patrick reif Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 I'm cleaning out my dads old shop and found about 15 lbs of lead shot and several lead muzzle loader bullets. I was thinking I could melt these down for jigs, but I'm wondering if these are reasonably pure forms of lead. The shot is at least 30 years old and I seriously doubt dad was concerned about the dangers of lead back then. The bullets are all from the 90's and early 2000's. I would think these would be fairly pure, but I'm not sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 (edited) Depends on the type of shot it is. Is it magnum shot? Chilled shot? Regular shot? Some shot is coated in Graphite dust that may become very drossy on you. You may also consider selling the shot and using the money to buy some better lead for cheaper. A 10# bag of brand new shot goes for ~$40 these days. That's $4 a pound. The muzzle loader bullets should be fairly pure but one never knows if they were home cast. Edited July 7, 2016 by Kasilofchrisn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apdriver Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 The shotgun lead should be fairly soft. The cast bullets are made from harder lead and I would add them to my shotgun lead in my pour. Sounds like you have more lead shot so you should be good mixing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 I'd melt a little of that shot and see if it is soft. It may be shot with antimony in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallmouthaholic Posted July 7, 2016 Report Share Posted July 7, 2016 Soft lead scratches easily w/ your fingernail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
