Neighbor caught me casting today

[Hastings]

I cast in my garage in the door opening with a fan because there's about 2 feet of snow on the ground outside. Usually this is done behind the Jeep in the driveway so that I have a bit of privacy. I don't go out of my way to tell neighborhood folk about my casting/loading/shooting hobbies because there are a lot of anti's here in Canada due to media continually telling us that even touching a gun will turn you into a raving, maniacal, child killer.

So while casting more .45 ACPs today, the wife decides she'd rather take the Jeep because the roads might still be snow covered from yesterday's flurries. The guy who owns the house next to our immediate neighbor sees me, and decides to walk up to see what I'm doing. I told him I was casting, and he looks in my big quenching bucket and says "those look like bullets (boolits)!". He was pretty amazed. He watches me work for awhile, then he walks back home.

20 minutes later, he walks over again carrying something heavy in an old metal pail. He says, "can you use these?". I look into the pail and he's got 5 very clean 10-pound bars of lead. I tell him "Hell Yes!". He was given them by his friend (for no particular reason?) and apparently his friend has lots and he'll get more for me when he's over again.

Sweet! Now that's a good casting day. Oh yeah, the 800 or so .45 ACPs are good to have too. :mrgreen:

[DeanWinchester]

Have a beer waiting for that neighbor when he returns!!!!

[41magfan]

Ain't that what neighbors are for. Gotta love it when lead comes to you.

[GP100man]

Neighborhood looking up for ya there !!!

Don`t mix it until ya check castability though !!

[bbs70]

Neighbors like that are hard to find.
Next thing you know he'll want you to show him how to cast boolits too.

[Land Owner]

Invite the guy to go shooting with you the next time. Let him shoot some of the lead he is providing. Possibly start a whole neighborhood "thing" smelting and shooting. That would be a good neighborhood to live in too. You watch my back and I will watch yours...

[HighHook]

touching a gun will turn you into a raving, maniacal, child killer.


Thats the mentality we have to deal with today unfortunately...Great score on the bucket o lead

[thegreatdane]

awesome. I wish my neighbors were free lead sources.

[jmsj]

I don't have any neighbors but if I did it would be great to have one like him

[crawfobj]

That's great! I showed some of the guys at the gun/pawn shop nearest me one of the bullets from my new mold (Mihec 359640) and next thing you know I get a call from them that they have a bucket of lead they're saving for me. There'll be a 6-pack with me next time I go in.

[Canuck Bob]

I got a quick story about getting caught by the neighbor. I was giving his full grown son a little lesson in manners. I look up and thier is a Mounty trotting over. Oh no! Its his dad and he is big, armed, scarred and a Sargaent when that meant something about his grit. I decided the lesson was over.

I explained his son told my first wife to f off. I expected a sap on the side of the head, they carried them in a little pocket on thier trouser leg back then (don't ask how I know). Turns out I was down right gentle with the lad compared to his dad. The kid came over and apologized and grew up to be fine police officer.

[Reg]

You live in a good neighborhood !!

[zuke]

I make sure I tell people I know about casting.
1) If they find lead they'll let you know.
2) If they don't like it,they leave and don't bother you anymore [smilie=s:

[1Shirt]

My neighboors have seen me casting, came over and watched, and I did once get about 5 lb of sash weights from one of them, but thats the sum total.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Jim]

Yeah, ANY of the above suggestions, but MAKE SURE you let him know how much his gift is appreciated![smilie=w:

[dnepr]

My nieghbors have watched me cast aluminum sand castings so I doubt that boolit casting would bother them , I am lucky 3 of my nieghbors hunt and the other one fishes , and is always asking how the hunting is going , I sometimes forget how good of a neighborhood I live in it is good to be reminded .

[chboats]

Good neighbors are great to have!! You just never know about people. I was at the local Ace hardware looking for some low density foam weather stripping without adhesive to use as filler in a 308. A 4’9” 70+ year old lady that was working in the hardware section ask me if she could help me. I was hesitant to tell exactly what I was going to use it for because there are a lot of verrrrry liberal people around here. When I finally explained she says “I am qualified expert with a 38 Smith. My husband used to load all my ammo. Let’s see what we can find” You just never know.

Carl

[oksmle]

One of my favorite neighbor's mailbox is exactly 100 yds from the table saw in my garage. I call her on the phone & she steps out & raises it's flag whenever I need to boresight a rifle. When another favorite neighbor, directly across the street, observed me aiming a pistol at her mailbox from my office window, she put a red "sticky" in the center of it's door for a target. But my most favorite has to be the plumber who leaves lead shower bottoms in my driveway about three times a year.

[dakotashooter2]

there are a lot of anti's here in Canada due to media continually telling us that even touching a gun will turn you into a raving, maniacal, child killer

A little leftover paranoia from when we shot back at the Brits 235 years ago.......

[Cadillo]

I got a quick story about getting caught by the neighbor. I was giving his full grown son a little lesson in manners. I look up and thier is a Mounty trotting over. Oh no! Its his dad and he is big, armed, scarred and a Sargaent when that meant something about his grit. I decided the lesson was over.

I explained his son told my first wife to f off. I expected a sap on the side of the head, they carried them in a little pocket on thier trouser leg back then (don't ask how I know). Turns out I was down right gentle with the lad compared to his dad. The kid came over and apologized and grew up to be fine police officer.

The fact that you had the grit to call the little SOB on it, and the fact that his dad was objective enough to actually hear you out and understand what the kid had done, and then handle it correctly may have been the turning point in the kid's life.

I've seen a few kids that I just knew to be doomed to utter failure make a turn around and become really standup human beings; rare, but a really nice thing to see.

Well done by both of you!

[ghh3rd]

20 minutes later, he walks over again carrying something heavy in an old metal pail. He says, "can you use these?".
Now, that lends a new meaning to "Neighborhood Watch". I should start a program like that in my neighboorhood.

[oscarflytyer]

Have a beer waiting for that neighbor when he returns!!!!

+1! THink I would have at least a case of his fav!!!

[Hastings]

Invite the guy to go shooting with you the next time. Let him shoot some of the lead he is providing. Possibly start a whole neighborhood "thing" smelting and shooting. That would be a good neighborhood to live in too. You watch my back and I will watch yours...

That's an excellent idea, plus the more people we can get into shooting and owning here the better. I'm going to invite him for sure and see if I can drag him out when the weather is warmer when spring starts to show herself.

I had the day off so I was out at the range today shooting in -20 degree Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) sunny beautiful weather, but only we nuts do that. In fact, my wife and I were the only ones at the ranges today. I had to put the main range flag up, and take it down. :oops:

[*Paladin*]

Good to have a GOOD neighbor. When I moved down to Idaho from Alaska, my wife and I decided to buy a house off-base so we could have some real neighbors and unfortunately, all of my neighbors are a disappointment. When we first moved in I made a point of introducing myself and waving, saying hi, etc. My neighbors still aren't in the least bit sociable. My wife says they are all afraid of me because they see me coming and going all the time with guns. So, I gave up and said screw them. Maybe one of these days I'll get a neighbor that's worth the time of day...

[Fixxah]

Hopefully he'll help clean the the guns after the range trip.

Nice to have allies you never knew about.

[Dorado]

Y'all are lucky. I had a neighbor call the cops on me when I came out carrying my CAS guns dressed in full costume.

[Hastings]

My neighbor came over again while I was casting yesterday after I got back from the shooting range. I invited him to be our guest at the club range when the weather gets warmer and he seamed pretty excited at the prospect of shooting a handgun for the first time in his life! :grin: :Fire:

He also said that if I wanted more lead bars I should clear some room in my garage. At that point I was thinking "***?". Apparently his brother and his brother's friend were making the ingots for a joint sailboat project that was later abandoned due to financial concerns. By that time, they had apparently cleaned up 1000's of pounds of lead into ingots. My neighbor also asked me if I could use a huge smelter! Hmmm.... I offered to pay for whatever he could bring me, but insisted no because his brother would just be happy to get it out of his outbuilding and donate it towards a good cause.

