Thoughts on Range Scrap...

Good morning all,

The rabbit hole has led me to this day... It was all fun and happiness with my small bore plinker's in the back yard but as we all know, it doesn't stop there...

Shooting $.01 to $.03 down range with each pull of the trigger, one doesn't really seem to mind the cost. As my collection has grown bigger, so has the cost of each trigger pull...

Recently I decided to try a little experiment. I painstakingly collected range scrap from the back yard and with very little effort melted it into a non-fluxed 1.5 lb ingot in less than 20mins. Since that turned out so well, I have ordered a pouring pot and molds for my .50cal and .357cal...

Knowing that I do have some time in front of me climbing the learning curve of casting, my thought's turn to collecting range scrap. My questions are:

1. Do any of you collect range scrap and what are the best methods you have found?

2. What are good alternative sources of soft lead that can be used in casting for air rifle ammo?

3. What are any downsides/complications you have experienced with casting your own ammo?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

_brian
 
A lot of range scrap lead is centerfire pistol bullets made from wheel weights and hardened lead. I am pretty sure you need pure lead to make airgun ammo. If you are going to cast for centerfire bullets range scrap might be ok. The dirt and impurities will flux out when you melt the lead but you will have to deal with the hardness factor. I don't even think 22 rimfire bullets are pure or soft enough. Plumbers lead or lead sheathing used to be available but with lead restrictions now that might not be feasible. You can buy pure lead for casting muzzleloader bullets but casting is a learning process in itself. Swaging with lead wire is probably more precise and easier but the equipment needed makes it more expensive. I have cast thousands of centerfire and muzzleloader bullets with great success but I have not swaged anything. Good luck with what ever you decide.
 
I guess I should have worded my query a bit differently than I did,

Yes, I am aware of the hardness difference in PB projectiles and thus I'm only using range scrap from my airgun range. Just looking to see if anyone else is doing this and what methods they are using to collect their scrap.

I'm really looking to collect all my low cal scrap and convert it into large cal slugs. I have been looking into swaging for lower cals but one thing at a time. ;)

Thank you for the replies, though.

_brian
 
Even some pellets are not pure lead and if you mix the 'lead free' in it can contaminate the lead making it unusable because it simply will not pour right any more. Zinc or bismuth are very common lead free metals you don't want to mix in.

You don't need pure lead for cast bullets for airgun use but center-fire bullet lead is generally too hard as it contains too much tun and antimony. Most shooters agree that you want abour 1:30 or 1:40 tin: lead alloy without antimony for best airgun bullets.

I've got hundreds of pounds of wheelwrights but it's too hard for ACCURATE airgun shooting (Note many commercial 'airgun' bullets sold are too hard) so I am slowly blending them into my good lead. I might put 1/2 pound of [SORTED to remove the zinc ones!!!] wheelwrights into 25 pounds of 1:40 alloy.

Honestly, it's hard to beat the Rotometals prices if you buy enough for free shipping... then you KNOW what you're shooting.

Here's a link to some lead hardness diy testing

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=149581.0

I've shot over 100,000+ bullets in powderburners and pneumatics and a huge number have been cast and I've been shooting PCP airguns since the early 90's and I've found in BigBore airguns that I want to keep the hardness between 10 and 12 for best accuracy. I don't use random range scrap at all anymore, I sell it to the centerfire casters. I DO reuse the known lead out of my bullet trap where I use the 2.5% tin/97.5 lead alloy which is the 1:40 ratio.

Remember if you buy lead the 30 or 40 to 1 is OK, but not the harder alloys.

https://www.rotometals.com/bullet-casting-alloys/
 
For years I have been shooting into a large wood trap I made myself. Like a .22 rf trap, the pellets are captured. The back is covered with an old truck bed liner to keep from damaging the wood. This year I constructed a rubber mulch backstop, but haven't emptied it yet. I have also laid a 5'x7' tarp out under the spinners and knock down targets to collect the scrap. Most of the pellets flatten out and fall on the tarp.
 
I collect mine in a wood box filled with rubber mulch as a stop. Recycling, being green...lol

<a href="https://imgur.com/bK2K8kM"><img src="" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

www.zipmetals.com is another source for casting lead. I will also watch ebay for deals, but have some caution there because of some uncertainness of the alloy.

"3. What are any downsides/complications you have experienced with casting your own ammo?"

It can be addictive...lol You will not save money (you will simply spend it on tools instead of ammo). You will shoot more!!