Hydraulicking

[fatelk]

I collect range scrap off the berm at the small outdoor range where I'm a member. I don't mine the berms, just pick bullets off the surface. The half-dozen pistol bays are separate so unless it's a busy day it's easy to have one to myself and pick 20 lbs in as many minutes after I shoot.

I came to realize a while back that a high percentage of the dust on the berm is lead, and decided that I wouldn't collect it except after a rain. The lead is easier to see and quicker to collect after a good rain too.

The weather forecast is for a bad storm with heavy rain. I think I'll head out there Saturday morning and pick up a couple hundred pounds! The berms should be covered with gray spots, easy pickings.

[triggerhappy243]

or wear a respirator.

[Cowboy_Dan]

And gloves, even after it rains. Little flakes of lead have a lot of surface area that can oxidize.

[scottfire1957]

Tell us how it turns out: pounds picked up vs pounds recovered, if you don't mind.

[fatelk]

Well I went out there today. It stormed pretty hard overnight and blew a ton of leaves off the trees onto the berms, so it wasn't as easy picking as I thought. I picked up 15 or so pounds in a few minutes, then gave up. I wasn't really into it today.

I already have maybe 500 pounds accumulated sitting in the garage. I would typically pick up ten or twenty pounds at a time here and there, and it piles up over the years. That's enough for me for a very long time. I typically get a pretty high percentage of clean ingots out of my range scrap, the few times I've processed it. That just comes from picking them off the berm by hand and rinsing out any mud and rocks. It's very clean scrap by the time I melt it.

[Walter Laich]

...I already have maybe 500 pounds accumulated sitting in the garage...

that's what I call a 'start' :)

[scottfire1957]

that's what I call a 'start' :)

Depends on whether that is lead, or dirt with lead in it, yes?

[fatelk]

Depends on whether that is lead, or dirt with lead in it, yes?

My range scrap doesn't have any dirt in it. I pick them all by hand off the top of the berm, and rinse off the mud while picking out any gravel. The last time I processed (or "smelted") a couple hundred pounds, I had maybe two pounds that wasn't either lead or jackets. I would expect to get well over 400lbs of ingots out of my 500 lbs of scrap, along with a large amount of copper jackets.


that's what I call a 'start' :smile:

I hear that. Back in the day I would have considered a hundred pounds a good supply to have, then I started coming here, buying more molds, etc.. I have come to realize, though, that I just don't shoot the volume that some of you all do. Having a thousand pounds laid away is more than plenty for me, I think. With concerns lately about my job and the possibility of eventually having to uproot and move again, maybe it's too much.

[scottfire1957]

So, "hydraulicking" is just surface picking, after a rain, of fired bullets, spelled badly. You're not going to gather soil from the berm and wash it to gather lead, correct? You're not going to set up a sluice, yes?

[fatelk]

Yes, I was trying to be funny, letting the torrential downpour of rain do the washing for me. I apologize for my lame attempt at humor.

Why do you say "spelled badly"? Does it look wrong to you? I believe that is the correct spelling. Please let me know if you know of an alternate spelling for this usage that is more correct. :)

[mold maker]

Long needle nose pliers makes for clean hands and no contact with the lead oxides. There are double jointed pliers that have a 16" reach that saves the back.

[Chill Wills]

Gloves work too:drinks:

I have a special thin skin pair for when I do berm repair and recover lead.:mrgreen: