New to boolit first question!

[Smoke]

I really like the site.....I have very little casting experience other than helping my dad 20 years ago cast for muzzle loaders.

The question I have is on reclaimed lead shot for pistol bullets. (45ACP for starters)

I have been a shot gunner for a long time and the range close to me has just mined the shot fallout zone and I can purchase some shot for what seem like a reasonable price.

Is lead shot with 3-9 percent antimony good enough to cast bullets with without the need to add more tin??

I will busy myself reading stickies and past post while I wait to hear from someone.

Thanks in advance

[runfiverun]

you'll want tin to combat the arsenics tendancy to make things like your drive bands round.
i don't think you'll see much over 6% antimony.

[avogunner]

Mined shot is a great source for boolit alloy. Not too long ago I scored about 500lbs - FREE and since then have cast about 50 pounds of it for both pistol and rifle. Like runfiverun say though, you'll want to add a little tin (1-2%) to assist in fill out.

[Smoke]

Thanks guys!!

I meant 6% but I typed 9%....There is no real control on the amount of antimony as typical target shells run 3%-6% antimony..... Cheaper shells supposedly running the low percentages.

No such thing as free for me but I was looking @ $0.60 a pound???

[runfiverun]

you'll have some loss due to the graphite on the shot and it's a pita to melt down because of the oxides on the surface but .60 ain't bad.
melting it down and cleaning it up and then alloying it as you go will make decent boolits.
i'd probably throw some soft in with it and some tin and call it a day.

i'd buy it and reload it into shotshells myself.
but i need shot worse than i need casting alloy.

[Sergeant Earthworm]

I say try it as-is and see how your casts turn out. You can always melt them down if they don't cast well or if they are too soft/hard. Might be worth the time to melt and get rid of impurities and pour it into ingots so you don't have to deal with that later on.

[Smoke]

The shot that is typically mines is well oxidized with a little steel shot for an annoyance bonus...... I tried to reload the stuff as they sell it cleaned up and new-graphite for $1.25 Lb but with different shot sizes and a few pellets welded together from being fired the stuff bridges in my loader (spolar) causing a high speed mess!

Also I can buy new shot shells 12 gauge for about $10 a flat more than I can make them so it seems like I am spinning my wheels trying to save much money reloading as I only shoot about 25 flats a year.

Thanks for the input!!