Author Topic: Lead Shot For Bullets (Read 636 times)

JCP · « **on:** September 10, 2004, 04:58:48 PM »

Has any one of you ever tried using lead shot for rifle bullets. If so how hard :? are the bullets you have cast? Shot is very cheap compared to lead ingots and you don't have to pay shipping . Just wondering if it would work.

Graybeard · « **Reply #1 on:** September 10, 2004, 05:35:38 PM »

Questor tried this. If he doesn't see it and respond try a PM to him and ask how it turned out. I honestly don't recall but as best as I can recall he thought it worked OK. I think he has decided to stop casting tho as he really doesn't have the time anymore.

I do plan to try some myself even tho I probably have a life time supply of wheel weights and linotype laid back already.

JCP · « **Reply #2 on:** September 11, 2004, 03:49:55 AM »

I tried it last nite and the bullets look good, I haven't weighed them yet, will do so today. I can say the stuff is nasty, has a lot of lube or something on the shot. I'll try to melt some more in a few days but this time i'm going to try to wash the shot in gasoline or something then let it dry of coarse then melt. I'll let you know how it turns out.

ButlerFord45 · « **Reply #3 on:** September 11, 2004, 04:55:15 AM »

I believe the lead shot to be graphite coated. I'be added shot to wheel weights just because I had some that was a size I didn't care for and had nothing else to do with it. I didn't pay much attention to any extra dirtiness because I added them to the cold wheel weights.
It should increase the hardness (I think) because of the higher percentage of antimony

Nobade · « **Reply #4 on:** September 11, 2004, 06:29:52 AM »

I wouldn't recommend it. I tried that a few years ago, and found it has quite a bit of arsenic in it. When it was melted I could smell it, and for several days afterward I could taste it. I had my blood checked, and they told me I didn't get enough to worry about but it was definately there. After that I won't use shot for anything but shotguns and holding down targets. Maybe if you had a melting pot set up somewhere far from your house and stayed upwind of it while you were melting the shot it would be useful, but I don't think it's worth the trouble.

Flash · « **Reply #5 on:** September 12, 2004, 02:50:25 AM »

When I first started casting in my late teens, that is all I used. My dad used to get for free where he worked. When fiber-optic cable was introduced, lead shielding for underground cable became a thing of the past and the lead reserves where he worked was up for grabs. I do recall the graphite mess and that was applied as a lubricant during the manufacturing process for flowability. I still have several 25# bags of it from Lawrence shot company that will most likely make it's way into the casting pot.

Leftoverdj · « **Reply #6 on:** September 12, 2004, 06:28:49 AM »

I use some shot but as an additive to my usual WW+2% tin. A cat food can of shot to maybe 15 pounds of alloy gets enough arsenic into the mix for reliable heat treating.

In the distant past, I used a maybe hundred pounds of buckshot to make .38 WCs. That was pretty soft because buckshot has much less antimony than the fine sizes. That came about because I had picked up about 400 pounds of buck at the auction of a bankrupt gunstore for peanuts.

Shot is about as good as any other source of scrap lead alloy. I think I would add a couple of percent of tin, but the finer sizes have plenty of antimony. It's a bit expensive for me to use, but were it the cheapest I could get, I'd use it. I'd look around for some reclaimed shot, though. It crops up from time to time at a substantial discount.

The graphite and arsenic issues don't concern me. I batch ingots once or twice a year, do it outdoors, and mow my lawn while the stuff is melting. Only time I am close to the stuff is when I am pouring ingots and that might be a total of two hours a year. When I was a kid, lead arsenate was a standard agricultural pesticide and I bought and used it a thousand pounds at the time. I respect the hazards, but the word "arsenic" don't panic me.

Awf Hand · « **Reply #7 on:** September 12, 2004, 08:51:58 AM »

I would like to throw in a bit as well:

The reason there is inorganic arsenic in the shot is to reduce the surface tension of the molten Pb to help it form into more spherical balls when it is produced. -This is info from Metallico-Granite city. Robin in their shot division was very helpful and sent me MSD sheets on their shot products.

The smaller the shot, the less arsenic is needed to help make round pellets. There is a buffer on the outside of the pellets that will dross off when melting. I've used the 9 shot to make many bullets, with good results.

Of note is the hardness of the lead, however. The bullets I made would actually ring if dropped onto a hard surface. My paper target didn't care, but the steel silhouettes didn't respond well. The bullets just shattered and dumped very little energy into the target. In fact, they almost acted like kiln-fired clay (outside the bbl). Inside the bbl, I found them quite prone to leading near the chamber end, as would be expected.

All of this said, I would check to see if your local sports store carries Lawrence brand shot. If they do, give a call to the distributor and see if you can get a different alloy drop-shipped at the same time the sports store is getting their pallets of shot. This will be the cheapest way to get the stuff you really want.
I don't think shot lead is what you really want, but in a pinch, it'll work. Always work outside with it.