Attempt to pickup lead

[Jamesconn]

Well right now I'm in my dads pickup with my mom and we are stuck going to my only lead source my father is on his way in my mothers car I honestly don't know how to get us outa here no doubt there will be alot of cussing and yelling
I hate this range but it's the only place I got I've called and emailed close to 50 places tire shops dealerships other ranges and radiology departments at hospitals and absolutly nothing half the people didn't know what I was talking about and some just hung up all the car places recycle the ranges scrap them and won't even listed to my offer I honestly don't know if I can start casting at all I've been researching and learning from yall and I've spent atleast $200 of my hard earned money on equipment I feel like crap and I feel stupid I might sell the stuff and give up I've never even melted lead yet.
As long as I live I won't be able to go back to that range.
Idk how I'm going to feed my guns I might just sell the guns too Ive been trying forever and always nothing

[canyon-ghost]

Don't give up, it's just one bad day. You'll get lead, one way or the other. Parents are a hassle, huh?

[clodhopper]

There is a lot of lead out there, keep looking.
A rifleman persists.

[Bob Krack]

James,
I'm not sure what you are saying..... are you saying you procured some lead and have no way to get it home or are you saying you feel as if you have tried all sources with no success?

Bob

[Jamesconn]

I was on the way to get lead and got stuck we got it out but I cant go back there again forever and I built a sifter too after picking 50lbs with my bare fingers. This isn't my first time being fruitless I made a paper on excel and googled all the places around me within 60 miles and wrote all of em down and called each one ive been to 3 different junkyards trying to find lead and build a pot I'm no closer than I was months ago.

[edler7]

Hang in there James- It's worth the trouble coming up with raw materials.

A couple suggestions:
1) Try some plumbing shops. They may very well have some old lead waste pipe laying around. I go to the old, cruddy places...not the new, modern ones.

2) Try roofers. They may have old lead flashing, or would save some for you. Maybe you could trade them an afternoon cleaning up their yard/shop in exchange...same with plumbers.

3) Radiology departments (x-ray) usually don't have much if any lead around. You need to talk to the people in nuclear medicine - which is part of radiology. They are the guys with all the lead bricks and isotope generators. Tell em' an old chief tech (me) is asking them to give you what they can as a professional courtesy. It might work, it might not.

PM me with your name and address and I'll send you a few ingots out of my stash. It won't be much, but it will give you a chance to get your feet wet.

Maybe some other guys on here would be willing to do the same just to give a young buck struggling uphill a start in a really neat hobby...;-)

[onondaga]

There is some fine metal dealers right here on Castboolits with great prices and a variety of alloys or pure lead. It sounds like your gas money could have already bought you 100 pounds.

Gary

[sargenv]

Don't give up.. it's just as bad out here on the left coast.. I had to resort to mostly buying from the ppl here on this forum..

[jmsj]

James.
when I was getting started, I got discouraged like you are now. At first a handful of wheelweights here and there was all I could get. After some persistance and being cool to the guys in the shops, I now have two tire shops that give me WW's. I do take them a 12 pack of sodas and donuts ( nothing is completely free). After much searching and rejection, I now have a source that sells me x-ray lead shielding @ what the scrapper pays. Don't give up on range minning either. Offer to help w/ some of the maintenance or clean up around the range. Here's an example of helping out at the range, I weld up the holes in the steel targets once in a while for one range and they let me mine for lead. Maybe you could cut the weeds or something else for minning privelages.
I know it is discouraging in the begining. Especially when you read about guys scoring 55 gallon drums full of wheel weights. I don't know but I am willing to bet those finds are few and far between. I am stoked if I get a half a 5 gallon bucket of WW's from a tire shop that I have been going to for years.
Hang in there and you will find some lead.
Good luck, jmsj

[Gtek]

Come on, pull up them britch's. How bad do you want it? Rotometals, here, what is going to stop you from buying and casting and learning even more while your still looking for the raw. I think that about explains a lot of us. Then when you score you can come on line and go NA-NA-NA-NA like the rest of us. Oh- and today is a MONDAY! Gtek

[melloairman]

Have you tried any old plumber's, or roofers. Are you close to any ship yards . Know any circle burners . It is just time to re group is all .Marvin

[Bad Water Bill]

One place I have never seen mentioned anywhere is a RADIATOR REPAIR SHOP. There may not be to many of them around but they generally have lead spills either in the tank or on the ground around the tank.

