Where do you find lead?

[jehicks87]

Hello all, I'm new-ish here (I joined years ago but got stationed in Germany for a while, then life, and blah blah blah) but have been interested in reloading and casting for a very long time.

Now that I'm out of the Army and own a home, I think I'm ready to start. The problem is, I can't find any lead!

I've called all of the local tire shops and only two would even sell their used WW, one wanted $40 for a 5-gallon bucket, while the other wanted $50. Man, when I was a 20-something looking to get into this hobby, you could still find places that would give them to you for free. That's clearly not the case anymore.

I've read of "range lead" but haven't seen any explanation as to how you get permission to dig up a shooting range's berm, and I don't think it makes a ton of sense in my case anyway as the nearest outdoor range is more than 40 minutes away.

This is a serious bummer, and I was hoping some of y'all could give me some tips on how to get started.

Thanks in advance,

Jake

[crankycalico]

scrap yards, get friendly with local plumbers, tradesmen, etc.


with lead wheel weights almost non existent, a fellow has to just about buy lead now.

[Ziggy]

Talk to your local scrap yard. Ask if they have any lead on hand. I picked up 40 pounds of pure lead roof flashing for 70 cents a pound! Yes I still paid for it, but it will last me a while now and is much cheaper than buying 45 200gr SWCs for 10 cents a piece vs 2 cents a piece...

[WILCO]

Save time and money. Buy processed lead from rotometals or other sellers on the board.

[rancher1913]

what wilco said. buy some lead already alloyed and ready to cast with and see if pouring your own boolits is what you like, then worry about finding and smelting lead.

[ioon44]

I just bought 200 lb of lead mostly lead pipe and roof flashing from a local scrap yard for $0.50 per lb.

[bmortell]

I called every place I could and nobody would even take a dollar a pound, im sure they would want to its just not policy or whatever. id just buy the 55 pound bar of pure from rotometals and a smaller amount of high antimony lead and some tin, then just do the math to make whatever you need. worry about local after unless your in no hurry

[hlvabeach]

Check with TheCaptain. She always has clean ingot lead for sale I believe a dollar a lb. If it is clip on wheel weight lead you should be good to go for most of your casting needs.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[lightman]

As suggested, you could buy enough lead to get you started. Some of the members of this forum sell lead through the swapping and selling thread. RotoMetals offers lead for sale also. Its a real pleasure to cast with a virgin alloy of a known composition.

As far as scrounging lead goes, networking works. Maybe not instantly but it works. I'm still scoring lead from contacts that I made years ago. Tell your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers that you need lead. Run a want to buy ad in your local Craigslist. $40 a bucket is not a terrible price for a 5 gallon bucket if it produces a decent yield. Read the stickies and learn about sorting weights. I've had much better luck driving around and asking in person than using the phone. For wheel weights, I've had better luck with the smaller shops than with the bigger chain stores. Try to make friends with your local plumber, roofer and telephone man. Ask at the shop where you get your auto serviced at and where you buy tires. Consider transferring your business to anyone that gives you weights. If you have any friends at the local hospital ask about isotope containers. Talk with any local contractors, especially those doing demo or remodeling work. Visit your local scrap yards and auto salvage yards. If you live near water look for junk sailboats. Lots of older machine tools had lead in the bases. So did the stands that band members used to hold their music, as did older floor lamps. Some older fork lifts had lead counterweights although most were steel. Stop and talk with any local scrapers that you see. You know, the guys with their yard full of junk appliances and cars. If you are new to your community and plan to join a gun club or local range talk with or make friends with some local shooters.

Its still out there. Not as plentiful and not always free but its still out there. Good Luck!

[Conditor22]

roofers, plumbers, x-ray places, scrapyards, garage sales, estate sales. Don't forget to look for tin solder and pewter

A bucket of wheel weight may only yield 40% lead.

There's usually someone selling lead on this forum a few times a month.

Gun ranges on several states are required to clean the lead out of their backstops so many times a year.

Join a gun club and ask about what they do with their range scrap.

[Hossfly]

I blew a tire last year, on the hay trailer, stopped at a out of the way tire dealer. While waiting for replacement tire, asked about what they did with old wheel weights? We sell them, to whom? Money, how much? $30. Picked up 3, 5 gallon heaping buckets that day that day, and they helped loading.
6 months later called them and ask if they had more? Yes. Picked up 5 more but reduced price to $25
Because of Zinc content, all good. Point is you never know where you will score WW. It’s still out there, now I leave empty buckets at tire shops all around with my info on it and check every once in a while for content. Keep money in your pocket for lead, and empty buckets, for exchange, they don’t like loosing their buckets. Also 2 wheel dolly is very handy. Good luck.

