yhtomit
Member
Another dose of naive questions
Do people scavenge the lead from outdoor ranges' backstops for re-use? At well-used ranges, this seems like a (practically, for one person, not forever and everyone!) hard resource to exhaust. (If it's allowed in the first place.)
Are airgun pellets of the "same kind" of lead as that used in bullets, suitable for melting and casting?
What about jacketed bullets? Can a hobbyist lower the mangled bullet into a pot of melted lead and strain out the copper?
Once in a while I'll pick up a bullet or a mangled slug at the range, etc, but I surely don't have more than a few ounces of lead at this point. If indeed melting old bullets is a practical source of lead (or even impractical, but ... well, perhaps "viable" is a better word), is it safe to keep lead around the house / garage? If it's not in dust form, or mixing with the local groundwater, is there anything I should be frightened of to discourage me from keeping a "bucket o' lead" next to the "bucket o' stray unreloadable brass for eventual recycling"?
I've purchased some bullets for my first foray into reloading (jacketed hollow point .45 ACP bullets, 250 grain), and they weren't too awfully expensive (compared to factory ammo at least! ), but I am intrigued by the idea of one day casting my own lead bullets.
Please forgive my current level of ignorance -- it tends to grow rather than shrink, unfortunately.
timothy
Do people scavenge the lead from outdoor ranges' backstops for re-use? At well-used ranges, this seems like a (practically, for one person, not forever and everyone!) hard resource to exhaust. (If it's allowed in the first place.)
Are airgun pellets of the "same kind" of lead as that used in bullets, suitable for melting and casting?
What about jacketed bullets? Can a hobbyist lower the mangled bullet into a pot of melted lead and strain out the copper?
Once in a while I'll pick up a bullet or a mangled slug at the range, etc, but I surely don't have more than a few ounces of lead at this point. If indeed melting old bullets is a practical source of lead (or even impractical, but ... well, perhaps "viable" is a better word), is it safe to keep lead around the house / garage? If it's not in dust form, or mixing with the local groundwater, is there anything I should be frightened of to discourage me from keeping a "bucket o' lead" next to the "bucket o' stray unreloadable brass for eventual recycling"?
I've purchased some bullets for my first foray into reloading (jacketed hollow point .45 ACP bullets, 250 grain), and they weren't too awfully expensive (compared to factory ammo at least! ), but I am intrigued by the idea of one day casting my own lead bullets.
Please forgive my current level of ignorance -- it tends to grow rather than shrink, unfortunately.
timothy