Thank you sir. Absolutely after all the work it needs to be taken care of like everything else involved in the hobby. It's an asset to my reloading considering I load my cast lead bullets for 90 percent of my handgun ammunition. It allows me to shoot every caliber for around 3 bucks a box.
Finally a video on range lead from someone that knows what they're talking about. 100% right about tin and making bullets. I have a good supply of linotype in my garage. Pretty hard bullets. Nothing beats a cast bullet you make a home from a Lyman mold. I learned this craft when only 5. My dad learned from Elmer Keith. My father's friends would come over and show him bullets that went wrong in the casting process, in hopes to find out what they did wrong. My dad would say "Show them to the kid and you'll be told what you did wrong." I did too.
THANK YOU DEAR!! Yes an art it is. Once you get it, you got it, and build on it continuously, making better and better bullets every casting session. Absolutely satisfying when you outshoot people shooting factory ammo with bullets you made and loaded yourself in brass they left on the ground on the last match. LOVE IT!!
@LeverAction Gypsy Hey, why don't you and Tortoise include yourselves out from this gathering, you aren't fitting in. Sheesh, there's always one or two square pegs....
Love the self-sufficiency. I am nearly 100% self-sufficient in terms of firearms and munition production. What I mean by that is I have everything I need to make firearms at home from ARs from buttstock to barrels and magazines. I have everything needed to make complete rounds from smelting and casting and coating bullets. The only thing I do not have at this point in time is the ability to produce smokeless powder. Primer powder is easy, black powder easy, smokeless, not so much! The chemistry behind it and chemicals and complex lab equipment needed is beyond my skill level. This is a good operation you have going on here. I always tell people, don't rely on big gov to supply your house with electricity! You need means of fire and a hand cranked blower to get hot enough to smelt. Once you have the knowledge of fire, forging, smelting etc. etc. you can get a lot done! Great video!
I am just glad I have a friend who does all this already so I don't have to. But I do reload all my pistol, rifle and shotgun rounds with sourced components from guys getting out of reloading. Nothing I have is brand new except the essential like powder, wads and primers. Save myself over 50 percent of retail, and make a better round in the process.
Sir you are an absolute genius I have never thought of this. I'm gonna go down to the range this week and start myself thank you so much for tips and tricks
@@flier556 I went to the range yesterday and I guess with in an hour or so I got around 25 lbs of lead and that was just at the rifle range I havnt got to the pistol side yet it's amazing guys y'all need to try this I will be doing this more often for sure
A TIP.... I USE A METAL 2 LITER TEA POT WITH A SPOUT, THIS WAY YOU NEED TO DO HARDLY ANY SKIMMING JUST POUR IT OUT THE SPOUT THE CRAP STAYS ALL BEHIND ! A BIG TIME SAVER!
I just started melting the lead i dive for from the ocean, I used to scrap pretty much straight away and have paid for all of my dive gear with it. Just made up 2x2 kilo bar moulds today so that should keep me going for a while. Cheers Brad
Great work. I've watched this video probably 10 times over the years and I'm finally getting to harvest my own range scrap and shoot my own free bullets. Thanks for the info in all your videos 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
You are very welcome sir. Glad to be of help. Enjoy shooting them free bullets, and having the personal satisfaction of knowing you did it all yourself. Good job.
7 Years late to the conversation... One of the best organized videos for lead casters, and I thank you for it. But I'd like to ask if any casters tuned in here have gotten a blood test for lead poisoning, or swabbed their work area for lead dust that may cause problems selling the house?
Mostly propaganda and fear mongering to create self doubt within and discourage/stop private at home bullet casting. Unless you inhale the fumes or eat the lead and are using some basic common sense safety measures you will be fine. Wear a good quality P100 rated respirator, wash your already gloved hands with D-Lead soap, run a vent fan or work only outside or in a garage/barn and you will be fine. Overplayed and BS fear mongering......
@@samiam619 One time several years ago within my HVAC tech career we were working on a vacant rental house putting in a new furnace and a/c for the landlord renting it. I came back on the second day to find the entire house taped off and doors blocked like a homicide crime scene. Come to find out they used lead paint in the basement when it was last painted. Oh my God....someone could be killed! GTFOH....and stop wasting taxpayers money pushing your BS narrative and propaganda. It's way overplayed and insane the way the EPA, U.S. Government and local municipalities fuel this kind of fear mongering.
@@JohnDoeEagle1 Ya know, I was never tempted to eat paint flakes as a kid. Now? Sure. JkI just remembered something. My old job at the local ski and golf resort was trash/recycling. I was told to empty out a storage room. I found an old tin can labeled DDT! I kept it for awhile, but it’s gone now…
Excellent, informative video. Thank you. I noticed the Harley Davidson decal in your garage, cool! When I used to ride, I preferred Hondas because they didn't shake your internal organs loose.
Thanks very much for this - very useful and informative. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge. From South Africa where shooting is becoming extremely expensive due to our persistently weakening currency…!
Well done video and very interesting. If I were to get into casting it would be in a similar garage environment. I'm curious what you do for ventilation in your garage set-up when smelting and casting. The fumes when the lead is molten are toxic without robust ventilation.
+William R The smelting I do outside behind the garage and the casting I basically just use a regular 20 inch box fan on high in the back to blow everything outside.
I use range scrap out of the backstop, wheel weights and various other lead plumbing, roof flashing, boat anchors, Linotype and whatever else I can get my hands on. I always like the range scrap because it is free. This video is aged from early 2015 until late 2022 when I write this comment. These days you don't have to do anything to range scrap and can run it straight up. We powder coat lead bullets now and the BHN is less important. If you water quench your range scrap bullets when they come out of the oven after baking on the powder coat you end up with a BHN of approx 12 which is spot on for most handgun caliber bullets. You no longer have to worry about smoke nor do you have to worry about them being too soft and gunking up your barrel. I too am not a wasteful person and utilize all of the scrap. The money I get selling the copper jackets also pays for my LP, powder coat and diesel fuel for my truck driving back and forth to the range, tire shops and scrapyard. You always hear people complaining about the price of ammo. They won't do anything about it though and start reloading. To which I can say for the average gun owner and shooter who is not mechanically inclined that is probably best. It's not for everybody however most men who works on their own guns, vehicles, lawn and garden equipment, does some home repairs etc etc is qualified to reload and cast bullets.
