseal]

My son and I "harvest" brass and lead from a local test range. I have a couple of thousand pounds waiting for smelt now. It shoots great, I do add a bit of Lino to it for the magnums and a bit of tin for the little guys (9 and 38)

What size is your smelting pot...and how much is "a bit" for that size pot, friend?

[kbstenberg]

You guys are crazy. Range lead can only be used in Zombie loads shot at Zombie targets. My local Walmart Floor associate helped me get the straight skinny.

[daddyseal]

You guys are crazy. Range lead can only be used in Zombie loads shot at Zombie targets. My local Walmart Floor associate helped me get the straight skinny.
Of course...they want to sell you their ammo.
Are they saying WW are also no good?

[Harter66]

Just sorted about 80 lbs myself.

Water dropped the cores run 11-12 bhn about 8 a/c. I use them as is for RB a/c water drop for 38s and 45 Colts. 50-50 WW for mags and the 9mm's.

[sbeatty1983]

Local 4h club has an indoor rimfire range at the old national guard building. Ive been trying to find out who to talk to about "cleaning up" some of their bullet traps for them but have hit a dead end since I cant seem to get up with the lady over the program. I was in the program when I was a kid but her husband was over it then and has since passed away. Im interested in getting my daughter in the program but she still lacks a year being old enough. Seems like there would be very little waste melting down old .22 bullets and nearly pure lead pellets.

[fcvan]

When i started mining the berm at work it hadn't been touched in 25 years. Back then we shot wadcutter 38 sp so it was quite soft. I started out using a 1lb coffee can to dig, a plastic collander to sift, and a 3lb coffee can to carry home.

A buddy got into it and we got an expanded metal screen a shovel and some buckets. I have seen where a guy cut up a shovel and welded in a piece of expanded metal. It looked pretty slick. I can't tell you how many 38s, 9mm, and 45rn I cast but it was an average of 2-3k a week. I would trade 500 for 1000 primers, 500 for a pound of powder, and I shot a minimum 1250 rounds a week having only my labor invested. Good times

[Mal Paso]

I only gather lead from Directly Behind the target stands. I use lead that already has Proven Accuracy.

[daddyseal]

When i started mining the berm at work it hadn't been touched in 25 years. Back then we shot wadcutter 38 sp so it was quite soft. I started out using a 1lb coffee can to dig, a plastic collander to sift, and a 3lb coffee can to carry home.

A buddy got into it and we got an expanded metal screen a shovel and some buckets. I have seen where a guy cut up a shovel and welded in a piece of expanded metal. It looked pretty slick. I can't tell you how many 38s, 9mm, and 45rn I cast but it was an average of 2-3k a week. I would trade 500 for 1000 primers, 500 for a pound of powder, and I shot a minimum 1250 rounds a week having only my labor invested. Good times

Are you talking about trading finished cast boolits?
Who did you trade with, friend?

[fcvan]

Daddyseal, I traded lube/sized boolits for powder or primers. I had a bunch of friends (co-workers, all cops) who loaded and we all shot a lot together. I had friends who didn't load but wanted in - so I sucked them in. I'd teach them to cast, teach them to load, loan them my equipment, and eventually help them order their own equipment. I had a number of friends who only shot .38 and I gave out a lot of basic kits as Christmas gifts. Lee reloader press, Lee .38 speed die. Back then I could get those two items for $20 because I ordered lots of stuff from Midway.

I remember going to the range with a bunch of co-workers. One guy showed up with a couple boxes of factory. I showed up with a five gallon bucket filled with .38s, another 9mm, and yet another in .45acp. I told him to put his ammo away and lets have fun. He tried to hand me some money, I told him to swing by the house with primers or powder. We shot a bunch that day. A couple days later we reloaded what we had shot. Good times. Frank