The new “wheel weight”

[Neverhome]

Wheel weight this. Wheel weight that. Wheel weight wheel weight wheel weight.
For years and years the most abundant and readily available casting material.
It’s in all the publications, articles, and resources and has been for years.

30 years from now what do you think the new “wheel weight” will be?

I figure the only actual wheel weight available will be what’s found in you fine gentlemen’s garages when your grandchildren clean them out after your passing. :kidding:

So what do we think the new go-to lead source will be in 30 years?

[centershot]

What makes you believe that "They" will allow personal possession of lead in thirty years? Or bullets for that matter?

[farmbif]

:???: , I have no idea, was sorting out some wheel weights yesterday and there are a bunch of em that can't go in the pot. I'm planning a trip to the scrap yards and pick-a-part yards to see what I can find for future use.

[fredj338]

:???: , i have no idea, was sorting out some wheel weights yesterday and there are a bunch of em that can't go in the pot. I'm planning a trip to the scrap yards and pick-a-part yards to see what i can find for future use.

^^this^^^

[Slugster]

I'm hoping the new wheel weight will be electrons for my new Plasma Rifle project.

[lightman]

I'm guessing that range scrap will be the new wheel weight.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Roto Metals super hard. Because lino type is going extinct as well. And I reckon pewter is on the same path. But scrap lead will be abundant for a good while yet. So scrounge the pewter you can and lay in some super hard.

[facetious]

What makes you believe that "They" will allow personal possession of lead in thirty years? Or bullets for that matter?

This is more my thinking. If you look at the tread on how old we all are you will see that in 30 years there aren't going to be that many left. And that is a poll off people who are in to this kind of thing.

At 63 I do not know any one who casts any more. The ones that I did know and got me started are long gone. I think that loading will be a niche hobby and casting will be a small part of it. Then thy will start adding new rules and regulations and fees till only hard core shooters are left, as for lead I think that there will still be enough for the ones still casting and thy will mix it the same way we do now to get what they want.

[Neverhome]

Roto Metals super hard. Because lino type is going extinct as well. And I reckon pewter is on the same path. But scrap lead will be abundant for a good while yet. So scrounge the pewter you can and lay in some super hard.


This makes sense. As long as there’s a market someone will step in to fill it with product. This assumes that as mentioned by others that there even is a market. That’s a different topic though.

A mere 10 pounds of Super hard would provide me with enough antimony to harden around 130 pounds of pure or scrap lead. A few pounds of pewter or lead free solder and for ME that’s probably several years of shooting.
Soft lead is easy enough to find. It’s finding something to harden it with that is harder. There’s no free lunch anymore I guess

[Neverhome]

I'm hoping the new wheel weight will be electrons for my new Plasma Rifle project.


Come on. Everyone knows that fusion cores are needed for this. CLEAN ENERGY!

[Geezer in NH]

Who cares?? in Thirty years I will have been dead at least 10 of them.
Sky is falling , sky is falling , Sky is falling ,Sky is falling ,Sky is falling ,

[Neverhome]

Who cares?? in Thirty years I will have been dead at least 10 of them.
Sky is falling , sky is falling , Sky is falling ,Sky is falling ,Sky is falling ,

Did you somehow get the impression from the original post that anyone was panicking?

I’ll likely be long dead as well. Just curious what people thought the future might hold.

[dtknowles]

I think it will be range scrap. More than enough lead in the berms and more goes in than comes out. Mine the Red Neck Gold.

Tim

[45workhorse]

We will just hit print, and the boolits, will be replicated!

[Vdubman27]

Could be zink wheel weights

[Stephen Cohen]

If what I see in this country and what I hear of in yours, we will be lucky to have firearms in 30 yrs. We are already seeing the socialist trends of the young and ill informed. As facetious said, very few of the old guys are still casting, at 66 I am the only one still casting of those I knew. I doubt I will be around in 30yrs and if I am the only firearms I will have are those in my memory. Regards Stephen

[dangitgriff]

When lead is outlawed...only outlaws will have lead!
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200718/f06c8fb7e5a6ae87a59b7abdec950a6a.jpg

[Mitch]

The next WW in 30 years.who knows things chage fast anymore.Lead will be around no doubt but will you be able to Buy or own it.WIll the govenment make this old man an outlaw one day.Will I live to be 89 and see.

