Indoor gun range lead

[Bo1]

I asked a local indoor gun range owner today if they still smelted and sold their lead. The response shocked me. He stated that he does not mess with it any longer, and would sell me all the lead in 5 gallon buckets (along with the floor sweepings of course) I wanted for .20 a pound. I told him that I had an unlimited supply of practically new 5 gallon buckets, and I would call him later this week and see if we could work something out on me supplying him with buckets, and him supplying me with "cheap" lead and brass. He said he was very interested.
I have smelted buckets of lead like this before, and it is a filthy mess with all of the sweepings, but I am thinking that it could be worth it if the right deal was made.

Bo

[Larry Gibson]

Sounds like a good deal to me. just get a good idea of what bullets were shot; hard cast, jacketed, .22LR etc. so you can adjust the alloy with additional lead and tin for best results. Most indoor "range lead" has a tendency to be antimony rich and tin poor.

Word of caution though; watch out carefully for live rounds in the floor sweepings, especially .22LRs, when smelting. Best to look carefully for and sort them out. You'll still want to take precautions, incase you missed one, against an explosion and resulting visit from the giant tinsel fairy.

Larry Gibson

[bangerjim]

Live rounds = fun & games in your pot!

Just be VERY careful.

banger

[Bo1]

I understand carefully checking before smelting anything..
The floor sweepings are from the bullet trap area, and not the shooting area. I still check everything carefully.

Also I believe that most of the lead shot at the "pistol only" range is jacketed factory rounds. Range does not allow people to bring in their own reloads to shoot, unless the rules have changed within the past year.

[bigjake]

How about instead of paying for the lead, You clean it up, you could be more picky about what you take home. you could leave the dirt behind, or pitch the brass you don't want.

[Nose Dive]

Bo1... I agree with bigjake.... Ask to 'sweep up' and take all you get. "DO A GOOD JOB" sweeping....he is happy...you are happy...

Get more than you need?.... this sight....sell it...

And, maybe Friday...drop of a half dozen or so cans of beer on your way out.

And read the stickies here about smelting range scrap. You can find some real 'honey's' in the pot! Ask me how I know.

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, good. Kindly pick two.

[Bigslug]

.
Also I believe that most of the lead shot at the "pistol only" range is jacketed factory rounds. Range does not allow people to bring in their own reloads to shoot, unless the rules have changed within the past year.

Then you should have a nice, solid supply of 30-1 or something close to it: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?269789-Careful-Analysis-of-Segregated-Range-Scrap-Smelt

[lobogunleather]

When I first started casting (about 40 years ago) I was a cop and had access to the department's indoor range. Backstops were angled armor plate deflecting bullets into a dirt pit. Used an Army surplus entrenching tool, dropped everything onto 1/4" hardware cloth (heavy steel screening) over a wooden box, sifted out all the loose dirt, and salvaged the slugs. Set up a Coleman camp stove in the back yard with an old cast iron pot, melted and fluxed repeatedly, then cast into ingots.

Originally I used 50/50 bar solder to bring everything into a more usable metal, good for handgun bullets. Then I discovered linotype metal and found a small print shop that would sell me their used stuff that was ready to go back to the foundry for reconstituting into new metal, and started making rifle bullets. Met a guy in my patrol district who owned a tire shop and started getting used wheel weights by the bucket loads.

It's all good. Just depends on what you can find available and how much work you are willing to do.