[jsizemore]

I've found wheelweights at the scrapyard, gas stations that repair/replace tires, tire shops, flea market. One place used to sell used tires on the weekend. Parking lot had a pretty good slope. When I was in the area during the week I'd go by there and walk the parking lot with a plastic dishpan. Picked them up at intersections. Found plumber's lead at the flea market. Lots of pewter there too. Ran up on an indoor range that HAD to get rid of the spent bullets. 10 lanes pushed up against the backstop wall 3 feet high. Roof flashing from shingle replacement. Xray room remodeling. Old shower stalls. Fishing and cast net weights. Diving belts.

Keep your eyes open. You'll run up on it. I always keep a couple 100's in my wallet just incase.

[JBinMN]

As was said multiple times so far, your best bet to start off is buying what you want to try if you do not yet have local sources. So I am offering the same suggestion until ya do find some source to get ya started anyway.

For "me", I have been getting a lot of lead in the past couple years from a shop that recycles & refurbishes batteries, who buys scrap lead from people & then stores the lead for when the suppliers come to take his lead & he exchanges what he gives the supplier for the battery products he uses to refurbish. Since he has to store the lead, and sometimes has more than offsets his exchange, he allows me to buy some of that surplus for the price the other party will use as the exchange rate. ( So far, up til now, that has been between 0.78 -0.88/lb. regardless of lead type.) I have accumulated all sorts of pure, lino-type & WW lead from him to about a 1000 lbs., which is likely more than I will use in my lifetime as long as I keep using boolit traps.

Maybe you have someone who does the same type business in your area & you might be able to work a deal with that person to do the same type of deal with their surplus.
Look for battery recycling shops, or where you can get "blems" ( "blemished" batteries) or the like, and/or they refurbish batteries there in their shop.

Just another suggestion that has not been mentioned yet that I saw & depending on your area "might" be worth looking into.

G'Luck! in whatever ya decide!
:)

P.S. - Another type of business is your smaller "fixit" vehicle mechanics who run shops out of their own home garage or shed, as well as the "U-Pull-It" type scrap yards for vehicles & see if they will sell you what they have, or if you have the initiative, ask them if you can go take what wheel weights off of the scrap cars tires they have in their lot. You will get some good lower body exercise squatting down to remove them, but then you can sort the outside tire weights to make sure you are getting lead & not steel or zinc ones. A young feller would likely gather quite a few in a short time, with a bit of exercise in the bargain... LOL

My knees are shot & my belly has grown, so while I could use the excercise, I am not likely to do that activty myself, but I would have if I needed lead & could still do it... another LOL
;)

Just an idea to try to help.
;)

[poppy42]

A lot depends on we’re you are located. The laws pertaining to the use of lead wheel weights differ per locality. With that being said go in to all the tire stores in your area. Don’t call! Go in person! And talk to the tech’s before you talk to management. I’ve found that some techs are willing to put them on the side for you. Fora price of course. Usually beer money. As long as there is no company against doing so and they won’t get In trouble for doing so. You are better off with smaller stores as opposed to large franchises (like fire stone). In my area most large dealer ships have a recycling policy governing what they do with used wheel weights. Try and find tire stores it’s service large trucks they seem to use more lead wheel weights. In my area I’ve had great success with “tread quarters” in addition, as others have suggested plumbers, roofers, scrap yards. Before you contact Anyone call a scrap yard, and inquire what they pay for scrap lead and wheel weights. That way you know what to offer to pay for it. In my area dirty wheel weights go for $.10 a pound. A 5 gal bucket weighs 125 slam full, give or take. So if I give a tire store $20.00 bill for a full bucket most techs are as happy as a pig in slop. They get more money than they get at a scrap yard and they don’t have to take it to the scrap yard. I then sort my wheel weights, separate the lead from the rest of the ****. Smelt the lead and scrap the rest getting $.10 a pound for dirty wheel weights. Oh and I wouldn’t bother to mention to the scrap yard how you have already taken out all the lead already. Some will use it as an excuse to pay you less. Even though scrap zinc pays more per pound than lead most of the time.
Well now you know all (almost all) my tricks to finding lead! I hope it helps. Good luck in your quest!

[RogerDat]

Corporate chain tire stores can't sell you WW's seek out the independent tire stores. Expect to pay at least what the scrap yards will pay for the WW's. I find offering even 5 cents a pound more is enough to give them a reason to sell to me rather than the scrap yard. Some states don't allow lead WW's and new cars don't use lead since the car may be sold into one of those states that ban the lead weights. Look for tire shops that do older cars, replacement tires bought after car is new will be more likely to have lead WW's so changing that second set of tires is when the lead weights end up in the bucket. If the store advertises they sell used tires that can be a good clue.

Processing WW's has a learning curve. Knowing what scrap is what and why you might want this scrap but not that scrap is a surprisingly large subject also with a learning curve. Worth doing but not necessarily a good place to start ones casting journey.

I'll add my voice to buy your lead in the swapping and selling forum here. Ready to go clean ingots at a price comparable to what you are going to be paying out for scrap and processing that scrap. Propane, driving, cost of scrap, equipment etc. Simply put it avoids a big chunk of learning and doing so you can get to the fun part of making bullets. Expect to pay around $1 a pound for COWW lead or range scrap. More for alloys to add to the basic lead. Alloys you can do the S&S forum and save money or Rotometals for foundry pure alloys, they are a site sponsor with a link ad at top of forum pages.

Some scrap yards will sell lead to the public and some will not. You may have to do some driving around to find those that will sell to you. If you find a yard that you can buy scrap from taking in a bag of donuts, or a $5 pizza or other "thank you" can go a long way toward creating a business relationship where they look out for lead they think you will want. Of course that sort of takes time for you to know what you want, and them to learn what you buy but it does pay off. Same with a tire store that sells you weights. Bag of donuts can make them more inclined to sell you another bucket next time.

Be aware at a tire store you are an intrusion, take that into account and try to be considerate if they are busy. Oh and carry a bathroom scale in your car. One you know is decently accurate. You can't offer 40 cents a pound against scrap yards 35 cents a pound with no ability to weigh the lead. I would just offer to let them weigh themselves to check the scale. Most folks have a fair idea of what they weigh. Read and learn about what lead is useful for what reason. Then learn how to identify it in the "wild". Lead was the "plastic" of it's time it was used to make many products, what those are and what lead alloy was used to make it is interesting subject. Does take some time and effort. Still find posts where people post a picture and ask "what is this and is it lead?" Where I have no idea.

Basic lead items are:

Pipe and flashing. Xray room liner. Plumbers lead pucks. All plain soft lead.
COWW - somewhat harder lead alloy. Stick on WW's are plain lead. Can be steel or zinc. In California they ARE steel or zinc.
Solder, Soldered joints of lead plumbing pipe, Pewter. Sources of tin.
Linotype - lines of type set. Hard and tin rich alloy.
Monotype - printers lead of individual letters one per block. Hard and even more tin than linotype.
Babbitt - ingots for making bearings or bearings. Very rich alloy.


Each of these have a different value in specific applications, have a different market price, and can vary a good bit in appearance. COWW's for example are lead, steel or zinc. It doesn't take much zinc accidentally melted in with the lead WW's to make the whole batch unusable. Even a small amount of zinc makes lead pour and cast like oatmeal. So a 5 gallon bucket of WW's weighing 110# might be 85# of good lead or 40# depending on how common lead WW's are in that state. New car dealer might not have 20# of lead in a whole bucket since they tend to do new car service.

Considering that one has to navigate getting scrap, figuring out what the scrap is, then what needs to be adjusted to yield an alloy suitable for the bullet desired just buying from members is a good alternative when starting out. Plain lead is too soft, Printers lead can be too hard. Mix of the two in the right proportions can yield good bullets for uses from .38 plinking to 30-06 full power loads depending on the mix ratios.

Then one has to properly melt and clean the scrap and make it into clean usable ready to use ingots. All that "extra" stuff is worth avoiding to get to the casting bullets part. Which will I assure you be easier if you are working from known already clean ingredients.

Just a suggestion. Identify what firearm and caliber you want to cast bullets for and ask what you need for lead alloy mix. Then buy the ingredients for the recipes members suggest. Then a mold suitable for that use and off to the races you go.

Meanwhile keep searching for a tire store sources, check scrap yards and look for easily identifiable lead items. Solder wire or solder bars, soft sheet or pipe lead. Buy all the solder you can get at scrap lead price as tin in solder is much more expensive than lead. A little soft lead can be used to make S&S bought COWW lead softer for revolver bullets. Or muzzle loader balls are soft lead. Anything that looks like it was used to print is a very good value at scrap lead prices. Typically sells for around $2 a pound in S&S and much more from foundry.

Look at the sticky in this forum on identifying pewter and check thrift stores to see if you can buy some pewter cheaply. Nearly pure tin with a little antimony to make it hard. Can often buy items for $3 a pound or less and tin is worth about $7 or $8 a pound. Do have to watch out for "fake" pewter or plated or filled. We all get bit in the butt by some of that when we are learning what to look for to identify real pewter.

COWW's plus some plain lead, and a little tin alloy can cover a whole lot of casting needs. I know people that hunt deer with cast 30 caliber rifle using nothing but those two ingredients. Add some printers lead to your shopping list if you want to cast some harder and tougher for especially high powered rounds and you will have a well stocked pantry. I would also budget some money to have on hand in case you find a major score. You find a good deal on 400# of printers lead you will want to buy all of it. Selling some off afterwards can help fund other purchases or just the comfort of knowing you have a rich alloy supply to mix with plain or COWW's.

