Smelting range lead

[Liberty'sSon]

I may have just had my first and last experience melting down range lead. Got about 200 lb of indoor range lead from a friend for free to see if I like it. There promises to be more in the future at a very good price. However during the smelting of my first batch, I was stirring the mixture to get complete melting, and I apparently missed a live round when adding scrap to the pot. Needless to say, the round cooked off.
Luckily only a few minor burns on my arms. I was wearing safety glasses but not long sleeves.
I've cleaned everything up, but I'm still unsure if I want to pursue this source of alloy in the future. Is this a common occurrence?

[zxcvbob]

I've rendered about 1500 pounds of indoor-range lead, and I dont even see how a live round could get it there -- I guess anything is possible. OTOH, I shoveled the stuff myself so I know exactly where it came from.

How about put a lid on the pot and don't stir until it's all melted? You really shouldn't be adding cold lead to a pot that's already melted; trapped moisture can do the same thing (we call it a visit from the "tinsel fairy")

Glad you're OK.

[zomby woof]

I had the same thing happened when I added to the pot, won't do that again. At our range, the buckets of lead sit in the corner until collected. When people clean up their brass they would dump them in the first bucket they see. Ultimately a live round was put in a bucket. I think it was a 22LR.

[Oreo]

I dig my lead from a dirt berm. I get live rounds occasionally. I don't even try to pick them out anymore. I fill pot with cold bermine, put lid on pot, turn on the propane burner and find something else to do for a half hr or so. I hear a dull thud if I'm near by when a round cooks off. I pay no mind since it's well contained in the cast iron pot. I know I've had a few 45acp rounds the one time.

[shadowcaster]

It's good to hear that you are ok.. I add range scrap to the melt on a regular basis without a hitch. I dump my bucket of scrap out on the clean concrete floor, spread it out, use the fireplace shovel to scoop up a shovel full that I can visually see is clean, and add it to the pot. No hassles, no pops, no tinsel fairy! Make sure you safety up.. safety face shield, leather apron, long sleeves, etc..

Shad

[el34]

I had 100lb from a scrap dealer. Before smelting I used Shad's method of spreading it out and found 4 22LR rounds.

I didn't have any surprise pops in the pot but I did get the zinc fairy, made no sense but it was analyzed with 1.66% zinc after skimming off the inch-thick oatmeal. I theorized the yellow jackets on some of the bullets were brass, which contains zinc. I'm shying away for both those reasons.

[dikman]

Moral of the story is always check stuff, particularly if you haven't "mined" it yourself. Just in case. I haven't done a huge amount of range scrap (about 250 lbs) but I found one live .22 while sorting the stuff when I got home. Surprised me to find it there, I pulled the lead and emptied the powder.

[taco650]

I've used range scrap with no issues but I personally collected all of it. Glad you're ok.

[Liberty'sSon]

I will absolutely be checking everything well in the future. While this range lead was free, I get the impression in the future it will cost me. Kinda like a drug dealer giving free samples ;) . I will have to factor that in to determine if it's worth it or if I'm better off just buying ingots from someone else. Another option is that I could supply the lead to someone near me for smelting in exchange for a split of the finished product. Anybody near NE Alabama interested?

[taco650]

I will absolutely be checking everything well in the future. While this range lead was free, I get the impression in the future it will cost me. Kinda like a drug dealer giving free samples ;) . I will have to factor that in to determine if it's worth it or if I'm better off just buying ingots from someone else. Another option is that I could supply the lead to someone near me for smelting in exchange for a split of the finished product. Anybody near NE Alabama interested?

PM sent.

[mold maker]

Most all range lead is subject to live rounds. People use the trap or berm, to dispose of duds.
Always, repeat always, throughly rake and stir through range lead, before adding to the pot. I even wash them in a HF cement mixer first. There is no point in using fuel to heat rocks and trash.
I once found a half full magazine on a berm.

[fredj338]

Sort/sift thru it. I never dump scrap into a pot, always look thru it first, just for to prevent what happened to you. You were fortunate.

[Nose Dive]

Libertys Son.... .

I get range scrap from my range... have to 'mine' it out....dig and sift...dig and sift.... I get alot of 'trash and dirt'...so....with free lead comes free problems.... my path to glory is....

1. dig up stuff and sift out as much dirt as I can...put in buckets
2. take it all home
3. spread the 'stuff' out on the drive way and wash with 'sprinkle' jet hand water sprinkeler to wash off dirt and corruption....
4. let stand over night to drain and dry...
5. sweep up heavies and put all in smelt pot over a scoop of saw dust....
6. Start fire at low setting and let slowly warm up.....stir occasionally...
7. let fire come up and slowly melt lead...it will be smoking big time..so stir and watch
8. bring fire up more and more...and then begin to sift out copper and trash....
9. NEVER>>>NEVER ADD ANYTHING TO THE SMELT POT...no more 'heavies' at all EVER...only more saw dust from time to time...
10. keep fluxing with saw dust and stirring and sifting... get the **** out and dump outside the smelt pot... DO NOT ADD ANY MORE range scrap to the pot...it may have water...water is STEAM and STEAM is bad news...you pot will blow up!
11...now that the smelt is melted....sift out the ****...get it ...all of it and stir from the sides and bottom.....
12... now that the pot is hot...the non melted items gone.... FLUX ONCE AGAIN with saw dust.... stir...stir...stir.....
13... once it has stopped smoking...you are ready to pour ingots.... yep...start dipping and pouring...
14...once the pot is empty...then pull the fire....refill with dry scrap and corruption...put in some saw dust...and once again...begin to heat up SLOWLY...SLOWLY SLOWLY.... go back to item number ONE...and begin all over again....

