Recovering lead

[Mike from OK]

Anyone here have a target setup that "catches" the ball so they could be recovered, melted down, and reused? I know we can all pretty much afford more lead... I'm mainly just curious. Specifically for .45 up to .62 caliber... The .32 balls should be relatively easy to stop.

Trees are pretty good at catching balls but cutting down a tree after every shooting session isn't exactly practical or responsible.

I also have access to a handful of old Tulsa area phone books... They're around 4" thick. I assume I would have to enclose them to prevent them from shredding and falling apart on impact. And I'm reasonably certain they will withstand a fairly small number of shots before they're rendered ineffective.

A gong with a system for catching shattered/fragmented balls?

Perhaps a "laminate" of scrap lumber?

Mike

[Pukka Bundook]

Mike,

We'd put up a board backstop to staple targets to, and behind this, another row of posts and fill the gap with first cut boards.  After a shoot, we'd take these boards out and pick up the loose lead, and pry out what we saw.
This was OK, but after a few shoots, the planks got like matchwood.
For the muskets at 50 metre/yd, I use a piece of a round baler, flat steel maybe  a bit more than an eighth thick, propped up at an angle to the targets and behind the target frames.  This deflects the balls down over into a thick log.   Idea being when the log gets 'tender' we can salvage the lead.
Not at all perfect or best, but what we have at present.

Jason has made a bullet catcher out of pipe with an offset slot in it, with wings on the outside to funnel balls in.  Off-set slot means they spin around in there and don't come back out.   Seems it'll even catch HV stuff.

Best ,
Richard.

[Mike from OK]

Thank ya sir. That's the kind of info I was hoping to get.

Mike

[R.J.Bruce]

Guy on Frontier Muzzleloading Forum shoots into stacked 4-ply automobile tires. Says balls and bullets pass through 1-2 layers to fall inside the tires.

[smylee grouch]

I have two, one at 25 yds. and one at 50.  Four foot wide X 12 ft. long, both set with four foot staked to the ground and other end propped up and legs welded on so its about four feet high. Shoot towards the slant and bullets deflect and slide down to the staked down end. this 4x12 sheet is 3/8 thick steel and has as of yet never dented from any kind of ammo.

[45-110]

My dad and I have recovered lead for years from our dirt banks. Made up a screen sifter and get at least 75% eventually back. Bought a metal detector last year and was surprised how many projectiles had landed 50 yds and more over the banks by bouncing up and over the top. Shooting decent groups does help find them.....even out to 600 yds with My sharps, Ballards etc.
kw

[bones92]

In archery, they often use old carpet (bottom side out) for targets, with another sheet of carpet behind, with about 12 inches gap in between.  In this gap are just old cloth rags.  The rags catch the arrow points and bleed the energy off.

I would be interested to see if a similar setup might work with lead ball.  A plywood target face, with another layer of plywood behind it about 12-15 inches, with the space being filled with old cloth rags.  The ball should be a bit deformed after going through the plywood face, so that it catches on the cloth and the energy is bled off.


Another idea would be a sheet of steel hung at a 45 degree slant from back side of the top of the target.  Balls pass through the target and deflect down when they hit the metal plate.

[Scota4570]

In archery, they often use old carpet (bottom side out) for targets, with another sheet of carpet behind, with about 12 inches gap in between.  In this gap are just old cloth rags.  The rags catch the arrow points and bleed the energy off.

I would be interested to see if a similar setup might work with lead ball.  A plywood target face, with another layer of plywood behind it about 12-15 inches, with the space being filled with old cloth rags.  The ball should be a bit deformed after going through the plywood face, so that it catches on the cloth and the energy is bled off.


Another idea would be a sheet of steel hung at a 45 degree slant from back side of the top of the target.  Balls pass through the target and deflect down when they hit the metal plate.

Rags would stop the ball, I have not tested to see how many.  Fluffed cotton takes about 2' to stop a modern pistol bullet.  Cotton requires fluffing between shots.   I used to use that method to recover bullets in a crime lab.  One phone book will stop a pistol bullet.

IF I had the space to set up a range I would use a sloped smash plate and sand. 

[Daryl]

This is my indoors shooting box for air rifles and pistols. The plate is actually 3/16". If made
of sterner stuff, as in AR500, with perhaps 1/8" sides, it would work for ML rifles and pistols.]
It could use more angle as well, for more powerful guns.  The lead splash is why I suggested
1/8" side plates. Note, I do have a 3/16" short bottom plate, as even deflected down pellets
chew up wood very quickly.
I staple a sheet of cardboard over the opening, then clip targets with the clamps.

[retired fella]

 Years ago here in so. Ohio the Cedar City Club had a wall of tires heaped up to a height of about 12 feet. The club had been in operation since 1937 I think.  You just reached in to about any tire and came out with hand full after hand full of lead.  And yes, the occasional garter snake.

[Mike from OK]

Awesome info guys! Thanks!

I thought about it some more and looked around the house. We always have various cardboard boxes and I have some scraps of OSB... I'm going to try a sandwich of alternating layers of cardboard and OSB. I don't know how well it will work but I wanted something reasonably portable that I can throw in my vehicle and take to my shooting spot.

The tires are a good idea too. Always a few old ones laying around the farm. And I might have a scrap sheet of metal to use as well.

Mike

[LynnC]

I made a lead lead catcher out of the bottom 1/3 of a water heater. The steel is a bit over 1/8” thick. Its about 18” in diameter and cut 18” long. The original bottom is already welded in.  I bolted 3 angle iron tabs to the open end to mount a plywood target face to. The lead catcher is filled with wood scraps and packed sawdust. I bolt on the target face and the whole thing is mounted on a rotted out child's wagon for portability. It doesn't get move much as the sawdust gets wet and it weighs a ton so it sits on ghe 50 yard line mostly.

Anyway, about once a year I take the plywood target face off and sift the contents and reassemble. The target board gets patched and or replaced during the year anyway.

Ive shot it with many a round ball up to 12 bore and never more than a dimple showed on the back end. Most dont ever get that far.   Been using it at least 15 years and its served well.

[LynnC]

Portable?

Id build an angled deflector AR500 plate and hang the target in front.

The only other thing that worked for me was to bolt a steel plate to one sidewall inside a tire. Hang your target in front, The ball splatters and collects inside the tire.

[allen.54]

Hi guys, I just shoot into some wood blocks, maybe a little thicker than tomahawk block. After they start to get punky or start not to stop the ball I split them up carefully and reclaim the lead.  I throw the old wood aside for next campfire. Old timers also did it that way.

[Scota4570]

" I throw the old wood aside for next campfire "

Please do not burn the wood.  The lead remaining in the wood will be volatilized by the high heat of the fire.  When inhaled it will cause lead to be absorbed by the persons around the campfire.  I know and old gunsmith who poisoned himself very seriously by burning wood with lead in it. 

[allen.54]

If you are serious don`t ever cast any roundballs out side on open fire COME ON !

[Daryl]

Back in the 70's when I started shooting BP in Smithers, BC, I used to shoot out at Les Hawkes' place on Walcot road.
We (Les and I) built a stacked ball catcher out of short pieces of 2x4's & 2x6's.  After it was all shot up, we broke it apart
and in this way, I got a lot of the lead back as scrap, then Les burned the wood in his stove in the Shop.  The molten lead,
ran out the bottom of the stove and collected in the tray under the stove.  I was then able to collect it after it hardened.

[Smokey Plainsman]

I’ve always read a sand trap pit works well for the task.

[oldways]

 don't know how well it would work, but if you would be able to find carpet squares or scarp carpet. make a box and stack the carpet inside

[Bob Roller]

What is X ray lead worth a pound now? I haven't bought any lead for about
20 years or more.
Bob Roller

[Daryl]

We paid 50 cents per pound last time.

[hudson]

I have been using an old tire with a ¼” plate attached to the inside back of the tire and it will stop just about anything reasonable you want to through at it. When the bullet hits the tire flexing which helps absorbs the energy  the bullet disintegrates which is mostly caught inside the tire.

[walks with gun]

     I cut and stack a rows of pine in firewood size pieces, always put soft wood like pine in the first two rows,  when log chunks get too shot up they get split and the lead reclaimed, and the rest it thrown in a big outdoor pit that gets burned every year after first good snow.   I can pile some stacks alternating down my range so I can shoot 16 yards (handgun) 30 and 60 yards.   So far I've reclaimed a bit over 100 pounds of lead out of my wood rows.