Captured my first wild Wheel Weight!

[Wayne Smith]

Yeah, I know, I'm very late coming to this club, but consider that I live in the depths of suburbia where, if I spotted one at 45mph, I'd create complete chaos if I tried to stop and grab it!

There I was, leaving WalMart with a cart of groceries in the driving rain. In the parking lot, innocently hiding at the bottom of a puddle, was the wheel weight. Its now mine, awaiting company. A few wet fingers the price.

[Humbo]

That was for sure a nice story.

[DLCTEX]

One of the many advantages of living in a small town is the ability to stop and pick up a wheel weight without being run over. Found a nice 3.5 oz. one recently. An aquaintence saw me pick it up and asked what I found. When I showed him the wheel weight, he just shook his head and drove off. Fortuantly most people just don't know the value of a wheel weight.

[bigboredad]

I have never been lucky enough to spot the wild elusive wheel weight I did how ever embarrass my wife by stopping to pick a 5 gallon bucket off a busy street

[runfiverun]

i was driving the wife her parents,brother and his brand new girlfriend to dinner and made a u-turn on main street stopped and leaned from the truck picked up a ww tossed it in the bed of the truck and made another u-turn to where we were going.
not one word was uttered.
told my b.i.l. she was a keeper.

[markinalpine]

Picking a loose wheelweight up off the pavement is one thing. Digging an embedded one out of the asphalt is the true sign of dedication.

Mark :bigsmyl2:

[RayinNH]

I talked with my son this morning, who lives in Georgia, and he mentioned that he was sending Christmas presents to us. He also said that he found in a parking lot, the biggest wheelweight he's ever seen. He thought it should be good for a half dozen boolits. Bless his heart...Ray

[chris in va]

This is the way things will be when they ban lead.


not one word was uttered

They were afraid to.:razz:

[Rockydog]

A long, long time ago I can still remember how the wheel weights used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance that I could make those wheel weights dance and maybe they'd be happy for while.
But February made me shiver with every post that I'd deliver, bad news on castboolits, our sport gone down the toilets.
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride, but something touched me deep inside the day the wheelweights died.

[izzyjoe]

I've found them in front of tire shops, I even bought a tool to remove them. from time to time i cruze the wrecking yards lookin' for parts and take them old junk wheels/cars. I asked beforehand, but nobody cares' right now.:roll:, but they turn up in the darndest places. you bet i'd dig one up from aspalt,dirt ECT. like he said just wait til they bann the stuff!!:Fire:

[Three44s]

Bye Bye American Wheel Weight ........

Rings a steel plate better than a thrown pie!

Three 44s

[SciFiJim]

I am a mailman that walks a route. I capture one or two wild WWs a month. Feeling the added weight in my pocket all day makes me smile.

[megafatcat]

Thank you! I thought I was the only one...

[copdills]

A long, long time ago I can still remember how the wheel weights used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance that I could make those wheel weights dance and maybe they'd be happy for while.
But February made me shiver with every post that I'd deliver, bad news on castboolits, our sport gone down the toilets.
I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride, but something touched me deep inside the day the wheelweights died.

One Great True AMERICAN great quote

[lead-1]

+1 on the small town thing, I would pull over and grab them and if there wasn't any traffic close to me I would tell the boys to open the door and grab it. It embarassed the wife for a while and the boys would laugh at me for it but then they would come back from a ride on their bike and have a couple WW in their pockets. Last Christmas the oldest boy got me a five pound box of brand new WW from the auto shop at his school for Christmas. When I first started I smelted what we had picked up in about a year, it was 17 pounds of finished WW ingots if I remember correctly. Ain't life grand, lol.

[Philngruvy]

I have good luck finding them at the end of offramps when I get off the interstate highways. There is generally someplace safe to pull over close by. At one exit off of I26 I found about a dozen of them.

[XWrench3]

never spotted one driving (eyes are to bad), but occasionally find one while walking down the road. makes me smile evertime i pick one up. no matter what it is, if it is free, it is ALWAYS better!

[DCP]

Men Men Men

We must keep our trophies to ourselves

If we dont.