[mac1911]

if in 30 years we are still using brass powder and lead something went wrong.... I see high compression of powdered metals as the new casting of bullets in 30 years or some sort of epoxy or plastic bullets ?

[JSnover]

I think it will be range scrap. More than enough lead in the berms and more goes in than comes out. Mine the Red Neck Gold.

Tim

^^ That! Consider it 'used wheel weight' and use it again.

[poppy42]

Who knows! Kind of funny 35, 40 years ago I had tire shops paying me to take their wheel weights away! 30 years from now it might not be any more guns because everybody knows we won’t need any cause the government will protect us. Oh wait they tried that 1930s in nazi Germany. And we all know how well that worked out. Sorry I couldn’t resist

[white eagle]

I use isotope lead to replace wheel weights
however I do have enough ww to last to my end
I have a full bucket and a half to be sorted some day

[Jtarm]

Someone commented on reloading being a niche.

With the huge volumes of ammo being consumed in action competitions and practice, the boom in affordable progressive loaders, chronos, powders, I’d wager reloading is more popular than ever.

Casting, not so much.

[ioon44]

I think the "New wheel weight" would be range scrap, tons of it in berms waiting to be recovered.

[fredj338]

Someone commented on reloading being a niche.

With the huge volumes of ammo being consumed in action competitions and practice, the boom in affordable progressive loaders, chronos, powders, I’d wager reloading is more popular than ever.

Casting, not so much.
You are probably correct on reloading but at our local 2x a month idpa match, we get about 80 shooters. maybe half are reloaders. The rest are shooting factory. OF course with factory being harder to get, more will want to reload but without primers, aint gonna happen.

[fredj338]

I think the "New wheel weight" would be range scrap, tons of it in berms waiting to be recovered.

kalif stopped lead ww about 8-9y ago. So most of my alloy is from the berms. A contractor buddy of mine got about 1000# of pure lead sheething that he is reducing to ingots. He doesn't cast yet so we are making a trade of 500# or so.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I think it will be range scrap. More than enough lead in the berms and more goes in than comes out. Mine the Red Neck Gold.

Tim

We have a nearby range that is run by volunteers. I should get involved with that. Maybe get access to the berms.

[Winger Ed.]

Check out some of the youtube videos, and threads here on the subject:

Some folks are already switching over to the modern generation Zinc wheel weights.
And, it has some appeal too.

I've recovered 2 of them myself at the range laying on top of the ground.
And our range has very few reloaders, much less casters.

[gwpercle]

No wheels .... Hovercraft or better yet Electric Monorail !
I'm pulling for the monorail ... slip your vehicle onto the rail , tell computer your destination and it takes you there as you sip coffee and read the morning news !
Gary

[largom]

30 yrs. from now I won't be here and neither will your guns. The Democrats will take care of that.

[Handloader109]

I'm hoping to be around in 30, will be about same age as my mom was when she passed last year (92). I think that there are a LOT of possibilities. There is now a lot of frangible bullets being produced, and metal 3d printers are not only here, but relatively inexpensive. The materials and post processing is still expensive, but I'd bet in 5 to 10 years, you could 3d print usable metal bullets for cheap.
Maybe not lead, but that just gives us more work to figure out ballistics.

[Butzbach]

Reclaimed cast nets are a possibility.

[Dr3wcifer]

Look at the explosion of powder coated lead bullets - there are now dozens of manufacturers making them and selling them, sometimes for as low as $.07cpr. With availability like that, there's not a whole lot of reason for people to actually get into casting. Reloading, sure, but why source lead, sort it, melt it, cast it, coat it... When you can buy exactly what you're looking for at ~eight cents a bullet?

I'm only in my 30s, and I've been scrounging lead and casting (only for blackpowder/flintlocks up until this year) since I was in my 20s. There are plenty of us that still do it, but we don't do it because of necessity, it's because we enjoy the process and the sustainability. Hell, if I could figure out the best way to ball mill blackpowder, I could sustain my flintlocks without government regulation forever.

