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Lead shot Makers

10918 Views 25 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  crowkiller, 
waterfowlhunter
Any one used one?

Any one built one?

I am planning on building a lead shot dripper and am open to others plans, ideas, MISTAKES and wisdom.

I have a pot and burner that can hold about 200lb of lead, I will be adding a valve to stop, start and regulate the lead flow. it will then flow "regulated" to the trough and drippers which will be pre-heated also. then off the drop tray into the coolant. I might purchase the drippers from Littleton but the rest I will build. I have started collecting lead and @ $50 a bag for shot it is time for me to make my own. if all goes well I should be able to make 200lb of shot in a couple of hours not counting the initial melting and mixing ( adding required items for hardness ) of the lead.

I did not do a search so if there are other post on this forgive me for starting it again. :thumbsup:
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20bolt
I keep seeing flux.

Do you guys add flux to the lead?
Why?

Can you make shot from 45s you find on the range?
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20bolt
Huh,

I was using this lead to cast my own hooked decoy weights. Before I cast it into the mold, I usually melt it in a big pot, stirring and skimming for about 5 minutes. Would the flux help to move that junk off the top? I love it how the rocks and dirt floats to the top.

My lead is from 45s and 50s I pickup off the range. When I get bored, I can head out there and pick up 25lbs in less than 20 minutes. About the 45yrd mark is golden.

Do you just use plumbers flux?
will these bullets make acceptable shot? I am just using it for skeet
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20bolt
I actually just built a shot dripper last night. I used some aluminum scrap my company had around, and tried to make some shot last night.

I am glad I made the nipples removable. .09" dia produced shot in the #1-#3 range. I used pure antifreeze as coolant, and MAP gas to heat the lead. I found I got the best shot when I actually got the lead hot, then moved the torch to blow across the nipple, torching the lead as it rolled down the ramp.

I made some new nipples today in .052 and .046, so we'll see what I get tonight.
shot dripper.jpg

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20bolt
I also wanted to add that ~70% of the shot was teardrop shaped.

1. Would this be a problem for skeet?
The range is so short, does it really make a difference?
2. What should I change?
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20bolt
I was dropping less than 3/8"
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20bolt
I dont know about fanning screen, but http://www.mcmaster-carr.com has perforated sheet metal in exact sizes. Screening always seems to be +/- .020, which is the difference between #5 and #9 shot.

For my own use, I am planning on using a piece of scrap plastic and milling exact holes in it. It will be a 10 minute operation on the mill, but will give me near perfect filtering of sizes.

For guys without a mill, I bet you could buy some drill bits of the exact sizes you wanted and drill a few 5 gallon buckets.

I should also add, they have all kinds of great stuff.
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