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End of the lead bullet? - how will CAS respond...


Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L

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Frangibles -

Another deal breaker - COST.

 

Good luck, GJ

+ you can not cast your own

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Granted fully loaded frangible cartridges are pricey. Not nearly so much as in times past however.

 

I am not talking loaded cartridges.

 

I am talking bullets. Apples and oranges.

 

There is no reason frangible bullets for reloading should cost any more than lead. In fact, once the start-up costs are amortized they should be cheaper.

 

Might be a great business opportunity for some enterprising individual. If only I weren't so old and dis-inclined to anything resembling work...

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I wish I would have saved the email I received from Chey-Cast that was pushing the "better buy while you can" BS because of the closure.

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The plant that shut down refines pure lead.

 

Bullets are made from recycled lead and there are plenty of US smelters in operation that use recycled lead.

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Over a decade ago SASS, looking into the future, commissioned a study on the viability of frangibles for our game. I do not recall all the results but IIRC the main problem was the tendency of frangibles to crumble during the reloading process. That was a deal breaker. Other properties of frangibles were very positive. Most especially the way they just go poof on steel and there is ZERO backsplash aka splatter aka shrapnel.

 

It is way past time to allow their use in our game. The crumbling while reloading problem I am thinking has since those early days been overcome today. There were no other downsides that I can recall.

 

On a related note self healing soft polymer targets need to be looked at very hard and seriously. Splat is good as clang to me. YMMV,

reloading crimps and the added cost is what I remimber

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I'm thinking there will be video games like those hunting games Cabelas sells. Start the game by selecting an alias and a figure. Dress the character with available costumes. Wranglers will not be available. Then select a shooting category. Available firearms will then be displayed for selection. Black powder shooters can specify wind and lighting conditions. The game will progress through six levels: local, annual, state, regional, Winter Range and EOT. The last two levels are multi-player and require an internet connection. The software will check IP addresses for location. Only firearms available in those locations will be available. For example pump shotguns will not be available in Australia, only .22s will be available in some European countries, and only cap 'n ball revolvers in the United Kingdom. The Wild Bunch side match will be unavailable to those prohibited from possessing semi-autos. The NSA will monitor game use. Anyone logging more than two hours of play a week will be put on the TSA's watch list and their baggage searched thoroughly when they fly. :ph34r::mellow:

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I take a perverse pride in being tight as bark on a tree.

Consequently yes I cast my own and yes I scrounge lead.

I also recall advice from one of our gun publications not many years ago, commenting on the horrible cost of a range (forced out of business by urban sprawl and neighbors) ... instead of cleaning up the berms and disposing of the dirt as (gasp!) HAZARDOUS WASTE (read unbelievable cost, permits, transportation, moon suits, stainless steel barrels, bad press and lawsuits) ... declare it RECYCLE and haul it out in dump trucks.

Shouldn't be too hard to rig up a means to separate heavy lead from far lighter dirt, possibly with upflow of water.

I'd like to have all the lead that's been driven into our club's berm!

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I take a perverse pride in being tight as bark on a tree.

Consequently yes I cast my own and yes I scrounge lead.

I also recall advice from one of our gun publications not many years ago, commenting on the horrible cost of a range (forced out of business by urban sprawl and neighbors) ... instead of cleaning up the berms and disposing of the dirt as (gasp!) HAZARDOUS WASTE (read unbelievable cost, permits, transportation, moon suits, stainless steel barrels, bad press and lawsuits) ... declare it RECYCLE and haul it out in dump trucks.

Shouldn't be too hard to rig up a means to separate heavy lead from far lighter dirt, possibly with upflow of water.

I'd like to have all the lead that's been driven into our club's berm!

Commercial firms already "mine" ranges for lead. They can't recover quite all of it, but it certainly pays to recover the lead, especially when a range has had years of operation and reasonable usage. Recovered lead shot comes from clay target shotgun ranges, too.

 

And, they can usually do it without needing water, which is expensive and messy.

 

Good luck, GJ

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