Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: woods walker on April 12, 2013, 09:28:03 PM
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Any one make there own lead shot for trap shooting thinking of bying a shot maker
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Would it be cost effective? I guess if you got your lead for nothing or supper cheap it would make sense. Lead is the new gold. :o :o
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I use to drop my own shot. i bought a littleton dropper and then built a second one in shop class in HS.
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Consider the health risks when working with lead. The stuff scares the hec out of me.
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Thanks for all the input it was just an idea I have lots of lead .
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Consider the health risks when working with lead. The stuff scares the hec out of me.
when i was doing it i read a lot about the health concerns and what it all boiled down to was make sure you are doing it in a well ventilated place and make sure not to get too much of it on your skin.
i used wheel weights, still have about 2 tons of lead in my dads shop, i melted them down picked the hangers out and molded ingots in a cast iron muffin tray. i did this outside with a propane burner.
if you do this i would highly recommend working in an area that you can get a good air flow through, i dropped shot in the shop and had both garage doors open (one on each end) and set up a fan to move air around and possibly a respirator. also wear gloves, i wore simple leather work gloves they keep the lead off your hands and provides a heat sheild allowing you to pick hangers and skim off slag easier.
also make sure your lead is bone dry before you melt it, wet lead or moisture in the pot will cause it to spit and even "explode". friend of mine that used to drop shot got some moisture in his pot and the lead literally erupted everywhere he was lucky and avoided the blast but his pigs werent so lucky and to this day he still has lead stuck the to ceiling of his shop.
if youre serious do some reading and really get educated on this before you do it, not to sound condescending but a little mistake can have serious repercussions.
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If you are ever looking for relatively cheap lead, search for old dive gear on craigslist. Lost of divers get out of the sport or have old stuff just sitting in the basement and sell their weights for next to nothing, and that can sometimes be upwards of 100lbs of lead. I picked up a 50lb belt and a 40lb belt for ~$20 from a guy a while back. Not the prettiest lead for diving, but hey... Pretty or not it all weighs the same. :tup: