Where do you get brass and lead?

[customcutter]

I managed to buy about 2.5 gals of brass and floor sweepings at the local indoor range a month ago for $20. Went back the next week to buy some more and they were under contract. Since then I've contacted all the local ranges and the same thing, under contract and won't sell. I'm guessing there was a couple thousand .22's, almost a gallon of .45's, about .5 gal of .40's, and another .5 gal of 9mm, maybe another .5 gal of .223 & 7.62X39. Almost every case had a smaller one nested inside when I first started sorting them. This was a good supply for reloading, but not nearly enough to consider setting up for swaging.

Went by a local recycler and he gets brass from the local LEO range a couple or 3 times a year, but I'll be way down the list. He also had some lead, but awfully dirty. Does it clean up when you smelt it? All the trash float to the top? Are wheel weights a good source? I don't know how hard they are, but I know some are not lead.

Just wondering where everyone gets brass and lead from? Considering setting up for .223, 9mm, 40, and 45.


thanks,
CC

[wallenba]

You can keep an eye on this website for availability http://www.evergladesammo.com/ They seem to out of most of the hangun lately though. I think they must be real close to you, I think they are in Naples. Alloy and lead from Rotometals, just click on their banner at the top of the page.

Wheel weights are good. Clip on weights are harder. Some are plated with zinc for a shiny look. Don't smelt with those. I don't smelt my own, so I can't say about the level of contaminant separation. Theoretically, everything should surface when fluxed, if it is lighter than lead, tin and antimony.

[Lizard333]

You can get lead from members here for about a buck a pound delivered. Maybe a little more. Look on the swapping and sellin section.

The advantage to roto metals is you no EXACTLY what your getting.

For most folks, me included, wheel weights are more than adequate.

[customcutter]

I thought about ordering a small amount from roto metals just to see if things work, when I get some dies made. I guess as long as I'm making j-words it doesn't matter if the lead has zinc melted in it, maybe try to limit the amount of zinc to keep the density up? Or is zinc close to the density of lead? Checked out evergladsammo they seem a little high. 1000 pieces of brass & bullets $300 and that doesn't include the .10 primer. I can buy the ammo for $40/100.

thanks,
CC

[wallenba]

I guess as long as I'm making j-words it doesn't matter if the lead has zinc melted in it, maybe try to limit the amount of zinc to keep the density up?CC

Zinc will mess up the works and probably the pot too. Avoid adding it for sure. Zinc might make your cores too hard to swage as well. Wait for some more knowledgable people here to clarify before experimenting.
Check the stickies for posts about zinc.

[customcutter]

Thanks for the heads up on the zinc. I was trying to do some research on smelting and casting. I just thought it might be damaging to the rifling, hadn't thought about being to hard to swage.

thanks,
CC

[clodhopper]

You are going to want soft lead for swaging bullets. If you have no supply, might as well buy lead wire and save a step.
There are guys here who will sell you lead wire and fired .22, 9s, 40s and 45s.
Check the swaping and selling thread.
Helps them to buy primers and POWder.

[Zymurgy50]

I got a large box of fired 22lr brass from the Boy Scouts campground a few years back, other than a few oddball makers the whole box was federal, whinchester and remington. One note, found 3 cases in that batch that still had live primers in them, makes a nice bang when you go to de-rim them.
I figured some curious scout wanted to know if you could pull a 22lr bullet from the case.....

[Sasquatch-1]

You never said what caliber you want to swage. I swage for .429 only and have damaged a very expensive die by using lead that is too hard.

If you know anyone who does home renovations you can get soft lead from older homes plumbing.

As for brass for jackets I bought a couple thousand from a member here (Starreloader) for a reasonable price. Since then I have been able to find what I need (.40 S&W) on the ground at the range I belong to.

If you haven't done so yet, check out the videos that are on youtube. There are several good ones covering from .22 to .45.

[customcutter]

Thanks guys. I am trying to make a set of dies now for .223. Will probably try .40 and .45 also depending on success of .223. Went back by the local scrap yard this AM. They wanted .70/lb for roofing lead. and said they were paying $1.85 for brass, so probably looking at $2.00+ for range brass. I might try the shop where I buy all my tires, and see if he might sell me a 5 gal bucket of WW.

thanks,
CC

[dbosman]

I consider roofing lead at 70 cents to be a good buy. Locally the sheets are usually many lbs. Consider it pure and alloy it to what you want it to be.

[Lizard333]

$.70 a pound for lead is a good price. $2.00 a pound is another good price. The pure lead is what you need for swaging. Too hard of lead and risk destroying your dies. 8 BHN is as hard as I would go.