Hope this helps.

[MikeS]

James:

Send me a PM with your shipping info. I'm going to send you a 26lb brick of pure lead. It won't be right away, as I still have a few bricks I have to ship to folks that bought them from me, but I will get one out your way, just don't give up! You're young, if you stick with it, you'll have a hobby (shooting, boolit casting, etc.) that you can enjoy for the rest of your life! (or until you get married!) :)

Just remember, the lead I'm sending you is pure, so you'll have to mix it with some harder lead to shoot it in modern firearms. If you choose to get into muzzle loaders, then pure is exactly what you would need.

[deepwater]

James:

Send me a PM with your shipping info. I'm going to send you a 26lb brick of pure lead. It won't be right away, as I still have a few bricks I have to ship to folks that bought them from me, but I will get one out your way, just don't give up! You're young, if you stick with it, you'll have a hobby (shooting, boolit casting, etc.) that you can enjoy for the rest of your life! (or until you get married!) :)

Just remember, the lead I'm sending you is pure, so you'll have to mix it with some harder lead to shoot it in modern firearms. If you choose to get into muzzle loaders, then pure is exactly what you would need.

This is one of the nicest things I've seen in a long time.

Fred

[Jamesconn]

Thanks everyday and thanks for your offers to send stuff but I've taken enough and I've traded some range lead from that place I was behind so I tried to catch up and that's how I got stuck.
My father has been in the car buisness for atleast 30 years and knows all the people at the dealerships for 300 mi around and ive been asking him to help me get some for awhile and finally he gave in and said be will help me get "some" but we will see how that goes.

I got a Lyman ingot mold but they are kinda small I've been searching for channel iron for quite some time and haven't found any do y'all know of a retail store that sells some I got a couple friends with welders I just need the materals.
When school starts again I'll get some cash flowing again in about a month I am gonna sell energy drinks I've done it before in a smaller school and it's quite lucrative I make more than my friends with full time jobs and that was at a small school.
I need to check the prices theve probably gone up, shouldn't be a problem though.

When I get he money and space I want to get a shotmaker and make some shot fir cash

[MikeS]

As long as I live I won't be able to go back to that range.

A lifetime is a long time! Most people don't have such long memories, and businesses have an even shorter memory. Wait a few months, then go back there like nothing happened. Maybe go there with your folks to go shooting a few times. You'll be amazed at how quickly people forget small things.

[Phat Man Mike]

don't give in yet! and I'm sure there are some junk yards that have battery cable ends too! :)

[MikeS]

Actually the small Lyman ingot moulds come in handy. They're sized so that with most lead alloys they cast a 1lb ingot, which is easy to store, and easy to put in your melting pot. Also, if you keep some if not all of your lead in 1lb ingots it makes it fairly easy to modify your alloy. Say you had a pot of lead that was a bit softer than you want, if you had some 1lb ingots of say linotype, it's an easy thing to figure out how many you would need to add to the pot to harden it up. Same thing if the lead is too hard, keeping some pure lead in 1lb ingots makes it easy to add small amounts to your pot to soften the alloy.

And my offer still stands, if you want the brick, just PM me your shipping address and I'll send you one. All I would ask in return is sometime down the road, when you're in a position to help out a new shooter, that you 'pay it forward', and help them out.

[Jamesconn]

I will indeed pay it forewards already have a friend that want to get into guns, bit due to his parents we will have to wait till we are 18

[2wheelDuke]

Keep trying, you'll score some eventually. I've got about a 2% success rate in getting lead, but hey, I've got some scrounged lead. For what it takes me to scrounge it, then what it takes in propane to melt it down, it's really tough to beat some of the guys that sell it for about a buck a pound shipped.

