Anyone ever test the Brinnell hardness of .22 bullets? I have been shooting .22's into a backstop made of a box of old books, and since I have started bullet casting, it came to mind that I may be able to recover the projectiles and melt them down into some other form. I am thinking they may be too soft for pistol bullets (.38 Special at 800 FPS or so), but if they are pure lead they could be used for black powder balls or fishing weights.

Any ideas about how hard .22 projectiles are?

I am also planning on making a bullet trap for my pistol and rifle bullets, with the idea of recovering and casting new bullets. Hmmm.....