I would avoid buying lead ingots on eBay. People here have reputations that back up the quality of the lead being what is claimed, eBay it's a lead ingot and could be any sort of lead. Unless it is in the form of type then you know it is printers lead.

[b2lee]

The simple answer is...when you start out...you can't find any...but you are making contacts and spreading the word. I remember I couldn't even get a single ounce no matter what I offered to pay...then I bought enough to get me started...now...a decade later after my initial quest...I have people giving me lead for free.

I currently have about 6k pounds already turned into ingots and I'll happily take more. I have maintenance guys at work that will give me lead...and to repay them...I'll melt them down some and make a lead hammer and give to them...they really...I mean really like the brass hammers i make out of scrap range brass as well.

[T_McD]

I am lucky enough to have a recycler nearby that sells WW for 50 cent per lb. Just have to sort thru the junk, but I think next time I will spend a few minutes pulling out just the good stuff to cut my losses.

[jonp]

Scrap yard like the others. I tried tire shops but none would give up the loot and the only one that might had a guy that cast. Local yard still sells for .65/lb for all lead and with the wheel weights will let me pick through them before buying. When I stumbled onto this sight and it's merry band of enablers, I was working for a company that used a particular shop for it's tires. I stopped by one day for a tire and asked about wheel weights. They said take all I wanted and pointed to an adjoining shop where there were several 55gal drums full of them:holysheep. Only guy that stopped for them was someone that ran go carts and used them for weights and one guy that stopped on occasion to scrounge for down rigger weights.

If time were an issue and with a hobby like reloading it shouldn't be, check out the scrap yards. If you just want to melt and cast use Rotometals or some of the fine folks on this sight for your lead.

[WRideout]

From one (old) soldier to another, if you would pm me your address, I can send you a small, flat-rate box of range lead free gratis. The lead is no cost to me, and I'll pick up the tab on shipping. Let me know.

Wayne

[mfraser264]

Get your network going!

Everyone in my family and where I work knows my desire for lead. One fella at work hits the thrift stores all the time. Been a good source of Pewter and a little lead comes in. Need to let people you see on a regular basis now what you are looking for. Those people talk to others also remember.

[JBinMN]

It isn't necessarily a good idea to let "everyone" you run across know more than necessary.

One local thrift shop near me, where I USED to go to get pewter no longer has any it seems. The prick who is married to the owner was in the shop when I was describing to the owner & a clerk why it was I was usually coming in each week and only looking for certain items.
When I told them about my looking for pewter items they said they would call me if any came in. Well after a couple weeks of not hearing anything at all, I stopped in again to check & also to ask them if they had not called due to nothing being in the shop.
The owner was away, but the clerk said to me that once the prick husband heard what I told them about the pewter, he made sure that HE got the chance to get the pewter before I did, so he could melt it & sell it to his Rendezvous attending buddies for melting into their cast muzzle loader balls/boolits. Thus spoiling something which had been a good thing, but once again, the "No good turn goes unpunished" saying came into play, & I lost out by explaining what I was using the pewter for.

So please keep that in consideration when looking out for casting materials.

" The walls have ears!".

[lightman]

It isn't necessarily a good idea to let "everyone" you run across know more than necessary" The walls have ears!".

I agree up to a point. If I had a perter source I would be pretty tight lipped. Especially in a shop. Lead, not so much. I've even given a few new guys ideas that cut into my sources for wheel weights. But then again, I'm pretty sure that I'm a member of the lifetime supply club.

[Bazoo]

Ask all your friends and family to keep an eye out. I got a friend that works at a tire place that gets me some for around 25 a bucket once in a while, local tire place sells for bout that too. Some of the local places say they can't sell though, I'm thinking one of the workers is scoring it!

[jehicks87]

Wow guys, thanks for all of the tips and advise! I will heed your suggestions and purchase a known alloy for now.

Additional information to select the correct type of alloy to purchase I'll be casting:
.45 colt (I've got my eye on a 454276 mold from MOE) for hunting from a Ruger Redhawk
.45 ACP (I already have 230 gr 45 mold for this)
9mm Makarov (either Ruger or Lyman)
.30-06 (I quite like a lyman PB 150gr mold I found at midwayusa)

What alloys should I be looking to buy for these?


From one (old) soldier to another, if you would pm me your address, I can send you a small, flat-rate box of range lead free gratis. The lead is no cost to me, and I'll pick up the tab on shipping. Let me know.

Wayne

Wow, thanks Wayne! You have a PM.

[kevin c]

I have, at different times and varying cost and effort, gotten lead, tin and antimony alloys from:

Rotometals, which may not be low cost but is the easiest (on line ordering with free shipping for orders of $100 or more) and whose metal is analyzed for content. This is how I started out.