[dieguy59]

James

I'm new to this thing too, and have been given alot of stuff . I have some lino ingots to help harden the brick of pure stuff MikeS is offering. Again, PM me your info and 'Pay it forward'.
Hang in there, one day you will be calculating how long you will have to live to shoot all you mountain of lead.

[Bad Water Bill]

[QUOTE=deepwater;1337926]This is one of the nicest things I've seen in a long time.

Fred[/QUOTE

Stick around for a while and you will see this is the way we do things at this site. This is the most caring, sharing site you will ever find.

[leadman]

You said you got stuck. If you meant the truck got stuck make sure you go back and fix up the ruts. If you can't do it right away let the rangemaster know when you can fix it up. Then offer to do some little chores around the range. This will show that you are a responsible young adult.
If you have scrap metal recycle yards in your area you might be able to talk them into letting you sort thru the bins and pick out the best wheel weights. Around here it would be about $.80 a pound, at least it was last summer. Lead sells here mostly for $1 a pound delivered. on this site.

Having made and sold lead shot I can tell you this is alot of work and takes alot of time. Also homemade shot does not sell for the same as the stores.Figure on $7 to $10 a bag less.
It also takes a large amount of lead, with the best shot being made from wheel-weights.

Keep your chin up, straighten out any mess you may have made and show the folks involved you are a great young man.

[clintsfolly]

Do you still need a small smelting pot? if so i have one that you can use for just the shipping. if and when you get done with it just pass it to a new caster to spread the help. Pm me you info if you need this. Clint

[Jamesconn]

The reason the roads are so messed uP is because the ground gets soft then the tractors drive through it and make a huge mess of it then it fills with water. I found a rent a cop training range and I asked them about lead and brass. I hate the range my dad takes me to it's indoor they won't let me have anything super small room that echoes and the stalls are super small and since I'm below 18 my dad has to stanton right behind me making it seem smaller when I went there they had two heaping buckets of brass and people kept sweeping their brass into it. It all goes to the scrapyard. Lead included I've been to the yard toono lead and everything thee is bent and useless and even iron stuff is 0.50 a lb

[t_dickinson]

You seem like a fine young man there, James.

Alot of fellas your age are finding great success in their not-so-great endeavors. You stay on the right track like you are and success will find you too.

Hang in there and it'll come. I was where you are not too long ago and found a great wealth of knowledge and assistance here. Fortunately for me, I live in an area where lead is fairly easy to come by.

The fact that you said "no thanks" to an easy way out (free lead) means you darn well deserve it. I'm proud of you.

PM your full name and address to me and I'll send you 10 lbs of wheel weight ingots to get your spirits up and keep you on the path. Shipping is on me so you have no excuses not to take me up on it.

I got a feeling you're meant for pretty great things, Kiddo.

Very sincerely,

Thad

[maglvr]

With the price of fuel these days, you might be better off, spending your hard earned dollars, buying lead from someone here on the forum.
Not to mention it will be clean and ready to use!
No dirt to deal with, no stinking smelting, no aching back, and in the end more money in your pocket! and time to go shooting!
Remember, there is NOTHING that comes truly free;)
If you build yourself a good("good" means effective, not expensive) bullet trap, 100-200 lbs of lead can literally last a lifetime.

[bigjason6]

With the price of fuel these days, you might be better off, spending your hard earned dollars, buying lead from someone here on the forum.
Not to mention it will be clean and ready to use!
No dirt to deal with, no stinking smelting, no aching back, and in the end more money in your pocket! and time to go shooting!
Remember, there is NOTHING that comes truly free;)
If you build yourself a good("good" means effective, not expensive) bullet trap, 100-200 lbs of lead can literally last a lifetime.

But that's the fun part!

[badbob454]

Thanks everyday and thanks for your offers to send stuff but I've taken enough and I've traded some range lead from that place I was behind so I tried to catch up and that's how I got stuck.
My father has been in the car buisness for atleast 30 years and knows all the people at the dealerships for 300 mi around and ive been asking him to help me get some for awhile and finally he gave in and said be will help me get "some" but we will see how that goes.

