Average % lead in range scrap

[Jtarm]

Anyone got a WAG on how much lead you recover from jacketed range scrap?

This is a local indoor range that only allows j-words.

[AndyC]

Well the copper jackets are very light by comparison, so I'm going to say at a guess that at least 98% of the recovered metal's weight should be a soft lead alloy.

I recovered a lot of j-words a few years back and smelted them down, but I didn't weigh them before and after...

[frkelly74]

Also, a side note, You can possibly sell the jacket material back to the scrap yard for brass or maybe even copper prices. This is not true everywhere but it is worth asking about. It must be pretty clean and have all the steel sorted out of it to get the better price.

[AndyC]

I sold mine to a scrapyard as #2 copper (which was generous of them) but all steel has to be removed and you want to get any hint of lead out of the jackets - bounce them a lot.

[Huskerguy]

I reclaim lead from an indoor range. The last big batch I did I think made around 65-70% of lead. Lots of garbage in there, even though it was inside. I also attempt to pull out the jackets but they are not all the same material. If you want top price you have to separate them and make certain they are clean. I lump them all together and take less for them. They take forever to amount to much money. I am not sure they are worth it. I do have some old bottles full of jackets on some of my reloading room shelves.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Pound wise or size wise ? Amount wise the jackets and garbage fill up my pot , pound wise I am losing as not all jackets are releasing all the lead and the dirt rock and sand adds up , but as I did 2 batches last few nights and ended up with 240 lbs or more from about 1-2 hours of sifting and picking at the range .

If the berm was drier it would have been less waste , still worth it .

[Jtarm]

Pound wise or size wise ? Amount wise the jackets and garbage fill up my pot , pound wise I am losing as not all jackets are releasing all the lead and the dirt rock and sand adds up , but as I did 2 batches last few nights and ended up with 240 lbs or more from about 1-2 hours of sifting and picking at the range .

If the berm was drier it would have been less waste , still worth it .

It’s indoor so dirt shouldn’t be a problem.

A local range is selling $1 per lb, so I’m trying to decide if it’s worth it.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Well it probably comes down to how much you value your time , or disposable income , I find it takes a fair amount of time rendering the scrap , but I kind of enjoy doing things for myself so its just part of the do it your self for me .

$1 a pound for the scrap ? If I was needing it maybe , but if I could source other scrap I would go that route unless I had a scrap yard willing to buy the jackets , I do not have a yard willing to take the jackets so that is all waste for me .

[mroliver77]

I average around 60% lead return and 20% jackets and 20% trash. I smelt with a woodburner with a half of a Freon tank inset into the top of it. I fill tank with scrap and then a pint or so of used motor oil and light it on fire. I flux and stir and scrape the dickens out of it with oil, wax and sawdust. My scrap guy gives me dirty brass price for jackets.

[farmbif]

I think that $1/lb is worth it, especially if you don't have any other local sources for bullet casting alloys.. indoor range stuff is usually nice and clean and if you got a scrap yard that is honest there should not be any problem getting #2 scrap copper price for the bullet jackets after melting the lead out.
I've learned through the years not to walk away from resources I have use for that are reasonable priced as long as I can afford it. if you pass it by you just might regret it if you got nothing but much more expensive options in the future. But at $1/lb I'm pretty sure you could resell it just as it is, folks can see exactly what they are getting, and get your money back from fellow casters right here on this site.

[Conditor22]

I have found that IF you don't flux at least 2 times with wax you won't get all the lead out of the jackets.

Sorry never weighed before and after.

[Jtarm]

$1 a pound for the scrap ? If I was needing it maybe , but if I could source other scrap I would go that route unless I had a scrap yard willing to buy the jackets , I do not have a yard willing to take the jackets so that is all waste for me .

Yeah, guess I need to get off my butt & start calling around to the scrap yards.

I’ve seen several threads about estate sale scores, so my wife, who is an estate sale junkie, turned me on to a phone app.

