Casting from used bullets

[qajaq59]

I don't remember the "why" but I recall someone saying in a different forum that you shouldn't use .22lr bullets to recast. Anyone know anything about that?

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

They sometimes contain zinc. IMHO won't melt.

 

[theotherwaldo]

qajaq59 I don't remember the "why" but I recall someone saying in a different forum that you shouldn't use .22lr bullets to recast. Anyone know anything about that?

As I said earlier, "Avoid adding .22 slugs. Some of them contain zinc, which can ruin a whole batch of lead."

The resulting bullets are rippled and round-cornered.

 

[snuffy]

This is post #6 on the cast boolits forum.

OK, I found the book. Mr. Frost, who worked for Winchester-Western for many years and then set up the Squires-Bingham ammo factory in the Phillippines, addressed it in two places. On page 27 in "The Bullet" chapter, he said:

"Pure lead is not used for lead bullets. It is too soft, damages too easily in handling and loading. Soft lead also upsets in the barrel when fired, losing both point and base shape. Pure lead is seldom used for bullet cores, again because it is too easily damaged and is more apt to separate from the jacket upon bullet expansion at the target." (Goes on to describe dual-core bullets with a soft front part and harder rear core.)

"Antimony is the usual hardening agent in the lead alloy. Antimony content may run from 1% up to 4 or 5%. .22 rimfire bullets from various manufacturers run from 3/4% up to about 2% antimony. 1 3/4% is a reasonable choice. A common core alloy runs 1 1/2% and works well in many bullets."

Tin-lead alloy has also been used for .22 rimfire bullets, and does make a good bullet. The percentage of tin needed to equal antimony hardness is about 4-5% tin vs. 1-1 1/2% antimony. Because tin costs much more than antimony, and requires greater quantities of material to get the same result, it is not a good choice for hardening lead alloys."

Then on page 135 in "The .22 Match Cartridge" he says:

"The lead is alloyed with antimony, arsenic, and if one can afford it, a bit of tin. One usable alloy is 1.5% antimony, .02% arsenic, and the balance lead. An even better alloy, but more expensive because of the high cost of tine, is .15 to .20% antimony, .02% arsenic, and 4 to 5% tin; the rest is lead."

From this thread over on www.castboolits.com

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=30593&highlight=rimfire+lead

I've never heard of zinc being added to lead on purpose, it just doesn't mix well. The .22 rimfire bullets are swagged, not cast, but the lead has to be mixed by melting at some point.

 

[theotherwaldo]

The yellow, coppery-looking metal on the outside of some of the .22 slugs is made of gilding metal or jeweler's metal. This often contains zinc. A tiny amount of zinc will ruin the casting characteristics of a whole pot of lead.

Jacketed bullet cores aren't pure? Darn.

Well, they're much softer than cast stuff. I'll keep segregating it and using it in my muzzle-loaders. It works better than anything else I have found.

 

[ants]

I appreciate the admonition regarding .22 bullets containing zinc. But I've been melting .22 bullets to cast larger calibers since the mid 1970's, never with a problem filling the mold or wrinkling the bullets (as long as the mold is 525 to 600 degrees, and the pot is 550 to 650).

I only heard about zinc-in-22-bullets in the last year. Perhaps a few .22 bullets actually contain metals other than lead/tin/antimony/arsenic, but in such tiny quantities that it causes no harm. Maybe I'm just too dumb and ignorant to realize that I've been doing it wrong, but 35 years of casting can't be completely wrong.

 

[zxcvbob]

I recently smelted about 40 pounds of indoor range lead that was mostly .22's. I haven't cast any bullets from it, but it made fine looking ingots and it poured well.

I don't think the zinc in the gilding metal will dissolve into the lead. It's already bound to the copper, and you are not going to get it hot enough to melt any gilding metal that might be there -- it's no different than a few pieces of brass getting in the smelter. It will float out.

 

[zxcvbob]

The Aguila IQ bullets might have zinc cores. But I didn't think those were available in .22's.

 

[theotherwaldo]

There's a number of .22 rounds out now that contain zinc
Here's the patent for one of them.

I've had a couple of lots messed up with zinc, but not since I quit adding .22s to the mix.

I've also seen the same warning elsewhere. That may not be proof of anything, but I'll exclude .22s anyway.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Deleted - duplicate.

 

[snuffy]

Waldo, after following your link it's apparent that Rube Goldberg is alive and well, and working for the greenies making ridiculous bullets. How in tarnation could a wafer of lead and zinc be rolled together, then formed into a bullet. Then be somewhere near accurate?

IF there's zinc in .22 rimfire range lead, it's simple to get rid of. Use of a thermometer while smelting the range lead into ingots will allow you to skim the zinc off the lead BEFORE it melts to contaminate it. Zinc melts at 787 degrees, so keeping your smelting pot BELOW that heat level will allow you to skim the zinc off to be rid of it.

The same process pertains to smelting wheel weights, some of which may be zinc. They will float with the steel clips below the 787 degrees melting point, then are skimmed of with the steel clips and other dirt and crud.

 

[zxcvbob]

tarnation

That's a word that is used entirely too little these days. Thanks.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Hey, snuffy, I feel safer keeping the .22s, square stick-on wheel weights, and other suspicious-looking stuff in a separate pile. If the stuff is polluted and won't pour a good bullet then I can just pour a bunch of fishing weights with that batch.

 

[rcmodel]

Rube Goldberg is alive and well, and working for the greenies making ridiculous bullets.

It's just a patent.

I don't think anyone is actually doing it.

rcmodel

 

[GP100man]

flux,flux & flux some more it`ll be tuff to clean up but hey its free & old smelly candles for the parrifin is a good fluxin material!!!

GP100man

 

[janobles14]

good advice on scooping out the jackets. what everyone has said will work fine.

there will be dirt and crud in the lead solution though. there is an easy fix however. you can heat your lead to ALMOST boiling (if you have access to that much heat) and do a quick turn off. this will make the lead continue to rise and the sediment will settle somewhat. when movement has just stopped then scoop off the top little bit of lead and it should be mostly pure. repeat until the mix is too polluted to tell the difference then discard (unless you dont care if it's 100%) unless you have access to heacy metal filtration.

good luck and send me some!