Use cankered bullets?

[bradley.moss72]

I was given a pile of bullets by a friend who had no use for them. I first thought it was range scrap, as I could see some recovered bullets in the bucket. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a mixture of commercial cast bullets still bright with blue lube still in the grooves, unlubed bullets as cast, and recovered scrap.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160422/bc3bc33a0b537b90d850146a5d332e0c.jpg

My questions are:
1. Some of the unlubed bullets have some oxidation on them. Could I just lube them up and shoot?

2. The lubed bullets have some of the lube missing and have been exposed to some dirt and grit. Could/should I melt the lube off with a heat gun and re-lube, or is there something else I should do?

Any comments will be appreciated.

BW

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[M-Tecs]

Could/should I melt the lube off with a heat gun and re-lube, or is there something else I should do?

Any comments will be appreciated.

BW



The best method I have found for removing lub from bullets is boil them and let them cool. The old lub floats and hardens on the surface of the water.

[6622729]

The best method I have found for removing lub from bullets is boil them and let them cool. The old lub floats and hardens on the surface of the water.

I'd probably melt them down and cast something fresh. They'll be oxidation and ding free. It'd be the easiest way to remove all of the oxidation and dried out lube. Boiling in water will get the lube off but then you have a pot of leaded water. I know this is a toxic hobby but at some point....

[Fishman]

I'd make them into fresh new bullets rather than take a chance of running dirt and grit down my bore. I've never tried to salvage bullets that were that dirty, but boiling as suggested would be what I would do if I was dead set on it.

[dudel]

The bases on the center ones look a little poor. Ones on the right at well. Probably dinged up while rattling around in a box. Not sure they would shoot that well. I'd treat them as culls in the next smelt session (so as not to get the dirt in your production pot).

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`ve had similar gifts given me. My best recommendation is to melt them down to be sure there is no `grit` in the free lead to do damage in your gun barrel.Robert

[Screwbolts]

I say, size, lube and shoot.

Ken

[C. Latch]

It'll be some of the cleanest stuff you ever smelted.

;)

[PaulG67]

Melt and recast. You will then know that you have clean lead with no imbedded grit.

[lightman]

Another vote to melt and recast. I would not want any dirt or grit going through my barrel. I would drop them into the next batch of wheelweights that I smelt.

[dondiego]

Tumble lube them and shoot.

[sandman228]

if it were me I would sort them save what you can use soak them in mineral spirits to get old lube and gunk off . then I would either powder coat them or possibly tumble lube them . melt whatever is unusable to you into ingots or bullets .

[bedbugbilly]

I'd vote for a "melt, flux and recast". The last thing I'd want going down the barrel of any of my handguns is the possibility of dirt/grit. Yes, you could boil the lube out of those that are lubed but it seems like more work than it's worth to me. In the past, I have used boolits with some oxide on them but only because I cast them originally and knew how they were stored. (And they were wiped clean before loading). Something that's been tossed in a bucket and jostled around with dirt collecting lube, etc.? They'd become nice shiny boolits in the designs I normally shoot. IMHO

[paraord]

Im new but if it were me I would melt and recast.

[billyb]

One more vote for the melt and recast. Just finished melting about 30 lbs. of bad cast and oxidized boolits. All ready fluxed with the old lube.

[NM156B]

Take a couple, clean them up, shoot them, make a you-tube video and post the results on how they worked compared to "new" ones. Don't make spaghettios in the pot afterwards...

[bradley.moss72]

Just a little explanation about the picture. The first from the left in each group of three is representative of the best and majority of the bullets. The second and third are the progressive worst, so the right one in each group is the worst.

BW

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[lightman]

Unless there is a fairly large quaninity of the same type I would still melt them. Thats just me, theres really not a wrong answer here. When I smelt wheelwrights they seem to be the catchall for other odd stuff. The odd bullets that I pick up here and there, the odd reject that I cast and missed, the odd chunk of lead that test like ww, etc.

[hutch18414]

+ one more on remelting. Why take a chance on doing damage to your bore.

[havfun]

melt recast why risk it

[Walter Laich]

not to sound like a broken record but melt and recast. Course I enjoy casting as much as shooting

[Smoke4320]

I would tell the person many thanks
then I would melt and recast .. making sure I fluxed well to remove sand/dirt/grit
That way you have a known good quality product to shoot without hurting your barrel

[runfiverun]

I'd have rejected most of them from the beginning.
RE-DO..

