Originally Posted by
Postell
Where I mine lead it's clay and under the first two inches of soil its always wet and hard.
I use a trenching shovel and I skim the top three or four inches of soil and fill buckets up with it. When I get home I then fill the buckets up with water and let them sit overnight. I use a 1/2" drill motor with a drywall mud paddle and in reverse I turn the dirt into thick mud.
I then hold a garden hose that is running slowly while I mix the mud with the drill motor. Very shortly your fine gravel and lead will be on the bottom with the bullets and chunks of lead above the fines.
You need to hang on to the bucket with your feet, but it works well and it's quick. I stack buckets all summer and melt during the winter.
I have a small containment area so I can bring back the dirt that's recycled to the range the next trip in the buckets I fill back up.
I average 22 to 35 lbs of lead, jackets and fine gravel out of each five gallon bucket of range dirt.
In mine the 10 and 25 yd pistol ranges for the best results, the rifle ranges the lead is a huge amount of lead fines and I have never gotten near the poundage per bucket.
PS, if you try it make sure you spin your drill backwards, otherwise you will be wearing mud from your knees down. [smilie=b: