How much lead in ingot form do you have and how much should we keep on hand?

[6bg6ga]

Looked thru my lead locker and was shocked to find that I only had 250# of unproccessed lead ingots on hand. How much should one keep on hand?

[500MAG]

I have about 1200#. My goal was to get it up to about 2k before the prices and availability shot up. Now, I rarely find any at a deal. I also have about 100# of pewter stocked.

[Fishman]

I will answer your questions in order.

1. Not enough.
2. More than you think.

[lightman]

Theres a thread someplace on here called "do you have a lifetime supply"? Some of these guys have tons.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

It doesn't spoil (normally). How much storage space do you have. How much can you afford? That much is what you should have.

[imashooter2]

Theres a thread someplace on here called "do you have a lifetime supply"? Some of these guys have tons.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ifetime-Supply

[OS OK]

Gosh...I look at my puny supply of only 400# or so give or take...and pine for more each time.
Then I think of how much is...400# in 200 grain boolits...well lets see...

400# X 7,000 grains per pound divided by 200 grains per boolit...that equals about 14,000 boolits...DANGIT...I ain't got enough lead!

Pine...pine...pine...I better get off my big fat butt and 'getolookin!'

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I feel the same way, and I am just shy of 300 pounds, poor me! there should be a charity in my name!

[Preacher Jim]

As much as you can store it never goes bad. Down to 7k looking for more.

[OS OK]

Eventually we will all be discovered by Hollywood..."Hoarders!" We'll be on TV together...featured 'sitting' atop a pile of lead. Snarling at the cameras..."GRRRRR..get back!..mine,mine,mine!"

[Smoke4320]

my precious, My Precious
100 LBS of Hi speed billet ( for tin and copper) and 1200 lbs lead... 700 COWW/2% ... 500 LBS pure

[Boaz]

Probably got 400 to 500 pounds combined ww and soft . If I don't get to the range more than I have this year it will last till I die . Time is hard to come by

[ProfGAB101]

I have about 1300lbs of processed ingots and another 6 5gal buckets each about 80% full of pre-2008 wheel weights so virtually no zinc or iron.

That said - since 22RF ammo has been unavailable, and now retails at prices near bargain 9x19 ammo. I can cast my own 380 / 9mm / 38spl and load with mid range high yield powder like HP38, Unique, Bullseye etc such that you can get nearly 2K loaded rounds per pound of powder. Using cheap (bought only on sale ) primers I shoot my center fire pistols when I would be linking with 22's.

I try to keep the 44mag and 45 acp's in the safe since they eat lead fast at 230gr a shot (or more), but every so often you can't fight the urge to do a mag dumps through the SMG, especially when you have your own private 200yrd range just out the back door.

My processed ingots are very hard - works great as is in the 357 & 44mag. I think I will buy some 96% Pb / 4% Sb and dilute the hard alloy to stretch it and soften it up some.

[johnho]

I've gotten my inventory down to about 950 pounds of ingots and about 500 pounds of various bullets cast and in boxes waiting for lubing and sizing. I reduced my stash as I realized that at 71 I'm not getting to the range that much so don't need all I had. Even this is more than I'll ever shoot up now. For me that's somewhere around 60,000 rounds. Figure about another 6 or so years of shooting the high caliber rounds that's 10,000 rounds a year, never going to shoot that much. Hmmm, maybe I have too much.

[6bg6ga]

Thanks to all of you that have answered my post. I did't figure in the bullets I have in 3lb coffee cans so I probably have around 150# there. From the answers I have gotten so far it would seem that I need to start looking hard for some lead again. As pointed out it surely doesn't spoil and I believe we all know that and it doesn't have a shelf life so why not buy somemore. So, what is the going rate for lead ingots? Does a person contact a supplier and have lead delivered? In the past I have tried to obtain lead WW from tire shops and such only to be told it is already spoken for.

[M-Tecs]

Not sure but around 6K to 8K in ingots and 13 five gallon buckets of wheel weights.

[Beagle333]

I got my own range, so I will just go dig it up when I run out and repeat.

[bangerjim]

In the mid 4 digit range.

[6mm win lee]

Eventually we will all be discovered by Hollywood..."Hoarders!" We'll be on TV together...featured 'sitting' atop a pile of lead. Snarling at the cameras..."GRRRRR..get back!..mine,mine,mine!"

That's not how it works. A decomposed body is found under an avalanche of lead ingots (lintype ingots preferred by this writer) after investigators wind their way through canyons of ingots stacked to the ceiling at the far end of a eight thousand square foot single level house. It'll be on the Daily Mail for two days.

[OS OK]

Once saw a small house stacked to the shoulders with newspapers and magazines...got the picture. Funny one. So that was Gramps body they found, Grama was in the bathroom casting and running the still.