From friends and acquaintances who know I am looking. It ranges in cost from free to the going price in the S & S forum (the latter was more a favor to a retiring senior shooter who wanted to clean out his shop). This is a variable source - months can go by without any coming by.

From scrap yards. At least one locally will sell to the public. A reliable source, but with varying content, depending one what they have taken in, and generally at higher cost than the forums here.

From the S & S forum, good cost, reliable alloy. May be I haven't looked hard enough, but it seems that tin and high antimony alloys aren't always available in the amounts I want, though.

From my club's berms (with permission). This was literally boolit metal I was digging out, and at only the cost of my labor and the equipment and propane to clean it up. But it was hard work with a bad back, and I suspect my not using proper PPE may have caused my blood lead levels to go up some. Additionally, there now is more lead free ammo in the mix: local agencies that deposit a lot of lead to our "bank" are going green (California, dontcha know), though thankfully I haven't seen any zinc.

From thrift stores, estate sales and on line ads. The first two are mainly for pewter, though occasionally there will be fishing or dive weights available (which can't always be assumed to be pure lead). Very hit or miss, though persistence pays off with occasional good scores like collections of pewter that go for well under the price of the tin content, or the time I picked up nearly 60 pounds of eutectic solder from a guy who salvaged it from a scrapped wave soldering machine. Buying in person, though, means traveling to where the goods are, and with no guaranteed payoff, while on line purchases means shipping costs, which can really jack the per pound price way up.

My main source is a local radiopharmacy that sells me their decommissioned radioisotope containers, which are very clean metal with little waste, and at a good price. Fortunately the one I work with is a short drive from where I process and stockpile the scrap. Even so, the weight of hauling those loads is hard on a compact sedan. I need to consider getting a truck.

Lead WW are very rare birds here on the left coast; while I did score some through a friend's connections, I haven't bothered to make the rounds of the local tire shops.

[GregLaROCHE]

I use mostly range scrap from my shooting club. It’s an indoor range, so I just have to sweep and shovel it up. The bits of paper targets mixed in works as flux. Maybe there’s an indoor range near you.

When getting lead from someone you don’t know, I’ve heard it said that it is best to say you are using it for fishing weights. You never know these days who is anti guns today.

[Ateam]

My best sources are auto salvage shops, used tire sellers, and small rural tire shops. Giving them your business when you can goes a long ways.

edit: If you post your location in your profile, it makes it easier for those of us who may be local to help

[kevin c]

When getting lead from someone you don’t know, I’ve heard it said that it is best to say you are using it for fishing weights. You never know these days who is anti guns today.I sometimes did that: cannonball downrigger weights for trolling can weigh several pounds a piece and can cost fifty bucks or more new, which can really justify large purchases of scrap lead. With commercial sellers, they either don't care because it's just another sale and more money in their pocket or like Rotometals the selling for boolit casting is actually part of their marketing strategy.

That being said, it's sometimes suprising to me just how many people I deal with are pro gun, even here in California. The workers at the radiopharmacy I buy from know what I'm doing with the lead; some of them shoot and are interested in coming out to my range. I once wore a GSSF hat to an estate sale and the seller gave me a discount because "we've got a Second Amendment supporter here". But it's true that I'm generally quiet about it.

[gpidaho]

I buy my lead right here at Boolits. Good Vendors right here with great product and options. Gp

[RED BEAR]

Just check around none of scrap yards around me will even sell to you if they had any. I drive a good 30 miles to a scrap yard last I checked they wanted 96 cent a pound. I can buy here for around dollar a pound and it's not nasty as some of there's is. As for wheel weights you just keep checking the larger shops are usually a no go they have contract with battery supplier. Small local shops are your best bet I have a couple that give them to me. I bought a large supply a few years ago and thought it might outlast me but down to a little over 100 pounds of lead so I need to start looking.

[ShooterAZ]

As others have mentioned, keep an eye on the Swap and Sell forum. Most of my lead stash has been purchased there. I really loaded up on the Isotope Core ingots last time they were offered. It's a perfect alloy for handguns, and I buy Lino from Rotometals to alloy with the Cores for usage in rifles. Sadly my local scrap yard has shut down, I used to pick up WW and sheet lead from them from time to time.

[RogerDat]

It isn't necessarily a good idea to let "everyone" you run across know more than necessary.....

..... The owner was away, but the clerk said to me that once the prick husband heard what I told them about the pewter, he made sure that HE got the chance to get the pewter before I did, so he could melt it & sell it to his Rendezvous attending buddies for melting into their cast muzzle loader balls/boolits. Thus spoiling something which had been a good thing, but once again, the "No good turn goes unpunished" saying came into play, & I lost out by explaining what I was using the pewter for.