I got a Lyman ingot mold but they are kinda small I've been searching for channel iron for quite some time and haven't found any do y'all know of a retail store that sells some I got a couple friends with welders I just need the materals.
When school starts again I'll get some cash flowing again in about a month I am gonna sell energy drinks I've done it before in a smaller school and it's quite lucrative I make more than my friends with full time jobs and that was at a small school.
I need to check the prices theve probably gone up, shouldn't be a problem though.

When I get he money and space I want to get a shotmaker and make some shot fir cash

an old bed frame will work good lightweight angle iron makes an easy stackable brick channel iron is harder to find most welders use all of the irons they have down to the inch good luck ..

[part_timer]

James, I remember getting started and it was rough. Hang in there and it will all work out in the end.

I can help out with the angle iron mold if you need one. There are three or four setting in the reloading room not being used and 200 feet of angle in my project pile so that is an easy one to help with.

[Jamesconn]

What about U channel and I think I'll just make a wall around the bench out of plexiglass and maybe 3 in above the surface of the table I guess I'll glue it since plexiglass doesn't like to be drilled.

I want to have some U channel ingot molds the 1 pounders are a tad small I'll still use but I plan on getting a shotmaker in a couple years so I would like to have something a bit bigger maybe about a 5lb one and 10lb one

[part_timer]

Let me look but I bet I can come up with some. I have one made out of "U" but you need a screw driver to get them out. It's not hard just a bit of work.

[pmer]

I've had my best luck picking up wheel wieght by going to independent tire shops and salvage yards. I don't go to chains like Firestone or Tires Plus any more.

I think your best bet is to show up in person rather than on the phone or Email. Bring cash and have a bucket too. This method works for me as I have field service job and can stop at places on my way home from work.

[fredj338]

I got a Lyman ingot mold but they are kinda small I've been searching for channel iron for quite some time and haven't found any do y'all know of a retail store that sells some I got a couple friends with welders I just need the materals.
When school starts again I'll get some cash flowing again in about a month I am gonna sell energy drinks I've done it before in a smaller school and it's quite lucrative I make more than my friends with full time jobs and that was at a small school.
I need to check the prices theve probably gone up, shouldn't be a problem though.

When I get he money and space I want to get a shotmaker and make some shot fir cash
Every scrap iron dealer sells such things. Look for scrap steel vendor or even a welding shop. They cut & weld steel, lots of scrap there. Cheap/free lead is where you find it, but at todays gas prices, going to tire shops more than occasionally is costing you money. Buy from some vendors here. At $1/#, that is still very cheap shooting.

[Jamesconn]

Well I am going to continue the lead hunt myself, I was thinking of building a table with a screen top and putting a vibrating motor, and I could talk to the range owners around here and offer to clean up the whole range for free. For gifting holidays ill tell people I want lead now.

[redneckdan]

Another thing, when you go to tire shops ask for lead for making FISHING JIG HEADS amd WEIGHTS. Make sure you are decently cleaned up, the more innocent looking the better. Fishing gear sitting in the back of the car and maybe even a hat that says bass master or gander mountain or something similar. Harder to turn down an innocent looking kid who just wants to go fishing a lot than one looking to make boolits, who maybe unsupervised, who may just go off the reservation at his school some day. Not saying you are that type but the guys holding the lead don't know you from adam. Ya it is sad to say it but this will make a difference in your take.


As for dealing with the parental unit. If they we to be some how lead into thinking that your casting hobby is the lesser of two evils, say casting as compared to staying out late and getting drunk at bonfire parties, they may be more open to casting. Then again this may back fire and they ground you until your are 40. :groner:

[fishnbob]

I called a recycle center and asked if I could buy some lead and they told me they only sold it in large quantities and so I asked what they considered large quantities and they replied "About 5000 tons or so." I asked who buys in that quantity and they said "we load it on a boat and send it to China. They buy everything ."

