Where's the lead?

[Dogg]

Guess I am getting dam-ed frustrated. I haven't been able to find a source for pb now for over a year in this area. Have been told that it is al being sent back to the 'home office' or that it is being sold to China. What the $%^&!# is going on! Is this another one of the govt. plots to limit guns and shooting? I can't find enough lead to make it worth while to buy a mold. But I sure as h-ll can't afford to shoot jacketed bullets. My shooting is being limited more and more to just .22 rimfire. !@#$%^&&**()(*^^%$$###.
What has happened to the lead mines? Are they all on strike or has the tree huggers convinced the country lead is so bad that it should just be left in the ground. Someone needs to start mining the stuff for the poor boolit casters cause it looks like there will soon be none around.

[deltaenterprizes]

There is plenty available in the "For Sale" section.

[Dogg]

I agree but when you figure in shipping cost it gets a bit out of my unemployed ability.

[docone31]

Do you know any roofers?

[Springfield]

Maybe you have something we need that we would trade for lead? Brass, old guns, something. I still get raw wheelweights from one place if you could use those, I'd be reasonable in a trade as I really hate melting them down anyway.

[Texasflyboy]

I can't find enough free lead to make it worth while to buy a mold.

I assume you meant free lead ( I added the word free to your quote above to make my point).

One reliable source of free lead that exists in Louisiana is any public shooting range.

Go mine the berm. It's what I did when was in College in LA. I mined berms. Didn't have much money. I used wood scrounged from local woodlines for fuel. Made a blower out of junk parts. I never put out cash for any of my tools and I got lead for free. My only expense was for powder and primers.

That's about as low cost as you can get. I used to spend time paddling around in the bayou under bridges cutting lead weights off of stranded fishing lines too.

I was always mining lead for free there.

FWIW.

[chris in va]

All the tire stores here have caught on to the lead scavengers and are charging for the used wheelweights.

One guy at the range said it's the same way with used cooking oil...they charge now for the biodiesel crowd.

[geargnasher]

Try mining curbsides, especially where exit ramps come to traffic lights or major highways coming into town encounter their first stop. 50 yards back all the way to the light, mostly on the curb side, you'll get a handfull of wheel weights at just about every such intersection.

Gear

[Harter66]

Just about all of mine comes from the berms or the curb these days. I gave up on the tire guys after the 3rd case of beer and the 9th "we got a guy that........". I have lucked out in that the range that I've been mining is practicaly unmolested. I can walk the hill and pick up 10-20# in an hour ,or as I've done also in the past attach a trap box to the back of the backer boards on the pistol lines and swap them out every couple of weeks,I got about 50# in 1 haul a while back . It only takes an hour or so to separate the bullets from the wood. Then use the now 2x recycled scrap wood to smelt out your lead ,sell the jackets to the copper guy and pay for casting fuel/power.

Probably too much info.

[Freightman]

Our IDPA pistol pit which is seldom used during the week is where I get my lead takes about 15/20 min to sift a five gal bucket. The nice thing about that is it helps to get the lead out so we do not get boolits leaving the pit and, 95% are cast anyhow so I have no worry about hardness ect.
The adds I see in the for sale section all are postage paid. At least I always post mine that way.

[fredj338]

Yep, the days of "free" lead form most sources is quickly going bye. bye. Tire shops are still worth hitting, but don't expect anything unless you are buying services first. Berm mining is a good source, but time consuming depending on the berm materials. Old roofing & plumbing lead, ask around the contractors. Stained glass window shops & classes too.

[qajaq59]

Free lead is tough these days unless you have a buddy that sells tires. But call some of your local roofers and plumbers. (That's how I found my source for pb when we first moved here.) Also look around for a junk yard or recycling center. It may not be free, but it might be cheaper, if you hit the right guy.

[mtgrs737]

It took me six months of stopping and asking every tire shop/garage I could find before I hit "The Jackpot". I too was getting depressed and was sure that this hobby was going to be short term or a no starter due to the high cost of non scrap lead. But when I asked a guy at the next gas pump if the tire shop that he was driving the truck for had any wheel weights he said sure and that I should stop by and ask them, it was only a block away. I stopped and they said that just last week a guy had picked up a 50gal. barrel full of weights but that they should have some in a week or so. I went back and sure enough these guys really generate a lot of WW's and best of all I am now "Their Guy" when it comes to WW's! Needless to say they are now "My Tire Shop" when I need anything done or new tires to be bought.