@@samiam619 You can smash them with a waffled face hammer on a piece of thick steel, hammer anvil on a vice, chunk of railroad track etc etc, whatever you might have on hand. This would be the easiest and fastest usually. Boom...done...boom done! Some guys nick them with cable cutters or large diagonal pliers too. Often times the copper jacket is damaged or already cracked when you find them as well so no extra steps are needs.
@@samiam619 Just make sure you are using a "milled face" or "waffle face" hammer. The one with the textured grill pattern like a meat tenderizer. Smooth face hammers don't work to bust them open.
You can get that quality with pure lead, but it requires a special technique, like all metals...It still won't be as hard as if you was to add tin, but it will still make due.
My little brother works for a roofing company he keeps all the old lead vent pipes from on top of the house he brings them to me and I make fishing sinkers out of them saves me a lot of money
+Pro Fab Thank You. Yes when I put my mind to something there's no stopping me. LOL Now I just maintain, an out a bucket to a bucket and a half keeps me shooting all year every week and never touch the 4000 in stock.Thats for the day when the sign goes up that says no more range pickup.
Awesome video! I see others scoop off their copper jackets and have lots of slag. Your box of jackets looks pretty clean. What's your technique for ending up with jackets ready for the recycler?
+Jeffrey Keyser I have a screen type thing that use for cooking that I spoon everything into and shake the dirt through kind of like a very fine sifter and dump the jackets in a can and then re scoop the dirt out and dump it in the garbage.
flier556 Thanks! I'm just starting to cast slugs and 00 buck. If my range doesn't have a prohibition against collecting range scrap, I hope to make this one of my lead sources. If I can sell enough copper to pay for my propane, that would certainly be a plus. Based on others' videos, it looks like they discard their jackets.
I'm lucky that I can scrounge my scrap yard. I can get clean lead for $.40 lb, and I can sort their wheel weights for $.25 lb. I still collect range lead, but man does it take a lot of dirty time. I've found a surprising amount of solder rolls and bars there also for scrap price.
Question about the brass, I'm assuming you pull it out of the screening box as you screen? Do any 22 cases drop through screen and if so how do you deal with them? When your smelting the lead does the brass also just float up and can be skimmed off? Thanks for this great information.
Why you have to add tin ? The alloy you get from the old bullets should be fine as it is. Theoretically speaking ! Or do you consider it the same hardness as pure lead ? I’ll try to do like you in a few weeks. I’m actually casting with pure lead from air gun pellets + lino. Thanks a lot 🙏
excellent vid, flier! i've just started collecting range lead (early in the morning, or late in the evening). my range has a lot of rocks and pebbles in the dirt. obviously, i pick the larger rocks out by hand, but i'm still left with probably 50/50 pebbles/lead. i know you said you don't clean anything up before smelting, but do you do anything additional to separate out the rocks and pebbles before putting them in the pot? i could rinse my stuff in water to clean it up a little and make it easier to ID the rocks, but then it would be a painstaking process of separating all the rocks out by hand. thoughts?
The rocks will float to the top with the jackets. I dont rinse it bc this presents a safety problem when adding to a partially filled pot to melt more. Unless your dam sure everything is DRY. You never want and water and I mean any getting into molton lead. And I like to add to a partial pot bc it melts what you add much faster. Hope this helps.
Thank you for your detailed information. Could you tell me more about how you actually collect the lead from the range berm? Are you digging it out with tools or sifting shovels full of dirt etc.? Thanks for the info!
You must have a sand berm to dig in. Mine is more like gravel and I get lots of stones that won't go though the hardware cloth. Have to pick the bullets out by hand or else bring half the berm home. I still get quite a bit though and the price is right.
Its dirt, and it has its share of stones and debris. I definitely worked for every bit of it, but like I said if your willing to work and put the time, it's a great option, and as I show it's been working for me for years, and I think I hot enough for the rest of my life even shooting 5 to 8 thousand rds a year.
Damn, 3000lbs! Thats beyond what i would ever use in a lifetime i think but would be cool to have for a rainy day or bartering. I buy scrap in Canada for $1/lb. Or ignots for $1.25/lb. Too much guys with "ins" at the ranges here for me to get in on the action. Great advice though and awesome work on the stockpile!
I think rotometals sells processed lead scrap at 1.64/lb, but you have to buy a half ton of it at that price. They also sell "hardball"(2%tin,6% antimony) at $2,200/half ton. Unfortunately, i dont think you can get free shipping up in Canada.
I wish I could do this but every range I know about would have you arrested. even though they will never do anything with it people hate to see somebody else get something for free. Great video though I learned a lot about what to do if I ever come across a source. Thanks...
I have 600 lbs of lead from walls of a hospital very soft , very hard to clean well it just keeps producing slag on top. how long do you take to clean how many times do you have to flux ?
Just melt thoroughly, stir thoroughly. Skim all the heavy slang, then flux stir again, skim one more time, and it should be pretty clean. Then when you melt in the melting pot for actual bullet casting, melt flux stir and skim 1 more time. Hope this helps sir.
You are probably looking at lead oxide. Melt it and take all that dross off then Flux and scrap the pot while doing this then clean the dross off of that.
I do the same. But unfortunately, there is a lot of clay pigeon bits in ours... have to clean that out before smelting.. otherwise, it's very nasty when it burns out. lol
Yes, but it's simply pure lead. Good for muzzleloader or you would need to add some tin and antimony to get the hardness and fill out you would want for bullets.
