Stumpy The Bullet Trap

[Just Duke]

Probably heading back N. for the summer and need bullet traps as in several. What I have been thinking about is using Oak log rounds 3 feet long or however big a 30 gallon or 55 gallon barrel height is.

This would give me the opportunity to shoot hard cast at one Oak log round, (end grain of course) and at different ranges at fixed positions, and 30-1 Black Powder bullets at another so to not mix up the expensive lead alloys.
So after a year of so I could harvest the lead from the rounds by splitting the Oak log rounds via a maul and throwing them in a El Cheapo Barrel Stove Kit elevated at the door and a drain hole a the lower end/back which could be draining into ingots. I have had these barrel stoves glowing cherry red before. lol
I would just sand cast the ingots the same way they did huge iron gates in the middle ages. That way I wouldn't have to baby sit this process...much.

El Cheapo barrel stove Kit Only $54.99
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_20894_20894
100702

[Just Duke]

Although I could add a spout on the bottom back end.

[winelover]

Did something similar, years ago, on a hunting lease in Michigan. Electric company came, one spring, and cleaned up the electric right-of-way and left some rather large diameter (24") logs lying about. I rolled one, the length of a square forty acre parcel for the purpose of stopping cast.

Lasted several years before it split, with no physical labor on my part. Hand picked most of the lead out and burnt the splits in a campfire and recovered some more.

Don't see why your idea won't work!

Winelover

[C. Latch]

For most of his life my grandpas berm was a log butt. And I have a huge stump I shoot into on my place until I can build a proper berm.

[Pb2au]

Sounds like a plan Duke.
Multitasking, staying warm, making ingots.

[koehlerrk]

Sounds good except for the "making ingots" bit... It's gonna drip down and freeze, you'll end up with lead stalagmites... aka, a somewhat conical mound of lead teardrops that are loosely held together. I don't see it staying hot enough to fill a mold unless you have your ingot mold sitting on a hotplate under the woodstove.

However, the point is to recover your lead, and it sounds like it will work. Try it and let us know.

[Speedo66]

Any issues dealing with lead vapor?

[Just Duke]

Any issues dealing with lead vapor?

This would all be done outside and with a respirator on. ;)

[Just Duke]

I don't see it staying hot enough to fill a mold unless you have your ingot mold sitting on a hotplate under the woodstove.



Great idea!

[Just Duke]

Until then I have some donated 3/4 ply on the way and will need to throw together a 30 X 30 X 40 inch box to dump all this rubber mulch into we picked up 5 years ago.
My lead source for now has ended so I'll need to salvage anything I shoot.

[UBER7MM]

Duke,
.
From what I've seen, those oil drum stoves burn out and don't last forever. Oil drums can't take the heat. (Neighbor had one in his shop, when I was a kid.) I suppose it'd work fine for your gleaning lead from a stump scenario. I'd make it an outside operation for the sake of lead fumes.
.
You could just start a bonfire on the with the stump outside and dig up the lead later. Save yourself the $55.
.
Just a thought or two,

[Just Duke]

Duke,
.
From what I've seen, those oil drum stoves burn out and don't last forever. Oil drums can't take the heat. (Neighbor had one in his shop, when I was a kid.) I suppose it'd work fine for your gleaning lead from a stump scenario. I'd make it an outside operation for the sake of lead fumes.
.
You could just start a bonfire on the with the stump outside and dig up the lead later. Save yourself the $55.
.
Just a thought or two,

Thank's for the idea's sir and taking the time to post them. Take a gander at post #8. ;)
I prefer not to mix all that in soil I plan to grow in. Anyway the barrels are cheap and so are the fittings and will surely outlast me at my age. :holysheep

[UBER7MM]

Duke,
.
Yup, I saw post 8 after I replied. :killingpc I concur, outside should be fine. Down wind of your own house. Probably work well for burning yard rakings too.
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For heating a room, those drum stoves do put out the heat, perfect for a shop or garage. IIRC, a barrel will last a season or two max. Depending on the usage of course, and the severity of the winter.
.
For your intended purpose, probably only need one barrel. Let us know the results of your project.

[historicfirearms]

I recycle most of my lead in a similar way. I usually find a large hard maple chunk to shoot at, it holds up for a good year of shooting. I've tried red and white oak but they split apart pretty fast. Might try elm if you can find it, almost impossible to split with a maul so it should hold up well.

To get the lead out of the log, I just throw it in my campfire pit and let the log burn. The lead will melt out and go into the ashes. Let the fire go out for a few days then dig the molten lead out of the ashes. It puddles together into pretty big chunks and is easy to find in the soft ashes.

[uscra112]

Hickory. Notoriously difficult to split. Also locust, if you have any near you.

[NavyVet1959]

Hickory. Notoriously difficult to split.

That would be a waste of a good BBQ / smoking wood.

Back on the family ranch, we used to use a steel barrel as a "burn barrel" for garbage and tree trimmings. They didn't seem to last long from the heat. Of course, we also shot holes in the barrels for "air holes" to make it burn better. This was back in the day before trash disposal companies actually came around to the rural communities to pick up trash. Back then, you either buried your trash somewhere on your property or you burned it.

[DLCTEX]

I have an 18" X24" Mimosa trunk section that we have been shooting into for some time. It has held up to hundreds of rounds and will absorb many more before I burn it.