Many of the recycle centers that take cans and steel will also have a price for other metals like lead, copper, tin. Price for clean is much more than dirty. Clean is usually absent of foreign material like paint, fish line, grease, large amounts of dirt. Call for prices and what they take. Things like mercury only goes to special location I think, some states have restrictions on the amount you can transport so stay under that amount.

Take it down to the local scrap metal dealer. It doesnt really seem that you care much to get money from it, but scrap metal dealer will give you something at least. Better than giving it in to a recycle center for free.

Unfortunately most scrap dealers will not take lead bullets. Brass shell casings yes , but bullets no.

And the reason being??

Please take a picture of you with all that lead. Those pictures help justify dredging to the tree huggers.

Bullets are an alloy.
My local recycler takes melted down bullet lead into ingots and has a specific price for it.
Less also has some value at gun shows to people that do bullet casting.

That is not entirely correct. Only if it is jacketed would it have 2 dissimilar metals. Shot could either be steel shot or lead. I do not know of the commonality of lead shot being anything but lead. An alloy is a metal which has a chemical bond of sub elements, where a metal that has a coating of another type metal is not actually an alloy.

Great idea Tim!!

I'll take a picture with what I got his past Sunday alone and post when I am home during daylight hours and post it here. Good advice all, and thank you!!!

While I agree that lead Shot is likely pure lead, most bullet lead is alloyed. Jacketed hollowpoints and fmj and especially cast lead have a small percentage of nickel and antimony.

Reloading is one of my hobbies and my teacher casts a lot of his own bullets.

My local recycler in Texas gives a specific price for "bullet lead" and accepts what I take him melted down into ingots with trash skimmed out.

Mary, thats a great idea....just to melt it down and put it in a ingot or other mold. I guess then no one could claim its bullet lead. And the small quantities of other trace metals would be insignificant in the overall weight.

Obviously smelt this outside and don't breath the vapor when smelting, When you melt lead to form ingots unlike other metals the ugly stuff that floats onto the top will be any impurities/alloys. You don't need a flux. The slag that forms can be skimmed off prior to pouring your ingot. An old cast iron pan that no longer sees use works well enough for a crucible.

I'm in black powder club, make own balls or shot, always need pure lead, so might locate a club, they will take lead off your hands. Roger,  GPAA MEMBER.

the only thing i have to say is you need to watch for mercury while melting it .that would be my only concern.

Watch out for the gold as well. It won't melt and it sinks in lead.

Lead tends to clear itself when you melt it anyway. (So does gold for that matter lol).
Metals will layer out by melting point and density/molecular weight.
When you melt lead, everything but gold and heavy radioactive elements float to the top and can be skimmed. The heavier goes to the bottom.
Be VERY careful when melting!!!
Do it outdoors with good ventilation!
A lot of metal vapors including lead are toxic and accumulate in the body over time and take chelation therapy to remove.
If you survive.
Just be careful and you'll be ok.
Make sure everything is dry!!
Liquid lead is extremely hot and when water hits it it, it turns to steam literally with explosive force and tends to splatter liquid lead when it does this. DO wear eye protection please!
I did get lead burns so learned this fun fact the hard way...
Take precautions, play some tunes and it can be a relaxing afternoon activity.
Ignore safety and you can get scarred for life.
Meanwhile, enjoy!

Mary

 

 lol - after 10 minutes of fussing around with the window here trying to figure out how to paste the picture of my pan with all the lead, I give up - the computer wins!    If someone knows how and could give me a nudge (or boot up the backside if I am being dense), I would appreciate it!

So, you would think given I found a veritable "Mother Load" of lead, that at least a spec of the shiny would have graced my pan - sadly, such was not the case this day (even though I went to bedrock and cleaned out the crevice).  Oh well, that is why it is called "prospecting" I suppose.  At least I did the aquatic wildlife and environment a favor!