Um, this is great, if you have the time. Those of us who still have to work for a living just don't have the time to do this. You mentioned a few hours doing this, a day doing that, etc. But, at least I know what to do when I retire. Thanks for the video.
+James Rodriquez BTW FYI I work 10 hrs a day 5 days a week as a diesel mechanic. If you really wanna do something, and put your mind to it, you will find the time. As you see here so did. Once you reach this point its just a matter of maintaining it, and that's just a fun hobby. And yes I'm shooting all handgun calibers for around 2.50 a box for years. So I see this as time well spent.
Dayum Bruh. You are dedicated to the cause, huh? Good deal. I'm just getting started in reloading, so that's why I've been looking into casting also. You know, in case I decide to try it eventually. I can afford to buy my ammo, but I like the idea of trying different loads and finding what works best for each of my guns. Been looking into wadcutters, so casting my own sounds like it might be fun. But, I only have so much free time right now. At any rate, I really liked the video. Happy shootin!
It's all part of the hobby. So the time spent is enjoyed. Like fishing, if I calculated the money spent per pound of fish......jeez....I could have bought a seafood market.
As a diesel mechanic you would be much better working at your job an extra hour a week for $50 bucks an hour and you could easily buy all the lead you need.
If you soak that copper in muriatic acid it will clean it right up. If you want to smelt the copper into ingots, that's a much tougher process, you need nearly 2000 degrees. Great video!
You mentioned scraping the bottom when you have melted it, do you actually ever get much from doing that? I would have thought that everything would float on the lead
first off Merry Christmas ya your very lucky sir I've tried to pick up the range scrap here were in live they want allow it but thank you for your videos
+Willie Young I'm sure there's probably gonna come a day when my place does the same thing. That's why I took full advantage if it throughout the entire summer of 2014, and now just maintain my current levels in case that day ever comes. And Merry Christmas to you too, and thank you for your interest.
Depends on the range. I go early way before it's open, and yes I did ask and was told stay out of everyone's way, and told thank you for doing what I do by sifting the lead outta the dirt. A real win win for everyone.
It's really not that bad. I sell the jackets back to the recycling center and use that money for the propane so it really doesn't cost anything and it would be a lot of additional work to keep the fire going doing it the other way. The job itself is already plenty heavy and dirty in itself.
+Neil Wix Good question. Simple answer, I dont. If I had to I would empty half then it would be 250, and much more manageable. I had to do that once with 2 of them. Otherwise, they pretty much stay put.
I am just getting started in doing casting. Do you have a video on how and what you use. I love the muffin pan idea and fryer. But doing the actual, you said something about a lee 420 or something. I don't know whether to get lee or lyman with the lube attachment. I need guidance sir Thank you
Thank you sir. I have the lee 4 20 and a lee 10 lb pot I use both. I had a ton of casting videos up and TH-cam removed all of em. Best advice I can give you is look at fortune cookie 45 LCs channel. This I where I learned most of what I know. He is great. Hopefully they didnt remove his casting videos. Good luck my friend.
It is really nice jo, i want to ask you about the pot which use for smelting made of stainless steel or iron and what is the diffrent between them ? And what is the beneft or goal for use the wax in smelting or which called flaxing ?
What the wax does towards the end is after you take as many of the impurities out as you can skim off and stare off the bottom and skim it gets the stuff that you can't get and brings any dirt that's on the bottom up to the surface so you can skim It Off that's why you do it at the end it's just to get the last bit out of the mix and then you for your ingots.
you can get wheel weights like crazy i use it for muzzle loading and for down riggers i just heat the lead to about 650 and skim off the tin which melts at about 782 but like how you have all in order
Wish I had a range that would let me do that. Range I go to is super against anyone digging through the berm. Only real place for me to get lead is friggin' Fleabay.
Sorry to hear that. I dont dig. I just use a flat shovel and skim the top, then sifted out the dirt, pick out a few sticks. Dont disturb anything really. The president of the range actually thanks me for doing it Theres tons of lead right on top. Good luck in your searchs.
Great video! So how do you get the lead out of a bullet when it's completely encased with copper? Wouldn't you have to cut the copper so the lead can melt out?
I watched the video and he doesn't say what to do to get the lead out of fully enclosed bullets. He just says you don't have to cut them. Are we to assume he just doesn't process them and throws them in the scrap copper?
iTheGeek why is he rude? the video doesn't explain how he gets lead out of fully encased bullets without cutting them. In my experience you have to cut them.
Mark Laterza No, not all bullets have openings in the bottom of the jacket. FMJs are fully encased, and you have to cut them somehow to get the lead out. Anyone who doesn't know that hasn't spent much time processing range scrap.
Jonathan Galt no fmj will have a metal jacket around the front down to the base but it does not incase the hole bullet. A tmj bullet will cover the hole round on the other hand.
+Leonard Urban i guess thats a possibility, you could probably even just wash it. But i kinda just stick to the deal I got with the guys I deal with over there, and just reinvest what I get out of it to propane, gas, or componates.
I live in the rough patch of Chicago’s west side; can confirm. It’s in the coroner’s office, on the street, and lodged in the walls of foreclosed houses from all the missed shots. If you want a considerable amount of range lead, I recommend going anywhere outside of Cook County; preferably, Will County.
Do the range charge you for the lead you recover? I pretty sure they know all the lead is worth money I don't think they just going to give it away free.
its possible the value of the lead you get is less that what it would cost the range to have berms professionally cleaned, even if they dont do it frequently. Besides, as a member, clubs are pretty tight knit and probably wouldnt care at all.
Most of it is dirt bc all this started out in the dirt. Since the local, and most all these recycling metal places are a bunch of thieves, and they only pay brass fee for the copper jackets I make sure most of it gets mixed in and goes to them so I feel like I'm somewhat getting a fair shake. No matter what you bring these crooks do you ever feel like you got a fair shake on what you give them, and what they give you for it. This evens the odds a little and keeps it off the ground and out of the garbage.
