Backstop lead & copper
- Thread starter 6MMsteve
- Start date
pirate ammo
Guaranteed to take the wind out of their sails
in my early teens I would down where people would shoot in the sandpits,sift through it , take it home , melt it down , copper floats to the top , skim it off , 10 cents a pound for lead
copper I forget , but when your 13 or 14,gas 15 cents a gallon,its great.would look along the roads for drink bottles , also , 3 cent..when you don't have much you figure it out,,
hpshooter
Gold $$ Contributor
"what do they do with all the lead & copper that accumulates in the backstops at shooting ranges over the years,"
Many ranges reclaim it and sell it as scrap metal. There are commercial recovery outfits that will reclaim it on a share basis with the range.
Trap and skeet clubs have in many cases made a sizeable amount of money reclaiming tons of shot from their outfall areas.
At our club the bullet casters will retrieve buckets of spent rounds from the berms after a heavy rain. When melted, the lead is poured into ingots and the jackets are sold as scrap copper. WARNING precautions must be taken when melting jacketed projectiles that have been exposed to moisture. Also, proper respirators should be worn when melting heavy metals. Castboolits.com is a good source of info on the subject.
Google range lead reclamation, many answers are a mouse click away.
Many ranges reclaim it and sell it as scrap metal. There are commercial recovery outfits that will reclaim it on a share basis with the range.
Trap and skeet clubs have in many cases made a sizeable amount of money reclaiming tons of shot from their outfall areas.
At our club the bullet casters will retrieve buckets of spent rounds from the berms after a heavy rain. When melted, the lead is poured into ingots and the jackets are sold as scrap copper. WARNING precautions must be taken when melting jacketed projectiles that have been exposed to moisture. Also, proper respirators should be worn when melting heavy metals. Castboolits.com is a good source of info on the subject.
Google range lead reclamation, many answers are a mouse click away.
I was involved in mining and replacing berms at a range once. It can be a real headache trying to get permission from federal, state and local governments. What I did find was if the berm dirt (and bullets) leave the range property you need all kinds of paperwork along with permission from the pope. However, if the dirt (bullets) stays on the property no permission is needed to move it. We did a lot of range road improvement.
It is highly encouraged by the EPA to have a best management plan in place to reclaim the lead. And no it is not that hard to get government agencies on board with completing lead reclaim out of the backstop especially when you start talking about EPA standards. That is one of the things I do for a living. With shotgun ranges you will get $$ back, but that is not the case with rifle and pistol ranges.
Yes to take it off property you will need to complete alot of documentation and paperwork. Either way you have to follow the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Yes to take it off property you will need to complete alot of documentation and paperwork. Either way you have to follow the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
6MMsteve
Gold $$ Contributor
Creedhicans
You can get all the lead you will ever need with a bucket, shovel and a screen in a few afternoons.
Don't ask for permission, just do it when no one is around.
Don't ask for permission, just do it when no one is around.
good luck selling the jackets as copper. There are a lot of steel jackets in there, as well as dirt, rocks, and slag.
Recycle place buys it as range scrap, same price per pound as if you didn't melt out the lead.
Recycle place buys it as range scrap, same price per pound as if you didn't melt out the lead.
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
More likely, it will be the Creed-Magnons. They will likely re-fashion the material from these unusual copper-lead "deposits" to form the very first OTM spearpoints, which they will effectively use to bring down large game such as wooly rat-mammoths, saber-toothed ground squirrels, and mastoducks.
hogpatrol
Gold $$ Contributor
The cast bullet guys usually scrounge it.
6MMsteve
Gold $$ Contributor
we had a 100 yd range on the back of one of our farms, we started diggin a cave we shot so much. It was a perfect backstop had hills on 3 sides and flat, shooting NE it was perfect late afternoon shooting. The hole went back bout 8ft deep and 6ft wide lots of lead in there.
To prevent any lead poisioning or environmental damage, there are some companies that specialize in lead reclamation/range remediation. Look into Recoil LLC https://recoilllc.com/
The EPA has been requiring ranges to get remediation done to prevent incidents like the Flint Water Crisis back in April of 2014-2017. It can be a serious issue if a range is close enough for the shot lead to leech or spread into the community, if a range is closed down then they do what is called a "closure". The lead has to be removed for vegitation to grow properly and Recoil LLC knows A LOT about leveling out the pH levels in the soil for this to happen. If I'm not mistaken they have also started reclaiming brass as well.
All of the lead/brass is reused. It's actually a really neat process to look into.
Tesoro
Non-compliant
To prevent incidents like the Flint Water crisis? You sound like someone either connected to the EPA/recoil inc or someone that would be barred from entering my shooting club!
joshb
Gold $$ Contributor
Still? What still? Old mountain boy’s saying.
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