Warning for those that use reclaimed lead from the range berms.

[m&p45acp10+1]

I found 3 boxes of what is new to me Winchester Super Clean. It is lead free with zinc core bullets. I know it does not take much zinc to ruin a batch of lead, and it not very practical to try to dilute it enough to negate its effects casting.

Just thought I would throw that out there. I saw the boxes in the brass buckets at the range last week end. I will try to get a picture of the box, and upload it to photobucket to show it. I guess if I use range lead I am going to need to be careful with my temps, and keep the batches small.

[jaguarxk120]

The zinc will float along with other debris and can be skimmed off.

Sometimes I miss a wheel weight and there is one floating on top of the melt. I usually grab it before it starts to melt.

[m&p45acp10+1]

That works great for one that uses a thermometer, and can keep the temps down. Most that use a large pot, and turkey fryer for melting it can lead to a temp of over 800 and the zinc will melt. I had a friend that had that happen. It ruined 35 pounds of lead.

I was just putting it out there for those that see some that float, and will not melt. So they know to skim it off instead of keeping it going until it melts. If it does 800 degree lead will resemble oatmeal.

[Dufus]

I have never used range scraps. I use a lot of wheel weights. Same thing can happen with those.

Most of the time, I use lead, wheel weights, 50/50, and hardened shot. I alloy them to the hardness that I want and then load 'em up. My alloys range from BHN 8 to 14 depending on caliber and purpose. I use straight WW for rifle loads. All air cooled.

[stephen426]

sorry for the dumb question but how does the zinc ruin the batch? Does it create imbalanced bullets due to a non-uniform alloy, ruining accuracy? Thanks!

[FrankenMauser]

Zinc turns the alloy into an oatmeal-like sludge that is pretty much impossible to cast with, and causes an undesirable crystalline structure when cooled.

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When I melt range lead, I skim all of the floaters as soon as they're ready, and keep doing so until everything is molten. Then it's heat off, flux, and pouring ingots.
I've run a thermometer plenty of times. The melt has never gotten hot enough for zinc. Even if it did, via distraction or hot-spotting on the bottom during the initial heating... I pick up so many jacketed bullets that the average melt only yields about 8-10 lbs of casting alloy. It would suck to lose a batch, but it's not a big deal at only 8 pounds or so...

And, of course, I wash, dry, and inspect every piece that goes in the pot. It does take time, and sounds ridiculous to the guys that just dump buckets in and apply heat. But it keeps the pot cleaner, lets me ensure that all jacketed and plated bullets will drain easily, and lets me catch things that are a waste of time or space (like the zinc fragments, non-lead shot/slugs, and solid copper stuff).
If I plan to run it through my expensive tools and fire it out of one of my firearms, I sure as hell want to know what it's starting out as.

[stephen426]

Thanks for the info! I googled it after I replied since I was so curious.

[jaguarxk120]

Zinc melts at 787 F and lead at 621F, so the zinc being a lighter metal will float on top
of the melted lead.

Zinc is a major component in die cast parts (white metal) and if you bring the heat up to
787F you can cast very hard bullets with it. They will be lighter in weight and will not expand at all. But working at that high of temperatures might warp your expensive mold blocks.

[m&p45acp10+1]

Most range lead is darn near if not pure lead. (Jacketed ammo tends to be swaged from pure soft lead pressed into the copper shell of the jacket.) It tends to pour best at temps in the 800 degree range. So if there is zinc in there that melts while smelting ingots it will ruin, and contaminate the whole batch. 1 gram of zinc will run 50 pounds of lead if I recall correctly. The number is pretty high.

If I pour at under 750 I get poor fill out in my molds. (All aluminum molds.) I cast my air rifle bullets at 810 as they are pure dead soft lead. Anything under that temp. does not give me the proper fill out.

[FrankenMauser]

I think the make up of range lead depends a lot upon where you're getting it.

Here, my typical haul breaks down about like this each time:
20% 'hard' cast bullets, including rifle. **
20% plated bullets. (plated cores usually have decent tin content)
20% jacketed pistol bullets.
20% jacketed rifle bullets.
10% rimfire, buck shot, or unknown chunks/splatter
10% miscellaneous - cores from jacketed bullets, shotgun slugs, MZ conicals, round balls.


Lumping the 'hardcast', plated, buckshot, and jacketed HPs/SPs together results in a pretty decent alloy that reminds me of isotope cores or slightly softened COWW.
The rest, even with the added hardness of the rimfire stuff and buckshot, is usually pretty soft.


**There's a guy that shoots hard 750+ gr bullets out of something that appears to be .58 caliber. When I see those things in the berm, it's like hitting the lottery. Almost two ounces of good alloy per pop! I'd kiss him, if I knew who he was...