Could have saved his voice and a lot of time if he had just stated up front he got it off the range from lead people have already shot. Well last range I went to nor did I own wasn't going to allow the average range customer access to the bank to dredge out his or her lead. If anything they keep it for themselves. I see this video as clickbait. Just another yahoo wanting his 15 minutes of fame and owns a video camera.
Gary Tangrady you obviously don't know that in many part of the country people go to old gravel pits and other outdoor locations that are not official shooting ranges.
+josiah jones Never hurts to ask. I did. I asked the president of the board members of my range I shoot at, and it was funny. He thanked me for what I do and told me I was doing him a favor doing what I do. Yes. It was a good day. LOL
I'm just now seeing this. Sorry for the late comment, but very nicely done sir. I am curious as someone just thinking of getting into doing my own reloading. How long would the lead you showed us last you if you didn't collect any more and just made rounds out of what you have? Thanks.
You made me curious. He's got about 4000 pounds of casting material. At, say, 175 grains per average bullet, that's 7000/175 = 40 bullets per pound x 4000 = 160,000 bullets!
Finally a youtuber which actually stores stuff neatly and not throwing every thing around like a mess nice video !
Thank you sir. Absolutely after all the work it needs to be taken care of like everything else involved in the hobby. It's an asset to my reloading considering I load my cast lead bullets for 90 percent of my handgun ammunition. It allows me to shoot every caliber for around 3 bucks a box.
Finally a video on range lead from someone that knows what they're talking about. 100% right about tin and making bullets. I have a good supply of linotype in my garage. Pretty hard bullets. Nothing beats a cast bullet you make a home from a Lyman mold. I learned this craft when only 5. My dad learned from Elmer Keith. My father's friends would come over and show him bullets that went wrong in the casting process, in hopes to find out what they did wrong. My dad would say "Show them to the kid and you'll be told what you did wrong." I did too.
THANK YOU DEAR!! Yes an art it is. Once you get it, you got it, and build on it continuously, making better and better bullets every casting session. Absolutely satisfying when you outshoot people shooting factory ammo with bullets you made and loaded yourself in brass they left on the ground on the last match. LOVE IT!!
I would suggest you don’t let kids anywhere near lead. It is toxic especially to young developing bodies.
I love the combination of the super simplistic setup with the intensity of your organizational skills. You got a sub
Thank you sir!!
@@flier556 You're quite welcome. If you ever feel like teaching someone the ropes, I'll be first on the apprentice list!
I'm doing exactly the same thing. I've processed about 3,000 pounds. It a lot of work but it can be done!
+CountryBoyPrepper Yes sir, good job keep the stock up once your comfortable and you'll never have to worry about running out.
Lilac Tortoise why not?
@LeverAction Gypsy Hey, why don't you and Tortoise include yourselves out from this gathering, you aren't fitting in. Sheesh, there's always one or two square pegs....
Love the self-sufficiency. I am nearly 100% self-sufficient in terms of firearms and munition production.
What I mean by that is I have everything I need to make firearms at home from ARs from buttstock to barrels and magazines. I have everything needed to make complete rounds from smelting and casting and coating bullets. The only thing I do not have at this point in time is the ability to produce smokeless powder. Primer powder is easy, black powder easy, smokeless, not so much! The chemistry behind it and chemicals and complex lab equipment needed is beyond my skill level.
This is a good operation you have going on here. I always tell people, don't rely on big gov to supply your house with electricity! You need means of fire and a hand cranked blower to get hot enough to smelt. Once you have the knowledge of fire, forging, smelting etc. etc. you can get a lot done!
Great video!
I am just glad I have a friend who does all this already so I don't have to. But I do reload all my pistol, rifle and shotgun rounds with sourced components from guys getting out of reloading. Nothing I have is brand new except the essential like powder, wads and primers. Save myself over 50 percent of retail, and make a better round in the process.
a little work goes a long way. we love the throw it away society. nice job
+Jason Stanley Yes we do. Thank You.
I DO THE SAME FOR YEARS BUT THANKS FINALLY SOMEONE DID A PERFECT VIDEO ON IT ... NICE JOB BEST VIDEO EVER!
Thank you sir!
You are very organized. That is why you are so successful. Very Well Done.
Kirk
+DicksTaxidermy Thank You. Yes I try to be as organized as I can.
Sir you are an absolute genius I have never thought of this. I'm gonna go down to the range this week and start myself thank you so much for tips and tricks
Thank you sir and good luck. Enjoy, you will never need to buy bullets again, except for specialty loads.
@@flier556 I went to the range yesterday and I guess with in an hour or so I got around 25 lbs of lead and that was just at the rifle range I havnt got to the pistol side yet it's amazing guys y'all need to try this I will be doing this more often for sure
This shop is SQUARED AWAY. Very nice.
+Collin Thibodeaux Thank you sir!
A TIP.... I USE A METAL 2 LITER TEA POT WITH A SPOUT, THIS WAY YOU NEED TO DO HARDLY ANY SKIMMING JUST POUR IT OUT THE SPOUT THE CRAP STAYS ALL BEHIND ! A BIG TIME SAVER!
Heinz Hubbuch wouldn't that pour a lot of lead out too?
@@themobsprinter that's the point, you're pouring the lead from the tea pot into the molds, and the slag stays behind.
Get a bottom-pour Lee Production Pot for well under $100. Game changer.
the reason you cant find lead is this guy has it all
That's funny. Not even close. I havnt even hit the tip of the iceberg. LOL
I just started melting the lead i dive for from the ocean, I used to scrap pretty much straight away and have paid for all of my dive gear with it.
Just made up 2x2 kilo bar moulds today so that should keep me going for a while.
Cheers
Brad
Great work. I've watched this video probably 10 times over the years and I'm finally getting to harvest my own range scrap and shoot my own free bullets. Thanks for the info in all your videos 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
You are very welcome sir. Glad to be of help. Enjoy shooting them free bullets, and having the personal satisfaction of knowing you did it all yourself. Good job.
@@flier556 Thanks for the reply, wasn't sure if you were still on here. Stay safe, brother!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
7 Years late to the conversation... One of the best organized videos for lead casters, and I thank you for it. But I'd like to ask if any casters tuned in here have gotten a blood test for lead poisoning, or swabbed their work area for lead dust that may cause problems selling the house?
Mostly propaganda and fear mongering to create self doubt within and discourage/stop private at home bullet casting. Unless you inhale the fumes or eat the lead and are using some basic common sense safety measures you will be fine. Wear a good quality P100 rated respirator, wash your already gloved hands with D-Lead soap, run a vent fan or work only outside or in a garage/barn and you will be fine. Overplayed and BS fear mongering......
Last time I had blood work done I asked the nurse and she said no, that’s a separate test done by the local Hospital if I want it done.
@@samiam619
One time several years ago within my HVAC tech career we were working on a vacant rental house putting in a new furnace and a/c for the landlord renting it. I came back on the second day to find the entire house taped off and doors blocked like a homicide crime scene. Come to find out they used lead paint in the basement when it was last painted. Oh my God....someone could be killed! GTFOH....and stop wasting taxpayers money pushing your BS narrative and propaganda. It's way overplayed and insane the way the EPA, U.S. Government and local municipalities fuel this kind of fear mongering.
@@JohnDoeEagle1 Ya know, I was never tempted to eat paint flakes as a kid. Now? Sure. JkI just remembered something. My old job at the local ski and golf resort was trash/recycling. I was told to empty out a storage room. I found an old tin can labeled DDT! I kept it for awhile, but it’s gone now…
Sir I love your organization. Fantastic! Great video
Excellent, informative video. Thank you.
I noticed the Harley Davidson decal in your garage, cool! When I used to ride, I preferred Hondas because they didn't shake your internal organs loose.
Gotcha. Thank you sir.
And Honda's don't leave you stranded on the side of the road in sweltering heat.
It's currently January 2022 and I've just watched this video. Good job and well done!
Thanks very much for this - very useful and informative. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge. From South Africa where shooting is becoming extremely expensive due to our persistently weakening currency…!
Well done video and very interesting. If I were to get into casting it would be in a similar garage environment. I'm curious what you do for ventilation in your garage set-up when smelting and casting. The fumes when the lead is molten are toxic without robust ventilation.
+William R The smelting I do outside behind the garage and the casting I basically just use a regular 20 inch box fan on high in the back to blow everything outside.
My garage would be this organized if it weren’t for all those.. SQUIRREL!! I strive to be this well squared away.
Thank you sir!
Go to the Mississippi river and find all you carry. You can find it at all the fishing areas.
I use range scrap out of the backstop, wheel weights and various other lead plumbing, roof flashing, boat anchors, Linotype and whatever else I can get my hands on. I always like the range scrap because it is free. This video is aged from early 2015 until late 2022 when I write this comment. These days you don't have to do anything to range scrap and can run it straight up. We powder coat lead bullets now and the BHN is less important. If you water quench your range scrap bullets when they come out of the oven after baking on the powder coat you end up with a BHN of approx 12 which is spot on for most handgun caliber bullets. You no longer have to worry about smoke nor do you have to worry about them being too soft and gunking up your barrel. I too am not a wasteful person and utilize all of the scrap. The money I get selling the copper jackets also pays for my LP, powder coat and diesel fuel for my truck driving back and forth to the range, tire shops and scrapyard. You always hear people complaining about the price of ammo. They won't do anything about it though and start reloading. To which I can say for the average gun owner and shooter who is not mechanically inclined that is probably best. It's not for everybody however most men who works on their own guns, vehicles, lawn and garden equipment, does some home repairs etc etc is qualified to reload and cast bullets.
How do you get the lead out of copper jacketed bullets? Some I find have no bottom, fine. But some are completely sealed with copper. TIA
@@samiam619
You can smash them with a waffled face hammer on a piece of thick steel, hammer anvil on a vice, chunk of railroad track etc etc, whatever you might have on hand. This would be the easiest and fastest usually. Boom...done...boom done! Some guys nick them with cable cutters or large diagonal pliers too. Often times the copper jacket is damaged or already cracked when you find them as well so no extra steps are needs.
@@JohnDoeEagle1 okay, thanks.👍 Hmmm, now to find my vise… Must ask “She Who Must Be Obeyed”. She can find ANYTHING.
@@samiam619
Just make sure you are using a "milled face" or "waffle face" hammer. The one with the textured grill pattern like a meat tenderizer. Smooth face hammers don't work to bust them open.
You can get that quality with pure lead, but it requires a special technique, like all metals...It still won't be as hard as if you was to add tin, but it will still make due.
Brilliant so well organised I’m just getting back into this on a much smaller scale though.
Thank you sir. Good luck.
I live in Alaska and i can find Lead from the scrap yards here i find old boats and take there lead weights and i can get 100-500 pounds per weight
Nice. Yes I've heard of this. Whatever gets the job done.
@@flier556 yep its also sucks since I live in Fairbanks I have to drive to Anchorage which is around 4-5 hours in good weather and 6-9 in bad
I'm blackpowder shooter so I do pure lead. This gives me lots of ideas!! Nice video.
Thank you sir.
Thank you sir. Glad to be of help.
You are correct. I’ve reloaded reclaimed lead shot after cleaning and coating it with graphite. It worked just fine.
My little brother works for a roofing company he keeps all the old lead vent pipes from on top of the house he brings them to me and I make fishing sinkers out of them saves me a lot of money
I know a good sistem when I see it, keep it up buddy.
Thank you sir.
I just cleaned out my local clubs backstop. I got about 150kg of lead flakes from the backstop, free of charge.
Inspiration! Thanks for showing what you're doing. Excellent 💥💥💥👍
Dude! you are a lead processing machine!