[Cane_man]

dbosman has a smokin' hot deal right now if you are looking for 9mm range brass

[dbosman]

Thanks Cane man.

[alrighty]

I get most of my brass from members on here , you can find some very good deals.Lead I have bought on here in the past.I have since found a new source for range lead.
Sometimes you have to follow the source , after checking with a local range I found they had a contract.I then tracked the person that was getting the lead , turns out he has a shot maker and supply's the local trap and skeet shooters.
Turns out he will not sell lead in any form other than shot.I now pay $1.00/ pound for my range lead in 25 pound bags.It is higher than I like but I always have a steady supply a short drive away.The bags are easy to store and easy to melt.Plus I now have lead shot for the occasional shotgun reloading I do.
If you can find out who is buying the lead and brass you may be able to get it from them and they have already done the hard part.Of course you now have to pay the middle man.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I bought 5k 9mm from dbosman too. Awesome deal at $150 shipped. Crimped pockets but who cares for jackets!

[bangerjim]

Some sources I use for brass:
starline.com
range pick-ups
gun shows
nice people on this site

Lead/boolits:
Rotomteals.com
missouribullet.com
scrap yard
gun shows
nice people on this site

I find the **** you get from ranges is not worth the time to pick it up and smelt it down. Last batch had everything from lead to jackets to screws to dirt to the kitchen sink in it! My time is worth more than that.

And I avoid theives on Ebay.

But these days.......get what you can where you can!!!!!!! ;-)

[Cane_man]

Thanks Cane man.

bos, cant find your thread in swappin/sellin, you gotta teach junior to bump it up to the top every few days

[customcutter]

Thanks for all the tips. Been checking out the S&S section. Looks like there are plenty of 9mm, .40 available for around 3.5 cents each. Been trying to figure out if I want to bother with smelting lead or just buying wire. Does anyone know how much 3/16" wire in a lb. I tried roto metals to see if it would list shipping weight but no luck. The 3/16 wire is .1875 perfect for swaging .223, maybe if someone knows the length and weight of a core for 55 grain .223? Rotometal is $1.44/ft but no idea of the weight.

I'll keep looking in the S&S and see if I see anyone selling wire.

Dbos, I'll keep you in mind when I decide to get 9. Trying to decide if I want to keep the 9 and .40, or just go all .45. That's a great deal on the 9's.

thanks,
CC

[clodhopper]

My home made .1875 lead wire weighs 471 grains per 6".
1 foot would be 942 grains, with 7000 grains in a pound.
Makes Lafaun's lead wire pretty cheap.

[Lizard333]

Or if you cast just use that for cores. You can also make wire with lead bullets. Either way, rolling your own is by far the cheapest way.

[customcutter]

Yes, seems a little steep from RM. I've been researching building a wire swaging die. Looks like the one that Floyd made would be easy enough. Get a HF 20 ton press and in business. I could make a set of molds set up for .45 then size them down to wire sizes for .223, 9, and .40 as needed. Sounds like I'll be getting some of that roofing lead for .70/lb next week.

Just trying to do all my homework. Making sure that raw resources are available. Now that I've found the S&S section I know I can get the brass. Learning how to use my lathe, mills, etc. so these will be great projects to start with.

Been sick all week with a bad sinus infection, and haven't hit a lick at a snake. Hopefully next week I can get started back in the shop. Also got word yesterday that my Geckodrives for my cnc mill are repaired and shipped out today. Gotta finish that conversion and learn CAD/CAM and G-code and I'll be in business.

thanks,
CC

[Cane_man]

CC, keep your eyes out on the SS section here on CB, can get lead for $1 delivered (in CA i cant get any period so this is a good deal for me) and like i mentioned earlier good deals about on brass here also..

regarding the sinus infection, the neti pot is your friend (Bing it), seems new age and funky but it works!

[customcutter]

Cane,

Any ideas on who has wire the cheapest, for .223?

Been using the neti for years, but thanks for the tip.

[Cane_man]

i think Lafaun has lead wire he is a CB vendor, really good guy and is willing to share his knowledge on swaging, here is his cb vendor page:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?126-A-L-Floyd-Swaging

when i starting making the 22LR to 223 swage system this summer i plan to use my NOE 225-55 mold and redneck something up to make it work

[Chunkin' Lead]

If y ou can buy pure lead from the scrap yard at .70 per pound then you are mmaking cores for less than half a cent each. You can also drill out the bottom side of a Lee mold, axd a sprue plate mount to the bottom side as well and make your mold for very close weights that are needed for core. Do your core swaging and walla!