So please keep that in consideration when looking out for casting materials.

" The walls have ears!". Not only is owner husband sort of a prick but sort of clueless too. Muzzle loaders use plain soft lead balls. I would not be surprised if some of those rendezvous folks cast for smokeless cartridges too where they could use the tin but I would be surprised if they want any tin in their round balls or even Minnie balls for muzzle loaders.

I don't mind telling tire shops and scrap yards what I do with the lead. I guess I figure if they don't like it they have a right to not sell to me for that use. No issues so far.

Pewter is different, some folks can get really upset at the idea of melting "pretty" things as scrap tin. Especially in shops or at garage sales. Some of our wives I think have that perspective. Shops I look in for pewter just know I "collect" it, I tell them some is in good enough condition or nice enough to keep and some badly damaged pieces I may melt down and remake since the damage destroys the value. Thus leaving some room for price negotiations on damaged pieces. I leave the part out about exactly what I "remake" from the melted ones.

Too much trouble to explain pewter is useful for making Lyman #2 alloy.... then what is #2 alloy.... then why it is good.... No point in confusing folks eh? :bigsmyl2:

[JBinMN]

RD,

Well, that is what she told me, & so I just went on her word that he was trying to do that, or like ya said, help out his buddies that hand load smokeless + maybe make some $$.

Regardless, that source seemed to dry up, & I have not been back there in months , nor have they called me.

I might stop in there this week just to see what they might have, now that I am thinking about it again.

I still remember the "burn" of telling what I was doing & have been very tight lipped about it since. Thus the suggestion for others may want to do the same.

Lots of pricks in the world... LOL
;)

[RogerDat]

RD,

Well, that is what she told me, & so I just went on her word that he was trying to do that, or like ya said, help out his buddies that hand load smokeless + maybe make some $$.

Regardless, that source seemed to dry up, & I have not been back there in months , nor have they called me.

I might stop in there this week just to see what they might have, now that I am thinking about it again.

I still remember the "burn" of telling what I was doing & have been very tight lipped about it since. Thus the suggestion for others may want to do the same.

Lots of pricks in the world... LOL
;)

Some caution makes sense. You know what they say about "can't unring that bell". Once you do say something for good or ill you can't unsay it and have to live with the other persons response. Scrap yards and tire stores have not been a problem. Heck at one the scrap yards they refer to me as "that bullet guy" and let me know if there are "interesting" things brought in. No problem there, but then the office staff are doing open carry so.... I never tell the nice ladies at the thrift stores or salvation army the destination of those pewter items is a puddle on their way to a dirt backstop. Some seem the "sensitive" type and I want to spare their feelings. Yeah that's it their feelings.

Lord knows they already charge too darn much for pewter, telling them it has a value they hadn't considered might well work out as it did in your unfortunate case. Or they would just try to charge me more. I'm just lucky the one store doesn't yet know that stuff marked Zinn is pewter. Their education is NOT my responsibility. Sad really that people rather than seeing your use as a "new" market for pewter items they are selling that might otherwise be too poor of shape to have much value instead cut you off at the knees because of your being upfront with them.

There have been some nice pewter items I bought and then sold at wholesale prices (~ 1/2 retail) to antique shops rather than melt. I ended up paid what the tin was worth or a little better and didn't have to melt nicer pieces down. Not that I want some shop making that decision before they decide to sell to me like they did in your case. I suppose I could have made more by selling retail on eBay but I would rather be doing other things than managing an online store.

Not that I normally ill wish someone but... hoping that the store owners husband will at some point discover that in his greed he melted a $200 antique into a $10 tin ingot doesn't seem all that wrong. If this Karma thing works as advertised it is almost a certainty to happen.

[William Yanda]

Why, you just check along any roadside. It's almost everywhere, just ask the EPA. Purple font off.

[William Yanda]

I tell them I use it to cast lead hammers, and show them one. Even gave one to one of my wheel weight sources'

[ghh3rd]

By the way my first trip to Goodwill searching for pewter I found a couple of items that were stamped Sterling... no good for alloying.

[kevin c]

I usually just tell the curious that I collect pewter. Another approach is casting pewter fIgurines; I mention deliberately that I'm looking for scrap just for the metal content when negotiating the price down on really beat up pewter items. It's worked on occasion.

[LenH]

I have checked Facebook Marketplace and have found lead a time or two locally. Scored about 150# of lead from dental foil at a fairly decent price. It cast real good bullets.

The last 2 or 3 pieces of pewter I have found have been from Goodwill and The Salvation Army thrift store. They are small pieces and are all hallmarked.

[Miller85]

Reading this thread makes me feel fortunate. My lead guy calls me once or twice a year. He sorts the weights for me and sells them to me for 35 cents a pound. He is a hell of a guy even bags them up in feed sacks 50lbs each.