+Pro Fab Thank You. Yes when I put my mind to something there's no stopping me. LOL Now I just maintain, an out a bucket to a bucket and a half keeps me shooting all year every week and never touch the 4000 in stock.Thats for the day when the sign goes up that says no more range pickup.
This 3,080 lbs of processed lead equates to about 119,777 180g bullets. Man, I though I shot a lot! Nice job!
Thank you sir. It was all well worth it.
Great simplistic video. Made alot of sense and pays for it self. Thanks for sharing.
169 000 boolits if we are talking 124 grain 9mmP. that is 3250 shots per weekend. Every weekend. For a year.
Awesome video! I see others scoop off their copper jackets and have lots of slag. Your box of jackets looks pretty clean. What's your technique for ending up with jackets ready for the recycler?
+Jeffrey Keyser I have a screen type thing that use for cooking that I spoon everything into and shake the dirt through kind of like a very fine sifter and dump the jackets in a can and then re scoop the dirt out and dump it in the garbage.
flier556 Thanks! I'm just starting to cast slugs and 00 buck. If my range doesn't have a prohibition against collecting range scrap, I hope to make this one of my lead sources. If I can sell enough copper to pay for my propane, that would certainly be a plus. Based on others' videos, it looks like they discard their jackets.
I'm lucky that I can scrounge my scrap yard. I can get clean lead for $.40 lb, and I can sort their wheel weights for $.25 lb. I still collect range lead, but man does it take a lot of dirty time. I've found a surprising amount of solder rolls and bars there also for scrap price.
Question about the brass, I'm assuming you pull it out of the screening box as you screen? Do any 22 cases drop through screen and if so how do you deal with them? When your smelting the lead does the brass also just float up and can be skimmed off? Thanks for this great information.
Why you have to add tin ?
The alloy you get from the old bullets should be fine as it is. Theoretically speaking !
Or do you consider it the same hardness as pure lead ?
I’ll try to do like you in a few weeks. I’m actually casting with pure lead from air gun pellets + lino.
Thanks a lot 🙏
This is some real, no nonsense, effing guy stuff. Bravo my good man. I’m going to make my sifter. Buying the ingots can get a bit pricey.
If you want to cut down costs even more, look into getting a linear Fresnel lens to melt the lead with.
+ScienceFoundation Im shooting every caliber for $2.50 a box. Im ok with that.
Awesome video definitely subscribing. Wish I wasnt across the pond as I could smelt and use the copper 🤣🤣
Thank you sir, and good luck.
@@flier556 thank you sir you too would be awesome to see how you make your bullets
excellent vid, flier! i've just started collecting range lead (early in the morning, or late in the evening). my range has a lot of rocks and pebbles in the dirt. obviously, i pick the larger rocks out by hand, but i'm still left with probably 50/50 pebbles/lead. i know you said you don't clean anything up before smelting, but do you do anything additional to separate out the rocks and pebbles before putting them in the pot? i could rinse my stuff in water to clean it up a little and make it easier to ID the rocks, but then it would be a painstaking process of separating all the rocks out by hand. thoughts?
The rocks will float to the top with the jackets. I dont rinse it bc this presents a safety problem when adding to a partially filled pot to melt more. Unless your dam sure everything is DRY. You never want and water and I mean any getting into molton lead. And I like to add to a partial pot bc it melts what you add much faster. Hope this helps.
Hi the screen shaker will separate the larger rocks and debris from the lead and a small screen will let the pebbles go threw
I dig out the rocks as I sift. Who wants to cart ROCKS home just to scoop them out later?
Thank you for your detailed information. Could you tell me more about how you actually collect the lead from the range berm? Are you digging it out with tools or sifting shovels full of dirt etc.? Thanks for the info!
Sifting shovels full of dirt that are loaded with lots of lead.
@@flier556 Yeah, that's what I would do too! Thanks for the reply.
You sir can make a business plan regarding making copper bars from the jackets, it's worth good money online...
You must have a sand berm to dig in. Mine is more like gravel and I get lots of stones that won't go though the hardware cloth. Have to pick the bullets out by hand or else bring half the berm home. I still get quite a bit though and the price is right.
Its dirt, and it has its share of stones and debris. I definitely worked for every bit of it, but like I said if your willing to work and put the time, it's a great option, and as I show it's been working for me for years, and I think I hot enough for the rest of my life even shooting 5 to 8 thousand rds a year.
Damn, 3000lbs! Thats beyond what i would ever use in a lifetime i think but would be cool to have for a rainy day or bartering. I buy scrap in Canada for $1/lb. Or ignots for $1.25/lb. Too much guys with "ins" at the ranges here for me to get in on the action. Great advice though and awesome work on the stockpile!
+Matt Josephson Thank you sir. And those rates you mention are about the same here if it's available and you can find it.
I think rotometals sells processed lead scrap at 1.64/lb, but you have to buy a half ton of it at that price. They also sell "hardball"(2%tin,6% antimony) at $2,200/half ton. Unfortunately, i dont think you can get free shipping up in Canada.
I wish I could do this but every range I know about would have you arrested. even though they will never do anything with it people hate to see somebody else get something for free. Great video though I learned a lot about what to do if I ever come across a source. Thanks...
Well good luck in your search. Thank you sir.
I have 600 lbs of lead from walls of a hospital very soft , very hard to clean well it just keeps producing slag on top. how long do you take to clean how many times do you have to flux ?
Just melt thoroughly, stir thoroughly. Skim all the heavy slang, then flux stir again, skim one more time, and it should be pretty clean. Then when you melt in the melting pot for actual bullet casting, melt flux stir and skim 1 more time. Hope this helps sir.
You are probably looking at lead oxide. Melt it and take all that dross off then Flux and scrap the pot while doing this then clean the dross off of that.
very much appreciated sir!
thanks for this info.
I do the same. But unfortunately, there is a lot of clay pigeon bits in ours... have to clean that out before smelting.. otherwise, it's very nasty when it burns out. lol
Yup. All part of the job. That mostly can be done right in the sifter at the range.