No reloading stuff yet, but I did score a nice old Coleman lantern, Army sleeping bag, and machinist vise at one.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I wish you luck in your pursuit of lead and alloy , I still have a stash of wheel weight from before this state banning lead wheel weights , but I like to get range scrap and other when I can .

I find that with the amount of bullet scrap I am processing that even fluxing 2-3 times or more I still have lead mixed in , but with all the debris and jackets that are not compromised it is going to be that way , as its just my time digging and sifting I am okay with a loss of alloy and after a few hours of kneeling stirring and scooping and all I am glad to be done with it .

I would rather get my scrap from cast only and the bigger the bullet the better , but I take what comes and keep casting and coating and putting aside for the future , on scrap yards the one I had bought lead from and sold old cartridge brass to closed down , still kicking myself for not buying more of what they had .

Have cast and coated some in exchange for scrap , mainly as a favor to a few , not my preferred way of getting lead unless it is making larger sinkers instead of bullets .

[heebs]

Huskerguy is spot on. 65-70% by weight will be your recovery from a berm. Indoor range should be closer to 70-75%. You will have some bullets that are complete FMJ that will not release the lead unless you put a hole in the bullet. Flux it and cast it. It is harder that you think. Range lead comes in at 98.3% lead 1.6% antimony .1% tin.

[Jtarm]

I the one I had bought lead from and sold old cartridge brass to closed down , still kicking myself for not buying more of what they had .


Copy that. Back when I was a small-time caster, I bought from a scrap shop that let me pick through 55-gallon drums full of COWW and lino. I’d fill a 5-gallon bucket & call it a day. Sometimes I’d find huge, clean tractor WWs.

In hindsight, wish I’d taken whole drums. But, I was young, poor, and married to a flake I later sent packing, so I doubt I’d have been able to keep em.

[NyFirefighter357]

You will have some bullets that are complete FMJ that will not release the lead unless you put a hole in the bullet. Flux it and cast it. It is harder that you think. Range lead comes in at 98.3% lead 1.6% antimony .1% tin.

I once got a load of range scrap like this, You need to cut or smash all full jacketed bullets or they will explode. I had a cover on my pot so it didn't do any damage. I'm sure it would at least make a big splash of molten lead. I found not only that I had to flux 2-3 times but I had to get the jackets pretty hot to get them clean. What I did was took the jackets & dross out and put it to the side, when I was done I smelted the jackets & dross a second time.
These day's I wouldn't turn lead down at that price but I would stock pile it in buckets and if I had other lead or cleaner lead I would start with that & keep the range scrap smelting for later use.

[Garyshome]

"A local range is selling $1 per lb, so I’m trying to decide if it’s worth it."

I would pick up maybe 45-50 Lbs. smelt it see if it's worth it.

[CraigOK]

I agree, I'd give it and try and see what you end up with.

[GregLaROCHE]

I get almost all my lead from range scrap. I used to think jacketed bullets all had pure lead cores, but have since seen comments say often they use hard lead. I guess range scrap is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. Mine has surely varied in hardness.

[Huskerguy]

As someone pointed out above, what is your time worth? How much are you going to get? What is your goal in all of this? As I said earlier, I remelt a bunch of range lead. I probably have 6-8 full buckets ready to melt right now, just waiting for the right day. It is a lot of work and there are fuel costs involved. I use an old plumbers pot that works OK, doesn't do big batches but keeps the lead from getting too hot. I have used a friends turkey fryer and that gets with the program.

If range lead yields about 70% you will have around 11/12 ounces of lead per pound. I know how crappy our range lead is, there is everything in it from shotgun wads, paper, to matting that is used to deflect bullets. A range that allows the bullets to stay more intact may yield more. If you have the equipment and want to spend the time, I say give it a go. Buy enough to give you some good results and set a side a nice windy day and start melting. You will find out how much work it is! However, it does look nice when you have piles of ingots setting around to admire! :)

[Martin Luber]

$1/ # for raw range scrap? No way!

You can buy clean ingots here from our guys for that price!

Too much waste and effort

[fn1889m]

My local outdoor range lets me pick up scrap on the pistol range on Sundays. Apparently I’m the only one who does. What I thought was gravel appears to be lead bullets. I can fill a gallon coffee can with fairly clean lead every 15 minutes. When I get home, I hose everything off, pick out any obvious rocks, and get rid of as much dirt as possible. It then goes into a 5 gallon bucket to dry for months.

I’ve never weighed it, but it appears that I get at least 75% lead by volume from the melting pot. I toss the copper. I make fairly clean ingots, which I flux again when I’m casting. But I don’t think there is a consistent alloy. Most of the ingots are pretty good, but every now and then I seem to get brittle lead, perhaps because they’re hot when I fill mold. So I mix a few pieces of lead from other scrap, someone else’s bullets, COWWs, some shot, and toss in a little bit of tin solder. I’ve never had cast ingots from range scrap that I cannot scratch with a thumbnail. But I’m only casting for revolver, and everything is loaded under 1000 ft./s. Still a beginner caster.

If I had to pay a dollar a pound I wouldn’t do this. But it’s free, it works, and it’s fun, making bullets out of free lead.

[LtDan]

I get range scrap from an indoor range that is probably 99% jacketed bullets. Almost all of it is 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and .223/5.56mm. The backstop is metal and the bullets more or less disintegrate on impact. So far I’ve smelted a total of 174 pounds with a yield of 85 pounds of nice clean lead, so pretty close to a 49% yield. The ingots are very soft - probably 6 or 7 bhn, so nearly pure lead. I guess if your scrap was from a range with a lower percentage of jacketed bullets you’d probably have a higher yield and harder lead, but this stuff is free so I’m not complaining.

Edited to add - I’ve been here for almost two years and this is my first post! I’ve learned a lot!

[243winxb]

Sierra makes the core of the bullet from four lead alloys: 6% antimony-4% tin, 6% antimony, 3% antimony, 1 1/2% antimony and pure lead.

[GregLaROCHE]

All that crappy stuff in range scrap turns into flux or at least floats to the top. I used to remove all the paper pieces from targets and wood chips, until I realized it made good flux and I didn’t need to take the time to remove it. If you’re mining a dirt berm, the dirt is a problem. Best to wash it with water over a screen before melting.

[fredj338]

IT depends. A 230gr/45 FMJ has a 200gr core. Me, I dont bother even melting anything smaller in jacketed. When I do collect range scrap at my local range, I pick up only lead bullets ore 230gr/45 FMj.

[fredj338]

It’s indoor so dirt shouldn’t be a problem.

A local range is selling $1 per lb, so I’m trying to decide if it’s worth it.
IMO, not worth it. You will get maybe 50% return after all the jackets & such. Buy ingots here for about $1 per & its ready to go.

[facetious]

279386
279387

This is what I ended up with 169 lb's lead and 64 lb's of jackets and stuff.

[Defcon-One]

If you can find a source of Wheel Weights, I'd go there first. I can get a 100 pound bucket of used wheel weights here for $5-$10 per bucket. That leaves a lot of room. I used to get 85% lead yield from that after hand sorting and smelting. Today I get about 60%, with much more Steel and Zinc. However, the Zinc can be cleaned melted and cast into ingots using the same equipment (different pot) and sold as higher grade scrap.

I tried scrounging fired bullets at the rage, and while yields were similar at around 65% lead, I had no idea what kind of lead that I had. Worse yet, I ran into a lot of weird alloys including some Bismuth. The work that I had to put in on both ends made the whole process too labor intensive to be worth the effort!

Either way, it is fun! Good luck with it.....

