End Of An Era For Me

[MN91311]

I knew it was coming; I have been reading about it for a while here as it happened to others. Today I found out, from the manager of the large tire/muffler chain store I patronized, that the upper management has decided to recycle (collectively for scrap value) all their scrap metal, including WW. I had been getting nearly all the WW from that shop for five years at least. Maybe a total measured in tons, but I did not keep track. Enough to do a few days of dutch-oven processing once or twice a year. My family always asked what I neeeded with so much lead as I accumulated more and more, but I feel I cannot have too much of something I think is important. The best part is I paid nothing for the WW; I just gave them all my tire, muffler, inspection, repair business, and steered other people their way also. A sad time I knew was coming, but a sad time just the same.

[Buddy]

Wow, where's this addiction headed now? Really though, if you've got tons it's time to just sit back and admire it. Unless you want me to take some off your hands.:lovebooli

[fecmech]

If you want to continue why not match the scrappers price??

[frankenfab]

I stocked up to about 1800# of WW a few months ago. Boy am I glad I did. I have expereinced the same problem with my sources. When lead started going up, the battery companies started buying it, for about .55/#, which is less than I usually paid.

The problem with outbidding them is that the merchant is taking a credit towards merchandise, and they like the convenience of the whole deal, and don't even want to mess with us anymore.

[MN91311]

If you want to continue why not match the scrappers price??


The shop manager told me all the scrap metal from a few dozen stores in the chain are being put together in bulk and sold that way. Not just lead, but all the steel that used to just go into the dumpster. From there, it is out of his hands.

He takes good care of me with auto service, so I don't want to complicate his life.

[geargnasher]

Recycling is becoming more and more prevalent these days and overall it's a good thing. Our own EPA has virtually shut down production of raw material in this country, and other countries producing raw materials are starting to take advantage of the growing world market (think CHINA) as more of the world becomes industrialized. The result is that scrap of all types is more valuble than ever, and now is actually WORTH salvaging. To keep in the green, companies are trying get every penny they can, and recycling is a big part of that. Unfortunately, our "junk" lead that we used to cart away for free (and sometimes they'd even load it for you just being glad to be rid of the clutter of full buckets) is now part of the system of profit/loss.

I tried to get some cardboard boxes from my local supermarket for Christmas gifts and general storage last year, the Asst. Mgr. told me the vendors remove all the boxes, and there is no cardboard on the premisis. He said there was a vendor there stocking the housewares, go ask him. I did, and was told it was company policy they had to break down and account for every single box from each truckload of product. I couldn't believe it. Ended up getting some boxes out of the dumpster behind a liquor store, at least their vendor wasn't recycling. Sheesh.

Gear

[leadman]

Just a few years ago my scrap yard would not take ferrous metal from individuals. Now they are paying from 8 cents to 12 cents a pound.

When it is bulk trash pickup in the neighborhoods guys drive around and take any metal they can find from the piles.

The scrap yard is even paying 20 cents a pound for plastic bottles.

[chambers]

WW's this summer were at a all time high and now the price has come down a little, one tire dealer last week told me he wanted $.90/#, I let him know the bottom dropped out of lead and then he only had a pail for me. Harder to find now they are converting to Fe & Zn, but still out there. I guess the best is free WW if you can find them, few and far between.

[evan price]

I stopped at the local Kroger grocery store because as I drove through the back of the store complex (there's an access road behind the Kroger) I saw a big heap of broken crates/pallets that fixtures came in, these were 2x4, 4x4, and 4x6 untreated kiln-dried yellow pine and white oak and obviously had been hammered apart and broken to get the fixtures out. I stopped and asked the store manager if I could have them for firewood...nope, they have a special company trailer that comes to haul away all the wood & pallets and they sell it to a mulch company.

[fivegunner]

I just put tires on my beater, 450.00, when I did my shopping ( for the best deal) this guy asked what he could do to get my business, I said got any WW`s, ? he said all you want! BUT I went through 5 pails and found mybe 10 pounds of WW, the rest were Zink!!! the end is comming!!!!!!!:bigsmyl2::guntootsmiley::guntootsmi ley:

[VA Shooter]

Well at least you had 5 good years hope toy find another source

[randyrat]

Save the Zinc someday it will be worth it's weight in gold. I also noticed a bunch of Zinc in my WW buckets. We are lucky around there have lots of older vehicles around here with lead WWs, they come in for tires shazam

[Sonnypie]

It's going to get to the point the trap shooters will be blasting spent primers at the clays. :(

[35isit]

It's going to get to the point the trap shooters will be blasting spent primers at the clays. :(

A friend of mine who shoots a lot of sporting clays. Says steel shot may be on the horizon for competition shooting. He was told by the manufacturers to be aware that the day might come that all shotgun shells would be steel. I don't know if this was because of the cost or lack of lead.

[mold maker]

I just put tires on my beater, 450.00, when I did my shopping ( for the best deal) this guy asked what he could do to get my business, I said got any WW`s, ? he said all you want! BUT I went through 5 pails and found mybe 10 pounds of WW, the rest were Zink!!! the end is comming!!!!!!!:bigsmyl2::guntootsmiley::guntootsmi ley:

Zinc has almost the same scrap value as lead. Take it to the scrappie and trade for lead.