[Echo]

I'd probably melt them down and cast something fresh. They'll be oxidation and ding free. It'd be the easiest way to remove all of the oxidation and dried out lube. Boiling in water will get the lube off but then you have a pot of leaded water. I know this is a toxic hobby but at some point....
Big Plus One - melt 'em down...

[10mmShooter]

just me, I'm kind of picky about my cast bullets, so rather than invest time "cleaning up" those, I would just melt and recast and make nice new bullets out of them :)

[pdumont01]

I'm all for remelting and fluxing, I enjoy casting myself.

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[shoot-n-lead]

melt recast why risk it

risk WHAT?

Tumble lube and shoot them...they will shoot fine as I have shot piles that looked like them and never had a problem. This thought that only perfect bullets shoot well at handgun velocities...is BUNK.

[Dusty Bannister]

risk WHAT?

Tumble lube and shoot them...they will shoot fine as I have shot piles that looked like them and never had a problem. This thought that only perfect bullets shoot well at handgun velocities...is BUNK.
----------------------------
Perhaps this reader failed to notice the fact that the lubed bullet had been contaminated?


2. The lubed bullets have some of the lube missing and have been exposed to some dirt and grit. Could/should I melt the lube off with a heat gun and re-lube, or is there something else I should do?

[bradley.moss72]

Let me clarify a bit.

These bullets were not rolling around in a bucket full of dirt, nor were they dug out of the ground. They have accumulated "stuff" that has stuck to the lube. The were in a bucket with other bullets (about 5 to 8) that were dug out of a dirt backstop from the looks of them.

Once I got all of the bullets out of the bucket, there was some dirt/dust/unknown material in the bottom, but not like it was ready to plant tomatoes. More like you put your finger in the bottom and say, "Hey, this is dirty."

So I guess to clarify, the were exposed to the atmosphere having no lid and accumulated dust etc. as could be expected sitting open in the front corner of your garage. Anything that is on them could be wiped off easily with the exception of what is stuck in the lube, which is why I asked about ways to remove lube.

I believe I agree about boiling water, seems like there would be a better way. What about cleaning with brake cleaner? How about cleaning in a automotive parts cleaner? How about using Gunk Engine Degreaser?

BW

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[shoot-n-lead]

Let me clarify a bit.

These bullets were not rolling around in a bucket full of dirt, nor were they dug out of the ground. They have accumulated "stuff" that has stuck to the lube. The were in a bucket with other bullets (about 5 to 8) that were dug out of a dirt backstop from the looks of them.

Once I got all of the bullets out of the bucket, there was some dirt/dust/unknown material in the bottom, but not like it was ready to plant tomatoes. More like you put your finger in the bottom and say, "Hey, this is dirty."

So I guess to clarify, the were exposed to the atmosphere having no lid and accumulated dust etc. as could be expected sitting open in the front corner of your garage. Anything that is on them could be wiped off easily with the exception of what is stuck in the lube, which is why I asked about ways to remove lube.

I believe I agree about boiling water, seems like there would be a better way. What about cleaning with brake cleaner? How about cleaning in a automotive parts cleaner? How about using Gunk Engine Degreaser?

BW

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Brake cleaner or acetone would be fine. Let them dry, tumble and shoot.

I am talking about something that I have DONE...not something that I have thought about, or heard about...I have done this with no problem at all. I have even shot most of them without any cleaning, just a light tumble...but it will only take a minute to clean them up.

[Dusty Bannister]

Thanks for clarifying the condition. It would have helped to have that early on. Did you ever mic them to see if they are of suitable size to shoot?

[bradley.moss72]

They measure .452, .452, and .314 .

BW

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[Dusty Bannister]

Well then, your only decision now is whether to follow the majority of responses or not. Either you like their answers, or you do not like their answers. Look at your equipment. Old rattle battle 45 ACP shooter, or Gold Cup? It is a shame to ask for directions and then turn the opposite way.
Good luck.

[bradley.moss72]

Well, not that it really matters but I have a 45 ACP High-Point that I can use the 45 cal. in. I am not real sure the bullets in the middle of the picture will feed. The .312 bullets can be used in my 7.62x39 or possibly my 30 carbine.

I thought that showing pictures would have made things plain but I guess that it did not.

I will probably do a mixture of what was discussed here. The worst I will re-cast. If it turns out that the ones won't feed, they will be recast. The better ones I will salvage by cleaning the lube off and re-lubing. The better ones that have no lube will be lubed and loaded, provided they feed.

BW

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[1989toddm]

Well, not that it really matters but I have a 45 ACP High-Point that I can use the 45 cal. in. I am not real sure the bullets in the middle of the picture will feed. The .312 bullets can be used in my 7.62x39 or possibly my 30 carbine.