[Swede44mag]

When I was getting started into boolit casting I went ot the Tire stores and asked it they had any wheel weights for sale told them how much I would pay brought my own bucket and scale. I tried to be truthfull and told them I was going to cast boolits to hunt and target shoot with. Some of them looked at me like I was some kind of a criminal. Since I have learned to say I am going to make fishing weights or weights to put in the truck during the winter. I do cast some fishing weights and I do put weights into the truck in the winter but they are loaded in cartridges to hunt with.

Don't lie just don't tell them anymore than necessary.

[7of7]

You can always tell them you will be casting fishing weights... use the zinc weights for making fishing weights.. and don't melt them or use the same tools when processing the zinc. Not to mention the fantasy game figurines.. or lead armies..
Tell them anything but bullets..

[Jamesconn]

I have done some talking with the tire people and I told them the fishing thing too.
people are getting very anti-gun these days.
Later in life after I get my machinist degree im going to get a furnace to melt other metals like brass copper aluminum iron and steel so I can make parts for stuff.

Ever since I can remember I was facinated with the 1800s blacksmith working with metals and melting it and turning it into something useful or pretty.

[Bad Water Bill]

You are still at a site that can help you learn something about OLD time blacksmithing.:bigsmyl2:

Check under SPECIAL PROJECTS or peoples handles.

[4719dave]

DONT GIVE UP!! its great to see the guys take in a newbee !! Just remember when you do get the ww or other types of lead PIZZA,DONUTS etc are a great thank you the guys remember these things .

[troy_mclure]

i gave up long ago on free or even cheap lead.

there is a commercial caster near me that has everything sewn up.

i just buy my lead from ebay or here. less hassle, and i get good alloys, and dont have to spend time or money(gas/propane, etc...) hunting it down and smelting it.

[randyrat]

Remember even if you have to pay a $1.50/lb it's still less money than buying Jword bullets and you made them yourself. Meanwhile keep looking.

Sometimes fellows and gals sell lead on this forum to fund a gun or a project. Most of the time 99.99999% of the time you will get what you paid for and good deal on top of it.

[jhalcott]

James, MANY of the ranges I frequent will NOT let you mine the berms! Lots of reasons, but mainly because it damages the back stops. Picking up bullets on top of the ground is ok, just don't do it while there are shooters waiting at the firing line! Most tire stores have a contract with a battery company for their old wheel weights. The fact that a lot of areas are going to NON lead wheel weights has to be thought of to. A friend of mine gave me a 50 pound box of tire weights as he knows I cast. Trouble is most were made of iron/steel!

[cajun shooter]

James, I sorry but I have to tell you that I have a huge grin on my face and you just put it there. What you are dealing with at this moment is so small that it would not even fill the space on the end of a pin if converted to paper.
I hope you follow through with the machinist training and stay until you finish. I went for two years of a 4 year course and had a thing called females stop me from doing what I should have. Every time I see a lathe which I can run(IF SOME ONE TURNS IT ON) Ha!! Ha!! I would love to have my own milling machine and a huge old Bridgeport to play on. KEEP GOING AND STAY WITH IT!!!

[Circuit Rider]

James, Check with your parents and make sure this is ok with them. Pm me after you ask them if it's ok and I'll send what lead I can get in a small flat rate box. Probably about 12 to 15 lbs. You can pay it forward later to some one. I'll Pm you now with other info. CR

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

even figuring the gas to get to shops to pick it up , the propane to melt it it isn't a deal some times , i would recommend some one new to casting buy their first 20 pounds or so of clean alloy fill the pot and learn how to cast with good stuff before you start smelting and cleaning scrap

man who walk before he run , fall less

a steel muffin pan works just fine for ingots , and they are cheap


if i were starting up to cast i would buy a lee 4-20 pot a ladle and clean lead alloy and a mold and probably a bottle of bull plate

in reality i didn't by the bull plate , i used the lee 50/50 nra alox stick , and i smelted my lead from wheel weights.
wheel weights are getting harder to come by here also , they either have them promised to their battery recyclers , are making weights for their race car or for their tractor

start with one project learn from it then move on , don't get to may irons in the fire.

