question about range lead

[dlbleak]

i've been picking up lead from the backstop. looking for solid lead projectiles and picking them up one at a time. today i scooped up a couple shovels full.figure i'll melt them down using a turkey fryer base and an old cast iron skillet. my thought is to get the lead evn out of the jacketed bullets. get them home and clean them up using a bucket with holes drilled in the bottom and water. as i'm picking around i start checking hardness in the copper jacketed bullets with my thumbnail. some seem softer than cast bullets.

so, is the lead in jacketed bullets pure versus harder lead used in cast?

 

[Rod Snell]

Pure lead melts about 622F, and you need something that gets hot enough and can be controlled.
Too much heat will drive off the tin in the alloy. Tin in the alloy is important to castability, in addition to some hardening.
Swaged bullets and swaged cores for jacketed are generally soft. Commercial cast bullets can be quite hard.

 

[mr ed]

lead in jacketed bullets is quite soft. has to be to be swaged into the jacket.
melt them in a pot and jackets will float to top because copper is lighter than lead.
don't waste time with tmj's (total metal jacket) they are not worth the effort to cut open for the small amount of lead.

 

[dlbleak]

that answers my question. if there is too much jacketed lead in the mix, it will be to soft. i was trying to avoid adding antimony

 

[Shadowrider]

You can always add wheel weights. The clip-on variety and make sure they aren't zinc.

 

[aeropb]

range lead is very soft