Some liberal will want a to make us get a Wild Wheel Weight License. (A TAX)

Then limits

Then we will have to form Wild Wheel Weights unlimited ( Maybe we should do this anyway)

A politicans will pass a law that we cant hunt from a moving vechile. No spot lighting at night. And if your stopped on the shoulder of a major highway, school zone or work zone . There could be a $275.00 fine. 5 years in prison for poaching at the mall.

WE need to form the Wild WHEEL WEIGHTS UNDER GROUND or Wild Wheel Weight Resistances.

Looks like we aready have and count me in

Now remember MEN

Loose Lips Sinks Ships

[badgeredd]

After reading this thread, it occurred to me that some people might consider us a sick bunch. Obviously we have passed the illness on...as my wife brings home a Wild Wheel Weight now and then she has found in a local parking lot, with a smile.

Edd

[Changeling]

Yeah, I know, I'm very late coming to this club, but consider that I live in the depths of suburbia where, if I spotted one at 45mph, I'd create complete chaos if I tried to stop and grab it!

There I was, leaving WalMart with a cart of groceries in the driving rain. In the parking lot, innocently hiding at the bottom of a puddle, was the wheel weight. Its now mine, awaiting company. A few wet fingers the price.


The longest journey in the world begins with the first little step!

[ghh3rd]

When I was young (20's) I used to ride my 10-speed everywhere because I enjoyed it, though I had a car. It always took me much longer to arrive at my destination, because my eyes were scanning the gutter for wheel weights, and I had to stop many times each trip to lean over and scoop one up. I even had a few tire stores that I would help by removing the wheel weights that had escaped to their parking lot. When you are travelling slow and looking for them, they are out there.

If I had only known that back then I could have gotten buckets full just for asking, or probably for just a few dollars, and had all of the lead I would need for the rest of my life.

Funny thing is that I was using them back then to make fishing weights and cast net weights. The largest chunk of lead I found on the road was 33lbs - something like 1" x 5" x 12" or so. It had a hole in in, so it may have been a counter weight for a truck door. That one I still had around after 30 yrs and it did recently get rendered into boolits.

Randy

[The Dove]

The EPA is reading this and salivating! More regs are coming boys! No B.S. :-(

I have been making cast boolits since 1994. I have picked em up at tire shops and garages for all those years by the 5 gallon buckets.... However, I have only found 2 or 3 laying in a parking lot or on the ground in my 40+ years of existence. That tells me that the few WW's that actually leave the tire/rim are few and far between. So you lucky suckers that findem' are sure lucky and I envy each of you!

The Dove

[SciFiJim]

To illustrate the scarcity, I said that I pick them up while walking. I walk about 10 miles a day and at most find two a month. That's one every 200 miles. Hardly the hazard that the EPA and Greenpeace say they are.

[leadeye]

Never found one on the road, although I am always looking. I have found lots of rubber bungees though.:bigsmyl2:

[Winger Ed.]

However, I have only found 2 or 3 laying in a parking lot or on the ground in my 40+ years of existence.


Those are the dead ones, and they are a bit rare to find out in the open-
exposed to scavengers & all.

I think they carry off their wounded.
That's probably why you never see one that just fell off, and is trying to crawl to safety.

.

[SciFiJim]

exposed to scavengers & all.

Ya, we're the scavengers. When you cook a bunch of them together it makes a great sauce!

[Down South]

I was walking from the office to get something to eat a few weeks ago with several others much higher up the food chain than I. One of the guys was the vice president of the company.
We crossed several streets. One street that we crossed had some bad pot holes in it. Low and behold in one of those holes was at least ½ dozen WW. I stopped and just looked at them but didn’t pick them up. I figured it wouldn’t look too good for a guy dressed in a suit walking with the vice president of a large oil company to pick up a hand full of WW and put them in his suit pocket. I still think about those WW in the hole and for the life of me, I can’t remember which street we were on when I saw them. I have picked up a good many on the streets around my office though.

[lwknight]

Down South , you could used that situation to demonstrate for P.R. how much you care for the environment. Just think, an exec humbly picking up evil lead to prevent environmental damage.