As far as the "new wheel weights" I'm going with range scrap dug out of the berm. I also have had good luck with scuba weights; you just have to test the hardness and soften them down a bit with pure lead.

[Hogtamer]

I'm already on the the cast nets!

[Russel A]

I thinking range lead.

[KMac]

I'm hoping to be around in 30.
Me too. In 30 years I will be the same age as what my Dad is. And he is still kicking around pretty good for 84 years old.
He just retired last year for good because it was getting too hard to get up on the bulldozer with his rebuilt hip and knees.
Spends all of his time out in his shop working on his boat, or his truck or he will find something to keep occupied with.
My generation doesn't seem to be as tough as his was. And the next generation doesn't seem to be as tough as mine is.

[hpdrifter]

I'm hoping the new wheel weight will be electrons for my new Plasma Rifle project.

I'd go for the small "bore" quark gun.

[dogmower]

I also have had good luck with scuba weights

Where is a good place to find them?

[Dr3wcifer]

Craigslist, facebook marketplace, garage sales. A typical male diver rocking a wetsuit is wearing 20+ lbs of lead. Usually when you find someone selling dive weights, they're in lots of 20-30lbs at a time, and they're going for $5-$10 for all. I've picked them up for under $0.30 a pound several times. The only downside is I've found everything from pure lead all the way through linotype, so you'll need to test the hardness.

[Ozark mike]

Invent a tungston launcher for when lead goes the way of the dodo. Cant find ww around here any more gonna have to start mining it i guess

[10 ga]

Currently gathering information, plans and even some parts for a "rail gun", Toyota pu portable, has a tremendous range if I ever get it working.

[osteodoc08]

I foresee the “sintered frangible” bullets taking over the usual lead and copper bullets. There will always be lead for folks that want to hunt it down. Just have to be creative.

[PNW_Steve]

Craigslist, facebook marketplace, garage sales. A typical male diver rocking a wetsuit is wearing 20+ lbs of lead. Usually when you find someone selling dive weights, they're in lots of 20-30lbs at a time, and they're going for $5-$10 for all. I've picked them up for under $0.30 a pound several times. The only downside is I've found everything from pure lead all the way through linotype, so you'll need to test the hardness.

Gotta laugh... I have about 60lbs of dive weights that I cast from WW and they are going to stay dive weights. :)

[Ozark mike]

No dive weights around here only diving ya will find is sky diving oh well i know where i can pull pure lead out of the ground its pretty common up in the cabinets just seems like a lot of work

[Geezer in NH]

Did you somehow get the impression from the original post that anyone was panicking?

I’ll likely be long dead as well. Just curious what people thought the future might hold.

What other impression could one get eh?

[405grain]

I've scrounged up a lifetimes supply of lead. Since I also saved up bar tin, 50/50 bar solder, & lead free solder, and have a box full of hard lead BB size shot for arsenic, I just buy superhard from rotometals and make my own tire weight ingots. Mining a berm for lead isn't really an option for me because the closest range is 40 miles away. Plus recovering boolits from a berm is really labor intensive, and it's 108 degrees outside right now, so that just isn't gonna happen.
There is something that I've wondered about, but never checked out; outside of tire shops the next thing that would be handling the most used tire weights would be street sweepers. There has to be tons of old tire weights that have come off and ended up on the curb of streets and roads over the years. Street sweepers don't care what they sweep up, they just collect all the debris left on the side of the road. I wonder where they dump all that stuff? Maybe it goes into a landfill and is lost forever along with all the other crap that's just waiting for a trailer park to get built on top of it. Or maybe there's a waste pile at some county yard that is the holy grail of berm mines? Who knows. I've got all the COWW alloy that I need, so I don't need to mine for it, but somebody somewhere has to know a guy that drives a street sweeper. The answers are out there!

[kevin c]

Radioisotope containers will probably still be around, though there’s always a chance that new technologies will do away the medical use of ionizing radiation, or that something like super dense plastics will be used instead of lead.

Not always easy to find a regular source, though.

[ReloadingNoob]

Who do you guys contact to buy discarded isotope containers?

[fcvan]

Who do you guys contact to buy discarded isotope containers?

Go to Swapping and Selling, I have seen it there plenty of times.