It pays to smelt range lead

[Forrest r]

I don't want people to get discouraged when they read posts about how hard it is to smelt range lead/old bullets/berm pickings. That's all I've shot/used since 1990, free range lead. It works for 99% of all my shooting needs and as a side bonus it pays me to use it. Every year I'll smelt around 300# of cleaned (450# unprocessed) bullets and end up with copper jackets. I'll take those copper jackets along with junk range brass to any of the local scrap yards and cash it in for $$$$.

This year the price was down on copper and brass.

[IMG][/IMG]

So I bought some lead with it, a 165# of it for $.35 a #. This is what $58 bought.

[IMG][/IMG]

The bucket has smelted clip on ww's and stick on ww's, there's 61/2# of solder & the long 10# ingots (3 of them) aren't marked. They don't bend, they break. I wanted some pure/soft lead to mix with some of the batches of range lead (100# at a time). Sometimes the the batches of range scrap come out too hard for my needs. What I don't use of the pure/soft lead will end up being sold to the bp shooters at a local club.

It's a little more work to process range lead compared to ww's but it also pays $$$$ for the copper.

Just a different way of looking at if it's worth it or not. I'll spend 1 day (around 6 hours) smelting down 450# of range scrap and turning it into 300# of processed ingots. And end up with a little $$$$ for my troubles along with enough lead for the year.

[Ben]

Good photos, ...........you make some VERY good points with your post.
Thanks,

Ben

[tigweldit]

Nice write up Forrest r. I've been thinking about getting into mining for a while now. Never thought about the copper. Got a couple of old country ranges I'm going to hit next week. Thanks for the tip.

[lightman]

I used to use range scrap and to me it was not much more trouble than wheelweights, especially now that you have to sort wheelweights for zinc and steel. Bullseye was a big thing back then and the majority of my melt would be cast 38's and 45's, with some FMJ's mixed in. Talk about a great alloy! I could just pick up a coffee can everytime I shot. I miss those days!

[smorin2]

Shhhh,this is what i do at my range too,so far i seem to be the only one.I collect enough range scrap to shoot all season long with only a modest investment in time picking it off the ground.

[Landshark9025]

Wow. Those are good prices. Around here the best inhale gotten for jackets was $1.10 a pound. Still totally worth it plus it's fun!

[rodsvet]

I inquired at a local range about farming the berms. I was told I would have to get a permit to handle the lead from the EPA. Then I would have to have the correct hazmat clothing and respirators as well as file a report with some bureau in Sacramento. Then prove where the lead was to be used or disposed of. You gotta love kalifornia!!

[Forrest r]

Typically I'll pick-up lead between sets on the pistol range. It doesn't take long to get a pile of bullets to smelt. With the free ww's becoming harder to find, I just figured I'd put it out there that this is an excellent source for free lead and little $$$$ for doing it.