Apparently the 10lb bars are the smallest, and most bars he has are "much larger". He has no idea where his brother got the lead to begin with, so we have a mystery alloy here. Its harder than the fingernail scratch test, and all the information on sailboat building I checked says the lead should be 4% antimony for hardness. I already made bullets with it, and they look and feel and weigh just like the WW lead I normally use.

I know all this sounds too good to be true, and I have yet to see more lead than the original 5 10lb bars he gave me. He said in a couple weeks he'll be visiting his brother who lives out in the "boonies" and he'll bring back as much lead for me as his F250 can safely handle. If this happens, I'll be sure to post pics of all this.

I'm usually never this lucky. I'll be so happy to never melt another dirty WW in my life again!

[x101airborne]

I got a quick story about getting caught by the neighbor. I was giving his full grown son a little lesson in manners. I look up and thier is a Mounty trotting over. Oh no! Its his dad and he is big, armed, scarred and a Sargaent when that meant something about his grit. I decided the lesson was over.

I explained his son told my first wife to f off. I expected a sap on the side of the head, they carried them in a little pocket on thier trouser leg back then (don't ask how I know). Turns out I was down right gentle with the lad compared to his dad. The kid came over and apologized and grew up to be fine police officer.

Were that my son, YOU would be pulling me off of him!! I will not tolerate men (of any age) being rough with women. My sons have 3 rules with me. No lying. No stealing, and No disrespecting women. Everything else, we tak on a case by case basis.

[Freightman]

My neighbor down the street has 1000+# of lead and said he was going to cast some boolits when he get round tuit, he has been saying that for ten years that I know of. Hope he gets round tuit before he dies. He also pays his range fees every year and hasn't got round tuit for the last ten years I know of, he is the one that got me into the range as you have to be recommended by a member to be accepted. Hope he gets round tuit soon.

[Down South]

I work in Houston and I opted to bring my RV over and stay in a RV campground rather than renting an apartment. Since my work will be full time here, I joined a local outdoor range.
Since I'm here a lot I portarized some of my reloading equipment. I brought one of my Dillon 550's over to reload with.
I was concerned that I might make some of my neighbors nervous if they saw me loading up a bunch of boolits. Turns out I was wrong. On some evenings that I'm loading, I have an audience. Many of the folks here are knowledgeable about reloading and I have met at least three other reloaders.
The first time I set up, a little old lady was walking by while walking her dog. She stopped in front of me and asked, What ya loading sweetie? Come to find out, she was a shooter.

Even though I've been able to cast enough at home then just bring the boolits with me, I'm thinking of bringing my casting pot over and a few moulds. I'll probably really draw a crowd then.

The guy who manages the RV park is into whatever I'm doing concerning reloading or shooting. He just got his CCW and has came over several times to show me his piece. I guess I'll have to load up a couple hundred rounds for him to try. Or better yet, I'll let him reload them.

I asked him once about possibly making some of the neighbors/visitors nervous with me reloading, packing guns back and forth to the truck or being outside cleaning guns. He said "Frack em", this is Texas.
We do get people from all over the country here since this is a big RV Park. I'm sure there are a few folks that think it strange to see a guy packing two or three revolvers, pistols, shotgun or an AR across the parking lot. But Hey, This is Texas.

[pls1911]

Texas born and bred... ain't no place like home!

[songdog53]

Good neighbor ...worth a six pack for sure.

[Buckshot]

.............When we move from the boonies (neighbors VERY far away) to town (neighbors pretty darn close) I wondered how it was going to work out, people being people :-) Since we're at the end of the street, I only have one nextdoor neighbor. He works upper middle management in a fairly large construction company. Turns out he really likes guns and used to hunt a LOT. He'd seen me casting quite often.

Turns out several years back they were doing some kind of construction having to do with radioactive stuff. His outfit had subcontracted the shielding to a company from Texas. They'd completed their work and had about a half pallet of lead bricks sitting there. So Ralf (correct spelling, he's German) asks them about the lead. The head guy said they'd already called a scrap guy to come pick it up but Ralf could have all he wanted before they arrived.

