When is Enough Enough?

[NyFirefighter357]

I got 68lbs of sinkers & 7lb of solder as well as a bunch of fishing tackle & some tools for free this week. At that price I'll never stop.

[Digger]

You don’t have enough unless it cracks the slab in your shop area.

I will vouch for that !!...true.

[Rcmaveric]

I go through about 200+ pounds of lead a year. I have about 900 lbs. So i am good for a few years but need to keep up the scrounging if i want enough to last me a lifetime. I am on 33. I will probably make it to about 86, so i need about 10600 lbs.... i dont have any tin or pewter on hand so i need to collect about 106 pounds of that. Need about 50lbs of zinc.... then i will have enough to last my lifetime but i could always use more for bartering.

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[ThomR]

I picked up another 55 pounds of range scrap today.
I'm going to try to make it to the public range once a week from now on to reclaim lead.
I also need to get a better sifter so I can process it faster.

[Winger Ed.]

I have sinned.

When Lead first hit $1 a pound, and it was still trickling into the shop for free--
I sold approx. a fourth of what I had accumulated.
But, on the bright side, I did get a new Marlin, a Charter Arms Bulldog, and LOTS of powder and primers with the proceeds .

[brewer12345]

Got several hundred pounds, maybe as much as 1000. I am shooting a lot more since a range opened up within 10 minutes of me. Also took up muzzleloaders, so need the soft stuff. So as I cast I try to buy so that I have a roughly stable stock. Trying to maintain enough of an inventory so as not to have to worry about supply. I'd guess that primers are the choke point for me.

[Teemu]

Soon in the EU area, all that lead will be unfortunately worthless.


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It depends which EU country we are talking about...Been checking that few central europe countries dosen't give a rats !"#"! what EU keeps telling what to do. But not Finland. Our country has to be first to obey any ridiculous laws etc. Well need to see what happens. I take a loan and buy couple tons of lead so it last longer than i live..

[Barut]

It depends which EU country we are talking about...Been checking that few central europe countries dosen't give a rats !"#"! what EU keeps telling what to do. But not Finland. Our country has to be first to obey any ridiculous laws etc. Well need to see what happens. I take a loan and buy couple tons of lead so it last longer than i live..

Be carefull. EU wants to ban home casting as well as ALL usage of lead, even on the ranges! All that lead may become worthless.

https://firearms-united.com/eu-ammo-ban-impacts/

It is better to fight it and stop it, like we stopped semi-auto ban in 2017. I'm sure they will still get something, like no lead when hunting, but that is what they are counting on. Incrementalism.


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[Slugster]

When is enough, enough? Simple answer: Never!

[Teemu]

Be carefull. EU wants to ban home casting as well as ALL usage of lead, even on the ranges! All that lead may become worthless.

https://firearms-united.com/eu-ammo-ban-impacts/

It is better to fight it and stop it, like we stopped semi-auto ban in 2017. I'm sure they will still get something, like no lead when hunting, but that is what they are counting on. Incrementalism.


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So no more olympic shooting with airguns? How about .22 rifles and pistols. I can't believe that goes through how it is presented. In Finland is already banned use of lead on shotgun birdshots near waters. This is one mystery law presented by EU it isn't fact that law is going trough. How they gonna supervice who is shooting and what on range? Every country still can decide if law is come into effect. Like many other law presented by EU.

[JM7.7x58]

This is my first year casting boolits. I’ve been a working with metal for thirty years, and I’ve done a lot of things, welding, brazing, machining, casting silver and gold, blacksmithing. I’ve been reading about reloading and casting for just as long. Life had always got in the way, or other hobbies. I finally jumped in with both feet this past winter. I know that I missed out on the golden age of free lead, here on the west coast. I worked at a service station and was an auto parts driver when I was 18, those wheel weights were free back then.

Well I have done an ingot and scrap inventory and a primer usage count for this last year. I have gone through about 1500 rounds so far and expect to finish out the year somewhere around 2000.
My current stash of 200 plus pounds should last me about four or five years. That is not enough.

I have bought a lot of tooling this year. I have a self imposed monthly reloading spending limit and most of that has gone towards tooling. I hope to start spending more on lead and less on tooling.

Strangely, pewter is my most abundant item percentage wise. I have enough tin to alloy 1500 pounds of wheel weights at 2%. I’ve got about thirty pounds of it, half in 3 once muffin coins, and half still unsmelted. I haven’t kept a record but I expect my cost per pound is in the 4 to 5 dollar a pound range for all of it. Sometimes I spend too much, sometimes I get a great deal, it averages out. Also I enjoy hunting around thrift stores.

Wheel weights were banned here over a decade ago. That’s the problem here in Washington. To get that alloy I need to spend about $1.30 per pound shipped. What I find a lot of is fishing weight lead. For the most part pretty soft stuff, some recycled wheel weights, but a lot of pure also. The fishing lead ends up being about 9 BHN. I’ve had to buy Linotype to sweeten my fishing lead.

JM

[BD]

I'm thinking maybe my grandkids could make that judgement, some day.

[shaggybull]

How about 3800lbs one chunk, then found semi brake drum turned into lead pot 3/4 full of lead for $20.

[sw282]

When I built my lead recycling backstop, I sorta felt better about how much lead I had collected by then and that it'd last my lifetime too.



Then a friend calls a couple weeks ago and ask if I was still casting...if so he had a bunch of lead I can have. Assorted chilled shot & fish weights. I couldn't get over there fast enough...I got the 'hoarding sickness'.



I made ingots from 433 pounds of it and gave a friend who is new into shotgun reloading 200 pounds...



"You can never have enough...heheee!"

OS OK..Lead in bagged SHOT form is worth app $3 a pound .. lngot form maybe a Buck a pound

[Retumbo]

Besides the 600lb-ish ingots in my shed I have a full 55 gallon drum behind the shed

[Tripplebeards]

I had two truck loads of COWW new in box wheel weights I received for free a few years back. My truck was squatting to the ground and my 10 ply tires looked like they were bulging like they were low on air with each load. I also received a 40’ plus square of pure lead floor sheeting at the time. It took me over a month working 7 hour plus days, 7 days a week to smelt it all into ignots. I figured I have to have way over a ton, closer to two now. I have a couple pales of COWW laying around that will probably not get smelted any time soon. I keep getting them for free so I might just start selling or trading them as I’ll never use all the ignots I have already smelted in my lifetime.

[kevin c]

Sharing the wealth is good karma. I may do the same, though I have to pay for what I get.

[Smoke4320]

If i die with some i had enough

[Geezer in NH]

Never.

Yep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kevin c]

If i die with some i had enough

I respectfully disagree. It wouldn't have been enough for me if I pass on with a reserve still left if I had to cut back on my shooting to keep that reserve.