[hiram1]

ok here is the deal. i will send you 50 lb free no charge if you pay the shipping.no strings just free lead
just pm me and tell me how to get it to you

[Phat Man Mike]

I've been the tire shop route! learned quick to say fishing jig's!

[shotman]

feebay has too much to sell but its there

[bigjason6]

You are still at a site that can help you learn something about OLD time blacksmithing.:bigsmyl2:

Check under SPECIAL PROJECTS or peoples handles.

I'd love to learn a bit about blacksmithing

[badbob454]

What about U channel and I think I'll just make a wall around the bench out of plexiglass and maybe 3 in above the surface of the table I guess I'll glue it since plexiglass doesn't like to be drilled.

I want to have some U channel ingot molds the 1 pounders are a tad small I'll still use but I plan on getting a shotmaker in a couple years so I would like to have something a bit bigger maybe about a 5lb one and 10lb one

i have used 3" channel iron it works good too larger blocks stack as nice as the angle iron molds (little airspace ) mine are @ 6" long ands weigh 3-4 lbs if i remember right channel iron is hard to find free , bedframes free or cheap. best of fortune on your endeavor

[Jamesconn]

Now that I have a job I dont need to always find free stuff I can buy stuff now.
Where could I go to aquire some U channel I am interested in 5lb and 10lb ingots, Also I am trying to purchase some large diameter steel pipe and plate to make atleast a 100lb smelting pot and with a little help from my friends Im going to weld it and make it pour out the bottom.

I have also found plans to make a burner that runs on waste oil from deep fryers and motor oil. It runs hot enough to melt iron. Since I work at a resturant and have a friend that owns his own mechanics shop I have free fuel.

Now I am trying to come up with storage I cant keep it in small jerry cans and i found a 100 gallon waste oil and chemical container but that was about 700-800 bucks I think ill get one of those 55 gallon barrels.

My goals are to buy the rest of the reloading/casting stuff, start smelting and ingotizing lead. Later I am going to buy 2 more guns.

The biggest obstacles I have run into is my father wont let me slug the barrel of his pistol and refuses to help in any way, but he still complains about me not mass producing ammunition and says if you dont want to do it I can. I cant get it in his head that nobody can reload and cast for his gun without measuring the barrel diameter.

He wont let me go to the range I had been mining, which I understand but wont help me aquire lead with all his cardealership contacts.

I have and still am trying to contact ranges and see if I can cleanup for them. I think it is harder for me to get permission to mine the berms because of my age and they dont want to be responsible for anything. I think I will need to talk to my aunt she is a nurse and find out exactly who to talk to about getting lead from hospitals and maybe she knows somebody.

[Bad Water Bill]

A lot of the berms that have allowed mining found out that they had a large erosion problem.

[Jamesconn]

I doubt anybody casts down here.
The only person I know that reloads where live is my barber.

[Capt Klutzz]

Dont know Texas well enough but try any of these links to NDE companies.
You want to talk to someone at the company that is familier with radiographic testing (this testing is done frequently on petroleum pipelines). What you are asking/looking for are lead radiographic screens.

These are used in industrial X-Ray to intensify the effects of the radiographic source on the film that is sandwiched between these thin lead sheets. Once these sheets become scratched, crimped, heavily oxidized or otherwise damaged they usally discarded as the damaged screen will either not perform properly or may actually show the damage on the radiographs produced.

At my last employer we had a cabinate that when we cleaned it out contained a 55Gal drum fuul the we took to the scrap yard for beer money...(wasnt casting then )
Any deal you might be able to offer them (sweeping the shop etc.) mighthlp seal/sell the bargain but I would not mention the idea of taking them to the recyler to them. Be advised that these have a paper backing that burns off pretty easy (almost self fluxing...LOL !) and will generally show a thickness of .005 *- .010" bu usally the vol. and sq. inces will more than make it worth while.


