[thedemoguy]

First you get a screen, like the kind the prospectors used in the old days.

Then go to the club with screen and shovel in hand, scoop up the dirt in the field and put it on the screen and shake the screen till you have nothing but shot.
I would do this in the time that the club is NOT shooting.

Bill

 

[dverna]

Whatever you do, wear a really good cannister type respirator. You will generate some lead dust from the oxide covering the shot if it has lain out there for a while.

You may benefit from tumbling the shot with a small amount of powdered graphite to prevent clumping of shot in the measure and drop tube.

Don

 

[thedemoguy]

Put the shot in a cement mixer for 3 or 4 hr with some sand

 

[FarmerD]

Nothing. FD

 

[Dave P]

I too have been trying to accumulate lead before investing. So far all the tire shops around here sell them back to recyclers. Any other ideas besides digging?

 

[hmb]

I shot the reclaimed shot all winter. At 16 yards there were less ink balled targets. For the first shot in doubles I could not tell the difference.

I picked the shot up in the drop zone of a local club. I ran it over a screen which let the shot fall through and separated it from the big debris. Next I ran it over a piece of window sceen. This caught the shot but let the sand through.

The shot was now about 98% clean. I put it in a shallow plastic container, about 5lbs at a time, and shook it back and forth. The remaining debris came right to the top and was was removed with a vacuum.

The last step is to put some of the lead in an empty 8# plastic powder container with a couple teaspoons of powdered graphite ( available at John Deere for $5 a pound ) and shake well before using. HMB

 

[hmb]

I do not separate the different shot sizes. I would use new shot or factory ammo for competition and the reclaimed for practice. Use a vacuum with a long hose, keep the vacuum above the shot. That way any lead that the vacuum picks up stays in the hose. When you shut the vacuum off the dirt stays in the vacuum and the shot stays in the hose. When the vacuum is off the shot will run back into the plastic container. And it will be clean. With a little practice you will be able to get the dirt off the shot without picking up very much shot.

The only place I tried for the graphite was a John Deere Tractor store. The other stores probably have it too.

The only problem I had loading it was that it sometimes would clog in the drop tube of my Mec. I solved the problem by tapping the drop tube with a small weight, like a small box end wrench, at the bottom of the down stroke to un clog the shot. But now that the tube is coated with powdered graphite from loading a lot of shells I haven't had any clogs. You will have to see what works for you. HMB

 

[hmb]

Ajax,

See if you can find a place in the drop zone that has shot on the surface. It will look like a carpet and with a flat shovel you can scrape the surface and make small piles of shot. I can get 100lbs in a bucket in a very short time. HMB

 

[hmb]

I'm glad to see you are making some progress. I guess we have too totally different fields that we are working. I wait for my area to be totally dry, I use the double screen and get about 80 to 100 lbs in the bottom of the bucket.

The ash you have to deal with, can you describe it, size and texture of the pieces. Are they light or heavy? Maybe there is a better way to deal with them. HMB