DC-1

[BJung]

I get my lead from indoor and outdoor ranges. The indoor ranges have primarily .22lr lead and all I an say is that it melts much faster than the jacketed bullets I get at the outdoor range. The outdoor range lead takes maybe 2x longer to melt and doesn't scratch as easy as the indoor range lead alloy. I'm assuming it has more tin and antinomy in it since I notice hard cast bullets mixed in the batch. I use lead art pencils to get an idea of the hardness and separate my ingots by hardness, then use the softer alloy for my .38 and .45 and my harder alloys for 9mm and .40. The softest lead ( indoor lead )is used for other projects and the uniquely hardest for rifle. I tend to break up my ingots of similar hardness and blend them together so I'll have a more consistent alloy when I'm casting large batches of bullets.

[John Boy]

The current price lead is on the top of the forum webpage …Wallaces

[fredj338]

Well the copper jackets are very light by comparison, so I'm going to say at a guess that at least 98% of the recovered metal's weight should be a soft lead alloy.

I recovered a lot of j-words a few years back and smelted them down, but I didn't weigh them before and after...

I mine a couple outdoor ranges. I try to just get lead bullets or bullets that have impacted plates & blown their jackets off. I might get 90%, maybe?

[Huskerguy]

279386
279387

This is what I ended up with 169 lb's lead and 64 lb's of jackets and stuff.

That is a nice looking bunch of range bullets you have there. I, unfortunately, have to gather the pulverized stuff which works fine. Really nice

[Forrest r]

I do 150# batches of range lead and end up with 100#+ of clean ingots. Typical batches and up with this, +/- 130 bars. Some weigh 1# others less.
https://i.imgur.com/Yj0Qjnh.jpg

I tell everyone that I render 150# of range lead to get 100# of clean ingots. Anything over 100# is a bonus.

[oley55]

However, the Zinc can be cleaned melted and cast into ingots using the same equipment (different pot) and sold as higher grade scrap.

I have previously read similar statements (different pot) insinuating zinc will forever contaminate pots and/or molds. Call me a sceptic, but I find the idea of zinc contaminating a cast iron or steel pot/mold to be balderdash. I have suspicions that zinc vs aluminum stories have developed a life of their own and the many retellings have created a distorted reality.


That said, exposure to some science or actual experience could easily change my opinion.

[fredj338]

I have previously read similar statements (different pot) insinuating zinc will forever contaminate pots and/or molds. Call me a sceptic, but I find the idea of zinc contaminating a cast iron or steel pot/mold to be balderdash. I have suspicions that zinc vs aluminum stories have developed a life of their own and the many retellings have created a distorted reality.


That said, exposure to some science or actual experience could easily change my opinion.

I have had zinc contamination in my casting pots before. It is a pita but it isnt permanent.

[imashooter2]

This was 20-25% trash by weight:
http://imashooter2.com/pictures/scrap600.jpg

[SoonerEd]

I get around 70% from outdoor that is mostly jacketed.

[Buck Shot]

I would guess I get about 2/3 yield on the outdoor range lead I pick up. Last batch (from handgun range) contained a LOT of bullets that appeared to be FMJ and never leaked out their lead in the melt, so after they cooled down, I tried cutting a few in half but some of them just broke and appeared to be sintered copper or a copper alloy. After that experience, I'm not sure I'll bother trying to chop up the ones that don't melt in the future...

[anothernewb]

I pull the scrap from my local indoor, We have steel deflectors and a sand trap. I average 30-40% waste from it. Tend to get about 600-700# of ingots for every 1k of range pickup. Sometimes more or less, depending on whose helping me clean the range. If I'm real selective about what I collect, I've gotten to about a 10% waste. but that leaves a lot of junk (and lead) in the backstop that just builds up that much faster.

[kevin c]

60 to 65% yield from scrap recovered from my club's berms, averaging 2.0% antimony, no tin. My club's berms may not be typical, though, being used for action pistol matches where a lot of folks reload using commercial coated cast (I've bought scrap bullet lead from Rotometals that was 1.5% Sb, no tin).

It was a lot of work. I'm grateful that I currently have a source of alloy that's cleaner, more predictable in content, and more plentiful. Of course, there's now literally I price I have to pay, whereas the berm lead was free. Still, my back appreciates the change.

[triggerhappy243]

Anyone got a WAG on how much lead you recover from jacketed range scrap?

This is a local indoor range that only allows j-words.

it has been my personal experience, that you will yield about 70% lead once you are done smelting. I have done close to 2000 pounds of indoor range scrap, and 70% seems to be the norm.

[kevin c]

I guess the gravel, sand and dirt on what I get out of the berm scrap drops my yield; lots of fines to take off the melt (the jackets stay on the strainer). Not sure if washing would help much, and I was a bit leery of deliberately adding water to stuff going into the pot.

[SoonerEd]

The range lead I'm processing was from a public range with lots of sand in the berm. Even though washed in a cement mixer to get rid of dirt...lots of sand impregnated into the lead. I got 61% yield processing 2,700 lbs.

[triggerhappy243]

The range lead I'm processing was from a public range with lots of sand in the berm. Even though washed in a cement mixer to get rid of dirt...lots of sand impregnated into the lead. I'm getting 55-58% yield with 40% done processing 2,700 lbs.

I would screen the sand out as opposed to washout.

[dverna]

Agree with others who would not pay $1/lb for range scrap. Waste of time.

Let the stuff sit there for a couple of weeks. When no one else takes it, offer them .$35/lb for all they have. Let them work you up to $.50/lb.

Good suggestion to take 100 lbs to check yield and figure if the effort is worth the reward.

[triggerhappy243]

Agree with others who would not pay $1/lb for range scrap. Waste of time.

Let the stuff sit there for a couple of weeks. When no one else takes it, offer them .$35/lb for all they have. Let them work you up to $.50/lb.

Good suggestion to take 100 lbs to check yield and figure if the effort is worth the reward.

Even if all the crud was already removed?

[poppy42]

Even if all the crud was already removed?

Considering I see lead ingots all over the place for sale for $1.00 to &1.50 a pound I would not give more than $.10 or maybe $.20 a pound. If it was cleaned ( no dirt or rocks)! Think of the time, and in my propane! I’d rather deal with wheel weights!

[dverna]

Even if all the crud was already removed?

You quoted 70% yield. At $.50/lb for range scrap cost before factoring propane and your time is $.71/lb

If he pays $1/lb, he will be at 1.73/lb...which is way too much.

My time has value....YMMV.

[meeesterpaul]

the lead portion has XRF tested out at Sn 0.5% Sb 2.2% 296167

[triggerhappy243]

You quoted 70% yield. At $.50/lb for range scrap cost before factoring propane and your time is $.71/lb

If he pays $1/lb, he will be at 1.73/lb...which is way too much.

My time has value....YMMV.

Quote:, At $.50/lb for range scrap cost before factoring propane and your time is $.71/lb

If he pays $1/lb, he will be at 1.73/lb...which is way too much. UNUOTE; Not sure where you are getting your numbers from. I never stated anything about the .71 /per pound. clean casting metal is clean casting metal. For those who can not find any, something is better than nothing.

[Charlie Horse]

I don't try to sell jackets because processing them would increase my exposure to lead and any amount of money wouldn't make up for that. I flux, skim, then get rid of the dross as expediently as possible. Lately I've been mixing it with plaster before pitching it.

[Charlie Horse]

I've begun smelting range scrap in a Lee pot. The results were better than I expected. People say don't do that. It will ruin the pot. It works just fine for me.
This much lead gave me two soup cans full of dross. We shoot bowling pins on that range but apparently bowling pin slivers make good flux.;-)
296189

[Retumbo]

I'll see what mine ends up being, got three 5 gallon pails awaiting another 3. Will have to wait for nicer weather to start melting

[SoonerEd]

Done 27 pails out of the 34 i have over the last two weekends. Got a little over 1,300 lbs of lead. The yield is between 55-60%. All the dirt had been washed out using agitation in a cement mixer. This got rid of most of the loose sand. But, there was lots of sand that was impregnated into the lead. This RL is mostly jacked and plated bullets which made it a PITA. Very little lead only bullets. Using a weed burner from the top while in the smelting pot really sped things up. Otherwise, it would have been almost an impossible task with my setup of a harbor freight dutch oven.