[kevin c]

Dang...

HE calls YOU to sell you sorted bagged WW at bargain prices? Dude, go buy a lottery ticket.

[CPC24]

By the way my first trip to Goodwill searching for pewter I found a couple of items that were stamped Sterling... no good for alloying.


Sell the silver and use the money to buy more lead! :D

[jehicks87]

Reading this thread makes me feel fortunate. My lead guy calls me once or twice a year. He sorts the weights for me and sells them to me for 35 cents a pound. He is a hell of a guy even bags them up in feed sacks 50lbs each.

****. Treat that guy good!

Well, I suppose I can give y'all an update on my search so far:

1) WRideout was kind enough to send me a flat rate box of WW ingots, and for that I will be forever grateful.

2) I went ahead and bought a bucket each from the two garages here local that were willing to part with their lead ww's. By hand sorting about 10# worth, it looks to be about 80% lead (conservatively). I've only weighed one bucket and it came out to 133 lbs. That leaves me with just over 100 lbs of lead ww's, and of that I expect to get between 65-80 lbs of alloy (another 65-80%). So, buying the lead from this garage and smelting it myself will save me between $15 and $30... meh. I don't know if that's going to be worth it in the long run. I think I'll heed everyone's advice and buy off of here, unless a local shop decides to sell for $30 or so.

3) I managed to make friends with a local roofer who promised to call me if he ever came across any lead jackstraps, etc., if he ever comes across them on a jobsite. He's redoing my neighborhood's old log cabin clubhouse, and is going to scrounge through what was pulled off to see if he has any from there.

So yeah, I think I'll be able to start a decent collection with what I have so far.

[lightman]

It sounds like you are off to a good start. Networking works. It just takes a while sometimes. Your roofer may or may not call. He may also tell you about another source. The way these things work, you just never know. Kinda like fishing! I'm still getting a pretty decent yield on weights myself. Its good to see that its holding up well. Its not that good in lots of other places.

Hang onto your weights and roofing lead until you get a batch and I'll help you melt it. Me and another member just about have enough for a smelt and you're welcome to come down and hang out with us. Looking at the next month or so right now.

[jehicks87]

Lightman, let me know and as long as I'm in town I'll make it a point to meet up!

[Winger Ed.]

Not a huge source, but you might get a few pounds from the Home Depot or Lowe's dept. manager.
They sell Lead roof flashings to go over the vents that stick up on a house roof.
When they have a clean up, the ones that are too smashed up to sell get thrown away.
I've gotten a few just for asking, and buy the guy a Coke.

[CPC24]

A bucket of WW that’s 65-80% lead? You lucked out! Most buckets I sort might hit 50%.

[jehicks87]

Yeah, I was surprised after everything I've read. But after sorting about 10# I only had, like... 14 steel weights and 5 or so zinc weights. That's when I called it good enough haha.

[CScott]

I gave up on wheel weights. I sell wheel weights and can get all the used ones I want but what a pain it is to sort them!
I've accumulated well over a ton of ingots by buying indoor range scrap for $50 per 5 gal bucket which weigh about 120 lbs each. The range has to pay someone to haul it away otherwise, hazmat and all. I pick it up myself so no freight charge. Indoor range scrap is dry and relatively clean, easy to melt. (Watch carefully for live rounds, rare but possibly present!) I use a propane burner to melt it in a cut off Freon tank. Skim off the jackets, flux it a couple of times with sawdust and wax and ladle it into one lb. molds. I get about 85 ingots per 5 gal bucket and it consistently tests out to be about 98.5% lead and 1.5% antimony, and maybe a trace of tin. I sell the jackets for $.65/ lb to the recycler.
All in all, the net cost works out to about $.50 per one lb ingot of alloy usable as is for modest revolver and loads and easily hardened up for magnum or rifle boolets. I scrounge Linotype, pewter, and solder wherever I can find it . . . garage sales, Thrift stores, flea market, used tool bin at pawn shops, etc. I haven't needed to buy from Rotometals yet but I'm glad they are there.
Buy what you need to get started and have fun scrounging!
Scott

[15meter]

One place I didn't see mentioned was talking to phone company linepersons.

I've gotten a couple of hundred pounds of premium lead from friends who work for the phone company.

A lot of underground lines are sheathed in lead and when they get damaged there is old sheathing to be cut off before repairing the line. Just picked up 40-50 lbs. last week from a friend.

50/50 mix phone lead range lead plus a little pewter makes a nice plinking alloy.

[RogerDat]

Wow guys, thanks for all of the tips and advise! I will heed your suggestions and purchase a known alloy for now.

