Casting from used bullets

[gloriavoxdei]

I'm new to posting on this thread but been lurking for quite some time now. Have any of you guys cast bullets from used bullets? I work for Sheriff's Office and have free access to the range for brass and have noticed that there are a TON of bullets on the ground in the backstop and was thinking that might be a good source of lead for casting. Any of you have thoughts on that? Most of them are jacketed except the shotgun slugs.

 

[bullseye308]

Should work fine, just make darn sure they are completely dry before you start melting them. If they are FMJ you might have to cut the jacket to keep them from exploding when they melt.

 

[Walkalong]

They work great. That is a huge source of lead to keep you shooting cheaply. You may have to add some wheelweights or 95/5 solder to them depending on the mix and what you will be casting for, but yes, they are a great resourse.

Most jacketed have an opening and the lead will melt right out. Encapsulated (Hornady) or plated bullets will need to be cut somehow to give the lead a way out. Bolt cutters are good. You can also just bash the plated bullets with a heavy hammer and they will "split".

 

[gloriavoxdei]

I'll be shooting them out of my SW99 both compact and duty weapon. I have tons of powder and brass but bullets are just so stupid expensive now that the cost of casting equiptment will pay for itself after maybe 750 bullets for me. Since I'm new, do the jackets melt or stay whole? How do you remove them after the lead melts?

 

[Jim Watson]

The copper alloy jacket will not melt at lead temperatures and will float in the lead pot. Just skim them off along with the dirt and crud. I would want to have some melted lead in the pot before adding jacketed bullets so as to transfer the heat better. Be SURE to cut or break open any plated or completely jacketed bullet to expose lead before heating. Conventional FMJs with open bases or JHPs with open noses are ok. Be SURE everything is dry. Might want to warm them in the oven to be sure.

Reclaimed lead is a dirty source, what with actual dirt from the berm and corrosion on the ground. I would melt batches outside, clean up, and pour ingots for actual bullet casting.

Be sure the rangemaster is on board with this. Many ranges are not agreeable to you tearing down their berm to salvage lead.

 

[gloriavoxdei]

Don't have to tear it down, there are so many bullets in the hill that they wash out with every rain. I just pick them up off the ground when I see them.

 

[Nowhere Man]

Does the SW99 have a polygonal barrel? If so, you may want to think twice before shooting lead through it.

Nevermind.... For some reason, I thought Walther P99's and SW99's had polygonal rifling.
Dave

 

[lee n. field]

Any of you have thoughts on that?

Do it.

just make darn sure they are completely dry before you start melting them.

Or throw them in wet before you turn the heat on, and don't throw anything else in. The water will boil off long before the lead melts.

 

[rcmodel]

I'm of the "smelt them down in the driveway" school.

Way to much dirt, sand, and other stuff, not to mention water inside some of the jackets.

And smelting outside keeps the smoke outside!

I have used a Colman camp stove and a cast iron dutch oven pot for years.

Besides, melting up a big batch and casting ingots is the only way there is to have a consistent alloy blend when you get done.

It may not be exactly the right alloy, but at least it is going to all be the same alloy!

rcmodel

 

[freakshow10mm]

If you start from a cold heater, don't worry about moisture. I melt a lot of lead and have never had a visit from the tinsel fairy.

 

[snuffy]

Any bullet that is fired into a berm, or any other bullet trap, will be mangled to a point that the lead inside will be exposed . It will melt out from even the encapsulated/plated bullets. The "tinsel fairy" is when a bullet that has a pocket of water in it is tossed into molten lead. An immediate steam explosion results, ejecting most or all of the melted lead.

Best apparel would be a full long sleeve shirt, gloves, eye protection, and a hat. Oh, and no shorts.

The lead in jacketed bullets, plated bullets, and shotgun slugs is nearly pure. As such, it would be suitable for 38 special target wadcutters, or 45 auto boolits. Tin alone will not harden it to any appreciable degree If you can find it, linotype is the ticket for hardening pure lead. It adds both antimony and tin to the mix to make it work well for even magnum pistol rounds.

 

[gloriavoxdei]

By mixing it with WW lead will I be able to use it in lighter .40 S&W loads?

 

[ReloaderFred]

Recovered bullets are one of my main sources of lead for casting. My partner and I smelted down a couple hundred pounds into ingots just the other day.

Once the lead becomes molten, the jackets, dirt and debris will float to the top and you can skim it off. If you go to the thrift store and look for one of those large slotted spoons they use for boiled vegetables, it will be ideal for skimming, since it lets the molten lead flow through the slots or holes, depending on what you can find.