Web site: www.ashtead-technology.com




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E-mail: info@brlconsultants.com




Web site: www.hellierndt.com
E-mail: dlocke@hellierndt.com




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E-mail: mail@reinhartassoc.com




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E-mail: ndt@teamindustrialservices.com




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E-mail: ernie@vandergriff.net

[HenryC460]

I used to be able to get ahold of lead by offering a tire shop to haul off some of their used wheelweights for them. Now, most all of them are selling it, not giving it away. So when I walk in , I say I'd like to buy some of their used wheelweights. They treat you more like a customer then. Also, if you strike out on a weekday, go back on a weekend. Maybe you just talked to the wrong guy. Bring cash. I don't think I'd try setting it up by email. Strictly in person. Some shops have contracts with recyclers, as you've probably found out. Someone there still might sell you a bucket for $25 cash, but he doesn't want to put it in writing that he sold it.

[a.squibload]

One guy said they have a recycler who picks 'em up but
he hadn't been by for a while so he sold 'em to me.
Never hurts to ask.

[jonas302]

As far as getting lead wheel weights from the tire shops first off your Dad should be a great help. A in person visit will be the only way to get any lead from them
I manage an auto repair shop and small salvage yard we get bombarded everyday by people trying to make a quick buck they walk in and ask for my lead, converters, radiators, ect the first answer will be no. Anybody that has explained that they cast boolits, sinkers, race car weights ect has always left with a free bucket of lead even when it has to come out of my personal stash. Most of your big shops and franchises will have a recycling program they have to do this for liability and the cradle to grave laws the smaller shops are much more likely to help you out

Several years ago I needed to cast a large weight for a pulling truck in one day I was able to get 3000 pounds of wheel weights just by telling them what I was going to do with them

[Shooter6br]

Try Craig's list. Dont say "Lead alloy wanted for bullet casting" i say "Scrap lead / alloy for casting hobby" If asked I say Oh i cast sinkers for fishing deep sea or i plan to make chess pieces ,Unicorns, rainbows (LOL) etc. The libs will have a fit if you say "bullet casting" Sometimes i say i am helping recycle into useful items.

[Jamesconn]

I checked craigs list and I could find one for sale all were people wanting to buy.

[waynem34]

May have already been suggested try a couple roofing contractors or place add in locals looking for scrap.:mrgreen:

[cajun shooter]

Your father may not want you trying to slug the barrel of his gun for fear of it being damaged. Although it is very advisable to slug your bore first, I made and loaded bullets for many guns before I ever slugged the first one. If you have a 357 or 38 special that is made by one of the good companies then you can get by. Try getting a mould that drops bullets at around .358 or better. If they drop at .358 then lube them and start shooting. It is not rocket science. If you don't have all of your equipment then start by pan lubing your bullets. You are young and don't quite understand the whys and why nots of the world yet. I have never seen a range that allowed the mining of it's berms. Once you remove soil you have destroyed the berm and the cost to rebuild is not cheap. A well used range will have bullet troughs that have formed over the years and even removing material from this area may cause problems.Best of Luck

[bigjason6]

Your father may not want you trying to slug the barrel of his gun for fear of it being damaged. Although it is very advisable to slug your bore first, I made and loaded bullets for many guns before I ever slugged the first one. If you have a 357 or 38 special that is made by one of the good companies then you can get by. Try getting a mould that drops bullets at around .358 or better. If they drop at .358 then lube them and start shooting. It is not rocket science. If you don't have all of your equipment then start by pan lubing your bullets. You are young and don't quite understand the whys and why nots of the world yet. I have never seen a range that allowed the mining of it's berms. Once you remove soil you have destroyed the berm and the cost to rebuild is not cheap. A well used range will have bullet troughs that have formed over the years and even removing material from this area may cause problems.Best of Luck

What if you put the soil back? The range I go to has berms that are chock full of lead. I asked a few members and they said it would be alright as long as I don't start digging any tunnels. I'm thinking sift a little here and there and put the dirt right back where I dug it out with a garden spade.