[Sonnypie]

"A friend of mine who shoots a lot of sporting clays. Says steel shot may be on the horizon for competition shooting. He was told by the manufacturers to be aware that the day might come that all shotgun shells would be steel. I don't know if this was because of the cost or lack of lead."

Mostly it is because to many hand wringing limp wristed idiots are freaking out about "lead poisoning".
Shooting is not about lead poisoning.
It is about shock, and about rapid demise of a target. Stopping a threat.
Shooting is about precision, and consistency.
Nothing died from lead poisoning from being shot.
But much has died because of the hole(s) resulting in being shot.

People are sheep and easily led, the current administration in Washington is proof of that. [smilie=6:
To those, lead based paint, and boolits are the same.
They want you and I stopped and controlled.

Have you seen the copper plated shot?

Time to stockpile.
And time to think "Black Powder".
BATF ignores black powder everything. You can even manufacture your own black powder fire arms.
Turn a cannon and load it with sabot-ted rocks. Or pea gravel.

Then they will outlaw rocks....

[Ervin]

A tip: Around here people are hurting and taking any metal they can find to the scrap yard. I have had good luck finding lead and ww. More than I need or can afford. I am paying 0.50 for lead and 0.22 for ww. I gave him a sob story about zink and steel ww. He was busy and just threw his hands up and said ok. I think he just wanted to get me out of his hair. I think a lot of the last batch was old because there was some telephone cable in the bunch. Haven't seen that in a long time. I also get a lot of sheet and pipe with lots of what look like traps with large brass fittings that I take back to the scrap yard. Brass was 1.60 but is now down to 1.50. Ervin

[Jailer]

I made a stop at the local scrap yard today. I had 2 - 5 gallon buckets full of steel WW clips and an old car battery. I was going to just pitch the clips and they guy says might as well throw em on the scale, you might get a couple bucks for em.

I ended up walking out with $25. $16 for the steel and $9 for the battery.

I'm scrapping EVERYTHING from now on!

[Lloyd Smale]

My days of free lead are about over too. I used to go to town and come back with 3 or 4 pails of wws now im lucky if i get a 1/4 pail. Its hardly worth the bother. I have a couple tons left and dont know what ill do when thats gone. Sure hate to pay between a buck and 2 bucks a lb for it as it sure would be harder for me to go out and blast a 1000 rounds of ammo.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

What a change.

So many having to save money or trying to make a small income from salvaging scrap alloy FOR A HOBBY. Look at the related local criminality happening, large and small.

In the early 60s plumbers lead in 25 pound strips and 50/50 solder was so cheap it was hardly worth the salvage and rework effort.

America is being destroyed one regulation at a time and they who run the destruction care so little for citizens they don't even tell us till the deals are done.

Rule by Executive Order is still imperial fiat !

Heck, our dove hunting treaty with mexico sold Americans down the river, yet you can kill hugh numbers there! Look at the condo carpola! Clearly anti-gun and PHD employment ar $159K a year.

I sure would like my country back.

BvT

[Maven]

In the last 2 years I've seen the ratio of Pb alloy wheelweights I find while walking change from 1 Zn : 3 Pb to 3 Zn : 1 Pb. This isn't a good thing!

[fredj338]

I called it when Kommifornia banned lead ww. It's the largest auto/tire market in the USA. It was only a matter of time before the ww manuf said just do zinc & steel. So I don't actively seek out lead sources, but always ask when I am in a shop or some type of business that handles lead. My dentist gave me about 25# of foils & another 25# of lead shtg from his old x-ray room. He went digtal about 10 yrs ago!

[twotoescharlie]

I use my spent primers as fodder for my blunderbuss,works pretty good on varmits like field rats.

TTC

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

It is sad. I have had a deal with a tire chain for a couple years. This spring they jacked the price of WW from fifty-cents a pound to seventy-five cents. And about twenty-percent is zinc, steel and clips, so my price is now over a buck a pound, plus the diesel spent going to get them, and propane for the turkey cooker to smelt them.

I have a ton or a bit more, but a buddy hits me for three hundred pounds each June at Quigley for my share of the motel bill. Fortunately, I found a source of foundry pure lead and 3% antimony locally. He charges me the spot price for lead. Five gallon buckets with a hundred pounds in each are starting to line the walls of my 10x20 foot "bullet factory".

You may see the day, in ten years or less, when all lead is banned.

Rich

[Freightman]

There not going to have to take the guns, they are just going to make it imposable to have ammo for them. You had better sit on 1000 rounds for each gun for emergency use and not shoot it all up.

[fredj338]

There not going to have to take the guns, they are just going to make it imposable to have ammo for them. You had better sit on 1000 rounds for each gun for emergency use and not shoot it all up.
That would be a bare min. Better still, have enough reloading supplies to load 10X that. Brass will reload that many times, you can scaange powder from sg shells or larger rifle rounds, gotta have primers though, lots of primers.:mrgreen:

[ColColt]

All this scrounging, while justifiable indeed, reminds me of my ex-wife who was an extreme hoarder...of everything!! She kept the large plastic Coke cups from Burger King, straws and lids. I was changing the spark plugs in her car one day and upon finishing I put the old ones in the boxes the new ones had come in and brought them into her. She asked what was she going to do with those and I told her put them in the cupboard beside the three year old Burger King cups and straws. She wasn't as tickled as I was about that comment.