Lifespan of non loaded lead bullets?

[Mike38]

I recently found 2000 lead bullets in my closet. Shooter’s Choice brand .452 dia. 200 gr. LSWC. They are from a previous life when I shot Bullseye Pistol competitively. If memory serves me, they are 10 to 12 years old, maybe more. Storage in a cloths closet that gets hot in the summer, and cold in the winter. (50 deg F to 90 deg F)The wax lube looks to be in place, no patina on the lead. Will they be fine to load and shoot?

Also found a box of 500 .356 dia. 122 gr. LTC bullets that I used in a 9mm. Same condition as above. Should be good, or no?

By the way, it made me laugh out loud when I saw the price tag of $14.95 per 500 on the .45s. Those days are long gone, aren’t they?

[Griff, SASS93]

Yep, I would say that if the lube is still in place and not dried out... you should be ok.

[Unclenick]

Yes. The only kind of lead bullets that can "go bad", are those made of an alloy with more tin than antimony and that was heat treated for extra hardness. That extra hardness fades in these bullets, changing the peak pressure you can load them to before leading begins. But nothing loaded for bullseye pistol is hardened like that, AFAIK. And a hardened bullet alloy that has more antimony than tin, as knowledgeable hardened bullet makers will use, will stay up around BHN 21 even after aging a decade. So simply choosing the right alloy handles that. You should be more than good to go with what you have.

[Nick_C_S]

No. They're no longer good. Send them to me right away for proper disposal

j/k, I'm sure they're fine Mike38. Load n shoot away.

[trapper9260]

I am with what is stated if they where heat treated then they would lost there hardness,But they are should be ok to use I have some that are cast back in the late 80's and use them now and they are ok they where not heat treated .

[SSA]

I've had a few hundred 44 cal 240 gr swc's sitting under the bench for years. The box of 500 originally sold for $18.99. Don't don't remember what it was I didn't like about them, but there was some reason I only used 50 or 100 of them.
Loaded some up with some HS-6 last summer. It was the most accurate revolver load I shot all year.
Maybe cast bullets get better when they age, sometimes.

[TimSr]

No. They're no longer good. Send them to me right away for proper disposal

Beat me to it!




I'm still loading Bull-X cast bullets from the 80's.

[g.willikers]

if the lube is still in place and not dried out... you should be ok.

How important, really, is the lube on cast bullets?
Many years ago, our basement flooded and, naturally, all my bullets wound up under water.
The lube was badly damaged on most of the bullets.
Most had some lube, but very few escaped with a full groove worth.
And quite a few barely had any lube on them.
Needing to reload for a match for the weekend, I just loaded them as usual, ignoring the condition of the lube or whether they even had any.
They all shot just fine, and the leading was very minor, if at all.
Ever since, I don't pay much attention to the quality of lube or lack of it on cast bullets.
Hence the reason for the question.

[Jim243]

Those days are long gone, aren’t they?

Yep, they are gone!!!!

If I remember right, lead is element 208 and gold 197. Without rain, wind or fire, they should both last forever.

Jim

[Shane Tuttle]

So, how long does the typical "heat treatment" for extra hardness last on a cast bullet?