45 cal bullets

[flippinfool]

Picked up a bunch very cheap. They have rings on the sides with some type of lubricant on it. I guess it's for loading into the shell. Should I try removing it first or just dump it into the pot.I use the Lee 10lb production pot. I have never used any dirty lead in the pot.

Thanks in advance,

Flip.

[LedHed]

Check your PM.

[counting-empties]

Sell the bullets then buy some ingots , the bullets are worth a lot more . The lube is wax based and will smoke when melted . Cast bullets are fairly hard , if you are casting small jigs or something they may not fill in all the way .

Bill

[sagacious]

Counting-empties is correct-- the wax-based lube on the bullets will smoke a lot if you melt the bullets. If you do melt them, be sure to do it outside, and not in your workshop or garage. However, topping-off your hot Lee pot with a handful of lubed bullets isn't the safest practice-- you risk lead splatters and the wax lube will also flame up. Either melt down a potful of bullets and pour it, or put the entire batch into a larger pot to melt down and then pour ingots for your Lee pot.

I pour many thousands of 45cal bullets each year. If you got them at a suspiciously low price, then you probably got what you paid for-- good lead for melting, but probably poor quality bullets. Dimensional problems, leading, inconsistent bullet weight, poor accuracy, etc, are likely reasons for bargain-basement bullet prices. If you find someone who's really hankering to buy 'em, OK then-- caveat emptor. But if you don't want to pass on what is likely to be a serious headache for a reloader, the best bet may be to just melt 'em and turn the lead into fishing lures.

Bullet lead, generally, pours well. I've turned countless 5gal buckets of lead from my local shooting range into jigs and sinkers. Good luck, and be safe!