450 lbs of Lead and Still Looking

[Powellcole5490]

So I decided it was time to weigh my stash. 450 lbs! I was pretty surprised at the amount. However, I'm still addicted to finding more. Matter-of-fact, I get pretty frustrated when I can't score a load. I'm always trying to Con my wife into flirting with tire shops for WW. What kind of stashes are ya'll holding on to? And if I sent my wife over, could she flirt her way out with some of it? Just kidding :lol:

[arjacobson]

I have about 400lbs of smelted ww. I have 405 lbs of soft lead that I am selling locally. Sold a couple hundred pounds to a fellow forum member last month. I am in the middle of a deal with a guy for 300lbs out of my soft lead stash.. I am ALWAYS looking for lead....:bigsmyl2: must be a sickness?LOL

[chambers]

Once you start accumulating( hoarding) you will not be able to stop. Although the sources for lead WW will come to an end sometime in the near future and that should make things pretty interesting, as the price 5 years from now should be quite a bit higher. I also remember the days of buying multiple semi loads of copper pipe at one time, now you need lots of money since things have come up 300-400%.

[btroj]

I have nowhere near that much. I need to get my stash growing. Sadly, I do better at casting and shooting than I do gathering.

[Sonnypie]

Nothin like that.
However... I do have bags of ingots, and coffee cans of ingots.
I have 221g HP ingots in 45 caliber.
And 230g ingots in 45 caliber.
120g 30 caliber ingots.
And 170g 30 caliber ingots.

Then there is a furnace with about 10-12 pounds of Lyman #2 in it.
And some ingots in a box of L #2.
And bags of shot which can go 2 ways, smooth bore, or 45 boolits.
Oh, and my tin roll for pot seasoning.

Last time I got goofy, I slung out 28.6 pounds of 230g 45 ingots from my Lee 6 cav 45 caliber ingot mold one day.
Yesterday I cast up several hundred 170g 30 caliber ingots and dressed them in gas checks.

Ya see, tiny ingots that can be loaded are more practical to me than pounds of lead.

You have a sickness. It's called lead poisoning.
And you are willing to sell your wife to get a fix. [smilie=1:
But you are in good company here. :mrgreen:

[leadbutt]

Talk about catching the bug...... hes almost at the point of pimpin out the ole lady. Rofl. Man you should seek help now before it gets worse.

L. Bottoms

[maglvr]

"What kind of stashes are ya'll holding on to? "

FAR more than I will ever need, not nearly as much as I want!

[Rhoa4396]

I have to say that you guys are right about it becoming addicting. I've just recently started and was disappointed because I ran out of WW's. It seems I have 649 ingots plus about 35#'s of lino and 10 #'s of tin.... I need to score one of those sailboat keels I was reading about....

Ken

[PbHurler]

Ok, unfortunately I DID do the math:
If I smelted together all my alloys, and it was shootable, I calculated I could shoot (100) 240gr .44's per week for 22.435 years. Addiction? maybe, do I still buy/scrounge for more? you bet.
"Hi, I'm Bob and I have an addiction" (Group voice now: "Hi. Bob")
:bigsmyl2:

[onesonek]

I haven't a clue on how much I will need, but figure it can't hurt to have too much. If nothing else, any excess can be used for bartering down the road. As of now, I have about 400# in ingots, of lino, iso, and coww's purchased from vendors here. With another bucket of coww's collected locally, awaiting smelting. Then too, from a new water line project, my b-i-l, has been picking up old lead pipe that is getting dug up for me. While not as much as initially guessed, so far I have gotten about 350-400# of that, with the project half done. Likely enough to last me my remaining lifetime, but then again,,,,can't have too much just in case needs change. Then too, any left I'm sure my son's will use eventually as well.
I'm finding, collecting lead is nearly addicting as casting and shooting lead.

[Defcon-One]

Every hobby is in a way an addiction. I'd rather collect scrap lead than do quilting or baking. Others have their thing, we have ours.

I can't say how much I have, but I think it is enough! At least until I find a really good deal on some more, then that will be enough. Ah, until I find a really good deal on some more!

Also, you can always sell off what you do not need or will not use!

When I got to 400 pounds of WW lead, I sold off 250 pounds of Range Lead that I had accumulated. Great stuff, but I like working with the WW lead better. The guys who bought that got a great deal on some really nice, clean metal and I used the funds accumulated from that sale to buy a bunch of CCI primers. Next time I'll buy powder.

More is better for lots of reasons and it's fun!

[Powellcole5490]

The only problem I run into (and my wife keeps reminding me of) is I'm active duty military and I will have to move at some point in the future. While that does give me a chance to find new sources of lead, it also weighs down my vehicle significantly on the cross-country trek. So while I would love to accumulate a TON of WW, it's really not practical.

[shooterg]

Powell, renting a trailer is cheaper than buying a ton of lead ! And a ton of lead in ingots does not take that much room. Store 'em in ammo cans/wooden lined flat rate boxes/etc. so you'll be ready to easily load the trailer/UHaul when you move ! You may not find it as easy later in a new location to accumulate a stash.

[Aaron]

Don't know for sure...three ton is conservative. Just sold half ton and it did not make much of a dent in it.

Aaron

[mold maker]

The words, ENOUGH, and LEAD, can't be used correctly in the same sentience. That's like enough gold or money. There is always a valid reason to seek more.

[Loony44]

Powellcole5490, First off, Thanks for serving. I know what you mean about moving casting equipment cross-country. I retired in 1995 and did a self-move from Arizona to Michigan. The u-haul was about 1/4 of my stuff and it weighted four times more.
Good luck.

Loony44

[bowfin]

I'm not sure how much I have, but I need to focus on getting it turned into boolits and turning the boolits into cartridges and turning the cartridges into practice and or meat for the table. Number One son has less than a year until he heads out of state for college.

I wish I could scavenge and hoard time the way we can scavenge and hoard lead.

[Harter66]

About 600# each ingots and shot and a 3gal bucket almost full of jacketed range scrap waiting for its day in the pot about a gallon of COWW awaiting their day too. As of now about 200 of every boolit I'm shooting in each alloy more when there are more than 1 gun to feed. Lastly likely 3-400 loaded maybe more,should I count whats in magazines in the jump bag and the paranoia stash too........................

[Suo Gan]

There is empirical scientific evidence that suggests that hoarders get a rush of endorphins when they add to their collection. Becoming addicted to the endorphins is a very real addiction, similar to the high brought about by heroin. This is one reason why pornography (which also releases endorphins into your brain) is so pervasive and destructive, it is momentary, and leaves you searching for the next high. And your brain needs more and more of it for it to be satisfied. For some its food, some alcohol, drugs, sex, yoga, running, etc. It seems harmless, and we live in a society of over indulgence, therefore most of us can identify with compulsive behavior and actually view it as being normal!

I think the reason I justify hoarding lead is because it could possibly get me and my family through a hard time. It could be used to gather food, used for trade, or just be something I could shoot if a tyrannical government wants to outlaw guns and ammunition. I think it is possible that my poverty stricken upbringing made me feel the way I do, but it could be more justification for illogical behavior. But there is a realistic limit on anything, beyond that the ends are justifying the means and that is the murky water of mental illness. Imagine hoarding all the laundry soap you will ever need? Sounds strange, to some folks it is a very real desire. What hoarding is right and what is wrong? I think when a material possession ends of controlling you, it has crossed the line.

Didn't know lead addiction was really an addiction, and considered a medical condition (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)) did ya? :)

If you want to sell your lead please give me a PM. I don't have enough lead yet! (que spooky laugh)

[Ole]

I have (what I hope will be) a lifetime supply.

I still don't say no if I can get more on the cheap. :mrgreen:

[fredj338]

450# is a good start. The way lead is disappearing. get all you can find, it doesn't go bad.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I have about 600# of WW and 50# of Lino and 5# of Tin. That should do me. I just gave my WW source to a guy who is getting into casting. I though about keeping it all to myself but............ya gotta help the new, younger caster at times.

[canyon-ghost]

I'm somewhere over 1000 pounds, and I don't care how much over!! More, more, more!

[Jailer]

I've got about 3,300 lbs in ingots and another 10-5 gallon pails to melt down yet. Yes the obsession has me too.

Get out there and get it while you can. I've only been collecting for a little over a year now so it can be done, you just have to be motivated to do it.

[Powellcole5490]

I'm somewhere over 1000 pounds, and I don't care how much over!! More, more, more!

Canyon ghost,

Well I guess you live in Canyon. I'm station in Aurora, CO but I grew up in Amarillo. Man I miss Texas....

[fallout4x4]

If i goto the range once a month and blow off 200 rounds of 45acp thats 200*230gr=46000grs/7000=6.57lbs per month times 240 months (if i live 20 more years which is quite doable) so 6.57*240=1577 lbs for a lifetime of shooting my pistol. And thats only ONE pistol. I dont have enough lead.....

[Springfield]

You need more than you think. My kids are 8 and 10. I figure in the next few years they will start cowboy shooting with me. So figure if we all 3 shoot twice a month for 10 years( they will be going to college then, I hope, and I'll be 67), average weight of bullets to be 200 grains, a box of pistol and a box of rifle each, that will be 17 lbs a month, 205 lbs a year, 2050 lbs for a ten year total. That doesn't count for when my wife shoots with us, nor practice, nor if I ever get my shotmaker done. So I figure 4000 lbs is the minimum stockpile I need.

[Bob Krack]

There is empirical scientific evidence that suggests that hoarders get a rush of endorphins when they add to their collection. Becoming addicted to the endorphins is a very real addiction, similar to the high brought about by heroin. This is one reason why pornography (which also releases endorphins into your brain) is so pervasive and destructive, it is momentary, and leaves you searching for the next high. And your brain needs more and more of it for it to be satisfied. For some its food, some alcohol, drugs, sex, yoga, running, etc. It seems harmless, and we live in a society of over indulgence, therefore most of us can identify with compulsive behavior and actually view it as being normal!

If you want to sell your lead please give me a PM. I don't have enough lead yet! (que spooky laugh)

How true (it seems) Chris,

Good seeing ya still having a healthy sense of humor. EVEN if it is 100% true!

Ya just can't have too much (unless you are running or swimming).

Bob

[Canuck Bob]

I got 100# of Lawerence Mag shot cheap and am accumulating 200# of soft lead and 4# tin to alloy up 300# of roughly equivalent WW/PB 50-50 with tin. Good for my 32-20 and heat treatable for the rest.

My heaviest bullet is 270 gr thats 7700 bullets. Considering my bullet weight range and actual gun usage I estimate that I can mold better than 10,000 bullets. I figured I was done with lead. Sounded like lots.

Now you guys got me thinking! A few hundred bullets for each of 4 rifles per year, my usage, a guy could burn up 1200 to 1500 bullets a year! Now I understand why pistol shooters measure their needs in tons!

As far as addiction, it ain't addiction until it graduates to threats of divorce or stealing lead! Until then it is a harmless hobby!