Acquiring scrap lead for casting - current state of affairs

[Musketeer]

I just bought ten pounds of lead on ebay for thirty bucks delivered. It is NOT worth my time and effort scouring the countryside for a few pounds of lead.

I do the same. Now that I've cast enough to cover the cost of my melting pot and molds, I can cast (for example) 25 .715 ball for about $6, as opposed to nearly $30 for the same amount of store bought balls when shipping is figured in. That's good enough for me at this point.

 

[FishDFly]

Go to your local scrap place or as above, your local roofer.

 

[Stophel]

I've done a fair amount of roofing.. and I have NEVER run across lead roof flashing or anything else.

 

[Bill Rowe]

Given my newfound interest in muzzle loaders, the current state of affairs with all things ammo related and the fact that most of the commercial cast ball options (if you can find them) are upwards of $0.30-0.60 per round (about $7/lb) plus shipping I now suddenly have an interest in casting my own.

I was into metallic cartridge reloading for quite some time, but for a variety of reasons I never had an interest in casting bullets. I do remember scrap lead being very cheap and easy to come by with very little effort (I recall turning down $0.50/lb linotype and giving away pulled bullets to friends because I didn't want to deal with the mess and hassle). That was 10 years ago, and of course now about the best option I have been able to find is $2/lb random lead scrap on eBay. I have also read that tire shops no longer give away wheel weights for free, and some won't even sell them (I also don't have a lot of free time during business hours to go driving around to random tire shops asking for scrap).

Question is - am I overlooking options for cheap scrap lead, or is $2/lb as good as it gets nowadays? I also have the option of "mining" the berm at the range, but that takes a while to build a usable stockpile.

I would not use any wheel weight lead. It has way to many hard impurities. Rots your rifling out. Sad to say, but their is a whole lot of old vintage lead pipe being scraped around Flint Michigan right now., no pun intended.

 

[LME]

I never had a problem getting lead but I didn't cast my ammunition. Now that I see what you people do I am interested. I am also mad at myself as well. I sold 75LBS of pure lead already in ingots. My exwifes husband saved it to make fishing sinkers. My boy let me have what ever I wanted when his mom passed. Brand me stupid!

 

[toot]

in my state it is illeagle for junk yards to sell scrap lead, because of the HAZZARDOUS MTL. law I get it from my son who is a Plummer, when he takes it out and replaces it with PLASTIC- PVC. only licensed Plummer's can but it. so guys are going to tire shops and buying wheel weights, but they are comming in steel and ceramics now, so when you buy a bucket of them it is a crapshoot as too what you are getting, mostly a bucket of junk!!

 

[toot]

lead that is dug out of gun clubs' back stops a manure shoot as to the hardness of what you are getting, hard, soft & some where in between, and at my club it is forbidden because it destroys the back stop!

 

[Ames]

I reclaim my own from a dedicated round ball backstop. Don't have to buy it ever again. Sitting on 125lbs of ingots.

 

[Boomer69]

Strained glass hobbyists have lead scraps from cutting and fitting the lead came. The larger shops recycle it, but the amateur guys don’t generate enough to make a trip to the metals recycling center worth it. You can try them if you can locate them.

 

[mooman76]

I would not use any wheel weight lead. It has way to many hard impurities. Rots your rifling out. Sad to say, but their is a whole lot of old vintage lead pipe being scraped around Flint Michigan right now., no pun intended.

I've been using WW lead and range lead for allot of years. It does NOT rot out your rifling. I would use soft if I had plenty but I save what little soft lead I have for conicals. Use what you can get. People sell lead over at castboolits all the time. It usually goes for just over a dollar a pound.

 

[nhmoose]

The cost per pound varies by the weight purchased. 100# carries a 9% discount.

https://www.rotometals.com/pure-soft-lead-metal-99-9-5-pound-ingot/
.40

Not 100 pounds the discount is for 100 bars that is 500 pounds.

 

[Bill Rowe]

T

I've been using WW lead and range lead for allot of years. It does NOT rot out your rifling. I would use soft if I had plenty but I save what little soft lead I have for conicals. Use what you can get. People sell lead over at castboolits all the time. It usually goes for just over a dollar a pound.