[Oldtimer]

The best ones I ever got was from a big truck tire shop. Largest one, best I remember, was 6 oz. Heck, that's 12 .45 boolits. Dont get much bettern that. Bob

[Jayhem]

Finding wheel weights on the street can mean but one thing. Shops aren't installing them right!

[Down South]

Finding wheel weights on the street can mean but one thing. Shops aren't installing them right!
I had the tires on my truck balanced and rotated once at a Wally World over in south Texas. I think that almost every WW that they installed came off before I could get back to my motel. I heard a couple of them come off because they hit the fender wells.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Quite a few years ago some friends and I (we all worked for the Standard oil Co. we were tanker drivers). We had meet for supper at Sambo's (can I say that anymore). After eating we all started across the street to get to our trucks, and laying in the middle of the street was a real nice ratchet (turned out to be a Snap-On.) Well one of the guy's and myself spotted it at the same time as we were running to get it I reached over and gave him a shove he hit the pavement rolling. I got the ratchet. I'm not to sure what happen today if the situation would be to day if it were a wheel weight laying there. I used to get all the wheel weights I wanted free. I have probably sold 6 or 8 thousand pounds for 20 cents or more a pound so I would have the money to buy loading supplies and equipment. Hind sight. I probably would have saved some of those WW if I knew what I know now.a I do have about 800# left though and I guard them with my life

[Jayhem]

Maybe I need to start walking the interstate shoulder at night with a metal detector!

[OutHuntn84]

Hmmm I wonder if you had a powerful enough magnet you could pick up WWs with it by the metal clips?
Anyone ever try it?

[SciFiJim]

If you used a magnet, you would also get all of the nail, screws, nut & bolts and bits of wire that are on the shoulders as well. Might be an idea though. Just heat it all up and skim the iron and steel.

[ghh3rd]

had the tires on my truck balanced and rotated once at a Wally World over in south Texas. I think that almost every WW that they installed came off before I could get back to my motel. I heard a couple of them come off because they hit the fender wells.

I have had several shops tell me they don't sell them because they reuse them. I don't think they have a certification for refurbishing wheel weights. I'm sure they save a bundle by doing that, and the customer has wheel weights flying at pedestrians (hmmm, maybe I should wear a golve when I'm walking).

[Jacko.357]

I drive about 140 miles a day with work and I have picked up about 20 pounds of feral wheel weights so far this year. I notice the pickings get pretty slim in between holiday seasons and pick up markedly in the few weeks following Easter and Christmas holoidays. Should pick up another couple of pounds of them before the end of January.

Next thing to do is visit the local tyre shop and strike a deal for a steady supply of used WW, stop procrastinating and start casting

regards Jacko

[HamGunner]

The reason they are hard to find in the parking lots and on the roads is that they quickly melt in the rain and contaminate the water supply.

[armyrat1970]

I just realized the bad thing about it is I fall into the sickness all of you guys have. Guess I came to the right place. :bigsmyl2:
Yep we are scroungers. I have even shown and told my grandkids if they see anything like this on the side of the road while out playing or riding their bikes pick it up and bring it home for papa. Could this be grounds for child labor laws? :holysheep, we are a sick and dedicated bunch aren't we.

[fivegunner]

I work on the Traffic Signals so I am in the road everyday, I find a bunch of WW`s . the best place to look is the Xway off ramps , start looking about 100 feet before the stop sign /and or signal. Please don`t tell anybody. merry Xmas:cbpour::redneck:

[45-70 Chevroner]

Hamgunner I'm not sure I would want the enviro's to know that lead will melt in the rain. We could be in real trouble.

[DLCTEX]

Scored a 6 ounce lying on top of the snow near the traffic light in Wheeler yesterday, looks new. My Chev truck (07) has wheels that hold mud in a groove that is almost impossible to get out without removing the wheel from the truck. One trip down a muddy road and the wheels are bouncing. Guy at the tire shop told me they now have plastic beads to put inside the tire that balances the tire as you drive. Claims it takes care of the mud imbalance. Different size beads for different size tires. $6 to $10 a tire, don't know if that includes the labor for installation, but if you are installing new tires or having a flat repaired it's cheaper than balancing. Anyone tried them?

