Chilled shot?

[roger rabbit]

I know almost nothing about shotguns or shot. What is the approximate BHN of chilled shot? If it has a relatively high BHN in the bag, would it lose that hardness if mixed with soft lead?

[sundog]

Roger, that is a loaded (pun intended) question.

Since we've been talking about this just recently, try this thread, and be sure to read wiljen's article.

Briefly, it depends...

[jar-wv]

I got a bunch of chilled lead shot a while back. Recovered from a turkey shoot range. After smelting into ingots it was softer than wheel weights but harder than pure lead. On a scale of 1-5 with 1 being pure and 5 being ww, I'd give it a 3+. This was determined from my highly scientific tests of using a ball bearing between ingots in vice and also fingernail test.

jar

[mooman76]

Some people add chilled magnum shot to there lead to help harden it. I won't harden it much by itself but it does have antimony in it and will help when water dropped to harden it more.

[fecmech]

Chilled shot is soft shot, I don't know what the antimony percentage is but it is less than "hard" or magnum shot. Magnum shot was advertised at one time to be 6% antimony.

[trickyasafox]

how do they reclaim shot? I see it for sale now and again, and I still haven't figured out what kind of range its coming from where you can easily get it back.

[sundog]

oops, forgot to put the link in my previous post.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=44817&highlight=arsenic

[OLPDon]

how do they reclaim shot? I see it for sale now and again, and I still haven't figured out what kind of range its coming from where you can easily get it back.


Always wonder myself hope someone can inform us both.
Don

[Dean D.]

There is a machine they use for this. The machine works sorta like a dry land mining dredge to separate the shot from the dirt. The clubs I know of that have had this done hired the machine to come reclaim the shot and then sold the reclaimed shot to help pay for the cost.

The reclaimed shot we get around here is not sorted by size so you get a mixed bag of #7 1/2 - #9.

IMO it's good for practice but I wouldn't use it for competition but some people do.

[mooman76]

I have wondered that too. Back in IL where I used to live they have a long time skeet range that they had a lot of heavy machinery there last year. Like digging or escavating or something. I wondered if they were turning the soil over to try to extract the lead out of the soil maybe. after 30 years, at least there would have to be a lot of lead there. Makes me drool!

[JIMinPHX]

I've melted down #8 & #9 shot to use for casting boolits. With 2% tin added, it comes out air cooled at about 12bnh. Water dropped out of the mold it comes up about 23bnh.

The actual composition of shot varies wildly these days. I did some research a year or so ago & found companies specifying things like "3% antimony equivalent hardness". they're not telling you what's actually in there, they're just saying that they make it kind of hard.

A lot of the world's shot comes out of a big plant in India these days. Those guys also suck up a good chuck of the world's scrap lead supply. When I look at the scrap bid websites I see them buying up material out of places like Georgia, here in the US.

The last time I was in Sportsman's Warehouse, they did have made in the USA magnum shot in the bin. That was a sight for sore eyes.

[UncleClark]

Hello there everybody. I have been lurking around a while and thought I would add my experiences casting from chilled shot. My experiences with "Lawrence" brand chilled shot is I have been able to cast 44 and 45 caliber bullets well without needing to add anything to the mix.

I did the following experiment casting using 'chilled shot'. Nothing was added to the mix, I just melted, skimmed off the graphite, and then fluxed.

Air cooled - tested at 10.5 BHN using a Lee tester.

Air dropped, then oven treated at 400F for 1 hour, then quenched in tap water. 2 days later this tested at 19 BHN using the Lee tester.

I have been shooting air cooled in 45ACP and 45 Colt using Lee Liquid Lube with little or no leading 750-900 fps depending on bullet weight and powder.

I was experiencing slight leading in 44 magnum at about 1000 fps with air cooled so this weekend I'm going to try some oven treated. I might back the speed down a little also since I'm just target shooting.

Thanks for all the good info and I'm looking forward to learning a lot more here.

[jar-wv]

how do they reclaim shot? I see it for sale now and again, and I still haven't figured out what kind of range its coming from where you can easily get it back.

The shot I got was from a what we refer to around here as a turkey shoot range. Competitors shoot what is provided by the club. Shots are usually at an ace of spades playing card, shot from a rest, most with scopes. Place I got mine from had a mine belt behind where target is. Shot hits mine belt and drops to ground on another mine belt. They were glad to see someone interested in picking it up. I just had to shovel it into buckets and load it up. Got about 700# on first trip in 4 buckets. Gotta go get the rest of it someday.

jar

[Dean D.]

Wow Jar, you have your own little gold mine there! Enjoy and get what you can while it is still available.

[OLPDon]

Uncle: If you would be so kind as to check bhn in a few weeks I would be very greatful. That is about the min time to reach close to its high. Although the bhn will increase more slowly as time passes untill it peaks, now I for one have know idea when the alloy peaks. Had Boolits for several yrs with little change if any as to bhn dropping.
Don

PS Thanks for your input