Berm Mining

[EMC45]

Did some berm mining today. Took my shaker basket and filled 3 large coffee cans in about 10 minutes! Most of the bullets were on the surface and I picked them up without a problem. Used the basket and my E-tool. I am gonna go back as much as I can!

[Jailer]

Did some berm mining today. Took my shaker basket and filled 3 large coffee cans in about 10 minutes! Most of the bullets were on the surface and I picked them up without a problem. Used the basket and my E-tool. I am gonna go back as much as I can!

I'm finding that range scrap is a good find but a bit more work to melt. Lots of dirt and stones to remove from the mix.

[imashooter2]

Without a doubt, range scrap takes more time and propane to smelt, but it's been keeping me casting for the last 10 years. A WW score is a rare thing in these parts.

[felix]

Local car wash. ... felix

[Jal5]

Range scrap is good free stuff! I did another 10# yesterday and have another bunch to render. Any time I can pick up range lead I am glad to do it. I have to try that basket idea though, so far just picking em up off the berm. Right now I have enough ingots for about 2000 of my favorite 357 boolits...did I say I like free stuff?

Joe

[home in oz]

Free is good. Good Score.

[Jal5]

EMC-
what exactly did you use for a shaker basket? I am thinking of making one and could use a picture if you have it.

Thanks
Joe

[lwknight]

EMC-
what exactly did you use for a shaker basket? I am thinking of making one and could use a picture if you have it.

Thanks
Joe

Just about anything with a wire mesh of about 1/4" will do great. You could use an old fry basket or get some mesh wire put in the bottom of a bucket with part of the bottom cut out.

It aint rocket science at all. You just gotta try different things that you can get your hands on.

[Jal5]

Great I think I will set up a bucket with that mesh and give it a try. Thanks.

Joe

[higgins]

Just a few days ago I was smelting jacketed pistol bullets I collected from a berm. We've all heard about the air pockets that can form when a core slips and creates a void in the jacket, it heats suddenly and pops, splattering molten lead about. Well, it happened to me. It was a forceful and loud pop! Fortunately I had stepped back from the skillet to do something else and wasn't standing over it. I had sorted these bullets individually into cast, jacketed, and plated, and there is no way I could have included a primed case, .22 round, etc. in the bullets. I had washed them and let them dry for several days, so it's possible there could have been some moisture in the void. I'd suggest not dumping a bunch of cold bullets into a pot with a good amount of molten lead in it. After my experience, I will leave just enough molten lead in the (cheap, old no-name)skillet to get the next batch going a little quicker than having no molten lead in the skillet. With plated bullets that have no tears in the jacket, just stand them up on whatever serves as your anvil and smack them a couple of times with a heavy hammer. They will usually split along a rifling mark or two. When doing that I came across a couple of bullets that looked plated but were made of sintered iron or some other compound that shattered and went everywhere. After that I tapped them first with the hammer to make sure they were in fact plated lead. Moral of the story in both cases- wear your glasses!

P.S. My shaker is a plastic Coke case with aluminum gutter screening tie-wrapped to the inside of it. A shallow shaker makes for easy screening and picking out gravel, etc. The handles sure are nice, and having a shallower pile of stuff to shake makes it go faster.

[lwknight]

Some ignorant lost soul has been mining the berm at my local sportsmans club and selling the bullets to a local scrapyard!!. I wish I could catch this dufuss guy and offer him a little more than the junkyard pays.
Actually it would be best if I were the only one mining the berm.

[jhalcott]

I belong to a couple ranges in my area. NONE of them allow mining the berms!! Once in a while I cheat and pick up the bigger bullets from the top of the ground. The ranges are WELL cared for though, and are often re"PUSHED" to replace the washouts. I offered to mine the berms and pay the club for the reclaimed lead, but was told NO!

[home in oz]

It is a good idea to mine-have to find a range.

[WILCO]

NONE of them allow mining the berms!! Once in a while I cheat and pick up the bigger bullets from the top of the ground.

Me too! Every time I go down range to place a target, my head is looking at the dirt.........