Hang in there! Never give up you will find your tire shop too!

[BeeMan]

Son #1 started working at a chain tire store several weeks ago. Naturally he asked about wheel weights. Response was they are restricted, the store pays for disposal, and no one is allowed to personally have any. He did manage a small sample and the yield of usable alloy was pretty poor. Skimmed clips, steel weights and a few zinc were about 50% of the volume of the original pile. At least he has a bit to cast some sinkers for fishing, which allows him to pursue his current passion.

Edit to add: buying tires at local shops, chain or independent, has not enhanced availability. My last Pb acquisition was a year ago at a scrap yard. A tire store had started using steel and even scrapped out some new WW when cleaning out their used stuff. Fortunately I dropped by a couple days later.

[Bwana]

Nothing is free. My father-in-law lives in a moderate sized city 100miles west of OKC and he manages to get me about two five gallon buckets a month for $20 a bucket. Now he is a smooth talker. He's also retired and has time on his hands.
Your best bet is to check out smaller towns in surrounding areas and get friends and relatives in nearby areas to check out their areas and save it until you can get it. One way or another; gas, cash, or both, you are going to pay.

[montana_charlie]

Being in Lousiana, look around at old boats. If you see a sailboat of any size rotting away in some empty area, ask the owner if you can dig out the ballast.

CM

[Bulldogger]

I go to independent gas station garages. Some chatting with the mechanic, mine is not a reloader but has a self-declared 1911 problem (85+ and counting), might get you a bucket. Mechanics are down-to-earth people usually and appreciate DIY hobbies. I always take an empty bucket to replace the full one, and a couple of six packs in said "empty" bucket also don't hurt. I homebrew my beer so that always raises their interest since they can't just go buy it in the store.
Stick to small independent places that aren't doing a ton of business (not attracting professional lead scavenger attention I mean). As long as they balance tires they'll have some takeoffs.

[qajaq59]

Being in Lousiana, look around at old boats. If you see a sailboat of any size rotting away in some empty area, ask the owner if you can dig out the ballast. That's one I hadn't thought of yet. Have to give that a try if I see a rotten old sailboat.

[Fatman]

Hate to break your heart, my local garage (independent) saves tire weights for me and I've even shown him what not to save (Zinc or steel). Just stopped the other day and picked up 6 five gallon buckets (2 were full of pure stick on's).
I get my car serviced there and buy my tires from him. Thank god My nephew has a pick up truck to haul all of it to my house.

Everyone talks about the bigger repair shops, talk to the small independent guys.

Fatman

[10 ga]

As geargnasher said really scrounge the WWs. You can also get Al cans and other goodies. Best thing I ever found on the roadside( I worked for DOT) was a S&W M&P in .38spl. it was rusty but went bang. Traded that off as I didn't know what kind of tales it might be able to tell. 10 ga

[Bulldogger]

Got this during a 40m walk at work today. Since this town is built on a hill, there's a lot of challenged parallel parking going on. Stick to side roads just off the main road in mixed residential business districts, metered parking where there's a lot of turnover and folks in a hurry, and tall curbs at the main road where folks are turning in a hurry.
Call it (the?) one benefit if living in the city. Plus since it's adjacent to Wash DC, there's fewer shooters looking and the lib-tards are too busy picketing frankfoods and carrying signs to pick up the hazmat at their feet ;-)

Granted one wouldn't make a living picking up this much per hour, but for me it's the walk that counts. WWs are just gravy.

[mroliver77]

I found quite a bit of lead pipe, flashing and buried telephone wire jacket. I see everybody gets $1.00 lb or more for alloy delivered. I found that magnum shot has come down in price and have found it for less than $1.lb on sale. Nice stuff to enrich the soft lead. I asked at the scrap yard and bought a bunch for scrap price. Even at $1. lb it is much cheaper than buying jacketed. I have quite a stash now and mebbe have $.10 lb average in it.
Jay
Jay

[a.squibload]

A local metal scrap yard was charging 80¢/lb about a month ago for any type lead.
Found sheet lead, plumber joints & pipe, isotope container caps, 26 lb ingots marked "Liberty", etc.

Need to get back there with some cash, wasn't prepared last time.

They pay for steel but want a minimum of 500 lbs, think I have almost that much.
Might take it over there anyway and see if they'll trade for some lead.

[Wots]

I go to where the tire shops ship there lead, the scrap yards. Yesterday I picked up 200#'s @ 30 cents per #.