I have a stash of plated bullets out of my bullet trap that I want to reclaim the lead out of. My trap is a 55gal drum set on its side that is filled with rubber mulch. I use a piece of rubber horse stall mat in the front, there is nothing "hard" that the bullets must pass through. The only reason any of my bullets deform is if they hit a cluster of other bullets that are already in there so I'd say 40-60% of the bullets do not have a break in the plating. I melted some today and the plating will crack but the bullets will squirt hot lead and then not drain completely. Now I can rupture the plating with my metal spoon but that seemed to result in a hard squirt that could travel 3-4 feet, more than enough to hit me. I got lucky and did not get hit, but it's only a matter of time. So here is the question how do I get the lead out safely? I'm thinking maybe a potato masher type deal, it should keep things from squirting but if things line up just right I could still get lead all over something I don't want covered (like me). I guess the other option is to hammer them but I'd rather avoid the time spent doing that. Suggestions?
Swamp