Separating clay pigeons from range scrap

[ewlyon]

This past week I went to the local outdoor range to do some scrap collection and it looked like someone had been shooting some clay pigeons at the handgun berm. I figured the pieces would skim out easily, but I was wrong. When I went to smelt it all down the pigeon pieces melted down into big clumps of pitch that gave off some serious fumes. It took at least 3 times as long as it should have to get the lead melted and I think I lost about half my yield because it is stuck in the pitch clumps.

So does anyone have any tips for separating pieces of clay pigeon out of the range scrap? I really don't feel like picking out every piece by hand.

[koehlerrk]

Well, how big a hurry are you in? Clays are biodegrade. Lead ain't. Set it all outside where it in gets wind, rain, sun, etc... and let nature do the separating for you. Might take months. Might take years. I don't know how fast a clay breaks down, but I do know that by the end of summer the trap field is orange. But come spring, before the grass grows, there's nothing left to find.

[ewlyon]

I just got into casting a few months ago and I don't have much reserves so I can't really wait a long time. I am hoping that future trips and other ranges will yield less clay and more lead but for now the lead I get from this range is used for all of my pistol bullets as it usually tests about 13bhn by the pencil test

[BNE]

Maybe try using a leaf blower over the pile and blow the clays off the lead? I have not had this issue. I am glad you told us or I would have done the same thing.

[bdicki]

Maybe compressed air.

[MrWolf]

Maybe flushing with water. Should be a lot lighter than the shot.

[ewlyon]

I tried getting the clay out of a small batch with water, didn't really work but if I had some sort of sluice box it would probably be great. The leafblower idea is interesting, I don't have one but suppose I could try a shopvac with a sock over the end or something to pull the clay pieces out of the scrap. I have to wait until the next time I go sifting to try it out sadly.

[Mike W1]

Some clay pigeons are biodegradeable I know but unless they're marketed as such they're not. And if I recall correctly they can be toxic to pigs. FWIW

[bpatterson84]

Put it in a bucket and shake, clay should meander to the top, and whatever's left will float when you melt it.

[runfiverun]

just rake the pigeons off the berm.
most of the lead is either at the base of the hill or 6-8" under the top soil.
but if you can only pick the top then brush the clays out of your way and keep going.

[William Yanda]

toxic to pigs..... and cattle and horses, probably chickens too. Why? I don't know offhand.

[farmerjim]

The old ones (I still have some) were toxic. When you hit them with a single shot they disintegrated into small pieces and powder. I have not seen the toxic ones in the stores for years. I do see biodegradable and not, but none of the toxic ones. I will sometimes pick up the new ones unbroken with a couple of shot holes in them.

[Sasquatch-1]

If you have a dirt tamper try placing the scrap on a hard surface and pound it to oblivion. When done sift with 1/4" or smaller hardware cloth and you should be rid of the majority of the clay and much of the dirt they may have been picked up. Might lose some of the smaller bullets in the mix but if you are real desperate you can pick those while the rest is melting.

Again a bit of caution if using water, steam explosions and the tinsel fairy are real.

[jcren]

Oddly enough, all clay pigeons I know of are toxic to pigs. A local extension agent was addvising broken clays to control wild hog populations, even on grazing land. Looked up in dad's vet manual and sure enough they are.

[triggerhappy243]

QUOTE: toxic to pigs..... and cattle and horses, probably chickens too. Why? I don't know offhand.

BECAUSE THEY HAD PETROLEUM TAR IN THEM TO HOLD THEM TOGETHER.

[scottfire1957]

Use water, as suggested above.

[triggerhappy243]

here is a thought. I have a commercial cement mixer, runs on an 8 HP honda engine. you could toss it into a mixer and let the chunks of lead chew up the clay targets down to dust and dump onto a screen to sift it.

[RoGrrr]

Spread the ore out on your driveway and use a hose with a nozzle on it to wash away the clay fragments. Yes, it's labor intensive but after all, it IS your hobby.
I had done that when I first started mining ore at the range. Later on, I spread the ore out in my dump bed trailer and, elevated the front to about 15* and much of the crep washed out and ran down the slope.

[Boolit_Head]

See if you can drop some of the lead in a bucket of water and maybe the clay pieces will float?

[RoGrrr]

See if you can drop some of the lead in a bucket of water and maybe the clay pieces will float?


Pigeon clay does not float. You have to remove it either by hand or use water flow to rinse it away.

[ewlyon]

Well I went to the range today to get some scrap and figured I would try out some of these ideas but of the three buckets of scrap i collected there are only a handful of very small pieces of clay pigeon. Should make for an easy smelt but I was looking forward to try these ideas. Hopefully this thread helps out the next guy who deals with this problem

[Preacher Jim]

We made an airtight box put 1/4 hardware down about 6 inches bore hole stick leaf blower in hole pore scrap on hardware cloth start blower clay bird scrap will blow off lead will be left dirt come off to

[ryokox3]

We built a sluce box like you see from the gold shoes. Works great for getting rid of dirt, sticks, and clays.