And cheap. I'm down to 4 cent a bullet.toddje said:Save the planet! Recycle bullets! That's awesome
I powder coat everything. I have the Hi Tek powder...but don't use it. I have so much regular powder coating powder...I'm going to use it up before I switch to the Hi Tek stuff.dave33 said:When you cast bullets from the range scrap will you be using the traditional lube, or will you powder/hi-tec coating them?
Ive collected a couple hundred pounds of bullet splatter and plan to try smelting and casting hopefully in the near future. I plan to cast 9mm first and if it works well move to .40 and .45. I will be powder coating at first and if all goes well probably move to the hi-tec stuff. Biggest problem is finding the time.
Starkherz199;n23596 said:Berm sifted...4 3/4 full buckets of used bullets are ready to be melted into monster ingots. Soon my annual December Castageddon will be on.
Range scrap buckets are easily 200lbs. If I fill it up past 3/4 full, the bucket splits and breaks on the sides.bigfelipe said:Starkherz199;n23596 said:Berm sifted...4 3/4 full buckets of used bullets are ready to be melted into monster ingots. Soon my annual December Castageddon will be on.
What does a bucket weigh?
I have a couple hundred pounds of dental bottles I'm still working through. Scared for the day I have to buy lead again... I'm casting 230gr for about a penny right now...
So you dug 800# of scrap out of your berm? Dang...bigfelipe said:Starkherz199;n23596 said:Berm sifted...4 3/4 full buckets of used bullets are ready to be melted into monster ingots. Soon my annual December Castageddon will be on.
What does a bucket weigh?
I have a couple hundred pounds of dental bottles I'm still working through. Scared for the day I have to buy lead again... I'm casting 230gr for about a penny right now...
Yeah...well. I have 4 sets of tires...about 5 high in front of the berm...with dirt filled in. They easily collect the bullets. Then I dig out one stack, and set the dirt to the side. The I put my strainer on top of the empty tire, and strain out of the next stack to fill the new tire. With my kids helping it takes some time...maybe a whole day or so of labor. I usually do a few hours worth of work spread over a week or so. Its a pain to do every year or 2. But I'll always have lead.bigfelipe said:Starkherz199;n23596 said:Berm sifted...4 3/4 full buckets of used bullets are ready to be melted into monster ingots. Soon my annual December Castageddon will be on.
What does a bucket weigh?
I have a couple hundred pounds of dental bottles I'm still working through. Scared for the day I have to buy lead again... I'm casting 230gr for about a penny right now...
Pretty much. 135gr 9mm, and 158gr 9mm.Tailhunter said:Baby bullets.
Not today...lolTailhunter said:No 500 grain 45/70?
Makes no difference for coated pistol bullets, unless your shooting real long distance. For Rifle bullets, it must be clean flat bottom or it goes back in the pot.bigfelipe said:Mike, how picky are you about the base edge of your boolits? For example do you recast slightly rounded bottom edges or ones with divots from the sprue plate? Looking at your pics, some are crisp, flat bottoms and some are rounded or have bigger chunks in the base. Have you found a difference in accuracy?
I will say that what I only load pristine bullets for competition. Sprue plate divots have never affected accuracy at the minimal distances I shoot in practice. As a rule I tend not to use a bullet that has a rounded base if it is truly a flat base mould. Both of these bullets have a very slight bevel. But I have been known to save up blemishes and load them just for bill drillsbigfelipe said:Mike, how picky are you about the base edge of your boolits? For example do you recast slightly rounded bottom edges or ones with divots from the sprue plate? Looking at your pics, some are crisp, flat bottoms and some are rounded or have bigger chunks in the base. Have you found a difference in accuracy?
RedneckFur;n63410 said:Really neat to see old bullets dug out of berms and recast! Always thought it would be a good idea to recycle lead that way.
It also gets me to thinking.. I wonder how many tons of lead are in the berms at DPRC?
RockRiver;n64943 said:At what point of this process does all the dirt and crap that's on the bullets get cleaned off? Seems like the casting would be extremely porous?
Starkherz199;n64897 said:FYI...those Monster can ingots weight 18lbs on average. That picture is about a 1/3rd of what I cleaned up.in the last 2 weeks. I fill a dedicated old Dutch oven up to the brim with spent bullets, cook it on a turkey burner. I pour either wax or bacon grease on top. Then I go cast bullets while it's getting hot. At some point the lead melts, and the grease/wax catches fire. When it burns off I skim the solid pieces out, and stir the carbon black in the melt with a big stick to Flux it.
bigfelipe;n65131 said:I do the same thing, but I use chunks of wax rings for setting toilets as flux. They're cheap as can be and work great. I'm uppity though... my smelting pot is Le Creuset...
bigfelipe;n74220 said:What's the 30cal hollowpoint mold?