To each his own. My father was on the pistol team for the State of Michigan, I even traveled with him To Camp Perry in the 1960's to compete . We cast and loaded our own bullets' form wheel weights, as my dad had a buddy that own a Shell Gas station and he could have all the used nuggets he wanted. You would be surprised how quickly you can shoot out a barrel . All them years of pulled dry balls with the rifling groves imbedded on them, I would think the harder material would have a tendency to dull that crisp edge riffling in that nice $200 plus barrel. If hardness was not a factor, we would be shooting steel shot to save the wildlife. Lead is a lubercant, and when impurities are added, it take the slickness away.

 

[Firelock937]

Given my newfound interest in muzzle loaders, the current state of affairs with all things ammo related and the fact that most of the commercial cast ball options (if you can find them) are upwards of $0.30-0.60 per round (about $7/lb) plus shipping I now suddenly have an interest in casting my own.

I was into metallic cartridge reloading for quite some time, but for a variety of reasons I never had an interest in casting bullets. I do remember scrap lead being very cheap and easy to come by with very little effort (I recall turning down $0.50/lb linotype and giving away pulled bullets to friends because I didn't want to deal with the mess and hassle). That was 10 years ago, and of course now about the best option I have been able to find is $2/lb random lead scrap on eBay. I have also read that tire shops no longer give away wheel weights for free, and some won't even sell them (I also don't have a lot of free time during business hours to go driving around to random tire shops asking for scrap).

Question is - am I overlooking options for cheap scrap lead, or is $2/lb as good as it gets nowadays? I also have the option of "mining" the berm at the range, but that takes a while to build a usable stockpile.

My last big "score" came from an ad on Offer Up or Craigslist a few years ago. An industrial machine repair shop had several hundred pounds of counter weights out of equipment they had rebuilt or scrapped. I payed 50 cents a pound for over 300 lbs. They were rectangular blocks between 50 and 80 lbs each, which was a chore to break down into manageable pieces. I don't think it is pure lead, but it is quite soft and makes nice round balls that drop out of the mold about the same size I get with known pure lead.
Wheel weights are great for smooth bore, but be mindful that they normally cast a slightly larger ball than soft lead. Many tire shops will give them away.
Just start looking around and keep an eye out.

 

[brewer12345]

I've been using WW lead and range lead for allot of years. It does NOT rot out your rifling. I would use soft if I had plenty but I save what little soft lead I have for conicals. Use what you can get. People sell lead over at castboolits all the time. It usually goes for just over a dollar a pound.

There is more than one kind of wheel weight. The stick ons are quite soft, the clip ons are fairly hard. I use stick on wheel weights for PRB in rifles without issue and have killed deer with them, although with a 54 round ball expansion is sort of an optional bonus rather than a necessity.

As I am now getting into cap and ball revolver shooting, I have been buying some pure lead from rotometals precisely for that purpose.

 

[user 49399]

You're exactly right. Some are softer than others. I only use the softer ones.

 

[FishDFly]

I've done a fair amount of roofing.. and I have NEVER run across lead roof flashing or anything else.

In the south we have lead roof vents which are tied to the commode piping. They are about 6" to 8" tall.

 

[Chuckster60]

AmazonSmile : 25 Lbs of 1/2 to 1 pounds Lead Ingots Bars Reloading Bullets Metal Casting Sinkers Lures : Sports & Outdoors

 

[OldRust]

Getting it cheap off a list runs the risk of not getting what you thought you were getting.
For $2 a lb., go to Roto Metals. They can sell you a half pig of pure lead (60 lb.) at apx. $2 lb., and it includes free shipping.
Yep. Free shipping on 60 lbs. and known purity. Why mess with scrap risk?

Also if you sign up for Rrotometal's mailing list they usually offer 10-15% off around most Holidays

Thanks
O.R.

 

[wb78963]

I just buy pure clean uncontaminated lead from a commercial source.
My local scrap dealer is not allowed by some regulation (state of federal ?) to sell me lead.
Bunk

 

[MiddleJohn]

There is more than one kind of wheel weight. The stick ons are quite soft, the clip ons are fairly hard.


The stick-on ones I understand are pure lead and so good for round balls.

The clip-on are either just slightly harder than pure lead and good for casting bullets, or they are zinc which is way too hard and no good at all for casting.

And zinc sort of "rings" when dropped on concrete, lead clip-ons just "thud".