[dudel]

After reading this thread, it occurred to me that some people might consider us a sick bunch. Obviously we have passed the illness on...as my wife brings home a Wild Wheel Weight now and then she has found in a local parking lot, with a smile.

Edd

Sick would be going into the parking lot with a bucket and pliers. :-D

I've bagged a few WWW this year. Georgia's a no limit state.


Don

[HamGunner]

My Son presented me with about a 15 -20 lb. box of shiny brand new weights that he found someplace for free. It was very hard to do, but since they had never been on a wheel, I gave them to my neighbor who has a small lube & tire service a couple of blocks away. Wow, hated to let em go, but.

[armyrat1970]

My Son presented me with about a 15 -20 lb. box of shiny brand new weights that he found someplace for free. It was very hard to do, but since they had never been on a wheel, I gave them to my neighbor who has a small lube & tire service a couple of blocks away. Wow, hated to let em go, but.

Maybe not a bad move as I have read that the really shiny weights usually contain a lot of zinc. All the WWS I have found have been very dirty and hard to tell in that aspect. Picked up almost 100# one day that some one had dropped in the yard where I worked. Was scraping through the mud and grass for them to get all I could. One of my co-workers asked, what the hell are you doing? I said it's all good. Will make alot of boolits. Cleaned them up a little and I still have about twenty pounds yet to smelt down. And they have made alot of boolits.

[Philngruvy]

Hmmm I wonder if you had a powerful enough magnet you could pick up WWs with it by the metal clips?
Anyone ever try it?

That is exactly how I separate the clipons from the stickons!

[Cowboy5780]

SIGHS ive been capturing wild wheels since i was a just a little chap. When we were kids and would go to the lake when we got off the interstate naturally there was a half circle to get on the next road. Seems the cars would lose them during the rapid slowdown we kids would jump out on the red light and get them for dad to make sinkers out of... AHHH the good ole days now with the traffic we would prolly get ran over LOL.

[flint45]

I like finding a wild wheel weight almost as much firing one of my home made boolits. I always wonder what he will be turned into---- .45 .50 .40 .35 etc.

[Lead Fred]

One of the many tools I keep on my BOB

http://www.gemplers.com/img/wheel-weight-pliers-25K.jpg

[OutHuntn84]

Illusive lil suckers! Heading to lunch today sitting in the passanger seat at a stop light, look over and there, dull matalic roundish shape just laying there in the mud. So like the mad man I am; I jump outta the car and into the mud, w/ no explination, grab it ... and it was trash!!! So much disapointment! If I ever find one of those lil suckers; I'll shoot em:Fire:

[sucngas]

Man, you guys are hard core. I just went into the tire shop, begged a little and left with 240 lbs of wheel weights. :wink: Nice to be the only one around here that casts.

[OutHuntn84]

Man, you guys are hard core. I just went into the tire shop, begged a little and left with 240 lbs of wheel weights. :wink: Nice to be the only one around here that casts.

Now where do you live? :twisted: ;) Have bucket will travel!

[sucngas]

Now where do you live? :twisted: ;) Have bucket will travel!

:groner: Probably shouldn't have posted that. All you guys will be stealing my weights. Actually, if you are around Anaconda MT, the tire shop there sells 5 gal buckets, filled to overflowing for $40. He has 6 buckets right now.

[Daniel964]

Go get the rest of those WW while you have the chance. They aren't going to be avaliable forever and you can always resale the to the memberes here if you decide to stop casting.

[Artful]

Go get the rest of those WW while you have the chance. They aren't going to be avaliable forever and you can always resale the to the memberes here if you decide to stop casting.

+1

I used to know a print shop - Alvin would sell me all the used linotype and Sterotype I wanted at $0.10 per pound - was made up in little bars on little plywood sheets - string around them to hold them together. I bought without thinking ahead - go to a print shop today - all electronic - no nasty linotype in sight. Wish I stocked up more when it was changing out technology - oh well - live and learn. Better to learn from someone who's already been there and made the error :violin:

[wistlepig1]

I found a .5 oz'er today swimming up stream next to a big brown, what luck.

[Alchemist]

I am a mailman that walks a route. I capture one or two wild WWs a month. Feeling the added weight in my pocket all day makes me smile.