Wheelweights will give you some tin and antimony, but if you can find some 50/50 solder at a reasonable price, that will help, too. The Lyman Cast Bullet Manual would make a good investment for you, since it has all the information you would need.

It seems that some plated bullets are tougher than others, since we're finding more and more of them that are still intact after firing. Those have to be cut open some way for the lead to get out. If your department is using them, you'll find that out. It also depends on the material your berms are constructed of. If there is quite a bit of rock in it, the bullets will break up better. Our berms are sand, which makes a difference.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[armoredman]

Melted chilled shot can add god antimony. Lots of infor, plus pictures, of "berm mining" over at castboolits.gunloads.com . Whenever I get a smelting setup, I will start berm mining myself.

 

[RugerBob]

+1 with what they said. If you melt jacketed bullets I find it easier to use a large spoon with holes in it to get all the jackets out. Shake it a little to get the melted lead all out. I nick the bottom of the jacket so the lead has more then 1 way out. I melt my ingots outside in a seperate pot.Use a bottom pour for casting.

 

[theotherwaldo]

If you shoot black powder - or if you don't want to add hardening alloys - separate the jacketed from the cast bullets.

Properly fluxed, cast bullets are about the right hardness to make more cast bullets.

Jacketed bullets are usually swaged from pure lead. A wonderful source for muzzle-loaders, but something that just softens modern cast bullets.

Avoid adding .22 slugs. Some of them contain zinc, which can ruin a whole batch of lead.

Be safe, have fun!

 

[The Tourist]

I used to pick up spent bullets all of the time. No problems in re-casting.

I did let the bullets "sit and cook" a bit. I fluxed with good slippery cosmetic candle wax, and added a touch of rolled solder.

Finally, a buddy and I simply melted everything down in an old plumbers pot, and cast everything into small Lyman ignot molds.

(Has anyone else noticed that one of the "N"s in the mold printing is actually "forwards, so it casts into the ignot "backwards"?)

 

[dmftoy1]

One thing I've noticed when "smelting" Jacketed is to shake them a bit when you skim them . .there's usually molten lead within the jacket and shaking them around a bit saves you precious drops.

 

[fireflyfather]

Not sure if mentioned yet, but take the jackets you skim off, and sell them at the scrapyard. The jackets alone will pay for the primers and powder for all those bullets you pour. Or you could spend the dough on tin/linotype to harden up that range lead.

 

[Skip_a_roo]

Don't get weird about harder = faster. The most important determining factor to higher velocities with lead bullets has to do with fit way before hardness.

I use range lead in a bunch of loads. I wouldn't be afraid to push it to the 1300fps range at all.

I would get another pot if you are going to do this a lot. Reason being is that some of the crud will stay in the pot, can't be helped. Do as others have suggested and pour ingots first. Cast bullets from another pot. You will find the "valve", if it's a bottom pour anyway, will plug up much less doing it this way.

Here is a picture of some of my straight wheel weight bullets in 44 magnum. I run them, and they aren't gas checked, up to almost 1600fps out of my Handi-Rifle. No leading!

 

[freakshow10mm]

Elmer Keith ran fairly soft bullets and never really mentioned issues.

 

[Crazy4nitro]

Elmer Keith is/was the Man.

'Nitro

 

[dmftoy1]

It's funny . .I'd rather reread something from Elmer or Skeeter for the 2nd or 3rd time than read most of what the new writers are generating. About the only exception would be Clint Smith and Massad Ayoob. I used to really enjoy Venturino but lately he seems to be writing one article with very little meat and just publishing it in 5-6 places.

 

[snuffy]

It's funny . .I'd rather reread something from Elmer or Skeeter for the 2nd or 3rd time than read most of what the new writers are generating.

That's for sure! Another late-great was Col. George C. Nonte Jr. I have his book, basic handloading, a good read for a beginner. He wrote for shooting times for handloading questions, you could even send him $5 with a question and get a personal response.

 

[Bear41mag]

I just got 11 5 gallon buckets of range lead from my gun club.

What I do is usually smelt one bucket at a time, cast a couple of bullets out of it, wait 48 hours and test them with a hardness tester, then mark that batch of ingots with a marker for the hardness. This gives me an idea of what I want to mix it with, or just shoot it the way it is.

Seems to work out good so far. Usually run between 12-16 Brinell hardness.