At that time I was working 12 hr shifts at night so I was asleep. Ralf called his wife and told her to call my wife (Donna) and have her let me know about the lead. So Donna tells Shelly thanks, but I'm asleep and besides I have all the lead I could ever use. What do wives know!? Realisticly I really wouldn't have been able to go get some anyway.

However, Ralf being a guy and understanding how wives are, knew better. He had a couple laborers load as many of the bricks into his Ford Ranger as he felt safe hauling back home.

http://www.fototime.com/9CF2A4B2C0F6C48/standard.jpg

Here's the stacks of lead my nifty neighbor Ralf carted back home. Not only did he do that, but he stacked'em so nice and neat! There are 76 blocks. Mainly 22 pounders, but a few 32's amongst'em. Sure is purty, ain't it?! Figured out at a bit over 1700 lbs. He said those didn't make much of a dent in the bricks on that pallet but with the rear bumper 2" off the pavement he figured he had all he could haul :-)

.................Buckshot

[HighHook]

Where do you guys find these neighbors? A friend with lead is a friend indeed.

[arjacobson]

my immediate neighbors are great!! but the rest of them????? This town is so bad if someone drives by and sees you smiling in the yard they will call the cops on you....Gotta be UP to something..LOL uptight sobs

[Donor8x56r]

Up where I'm if my neighbors found me reloading outside I'll be having a visit form local Police division.

Just about all of them are very much against guns,never mind handling gun powder.

Lucky me,I have a nice covered porch so i can cast in peace :)

[selmerfan]

I moved into our current city of residence about 6 months ago. My first trip to the PO was to ship off a small flat rate box chock full of cast boolits. It weighed about 15 lbs. The cordial gentleman behind the counter say, "Man, feels like you got a box full of lead here!" I said, "It is." He asked if they were fishing weights or boolits, I cautiously replied cast boolits, not loaded ammunition, simply chunks of metal in a specific form. He said he also does some casting for his muzzleloaders, but has more lead than he'll ever use, and all he needs is dead soft lead. He said, "Next time I see you in here I'll have some lead for you." He gave me 2 25lb. blocks of lead that he had melted down from WW to try to use in his muzzleloaders, but they didn't work as well, so he wanted to get rid of them. That's a good USPS employee!

[zuke]

Make sure you give him some soft lead to be a good neighbour,ya never know who he know's!

[crawfobj]

"Frack em", this is Texas.
:Fire:

God Bless Texas!

I have a retired neighbor that brings me at least a quart bag of 1x fired .223 brass about once a month. I'm going to buy him a brass catcher for his AR to make it easier on him to gather them up.

The guys at the local pawn shop have a bucket of lead and partial rolls of solder for me if I can ever get back in there with another 6 pack of Heineken. There's something to be said when the store owner hands you a beer when you're in there close to quitting time on a friday! Now I take a 6 pack with me whenever I go.

[rintinglen]

Every couple of years I get back to Texas, now to see my brother since the folks are gone, every time I am impressed by how decent most folks there are--when you see 'em. That summer heat and humidity drives "em indoors.
on topic, I had my daughter's ex-boyfriend's dad give me a sail boat ballast weight once--35 lbs of soft lead that was well appreciated. But my daughter broke up with his son--just as well, he didn't have any more lead.

[Hastings]

Up where I'm if my neighbors found me reloading outside I'll be having a visit form local Police division.

I'm in typical suburbia-land, Ottawa, and I think I lucked out on my street. Since the middle of my driveway is the only safe place to turn wheel weights into ingots because the rest of my property is covered in two feet of snow, I decided to break out the turkey fryer, propane tank, muffin tins, my big pot, and set up right there for all the world to see. A few passersby and a couple ladies walking their dogs gave me some looks, and one asked if I were having a BBQ. I said "not exactly", and she smiled and just continued walking. No police came, not even the bylaw enforcement folks.

Oh, and my neighbor showed up again a couple weeks ago with more lead for me - pure linotype. I've been adding it to my WW alloy, and it's made some of the sweetest workable bullet pours I've ever had the pleasure of using.