View Full Version : confused
coupleshooters
05-19-2008, 08:59 PM
can you meltdown spent round found at ranges and if you can how do you tell there bhn?
faucettb
05-19-2008, 10:58 PM
Welcome to the forum coupleshooters. Rules are simple, be nice and join in.
Sure you can, but it's usually very dirty and your best bet is in a pot over a propane burner where you can clean and flux it. There are several hardness testers on the market including the inexpensive Lee. I use an old cast iron dutch oven and a propane turkey fryer to melt, clean and flux lead, then pour it into ingots that I melt down in my casting pot.
Usually I just cast any lead I find and if I can dimple it with my finger nail I'll ad some tin and antimony. The lead theat comes out of jacketed bullets is usually pretty soft.
yep... about all the lead i've cast into nice shiney new bullets came from an indoor range a couple of friends and i cleaned out.... i never worried too much about the hardness because they were once bullets and now they are bullets again.........
A BALANCED DIET IS CHOCOLATE IN BOTH HANDS..............................
ribbonstone
05-20-2008, 04:15 AM
Certainly can use that lead. Won't know the hardness (unless you buy a hardness tester) but it makes little difference for most shooting...wouldn't be the best choice in lead for super fast loads in a rifle, and each melt down may not be like the last, but for most uses it's just fine.
Will give a warning for outside range scrap. Usually we'll wash off the mud/dirt, but realize that fired jacketed bullets can trap water between the partially expanded/mangled jacket and the lead core. Got to be sure your washed lead is REALLY dry before melting.
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