Me too....I picked up about 6 lbs last year.

[qajaq59]

dcp......LOL

[exsfdoc]

Hello all. I've been casting my own for about a year, reloading much longer.

I'm glad to see that there are "others" out there. We took our fire engine to get a tire replaced a few days ago at a repair shop that does trucks, constuction equipment, etc. I found some big ones, 1 had to be close to a half pound! The other guys on my crew point them out to me when we're out on the road . They think I am half nuts anyway so they just take the wheel weight thing in stride.

The shop sold me a 100# bucket for $10. I'm going back to visit them again.

[higgins]

Look closely even around the speed bumps in your favorite shopping center parking lot. Some folks must hit that first bump pretty fast, thereby serving its purpose.

[DLCTEX]

Lead Fred: OK, I've puzzled over it and can't figure out what a BOB is??

[SciFiJim]

B.O.B. = Bug Out Bag, carried for emergency evacuation. Also called a GOODY (Get Out Of Dodge Yesterday) bag.

[luvtn]

I've been handloading about a year now, but I've been picking up lead from shooting spots and ww for as long as I can remember. sommeday when I start casting I'll have something to use.
lt

[songdog33]

And here I thought I was being goofy for picking up wheel weights, like they were a shiny penny. Glad I am not the only one.

[dudel]

Look closely even around the speed bumps in your favorite shopping center parking lot. Some folks must hit that first bump pretty fast, thereby serving its purpose.

Hmmm. I wonder if the county will complain if I put a speed bump in front of the house?

[fldigger]

Not only do I have my boss and my father wrangling those little guys, but I have a telescoping magnet (got it at autozone) for getting those suckers at traffic lights, outta gutters, you name it. I have successfullly captured several truck weights with no problem. The steel clip sticks like glue. I will caution that the magnet on a stick does causing groans of embarassment from the missus at traffic lights in the middle of town. So deploy it carefully.
I am kinda relieved to hear I am not the only one who digs them out of pavement. I caught heck for days from my boss for doing that last week.

[winelover]

The wife and I went out this evening to ride our Mountain bikes and I had to brake twice for orphaned wheel weights. I am now forced to provide them with a new residence in my smelting pot!

Winelover[smilie=2:

[Chunky Monkey]

Guess I should never have sold my mountain bike :sad:

[ulav8r]

Took the wifes car in a few weeks ago for new tires. The night before I pulled all the weights from the rims.

[kodiakken]

I used to ride a bike to work. I would take different routes so I could find more wheel weights. I found more near corners. I think the added stress on the tire from turning helps the wild wheel weights escape.

Kodiakken
Fairbanks, Alaska

[gunsablazin]

While the wild wheel weight is a rare and wonderful trophy, I grew up in a family owned print shop and had tons of domesticated linotype metal, all I wanted for free, sadly when I quit casting 20 yrs ago I sold it all, Oh the humanity......:cry:

[Butcher45]

Here's "life in the bike lane" from over the last several months that's just been sitting on my desk waiting for me to begin casting. Don't know for sure what's zinc, steel, or what yet. Pretty sure I got another pile out in the garage somewhere, and a couple loose ones in a jacket or two. Most all of them found while riding my bicycle.


http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x65/butcher45/WWs002.jpg

[sirgknight]

While reading all of the replies to this post I have definitely noticed just about all of the symptoms of LEAD POISONING DISEASE!!!!!!

[SciFiJim]

While reading all of the replies to this post I have definitely noticed just about all of the symptoms of LEAD POISONING DISEASE!!!!!!

I think it is more like a Lead Addiction :Fire:

[82nd airborne]

you guys should really move to Arkansas, im not sure that ive ever came out of any tire shop empty handed, and ive rarely paid for them....

[winelover]

you guys should really move to Arkansas, im not sure that ive ever came out of any tire shop empty handed, and ive rarely paid for them....

Hope to be in Arkansas soon. House plans are being drawn up as I post this. I'll be somewhat northeast of you (Mtn Home) so we won't be in fierce competition for WW's. BTW, I captured 3 wild ones this afternoon bicycle riding with the better half.[smilie=w:

Winelover:castmine: