My neighbor gave me a couple bags of Eagle #8 lead shot. I am planning to melt it and cast .357 diameter swc's. Does anyone foresee a problem with that? Thanks!

I regularly use reclaimed shot from my club for both reloading shotgun shells and to cast bullets, although I prefer reclaimed bullets from the berms for casting.

I believe shot is made from lead with a small amount of antimony added to make the shot harder. Melted shot should work for casting bullets, but you may need to add some tin so that the molten lead mixture will fill up the bullet molds more completely.

If it's older shot (dry to the touch) and does not have the graphite coating (greasy feel) it will work fine, probably as is without adding anything even at high velocity IF the bullets fit properly.

If the shot has a graphite coating, it will melt but is very messy to deal with and there is much residue to skim. To fully melt, the molten shot must be pressed against the wall of the pot with your ladle. I've done this and wouldn't recommend it. I'll gladly pay for better casting material than go through the process again.

Question probably belongs in the reloading forum.
Agree with the above about mixing in some antimony.
Its hard to answer the question if you dont know the current lead percentage of the shot.
My only advice would be...
Before answering your question, I need to know How fast are you planning on driving them and out of what barrel? That helps determine your mix as well to an extent or if you need gas checks

its all I used years ago

chilled shot is:
2% antimony .625% arsenic 97.375% lead 10bhn

If you water drop your bullets to cool them (quench) you'll be in the 18bhn range with your bullets. This alloy works extremely well for heat treating bullets also. Arsenic is key to heat treating.

If anything you might have to add a little tin to the melted shot if you don't get good fill out & crisp edges. The other thing to consider is the alloy can and will determine the diameter of the bullet being cast. If your bullets are coming out undersized you may need to either pc the bullets or add more tin & antimony to the shot.

So what swc's are you planning on casting???

I will be using Lee MOLD DC C358-158SWC. It looks to be close to the 158's I currently order from Stateline Bullets.

A few years ago I acquired about 100 lbs. of lead shot melted in a big pot. The old guy I got it from said some kids melted the shot. I have never casted bullets but have acquired all the items to do it. I was going to melt the potted lead and pour it into molds and then work from there. How will I know if I need to add antimony or any other metal?

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Kevin in Oregon

First and easiest test is, try sticking your thumb nail in it. If it is too hard to allow a small dent you are pretty close. If when you start casting bullets, your castings all seem to be "rounded", then up the tin bout 2 or 3%. Plumbing soldier of the 50/50 nature is 50% per pound. Added to 16 pounds is an additional 3%. Added to 25 pounds is 2%.

If your bullets are all "Frosty" looking. Your alloy needs to be heated higher to properly melt the antimony and fluxed better.

You should get copy of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook (any edition will be fine for the metallurgy on alloys, newer editions just have new cartridges loading data)

Getting your original alloy cast into 1 pound ingots is a great idea. It would be a good idea to keep you various alloys marked and separated. I stamp what they are (LEAD, WW, TYPE, SHOT or 20/1 [percentages])into the bar, but a magic marker works short term but will fade.

Ivan