NEVER..>NEVER add COLD scrap to the pot once the heat is on...NEVER...STUPID MISTAKE will cost you an eye,,,a house.... Fill the cold pot full if you wish....but then go slow...flux..stir...flux...

Follow this and GO SLOW and you should be just fine... This is what I do. And...Letting the scrap sit over night on a drive way with an incline is very important...if it rains...sweep up scrap...put in bucket and wait until next week end to smelt...and then...go to step ONE and begin all over again...

Nose Dive....

Cheap,,,Fast...good...Kindly pick two.

[zxcvbob]

The stuff I get is from an indoor range, with heavy black rubber sheets ("cow mats") between the target hangers and the steel backstop. So there's lots of rubber mixed in with the lead; it looks like ground tires. If I lived out in the country, I might build some kind of forced-air furnace that would use the rubber and paper bits in the lead as part of the fuel... but I don't, so I can't.

I wash the stuff on my driveway to get most of the trash out. When I render it down to make ingots it's still really wet. Doesn't cause a problem because I don't add cold (wet) metal to a pot with melted lead in it. I do sometimes add to a pot that's hot but still solid; that's okay and the heat will evaporate the water.

[bangerjim]

I RARELY mess with range lead...free or purchased. It is just not worth the time and effort.

The only time I did, I found 8 live 38 SPL WC rounds in there! I guess someone found out they would not cycle in their lever gun (as I have) and tossed them. I shot them in my revolver with no problem!!!!

But I avoid range crapola all toghether.

banger

[merlin101]

I've found that range lead can a great source of lead in a continueing lead free country. How I get mine is I dig and sift and dump all but the biggest pieces of wood/trash in my bucket. I'm in and out in no time at all, then at home I set up a table on sturdy saw horses and dump about half a bucket out and hand sort.
I've also hand picked range turds and thats the 'cleanest' way I've found but takes time and is rough on the back.
To each their own!

[taco650]

I'll still continue to mess with range scrap for two reasons.

1) I'm cheap and free lead is worth a little work to me
2) I like making stuff and not having to rely on someone else when I want something.

Guess I'm on the selfish side. Also was raised by parents who grew up during the Great Depression who knew what it was to go without and to be creative when you needed something.

However, the warnings about proper handling are good advice. I just hope the OP doesn't feel beat up by all of us who chimed in.

[Liberty'sSon]

Not feeling beat up. Just to be clear I didn't add to a liquid pot, I was stirring what was in the initial filling of the pot. The lead was from an indoor range and had been shot against steel so it was broken up and sized from nearly dust sized to half dollar sized splatter and everything in between. My mistake I just didn't think about a live round in something that had been caught in a trap of an indoor range. I will sort/ inspect the rest very closely but at some point it's not worth my time. I'd be better off earning money elsewhere and buying the lead. I do enjoy the process and the sense of accomplishment but I'm not sure it's worth it.

[btroj]

Worth it or not is a decision we all need to make for ourselves.

My range scrap is free except for labor so it is well worth the effort. If I was paying 40 cents a pound it would make me think again.

[Hanzy4200]

That is a small risk for such a big payoff. Be grateful. For some of us new casters, and those in certain areas, finding lead is a challenge. My options are to either pay $.60 a lb at my local scrap yard for semi-clean, or dig it by hand from my clubs berm.

[Hanzy4200]

+1 on never adding ANY range scrap to a liquid pot. You run the risk of serious burns and a soiled pair of shorts. Picture a muffled shotgun blast followed by a shower of molten lead. Grown men dance like little girls.

[dikman]

Liberty'sSon, you have probably singled out the biggest "issue" regarding range scrap. It is a very labour-intensive process, whichever way one does it, and you have to weigh up whether you can afford the time involved, or, as you say, spend that time earning an income and just buying what you need.

Being retired, the time involved is not an issue for me (and I get a lot of satisfaction out of digging the stuff and melting it down), but the down-side is it's bloody hard on my back!!!

[drfroglegs]

It's all in where you get the lead from. I get my scrap from an indoor range that collects the lead from the trap and stores it in the same place it is collected. It would be almost impossible for a live round to get in there unless someone throws it 25 yrds into the trap. I have smelted at least 10 5gal buckets full of lead without a single problem. But thanks for the heads up, I'll pay more attention now to what I'm adding in!