EDIT UPDATE: I ended up at 61% yield in processing 2,700 lbs of range lead.

[SoonerEd]

Having done range lead, given prices of other scrap of just buying I would not pay for it as it is WAY more work than other scrap lead I've done. Might be an interesting project for you to maybe get a small batch.. Maybe you've got a better process or the range lead you get has less jackets and dirt in it making it easier to process. For example if it was indoor range lead that might be worth a try as I would expect it to be WAY cleaner than what I have and might make it worth paying for.

[imashooter2]

The indoor scrap I did had lots of paper and wood, some dust and dirt and of course the jackets (picture in post 37). It all came off steel backstops so the TMJ were ruptured already. The wood and paper burned off, the jackets and dirt skimmed off and was thrown away. 20-25% loss by weight. Every bit as easy as pipe, cable sheath or WW. In fact it was easier than today’s WW because I didn’t have to sort it for steel and zinc first. Well worth the effort.

[higgins]

Last time I smelted range scrap I sorted it into cast, jacketed, and plated bullets. The jacketed bullet core metal was too soft for cast bullets. I didn't want hard cast bullets so I combined 50/50 bullet core metal and cast and got what I wanted. I had some plated bullets tested for hardness and it was all over the place, but most were in the "medium hard" range (sorry, I forgot the bnh numbers), definitely harder than jacketed bullet cores. I have found the cast bullet metal suitable for rifle bullets. I contacted some bullet manufacturers and surprisingly, most of them are vague about bnh criteria or alloy composition.

[fredj338]

I guess the gravel, sand and dirt on what I get out of the berm scrap drops my yield; lots of fines to take off the melt (the jackets stay on the strainer). Not sure if washing would help much, and I was a bit leery of deliberately adding water to stuff going into the pot.

My buddy washes the range scrap he gets, leaves it in the sun spreads out on a tarp for a few days, it dries.

[Wooserco]

The last range lead that I bought was melted down into 40 lb. loaf pan ingots, too big for the casting pot. Melted them down into ingots, then added equal number of ingots from each loaf to the pot to ultimately get to one alloy across all of the ingots.

BTW, I paid $1 a lb. for the already cleaned and rendered range lead. It was from an outdoor range.

[William Yanda]

Like the brand of Brandon's undies-Depends. Depends on composition of the lead in the j-words shot.

[William Yanda]

I tried it once, with purchased range scrap. As I recall, copper jackets remaining were about 1/4 to 1/3 of the initial mass.

[lightman]

I don't use range scrap very much anymore but the best I remember I netted something like 65-70% from our indoor range and 60-65% from the berms on our outdoor range. The indoor range had more cast bullet shooters and the outdoor range seemed to attract more J-word shooters. The indoor range also would not accommodate rifle shooters so the outdoor range had the rifle shooters. It used a homemade steel backstop that directed the bullets into a sand trap.

I use almost exclusively clip-on wheelweights now and a rough estimate is that I loose about 12% to clips, oil, grease and paint. This is from smelting hand sorted weights.

[CScott]

I had an indoor range owner give me a 5 gal bucket (200lbs +/-)of his scrap to "try out" which I did. I then bought it from him for $50 per bucket, 2 buckets at a time. Melting it down yielded about 65% alloy and the rest was jacket material and plastic shotgun wads. The jacket material I sold to a local scrap yard for $.65/lb. The net cost of the clean alloy worked out to about $.40/lb. I now have well over a ton of ingots that BMI tells me are 98 1/2% Pb, 1%Sb, and less than 1/2%Sn.

[BJung]

I am guessing that I netted something opposite of lightman. The indoor range had this dusty black residue that was maybe the coating on .22lr bullets. There was a lot of it. The outdoor range had copper jackets that need to be scraped out. Then, there was the lead bullet shreds from the berm. That was probably the best.