Recycled Factory Bullet Cores Effectiveness for Defensive/Woods Boolit?

[Southern Shooter]

The local shooting range recycles the factory lead cores of the bullets they collect, there. It is plentiful, $1.35 per pound, and seems to cast acceptable boolits for low velocity shooting (.38 Special, .45 Colt).

I have two questions:

1) Does water-quenching/cooling this mix of lead cores offer any benefits to the boolits?

2) In my .45 Colt revolver, I shoot the Lee 452-255-RF (dropping at 265 grains) boolit at 925 fps for a general duties/woods protection round. Would this mix of lead cores fired at this velocity make an effective slug for this purpose? Or, is it too soft...too weak?

[longbow]

It all depends on what the lead alloy and bullet to boolit mix is. If mostly jacketed bullets and /or .22 rimfire lead then the lead content is pretty soft ~ not sure what is used in jacketed bullets but softer than wheelweights in my experience and .22 rimfire must be near pure lead.

At the range I shoot at there are a lot of cast boolits when I mine the berms and this is my primary source of lead for casting for my .44 Marlin, .303's and .308 along with my 12 ga. slug guns. The recycled lead I get certainly does harden if water quenched especially if oven heat treated. There is a fairly high content of jacketed bullets along with the cast but I find it works well enough for me.

I also have 200 to maybe 300 lbs. of high antimony lead ingots and about 100 lbs. of Lyman #2 alloy I am saving. The range lead works well enough for "general purpose" shooting and oven heat treated "rings" when boolits are tapped together so good enough for me (no hardness tester).

Longbow

[Southern Shooter]

longbow,
I would venture to say that 99% of the bullets fired at this range are jacketed.

[Wolfer]

That range scrap will work great in a 45 colt in the 800/1100 fps area.

[bhn22]

The only way to know is to try it. Be prepared to add tin to the alloy. The range scrap I get locally averages 12-15 bhn, which is plenty hard for my needs. Helpful hint: most jacketed bullet cores are not pure lead, but usually have 3-5% antimony.

[Shiloh]

1) Does water-quenching/cooling this mix of lead cores offer any benefits to the boolits?

My guess is no. I however, water quench everything just so I know. If it is wet it isn't hot. I have had no issues with range scrap and handgun boolits. At about 1250 fps or so I got some light leading. The solution, back down or add linotype to harden it up. I backed down the velocity.

Shiloh

[Bullshop]

If you wish them to be harder and quenching as is will not produce the desired hardness adding a small percentage of shot will improve your quenching results. Magnum shot will likely give best results.

[45 2.1]

You have excellent material to use. Add it in equal amounts to wheel weights and cast with it. Pistol boolits need to be air cooled and higher velocity rifle boolits should be water dropped.

[mdi]

All the range lead I have purchased run a bit on the soft side, mebbe in the neighborhood of 9-12 BHN (but I quit measurin'). I have cast bullets for my Magnums with no apparent leading for velocities up around 1200 fps, occasionally. If I feel the need for some harder alloy, I just add some linotype to the melt (I don't water drop my bullets).

[mold maker]

My range scrap is also mostly from jacketed 40 cal law enforcement practice and qualifying rounds. It also ranges from 12-15 hardness.
I've cast (Water Dropped) for all lower velocity handguns, with no problems. Ie 45 ACP, 45 Colt, 44 special, 38 special, and 40 cal, all at lower vol.

[runfiverun]

10-12 bhn is about all we get from ww alloy.

if your alloy has some antimony in it, it will get harder with water quenching.

for about 100 years the factory's have used 40-1 alloy in their 45 colt loads [250grs at 900fps] having a softer workable [malleable] alloy is almost never a mistake.
unless you are trying to punch through a super solid bone at a glancing angle.

most range scrap needs a little tin in it to cast good boolits.

[tomme boy]

I just got done going through 3 buckets of mainly 40cal bullets from a law enforcement range. The lead has a little antimony in it but it is really soft. Even if you water drop it. I waited a week after water dropping some 45 bullets and I could dig right in with a fingernail. The lead was ONLY the cores. I pulled everything else out.

[pls1911]

My base lead has migrated to reclaimed roofing material, which after smelting and clean up, is about as pure Pb as we'll commonly find.
Mixed roughly 20-80 or 30-70 with WW or lyman #2 ingots, I find there's still enough arsenic and antimony to heat treat/ice water quench to the mid 20's. This should enable me to stretch my existing stock of lino, mono, babbit, #2, and WW to near infinity.
Yesterday in conjuction with a boy Scout function, upwards of 200 rounds of 45-70 were shot in a Sharps and a Rolling Block, loaded over 27.5 grains 2400 and a pinch of Dacron for around 1500 fps.
These RCBS 300-FN were cast and heat treated in the fall of 2013 and fall at about 314 in my rough alloy. They still measured 19-20 BHN. I don't try to eak out the last bit of hardness by pushing oven temp to the limit...I've ruined too many batched of bullets that way. I simply heat treat in the oven for an hour at 450, quench in a 5 gallon bucket of cold water, and call it good.
Guns were not cleaned in progress, and no leading was found when we finished .

[Southern Shooter]

Thanks for info, folks. I really appreciate the input.

So, it sounds like for down here in the Southeast, this range scrap .45 caliber RF boolit weighing 265 grains and at 900 FPS would do ok for a general duty/woods round...is that correct??

Would they have enough Bhn to penetrate a wild hog or a black bear at close distances...out to 30 yards?