Opinions on reloading 30 year old LCSWC needed

[sophie]

I want some opinions regarding the reloading of 30 year old LCSWC bullets. I cast the bullets in question. I have 3 to 4 hundred of each in the Lyman 358477 mold--150 grain SWC Keith style and about the same in the RCBS 82033 mold 162 grain SWC. All were sized and lubed and stacked vertically in boxes and divided layers. They look just like they did the day I poured them. All were cast with straight wheel weight lead and I am thinking about loading them. I just got to thinking about them losing the hardness over the years and was wondering what some of you guys thought about this. Actually I have got a lot of my handloads loaded at the same time in boxes and they still shoot just fine. I have never had anything to check the hardness and back then I thought they would be about a 11-12 on hardness scale. Just a guess. They always shot fine in my 8 3/8" barrel guns with little leading. I had read where regardless of which lead recipe a guy uses (heating in the oven, linotype, or whatever) that the lead would lose some of its hardness but wouldn't be less than what you started with for instance the hardness of the wheel weights lead to begin with. I guess what I am asking is there anyone out there that has reloaded some of their handcast bullets after a lot of years have gone by. Thanks

 

[max]

I have found old bullets and shot them. If you are worried, don't load them to top velocity and enjoy them.

 

[gwpercle]

Shoot them. They don't go bad or spoil over time. You had them lubed and stacked, should be just fine. If lead loses some of it's hardness over time it's not enough to worry about. I have heard some strange stories about sized cast bullets getting bigger over time, I not sure how that's even possible, so measure them and if they are still the right diameter shoot them. If they have magically gotten larger a trip through the sizer will fix em up.

Gary

 

[Autococker07]

Don't shoot them, for heavens sake, PM me and ill give you my address, Ill dispose of them safely and correctly

Just kidding

Lead can go bad if it gets wet (shot, at least), it displays a white crust if this is the case, and hardness is not affected, but the 'chalk' may gum up your press/dies.... I certainly would not load em super hot, but a nice target loading would work fine....

 

[venomballistics]

whaddaya mean by old here?
forgotten stash thats otherwise in good shape?
put the coal to em like any other.
old as in crusty and corroded?
well you say you cast them yourself .. right?
They'll melt just fine and be born again beautiful .... then put the coal to em

 

[Nframecollector]

I'll pay the shipping and you can send them to me.....I'll shoot them. I have many bullets I cast well over 30 years ago still stacked and lubed in cigar boxes. I just checked the hardness and it hasn't changed a bit since 1980. My Keith SWC's weigh 173 grs. Never heard of a Keith bullet weighing 150 grs!

 

[WaMike]

The original lead was several thousand years old when you melted it down....don't think 30 more years is significant.

Seriously, I can't think of a single reason lead bullets would deteriorate, even if they have accumulated some white oxidation. And last I heard, lead was waterproof....

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I always thought bullets get a little harder as the cure.

As above, just shoot them. You are lucky to have found your old stash in these lean times!

 

[k53]

I always thought bullets get a little harder as the cure.

As above, just shoot them. You are lucky to have found your old stash in these lean times!

Yes, I always thought that also.


That being said, I would... and on top of that I AM loading them up. I also came into a large stash of bullets that were cast back in the early 70's

 

[scooter123]

Many metal alloys harden with age and I've NEVER heard of any alloy that gets softer with age. However, I will admit that for a Mechanical Engineer the alloys of interest are typically Steel, Aluminum, Brass, Bronze, and Copper. Lead is something I've never looked into regarding it's Engineering properties.

As others have stated your bullets are fine to load and shoot. When I saw your original post my only concern was how badly they may have oxidized. Because Lead Oxide is something I regard as rather nasty, it can be a dust hazard and I would not want to handle badly oxidized lead bullets myself. Note, when loading lead I make it a policy to use latex gloves, I'm getting old enough to feel I don't have any brain cells to waste. Minimizing exposure to lead is something I feel we all need to be doing.

 

[mtgianni]

Lead is weird in that it work softenens rather than hardens. Water cooled lead will take a few days to reach optimum hardness then retro slowly to the alloy it was when water dropped. IOW, if you had ww that is what you have now. I think that if the lube is fine, no cracks or voids then you are good to go.

 

[ChuckS1]

Bullets don't know how old they are, any more than guns do.

 

[mikld]

Well, you've heard that bullets get softer with age and bullets get harder with age...

So forget both opinions and shoot 'em. If either theory is correct, there wouldn't be enough difference to matter.

 

[gwalchmai]

The original lead was several thousand years old when you melted it down.

Billions of years old, actually.

 

[mikld]

Bullets don't know how old they are, any more than guns do.

You mean there ain't no expiration date on them boolits?

 

[LoboGunLeather]

While moving into my new house in 1999 I discovered 1,000 rounds of .38 Special 150-grain SWC 5.0 grains Unique handloads with my label indicating 1980 production. They shot just fine.

I have hundreds of cast rifle bullets that I produced more than 20 years ago and continue to use in .45-70 and .45-90. I got on a two-day casting kick with both lead furnaces working and 3 moulds going at a time. It worked, as I haven't had to make any more for a long, long time.

I would not hesitate to use those bullets, as long as the lube hasn't deteriorated. Even then a pass through the lubri-sizer would cure that easily.

 

[H Richard]

I've got loaded cast bullet rounds from the 80's still in my ammo boxes, and won't hesitate to shoot any of them.

 

[Ibgruntled]

a friend cleans out homes on the side and brings me gunny stuff. recently he left 400 pounds of 45-230gr lrn and 124gr ltc for me in beautiful dove-tailed & layered wood boxescast in 1965. i opened them carefully and saved them for what we all use boxes for...whatever fits in them.
the bullets i threw away. between 850 and 1100 fps

 

[rwsmith]

What is the half-life of lead?

Just a caveat:

I'd bet my bottom dollar that if they look and measure the same as they were they will be just fine to shoot. What's a little difference in hardness?

The only thing I think that could be a concern is possible oxidation if they were exposed to something incompatible during storage.

I'd just measure them with your caliper to check size. If they've oxidized they may have 'grown' somewhat. SOME conditions can cause lead oxidation. Alkalines can cause corrosion and can come from the darnedest places (like from wood finishes) If they have a layer of anything besides lube on them, like a white or dark oxide layer, it will need to be safely cleaned and relubricated. The stuff is really toxic so you don't want to be shooting it or cleaning oxide off of it dry.
Vinegar/baking soda and a toothbrush with a good rinse works.

 

[setxn]

Not too long ago I loaded some 37yr old 158 gr SWC that was run back through the lube/sizer and some 40+ yr old 148gr WC that was loaded as is.They both shot where pointed with no leading or other problems. I can't speak to all the scientific qualities of old cast lead,but unless you are a world class marksman I'll bet you can't tell the difference.