Additional information to select the correct type of alloy to purchase I'll be casting:
.45 colt (I've got my eye on a 454276 mold from MOE) for hunting from a Ruger Redhawk
.45 ACP (I already have 230 gr 45 mold for this)
9mm Makarov (either Ruger or Lyman)
.30-06 (I quite like a lyman PB 150gr mold I found at midwayusa)

What alloys should I be looking to buy for these?



Wow, thanks Wayne! You have a PM.

Since no one else seems to have answered...
Both the 45's can most times tolerate fairly soft lead since they are at lower velocities. 50/50 WW's and Plain + enough tin to get 1 or 2 percent tin.
Some load revolvers with lead/tin alloy having 5% tin or so. 20:1 alloy or similar. The original 45 bullets would have been along those lines. The 45 colt was a black powder cartridge before it was smokeless. For hunting the softer Pb/Sn bullet might offer better expansion.

9mm I can't say for sure since I don't cast for them but I would guess WW's with the same 1 - 2 percent tin should work well. Might even be able to cut the WW's with 25% soft lead. I think for 9mm you need a bit harder than I do for .38 special so something in this range should work.

30-06 can be made from WW's + between 1 and 2 percent tin. If you are going to push those bullets you might want to use 2 parts WW's to 1 part Linotype. Also look into gas checks and PC (powder coating) to extend the velocities you can shoot them at. However I know a few old hunters that have been casting and using WW's plus a bit of tin for decades as a hunting round. Can't say they are wrong if it works eh?

[fredj338]

Lead is kinda where you find it but tire shops are getting pretty thin since the biggest market, Kalif, banned lead about 6-7y ago. So for many it is range scrap & that can be anyplace that allows shooting. If a private club, most do not care about berm mining as long as you put the dirt back where it was. If close to the coast, check local fishing operations, the will often sell their old wts. Stain glass window shops & classes for scrap. Roofing & plumbing contractors for old roof sheet lead & old plumbing. Estate & garage sales are good place to visit too. A buddy called me the other day with 1500# of ingots he picked up cheap & I bought 500#. Mostly though I berm mine at two private clubs I belong to.
All my pistol stuff runs pretty much range scrap up to 1200fps or so. I do coat now instead of lube, but it worked for lubed too. I do not do much rifle but water dropping range scrap gives a useful bump for magnums or low end rifle vel.

[DK'dUranium]

235208I believe someone suggested truck repair shops. X2 on that. Compared to passenger cars, everything about truck repair is bigger, older, dirtier, heavier and sits around longer until tossed out. Just today I nabbed 143 lb. of vintage Whittier California manufactured Snugl weights, still in their paper boxes, that they said had been in their way for many years. Drove 100 miles for it, but at $.05/lb, well worth the trip.

[curioushooter]

Scrapyards.

[truckjohn]

Hello all, I'm new-ish here (I joined years ago but got stationed in Germany for a while, then life, and blah blah blah) but have been interested in reloading and casting for a very long time.

Now that I'm out of the Army and own a home, I think I'm ready to start. The problem is, I can't find any lead!

I've called all of the local tire shops and only two would even sell their used WW, one wanted $40 for a 5-gallon bucket, while the other wanted $50. Man, when I was a 20-something looking to get into this hobby, you could still find places that would give them to you for free. That's clearly not the case anymore.

I've read of "range lead" but haven't seen any explanation as to how you get permission to dig up a shooting range's berm, and I don't think it makes a ton of sense in my case anyway as the nearest outdoor range is more than 40 minutes away.

This is a serious bummer, and I was hoping some of y'all could give me some tips on how to get started.

Thanks in advance,

Jake

Wheel weight lead is by far the cheapest and most convenient. Even with zinc, steel, and aluminum mixed in - it's not too bad so long as you smelt on the cold side and skim EVERYTHING that doesnt melt readily. The down side is there's always a lot of trash in it like tire stems, cigarette butts, and chew/snuff...

Next is miscellaneous scrap lead - pipe, plumbers lead, X-ray shield, sailboat keel, etc. The hard part here is that it's always different. Generally though it's mostly lead.

Last is range lead. It's my least favorite source. It's a TON of work. It's nasty, it contains a GIANT amount of trash and stuff that burns like wood chips and plastic on top of the trash like sand, dirt, roots, can bits, steel, plastic... Then it's a huge amount of work to separate out the jackets from the lead. It sucks down fuel like crazy... The last couple batches of range lead yielded me 40% lead by weight from start. That means you gotta figure out what to do with the giant bucket of trash that skims out from rocks, jackets, steel core bullets, and all the rest.

If range lead is your only choice - then do it. Come up with an efficient way to sift the bulk of the junk at the range so most of the rocks, sand, plastic, wood, and steel stays there. Just do the numbers and make sure you aren't spending more to scavange it than you would on just buying lead. For example - you are doing absolutely fantastic to get 75% of pre-sorted range lead into ingots...