Question on lead bullets - The Firearms Forum

03fxsti · 01-14-2011, 01:12 AM

I have a quantity of 230 grn lrn bullets for .45 acp. These were at my dads place, he can no longer reload due to failing health. I don't know how long these bullets sat in his reloading shed, but it was a long time. They are generally coated with dust, and dirt, and the lube is cruddy and in some cases has fallen out of the groove. My question is, is there a way to rehab these suckers and load them? I'm new to loading lead, in fact I've never loaded for my .45, dad always did it. As far as the dirt, I would think I could just wash the dang things, heck a trip through the dishwasher probably wouldn't hurt them. How do I get them lubed again? I've looked at buying a lubrisizer, but I'd be north of 100 bucks, plus I'll only ever do this once, as I'll take better care of my bullets. I plan to continue to load cast in the future but I'll buy them lubed. Any help would be appreciated.

noylj · 01-14-2011, 02:10 AM

How many are there? Usually, you would just melt them down and re-cast. Or, you can look for a bullet caster in your area.
If you just want to shoot them and be done with it, you could dunk them in a can of carburetor cleaner (binary solution) to clean them. You can tumble lube them in Lee Liquid Alox and be done with them. I don't think I would put them in my dishwasher.
Heck, you could just agitate them in hot soapy water.

bayhawk2 · 01-14-2011, 03:33 AM

Welcome 03fxsti-One thing I'd do is caliberate them.Just to make sure they are
what they say.I'm sure you'll get a lot more experienced replies than mine,
but I understand lead alloy gets harder with time.Usually that is a good thing.
The hardness comes into play when you speak of higher "velocity"loads.
I'm new to casting bullets and can only speak of what little I know.
It does seem like you could just soak them in a bucket of soapy water, not in dishwasher,lead poison the family,

,rinse,dry,lube them with Alox,let dry 24 hrs.,load up a couple of light loads and try them out.Good luck to you.Bayhawk
P.S. you have come to the right place.There are some real experienced helpful
reloaders in this Forum.

03fxsti · 01-14-2011, 09:52 AM

The dishwasher thing wasn't serious, I just meant I doubt it would hurt the bullets. I have weighed and measured several of them and they are .452, and weigh 230 grns. What do you mean by calibrate them? Mybe I'll try a few in alox, but I don't want them to be sticky. I wish I knew someone close at hand who casts.

bayhawk2 · 01-14-2011, 10:22 AM

I knew you wer'nt serious about the dishwasher.I was just coming back with
a crazy thought that entered my mind.The .452 was what I was talking about.They should work fine.I would load a few @ approx. 650-700 FPS and give them a whirl.The liquid Alox is messy and sticky.I mixed some with mineral spirits 50/50.That's the quick way.The only other way out is to pan lube in place of the Alox mix.
This is what I use.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBDFO0ftCQc
Hello really helpful experienced reloading guys?

JLA · 01-14-2011, 10:08 PM

hot soapy water and a rag. set em out to dry and tumble them around in Lee Liquid alox, then set them out to dry again and load and shoot.

01-14-2011, 01:12 AM	#1
03fxsti Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 13	Question on lead bullets I have a quantity of 230 grn lrn bullets for .45 acp. These were at my dads place, he can no longer reload due to failing health. I don't know how long these bullets sat in his reloading shed, but it was a long time. They are generally coated with dust, and dirt, and the lube is cruddy and in some cases has fallen out of the groove. My question is, is there a way to rehab these suckers and load them? I'm new to loading lead, in fact I've never loaded for my .45, dad always did it. As far as the dirt, I would think I could just wash the dang things, heck a trip through the dishwasher probably wouldn't hurt them. How do I get them lubed again? I've looked at buying a lubrisizer, but I'd be north of 100 bucks, plus I'll only ever do this once, as I'll take better care of my bullets. I plan to continue to load cast in the future but I'll buy them lubed. Any help would be appreciated. -->

01-14-2011, 02:10 AM	#2
noylj V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 113	Re: Question on lead bullets How many are there? Usually, you would just melt them down and re-cast. Or, you can look for a bullet caster in your area. If you just want to shoot them and be done with it, you could dunk them in a can of carburetor cleaner (binary solution) to clean them. You can tumble lube them in Lee Liquid Alox and be done with them. I don't think I would put them in my dishwasher. Heck, you could just agitate them in hot soapy water.

01-14-2011, 03:33 AM	#3
bayhawk2 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 102	Re: Question on lead bullets Welcome 03fxsti-One thing I'd do is caliberate them.Just to make sure they are what they say.I'm sure you'll get a lot more experienced replies than mine, but I understand lead alloy gets harder with time.Usually that is a good thing. The hardness comes into play when you speak of higher "velocity"loads. I'm new to casting bullets and can only speak of what little I know. It does seem like you could just soak them in a bucket of soapy water, not in dishwasher,lead poison the family,,rinse,dry,lube them with Alox,let dry 24 hrs.,load up a couple of light loads and try them out.Good luck to you.Bayhawk P.S. you have come to the right place.There are some real experienced helpful reloaders in this Forum. Last edited by bayhawk2; 01-14-2011 at 04:31 AM..

01-14-2011, 09:52 AM	#4
03fxsti Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 13	Re: Question on lead bullets The dishwasher thing wasn't serious, I just meant I doubt it would hurt the bullets. I have weighed and measured several of them and they are .452, and weigh 230 grns. What do you mean by calibrate them? Mybe I'll try a few in alox, but I don't want them to be sticky. I wish I knew someone close at hand who casts.

01-14-2011, 10:22 AM	#5
bayhawk2 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 102	Re: Question on lead bullets I knew you wer'nt serious about the dishwasher.I was just coming back with a crazy thought that entered my mind.The .452 was what I was talking about.They should work fine.I would load a few @ approx. 650-700 FPS and give them a whirl.The liquid Alox is messy and sticky.I mixed some with mineral spirits 50/50.That's the quick way.The only other way out is to pan lube in place of the Alox mix. This is what I use. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBDFO0ftCQc Hello really helpful experienced reloading guys? Last edited by bayhawk2; 01-14-2011 at 10:47 AM..

01-14-2011, 10:08 PM	#6
JLA TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Heart Of Texas Contributor Posts: 17,315	Re: Question on lead bullets hot soapy water and a rag. set em out to dry and tumble them around in Lee Liquid alox, then set them out to dry again and load and shoot. __________________ It takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 3 for proper trigger squeeze. The latest caliber or gear is no substitute for experience and skill. Rifles and cartridges don't make hits -- shooters do. Fact of life: After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!