Edge Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 If finding lead was my objective, I'd be so happy. I've found bullets and lead shrapnel in places surely mountain goats must have been the quarry. But it's not hindered me in the least. Last nites haul, lol. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomH Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Keep at it! Theres a spot out there with your name on it Tom H. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 We all dig it up. That`s not many targets though, so you were either very remote, or you did not hunt long. Either way , hang in there 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 One target closer to a nugget Keep swinging 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyy Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 I'm with Adam. You need to cover more ground. You should have 3-5 times that. Unless of course you're making the mistake I did when I first started, and all of those bullets were 2.5 feet deep. By the third bullet you're praying the detector stays silent. In that case you need shallower ground. Then you'll make double digits very quick. (hopefully some gold, too) Good luck out there, Edge! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Andyy said: I'm with Adam. You need to cover more ground. You should have 3-5 times that. Unless of course you're making the mistake I did when I first started, and all of those bullets were 2.5 feet deep. By the third bullet you're praying the detector stays silent. In that case you need shallower ground. Then you'll make double digits very quick. (hopefully some gold, too) Good luck out there, Edge! That was four hours worth in a fairly remote area. But there's gold there, I found about a half gram and nice picker in the area last week dry washing in two hours time. There are places where I've found good gold drywashing that are so full of lead shot, I'm hesitant to go back with the detector. Deepest of these bullets was only 4" Edited May 30, 2018 by Edge 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micro Nugget Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Hey Edge, I can feel your pain digging lead. It can be aggravating. A couple of months ago it cost me quite a bit of sweat equity just to recover a smallish, steel jacketed bullet. I was absolutely certain that I had a nugget because the ground was hardpacked and I didn't hit decomposing granite (false bedrock) until 22 or 24 inches. It never ceases to amaze me how those bullets find their way so seemingly impossibly deep. Fortunately my truck was nearby and I was able to use a shovel. Still, it took me around a half hour. Oh well, just one of those "realities" we all have to live with... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saul R W Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Edge, if you're finding lead, then you'll find gold when you finally get your coil over it. It's only a matter of time. I don't have nearly as much experience with numerous detector models as most of the fellows here. The only gold-dedicated detector I've ever used was an original Gold Bug that I swung in Alaska from about 1988 to 2004. My method of getting over the gold involved walking very slowly (at the start, it gave my patience a workout), keeping the coil very low to the ground (I wore the edge off a lot of boot soles, kicking stones out of the way so I could sweep closer to the gold) and being diligent in overlapping sweeps (the wider the gaps between sweeps, the more gold -- and lead -- you're missing). And digging every signal. I started out like you, a little lead. After a few trips and a lot of patience (again with the patience), it turned into a lot of lead, and then gold. You're doing okay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilishjim Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Buy a bullet mold, The days coming we will need those 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 17 minutes ago, devilishjim said: Buy a bullet mold, The days coming we will need those Funny you should mention, I was thinking the same thing. After all, I shoot cap and ball. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyy Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 I have a frend who sells large lead sinkers with his findings. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wet/dry washer Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Kept a lead pot full of lead for making leaf springs for guns. First heat the spring until a magnet won't stick, quench in oil, leave in oil until you can pick it up with your fingers, hold it in the molten lead for a minute to anneal it. Have made hundreds without having one break. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 2 minutes ago, wet/dry washer said: Kept a lead pot full of lead for making leaf springs for guns. First heat the spring until a magnet won't stick, quench in oil, leave in oil until you can pick it up with your fingers, hold it in the molten lead for a minute to anneal it. Have made hundreds without having one break. That's interesting. I also forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wet/dry washer Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Optimum temperature for quenching is when a pencil magnet won't stick, works on air, oil and water tool steels. 1060 or higher cold-roll or hot rolled steel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brownnugget Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Yaawlsa!!!! Not sure of the spelling. Yea I’m gonna get a bit cocky here. I pretty much kick a$$ as a lead miner. My favorite is the 18” hole and then realize there was a hidden piece of trash in the bush. Brownie 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowPoint Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Believe it or not, finding lead slugs, shrapnel and the like is a good sign, and one I like to see, as it is an indication ( at least to me) that either no one has detected that area before, ...or someone has, but was careless and overlooked ( didn't dig) the target. At one time I had dug a lead target that had been left in the hole by someone else, then swinging over the hole again got another signal. When I dug down another 2" or so, there wedged between a bedrock crevice was a nice 1(+) gram nugget,....ya just never know, if ya don't dig them. Also, I don't live far from a metal recycling facility, so as it is I don't have much lead left over from my finds, as I go cash them in when I get a few pounds,.....it may not be much, but it helps pay for gas. Dig-em-All I say, ...eventually they will turn into gold. Gary 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 Thanks for the perspective! 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 3 hours ago, Brownnugget said: Yaawlsa!!!! Not sure of the spelling. Yea I’m gonna get a bit cocky here. I pretty much kick a$$ as a lead miner. My favorite is the 18” hole and then realize there was a hidden piece of trash in the bush. Brownie Haha, now I don't feel so bad. But I bet the jacketed, gold colored ones got your heart going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 One of these boring days I'm going to figure out sand casting and make some molds for this lead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Shooter Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 I use a small clay flowerpot dish, melt it in a sinker melter and pour ingots, I have a bunch of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisski Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 I've been thinking about making these castings to be miniature figures. It's on my to do list, but more for a retirement project. I played with leaded figures growing up and they were harmless. Today the kids don't play with leaded figures..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 I still have a few old lead molds that I used as a kid. Some cowboys, WW1 soldiers, animals, etc. Maybe I'll start to pour some again for fun. I have been keeping my son Tom supplied with lead ingots to hang in his plating tanks. Lots of that stuff out there, now if I could find a market for scrap iron...…………. Old Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted June 2, 2018 Author Share Posted June 2, 2018 On 5/30/2018 at 10:00 AM, wet/dry washer said: Optimum temperature for quenching is when a pencil magnet won't stick, works on air, oil and water tool steels. 1060 or higher cold-roll or hot rolled steel. I mostly work with 5160, must have 200# here. Occasionally the Nickelson file for blades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.