Love your method, but how do you get the lead out of the spent projectiles that are completely copper jacketed, without cutting them?
It comes out. The jackets split and it comes out. Its that simple. Try it, and see.
The lead melts out and you just flux it with saw dust or wax then skim it off the top....simple
I'm glad to see that you don't wash any of the scrap. These people that do then pour contaminated water down the drain or straight onto the ground!
Does old lead water pipe work ?
If it’s lead it works
Yes, but it's simply pure lead. Good for muzzleloader or you would need to add some tin and antimony to get the hardness and fill out you would want for bullets.
Um, this is great, if you have the time. Those of us who still have to work for a living just don't have the time to do this. You mentioned a few hours doing this, a day doing that, etc. But, at least I know what to do when I retire. Thanks for the video.
+James Rodriquez BTW FYI I work 10 hrs a day 5 days a week as a diesel mechanic. If you really wanna do something, and put your mind to it, you will find the time. As you see here so did. Once you reach this point its just a matter of maintaining it, and that's just a fun hobby. And yes I'm shooting all handgun calibers for around 2.50 a box for years. So I see this as time well spent.
Dayum Bruh. You are dedicated to the cause, huh? Good deal. I'm just getting started in reloading, so that's why I've been looking into casting also. You know, in case I decide to try it eventually. I can afford to buy my ammo, but I like the idea of trying different loads and finding what works best for each of my guns. Been looking into wadcutters, so casting my own sounds like it might be fun. But, I only have so much free time right now. At any rate, I really liked the video. Happy shootin!
+James Rodriquez Thank you.
It's all part of the hobby. So the time spent is enjoyed. Like fishing, if I calculated the money spent per pound of fish......jeez....I could have bought a seafood market.
As a diesel mechanic you would be much better working at your job an extra hour a week for $50 bucks an hour and you could easily buy all the lead you need.
Awesome video. Are you raking the range scrap with a tool, or are you bending over and picking each bullet up with your hands.
I skim the top with a flat shovel.
If you soak that copper in muriatic acid it will clean it right up. If you want to smelt the copper into ingots, that's a much tougher process, you need nearly 2000 degrees. Great video!
Thank you
You mentioned scraping the bottom when you have melted it, do you actually ever get much from doing that? I would have thought that everything would float on the lead
I clean the jackets and sell them for copper and brass as well and the lead
first off Merry Christmas ya your very lucky sir I've tried to pick up the range scrap here were in live they want allow it but thank you for your videos
+Willie Young I'm sure there's probably gonna come a day when my place does the same thing. That's why I took full advantage if it throughout the entire summer of 2014, and now just maintain my current levels in case that day ever comes. And Merry Christmas to you too, and thank you for your interest.
+Willie Young One more suggestion, I do it early on the mornong. Way before shooting begins for the day. The less eyes, the better. Good luck.
THANKS for the video and tip on getting the fee range bullets.
Anytime sir
Can you just go to the range and pick up the bullets or do you have to have permission from the range owner to get the lead.
Depends on the range. I go early way before it's open, and yes I did ask and was told stay out of everyone's way, and told thank you for doing what I do by sifting the lead outta the dirt. A real win win for everyone.
I know that lump charcoal is cheaper per btu than propane by a good bit.. would be interesting to see a setup using charcoal or a wood fire
It's really not that bad. I sell the jackets back to the recycling center and use that money for the propane so it really doesn't cost anything and it would be a lot of additional work to keep the fire going doing it the other way. The job itself is already plenty heavy and dirty in itself.
I just bought 2500 lbs,but think I will sift my pit this weekend as my BP revolvers,slug gun,45's+9's are always hungry.
Good luck sir.
Very nice set up. Very good way to do things
I'm really curious about how you move those 500lb crates around? :)
+Neil Wix Good question. Simple answer, I dont. If I had to I would empty half then it would be 250, and much more manageable. I had to do that once with 2 of them. Otherwise, they pretty much stay put.
1lbs at a time
I am just getting started in doing casting. Do you have a video on how and what you use. I love the muffin pan idea and fryer. But doing the actual, you said something about a lee 420 or something.
I don't know whether to get lee or lyman with the lube attachment.
I need guidance sir
Thank you
Thank you sir. I have the lee 4 20 and a lee 10 lb pot I use both. I had a ton of casting videos up and TH-cam removed all of em. Best advice I can give you is look at fortune cookie 45 LCs channel. This I where I learned most of what I know. He is great. Hopefully they didnt remove his casting videos. Good luck my friend.
@@flier556 have you got any backup videos on bit chute or odysee?
Great video and information...!
New to your channel and just subscribed.
Have a great day and be blessed.
Thank you sir!!
May I ask how u get the shot bullets at the range? How do they let u out their? Also isn’t the bullet got as hell
Way to go mate!! Best regards from Western Australia. *SUBBED*
Thank you sir.
Very good , informative . thank you my friend
What does the R/S mean? and what are you using to cast the long gold looking bars in the two milk cartons in the back?
Range Scrap maybe ?
It is really nice jo, i want to ask you about the pot which use for smelting made of stainless steel or iron and what is the diffrent between them ?
And what is the beneft or goal for use the wax in smelting or which called flaxing ?
It's actually an industrial grade aluminum which is not recommended you should always use cast iron whenever possible mainly for safety reasons.
What the wax does towards the end is after you take as many of the impurities out as you can skim off and stare off the bottom and skim it gets the stuff that you can't get and brings any dirt that's on the bottom up to the surface so you can skim It Off that's why you do it at the end it's just to get the last bit out of the mix and then you for your ingots.
flier556
Thank you for a golden information .🌷
Do you sell it..?
What does the wax do for the molten lead?
you can get wheel weights like crazy i use it for muzzle loading and for down riggers i just heat the lead to about 650 and skim off the tin which melts at about 782 but like how you have all in order
Thank you sir. Keep up the good work. It all works
Manuela & Mike Kucharczyk
But I thought that you wanted some tin in your casting lead...?
