Reusing lead bullets.

[mancill]

Quick question. I am wanting to get a bag mold to make some balls for my trade gun the old way. I have some lead bullets (about 150) that are left over from when I was reloading for my 4570 which I no longer own. They are lubed. Could I use these? I have never molded any bullets.

 

[Kansas Jake]

There is no reason not to use the 45-70 bullets. If they are not pure lead they may be a little hard, but if they load, they should be fine. The exception to this might be a cap and ball revolver. Hard lead will be difficult to load and hard on the loading lever.

 

[mooman76]

Go for it. I don't know where you got your bullets but the 45-70 usually likes fairly soft bullets. That doesn't mean these are but I have used wheel weights for RBs when I had nothing better.

 

[necchi]

Go for it. Melt'm outside and down wind of the house, that lube is gonna smoke a bit, :wink:

 

[Stumpkiller]

The lube will help flux the melt. Enjoy.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Yep! Remelt them and recast them, and then, if you recover any of them from game or backstop or anything else, remelt them and recast again. I try to as much as I can.

 

[Eterry]

Mancill, I have owned a Ruger 45-70 and used to cast 405gr's for it. After I sold it I melted down the 405's, added about an equal amount of lead flashing and made some nice RB's. I'm constantly on the hustle for lead, haven't bought any in over 20 years.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Just fine for your smoothbore. But keep it separate from your soft lead used for rifles. I label my ingots with a felt tip marker "soft" or "hard". Hard lead never goes into my electric casting pot, just soft. Hard is done in a cast iron pot over a Coleman stove flame.

 

[Eterry]

Good point...also never cast Minnie balls from anything but pure lead, they're a pita to load and won't hit a barn door.

 

[Captjoel]

"Back in the day" one of the prizes (usually the last prize) of a shooting match was the lead that was spent during the shoot. The winner had to dig it out from the tree used for a backstop.

 

[dwr]

The lube will help flux the melt. Enjoy.

Exactly :thumbsup:

 

[Jim C]

"Back in the day" one of the prizes (usually the last prize) of a shooting match was the lead that was spent during the shoot. The winner had to dig it out from the tree used for a backstop.

LOL! Before I'd dig lead out of a tree trunk I think I'd just simply quit shooting. That's some hard work man just to get a couple pounds or so of free lead. :wink:

 

[Billnpatti]

If you use a knife, it is a job and hardly worth the work. :shake: But a hatchet or ax changes everything. :grin: You can recover a lot of lead pretty fast with a hatchet or ax. However, if the stump is something the club wants to keep as a back stop, that is a horse of a different flavor ....just walk away and leave the lead in the stump. But, wait... you can still often find a few lead balls that are not buried very deeply and are easily recovered as well as some that are laying on the ground in front of the stump. These are the mostly the result of light target loads.

 

[Jim C]

Okay, light target loads make sense, but if a soft lead ball is much over a half inch or so in, one might get out with a knife and a lot of effort. Still, I believe I'd forfeit that generous prize to the tree :surrender:

 

[larry wv]

I kind of figger the youngins had to get pa's winnings out of the tree. :wink: :grin:

Larry

 

[mooman76]

That's the good thing about lead. As long as you can get it back, you can use it over and over again.

 

[eggwelder]

i reuse what i can, and collect lead where i find it. i plink with a .32, and any .50 is fired at a portable sand filled bullet trap. mostly.

 

[Jim C]

I kind of figger the youngins had to get pa's winnings out of the tree. :wink: :grin:

Larry

There you go, now :thumbsup: