What I need for a lifetime of boolits

[ghh3rd]

I began to get a little paranoid with all of this talk about lead shortages and elimination programs and decided to see how much lead I need to keep myself in boolits for the rest of my life. I'm 55 so I know I'll be shooting at my current rate for at least another 20 years (or 30 or ....).

Assuming that I'd like to shoot at least 1,000 rounds per month, all I need is about 70 5gal pails of WW :-) for the next 20 years. So far I've collected 2, so I need to pick up the pace somewhat :holysheep


7,000 grains/lb
200 gr average boolit weight
35 boolits / lb

12,000 boolits per year goal
343 lbs lead/yr required

70% yield ratio from lead from weights
490 lbs weights required

140 lbs = 5 gal bucket weights

3.5 5 gal pails of weights per 1 year required
70 5 gal pails will hold me for the next 20 years

[TDC]

Yes..... All your good foresight and preparation and some genius will figure out how to make good boolits easily out of a cheap and better composite material for half the money....

But then again, if we don't do what you propose .... well .... what to do? What to do??? I think I'll be buying more WW's too.

TC

[sheepdog]

All you can do is hope for the best. You'll run out of primers long before you run out of projectiles. Lets hope thats sooner then later. One can find creative ways to get lead, no so many creative ways to make primers. Remember if things get bad theres always range scrap. Sunday I went to the range and shot a whopping eighty 22LR but left with enough lead to make 8 clean 1lb ingots from scraps.

BTW I get about 90% on my lead/weight ratio and a bucket of weights is more like 175lbs, 155 is its the big **** diesel weights.

[southpaw]

I just did the math and for the next 50 years ( Im only 25 ) I am going to need 7500# of lead just for the shotgun. And atleast 2-3000# for rifles and pistols. now thats for myself. I have a 2 year old son and another one on the way. not sure what it is but the wife and I think girl. I have about 3500# of ww, lino and pure. I think that I better keep collecting...

[par0thead151]

you guys shoot... A LOT
lol
i wish i could more often

[sargenv]

Well.. you might run out of primers... unless you are shooting BP and use a Flinch lock :D

[Ole]

Get yourself a boolit trap and recycle your own lead.

[cmkiefer]

Has anybody heard anything about a phase out of lead wheel weights? I read somewhere on this forum of a possible phaseout of wheel weights by 2011 (I don't want to support rumors so let me know if you know otherwise). It seems to make sense, I'm seeing more zinc all the time.

If your only source of lead is WW, I would start looking elsewhere.

[southpaw]

Some of the tire shops that i have visited have said that they are going to plastic, metal or zinc. some even said that the company that they get the ww off of are buying the old one back off of them for $1 a pound. they supply them with the box and pick them up. its getting harder to find them

[cmkiefer]

Chrysler has agreed to stop installing wheel weights containing lead on vehicles sold in Calif and their suppliers have agreed to stop shipping those weights to Calif all by the end of 2009.

http://www.ceh.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=323&Itemid=243

There is a national initiative to phase out wheel weights containing lead (not by law yet)

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/wastemin/nlfwwi.htm

Europe has already banned the use of lead wheel weights on new vehicles

http://www.leadfreewheels.org/release20070823.shtml

Were do you think this is all headed?

[par0thead151]

time for me to buy more lead!
jeesh, what do they plan on using, zinc? that stuff is not as heavy and costs more than lead i believe...
I dread the day i move houses,as it will take a good day just to move the lead!

[Jack Stanley]

Things may get as bad as many of you anticipate but something else may come along as well . The neighborhood snitch , the sound of gunfire will more than likely bring at least a pat on the head from their master . As you know , some of them don't even need that with the hatred they have for firearms and the freedom of others .

Not trying to be afraid of the future but the concept of being prepared can spill over into "how much shooting will you do when shooting is prohibited"? When alcohol was prohibited , people took precautions ...... I think you get the idea .

Jack

[hunter64]

I think OLE has the right idea, been thinking about making a using a bullet trap for some time now.