I thought that showing pictures would have made things plain but I guess that it did not.

I will probably do a mixture of what was discussed here. The worst I will re-cast. If it turns out that the ones won't feed, they will be recast. The better ones I will salvage by cleaning the lube off and re-lubing. The better ones that have no lube will be lubed and loaded, provided they feed.

BW

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I would do exactly as you are planning. I don't load hot loads generally so I wouldn't be afraid of shooting the better looking ones.


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[Frank V]

I'd remove the old lub relube & use them there may be grit in the lube & that could ruin your bbl. The oxidised ones I'd run through the lubrisizer & lube then use them too. The reclaimed ones would go into the casting pot? I love having things I can use given to me.
Congratulations.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Melt um

[mongoose33]

I'd look at a gift like that and be pleased to have more scrap to melt down. Unless you're absolutely without boolits to shoot, and have no time to cast anything new, why would this even be an issue? Shooting boolits of unknown origin, with possible contamination....

I'll give you 80 cents a pound for them.....

[bradley.moss72]

The biggest problem is that I don't have a mold for 45 ACP yet, so I can't just cast them into similar bullets. These just happened to be something I could use. I found out that the SWC bullets were 250 gr. and I can't find any reloading info for them even though they feed great. They will go into the scrap bucket. I have plenty of bullets for the other calibers I cast for. That is the reason I would like to use these bullets.

It is obvious that some of these don't need to be used, I get that. I guess I expected some kind of criteria to go by.

So some of ya'll seem to say recast even if they were able to clean up. If you had a box of bullets all lubed up and ready to shoot, that somehow got dumped out on your bench or in a drawer and got contaminated, you would just scoop them all up and start from scratch without even looking at them? I kinda find that hard to believe.

Wouldn't you at least try and salvage them?

BW

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[rr2241tx]

The biggest problem is that I don't have a mold for 45 ACP yet, so I can't just cast them into similar bullets. /.../

So some of ya'll seem to say recast even if they were able to clean up. If you had a box of bullets all lubed up and ready to shoot, that somehow got dumped out on your bench or in a drawer and got contaminated, you would just scoop them all up and start from scratch without even looking at them? I kinda find that hard to believe.

Wouldn't you at least try and salvage them?

BW

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That's EXACTLY what we're saying. Not worth the time and effort to clean contaminated boolits and re-lube, hoping that all the grit got washed off. Bullet lube makes great flux. Not having a mold is a correctable deficiency. Welcome to the asylum. Time to get your OCD on.

[Frank V]

That's EXACTLY what we're saying. Not worth the time and effort to clean contaminated boolits and re-lube, hoping that all the grit got washed off. Bullet lube makes great flux. Not having a mold is a correctable deficiency. Welcome to the asylum. Time to get your OCD on.

You bet Lee offers a great 200gr SWC mold for the .45ACP, I've used one a lot & they cast pretty good bullets.;)

[lightman]

The biggest problem is that I don't have a mold for 45 ACP yet, so I can't just cast them into similar bullets. These just happened to be something I could use. I found out that the SWC bullets were 250 gr. and I can't find any reloading info for them even though they feed great. They will go into the scrap bucket. I have plenty of bullets for the other calibers I cast for. That is the reason I would like to use these bullets.

It is obvious that some of these don't need to be used, I get that. I guess I expected some kind of criteria to go by.

So some of ya'll seem to say recast even if they were able to clean up. If you had a box of bullets all lubed up and ready to shoot, that somehow got dumped out on your bench or in a drawer and got contaminated, you would just scoop them all up and start from scratch without even looking at them? I kinda find that hard to believe.

Wouldn't you at least try and salvage them?

BW

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I can cast that many bullets before you can clean those up, so its not that much of a waste to most of us. I can turn out between 6 and 10 a minute. Plus I have a few 45 molds. Not having a mold makes more sense in maybe trying to salvage them. You could probably load a 250 grain bullet by using the starting load for a 230 grain, but it it really worth it? Most of us are looking at this as a free lead score.

[dudel]

The biggest problem is that I don't have a mold for 45 ACP yet, so I can't just cast them into similar bullets.


Exactly. You can't make any more of those Boolits. So why spend the time working up loads for a boolit that you won't have access to?

The score was the free lead. A Lee 2 cavity mold (handles included) will cost you about $30. Get a mold and start casting Boolits that you can continue to make.

[Lloyd Smale]

Id say melt them down but my buddy whos forgot more then most of us know would kick me in the but for wasting them.