The melting point of tin is actually about 231°.
Much lower than lead
It is zink that melts at 700 or so
Hell, man. Ain't none left for the rest of us! LOL
O sure there is. Where I get this the ground is always covered with it. Just skimming the surface. Go git you some.
Wish I had a range that would let me do that. Range I go to is super against anyone digging through the berm. Only real place for me to get lead is friggin' Fleabay.
Sorry to hear that. I dont dig. I just use a flat shovel and skim the top, then sifted out the dirt, pick out a few sticks. Dont disturb anything really. The president of the range actually thanks me for doing it Theres tons of lead right on top. Good luck in your searchs.
Munky332 Find your local scrapyard/recycling place,thats where I get my pure lead.
Great video! So how do you get the lead out of a bullet when it's completely encased with copper? Wouldn't you have to cut the copper so the lead can melt out?
+iTheGeek eye eye captain
I watched the video and he doesn't say what to do to get the lead out of fully enclosed bullets. He just says you don't have to cut them. Are we to assume he just doesn't process them and throws them in the scrap copper?
iTheGeek why is he rude? the video doesn't explain how he gets lead out of fully encased bullets without cutting them. In my experience you have to cut them.
Mark Laterza No, not all bullets have openings in the bottom of the jacket. FMJs are fully encased, and you have to cut them somehow to get the lead out. Anyone who doesn't know that hasn't spent much time processing range scrap.
Jonathan Galt no fmj will have a metal jacket around the front down to the base but it does not incase the hole bullet. A tmj bullet will cover the hole round on the other hand.
Could your "dirty" copper be cleaned up in a brass tumbler? Would the price you get be much higher?
+Leonard Urban i guess thats a possibility, you could probably even just wash it. But i kinda just stick to the deal I got with the guys I deal with over there, and just reinvest what I get out of it to propane, gas, or componates.
If the deal works for you, then, it works!
+Leonard Urban Yessssssss
So, I got to thinking: where can you find range-lead in Chicago? Answer: Coroner’s office.
Probably
I live in the rough patch of Chicago’s west side; can confirm. It’s in the coroner’s office, on the street, and lodged in the walls of foreclosed houses from all the missed shots. If you want a considerable amount of range lead, I recommend going anywhere outside of Cook County; preferably, Will County.
I really wish my rangers would allow me to pickup fired bullets but here in California that’s a no go
How long did it take you to process 3k lead, how many hours and how much propane used?
1 summer. A lot.
Great video
Thank you sir.
Can you show a video of you casting with lead, tin together and showing the pouring and jackets?
Wow. I live in north st louis i can just go to the corner of my block and get bullets off the ground. I might have that much in half the time.lol
Cool.
...do you have a goal / set number of pounds of processed lead you like to maintain on hand?
Yes sir. 3000
Thanks for sharing your wisdom!!!
You are very welcome sir.
Do the range charge you for the lead you recover? I pretty sure they know all the lead is worth money I don't think they just going to give it away free.
its possible the value of the lead you get is less that what it would cost the range to have berms professionally cleaned, even if they dont do it frequently. Besides, as a member, clubs are pretty tight knit and probably wouldnt care at all.
You are very organized.
Thank you sir. I sure try.
So... where did you find the lead that was out there when you were willing to look for it?
In the dirt berm at the range, as I throughly explained in the video??
What mesh is your screen?
1/4 by 1/4 from home depot garden department.
I take it that on the still days you use the fan to push the fumes out?
Yes
How do u properly dispose of the dross inside that metal barrel ?
Most of it is dirt bc all this started out in the dirt. Since the local, and most all these recycling metal places are a bunch of thieves, and they only pay brass fee for the copper jackets I make sure most of it gets mixed in and goes to them so I feel like I'm somewhat getting a fair shake. No matter what you bring these crooks do you ever feel like you got a fair shake on what you give them, and what they give you for it. This evens the odds a little and keeps it off the ground and out of the garbage.
A hardness tester is a good investment so you know exactly what you have.
Great video. Tots of good information.......Thanks!
Thank you sir. Glad to share, and glad it was helpful to you.
1 minute in - "why am I watching this?"
5 minutes in - "why am I still watching this?"
+Pontus Andersson Obviously because you want to know how I get quality LED for free.
Could have saved his voice and a lot of time if he had just stated up front he got it off the range from lead people have already shot. Well last range I went to nor did I own wasn't going to allow the average range customer access to the bank to dredge out his or her lead. If anything they keep it for themselves. I see this video as clickbait. Just another yahoo wanting his 15 minutes of fame and owns a video camera.
Gary Tangrady
you obviously don't know that in many part of the country people go to old gravel pits and other outdoor locations that are not official shooting ranges.
@@garyt1950 he did say it up front....at 1:30
Free lead is why you’re watching this.
His information is on point.
do you have to ask to get range scrap? or is it totally cool to do?
+josiah jones Never hurts to ask. I did. I asked the president of the board members of my range I shoot at, and it was funny. He thanked me for what I do and told me I was doing him a favor doing what I do. Yes. It was a good day. LOL
well alright , thank you
+josiah jones I did. I think its a good idea.
What does the 'R/S' marked on each ingot mean?
+Gahechi Esmichi Range Scrap
Make sense
I'm just now seeing this. Sorry for the late comment, but very nicely done sir. I am curious as someone just thinking of getting into doing my own reloading. How long would the lead you showed us last you if you didn't collect any more and just made rounds out of what you have? Thanks.
Im thinkin easily the rest of my life. Im 48, and shoot 4 to 5 thousand rds a year. Thanks.
You made me curious. He's got about 4000 pounds of casting material. At, say, 175 grains per average bullet, that's 7000/175 = 40 bullets per pound x 4000 = 160,000 bullets!
@@robertbrandywine That's a lot of bullets lol