Lowest cost option for boolit casting alloy?

[1886nut]

Looking for some low cost plinking / practice options for .50 cal boolit casting in medium - hard alloy (no pure lead).

What are some good sources for low cost ingots or recycled wheel weights? Boolits are cast oversized and run through sizing die.

Would like to be able to drive boolits up to 1300 - 1400 fps.

Also, the smaller the pieces the better since I have a small pot that would struggle take a big brick of PbSnSb

[Dusty Bannister]

Keep an eye on the swap and sell, they are offered from time to time when available.

[bangerjim]

Sounds you have plenty of primers to waste on plinking/practice? Good for you! Many on here are desperate for ammo supplies to hunt with.

Your best source of 10-12 Pb alloy is on this site with COWW's. May areas (you do not state your location, which helps us help you) are Pb-free now and COWW's are not to be found in the wild any longer. Only in cast ingots from people on here that now have sources. I was lucky to obtain over 750# of COWW alloy in clean ingot form for 50¢/pound a few years ago by watching for them in S&S on here. Keep a sharp eye out.

banger

[1886nut]

Sheeeeeeeeeeooooot....I still have primers left over from the 1994 panic ;-)

[375RUGER]

It sounds like you are looking for ready to cast alloy. Range lead is a good all around alloy for busting caps. I've seen Range lead offered for sale here and evilbay and my local craigslist.
I mine my own, it contains the right amount of commercial cast, and soft lead to make a good general purpose alloy.

[1886nut]

Found a 40lb bucket of lead wheel weights for $80. We're good. :)

277390

[dondiego]

Found a 40lb bucket of lead wheel weights for $80. We're good. :)

277390

Seems expensive at $2 per pound of raw WW.

[bangerjim]

Yes $2 + all the steel clips + re-melting and fluxing is a bit high, but you found your lead. You will probably end up with around 30-32# of alloy from that.

When I was shooting a lot (before the shortages) I would go thru 30# of boolits in one range session. My 300gn 45's use a lot of lead!

Just keep an eye out in S&S for better prices for ingots.

[1886nut]

Well compared to what cast, sized, and lubed boolits cost for the 500 Linebaugh its a good start ;)

[fredj338]

Berm mine, melt, ingot then water drop. Free alloy but for your time.

[Winger Ed.]

The cheapest is to scrounge. Get the word out you want it, go to indoor ranges, mine berms, etc.
Then buy high alloy ingots if ya have to to alloy into what you've scrounged.

I've gotten a bunch of the big, salmon sinkers, and fishing weights at garage sales
from people that moved here from the coast and don't use the big sinkers any more.

Years ago, I got a real deal from a car junk yard.
I went around with a bucket and pulled 'em myself.

[bumpo628]

Check out RMR Bullets. They sell bullet cores at a reasonable price ($1.67 per pound or lower). The alloy has 2.5-3% antimony, so you just need to add some tin. Plus the small pieces are easy to add to a small melting pot.

https://www.rmrbullets.com/shop/rmr-in-house/casting-lead-from-rmr-jacketed-bullet-cores-approximately-12-brinnel-hardness/

[Burnt Fingers]

Found a 40lb bucket of lead wheel weights for $80. We're good. :)

277390

Did ya at least get a reach-around at that price???

I'm paying $20 for full five gallon buckets of used wheel weights. I'm still getting ~100lb of alloy per bucket.

[Jtarm]

I always wonder when I see posts about berm-mining: how does the owner feel about it?

It’ll get you booted from most clubs I’ve belonged to.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Range I belong to allows it , but leave berm as you found it , I shovel and sift and pick and shovel back where I dug it out , It is a private club/range , I have never seen anyone else mining it , I do it only a few times a year when no one is there shooting and only the pistol range as it has some sand and rifle berms are just a clay dirt .

It is free except for time , and propane used in melting the scrap , I melt into ingots and mix in pot while casting a little soft a little hard and go by what the melt looks like how its flowing and how it cuts on mold , range scrap I am getting is pretty hard already , not a thud when dropped on concrete , so its not as soft as some on here are getting , but the range has a lot of reloaders and I find a fair amount of cast and coated in the mix .

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Found a 40lb bucket of lead wheel weights for $80. We're good. :)

277390

Go through them carefully to weed out any zinc ones. Coww is great stuff to have. I wouldn't fret much about the price. If you keep looking you will find it for a bit less.

[kevin c]

I always wonder when I see posts about berm-mining: how does the owner feel about it?

It’ll get you booted from most clubs I’ve belonged to.
Like FLINTNFIRE, my private club gave me permission so long as I repaired the berm. It helps that I'm there all the time and could berm mine when nobody was around, and that I do a lot of things for the good of the range at no charge.

Free lead save for my time and labor. Dirty work and hard on the back, though, and even though we have sand berms it was literally dirty lead that needed a fair amount of processing to remove all the junk and jackets.

[Jtarm]

I took a gamble on 1,000 lbs of WW at 40-cents per. Plus gas for the 250-mile round trip.

The first 100# looks to have about 60% lead COWW and 12% lead SOWW. The rest Fe, Zn and trash.

If the trend holds I’m guesstimating a little over 600# usable alloy after smelting.

Bucket #2: Pay dirt (literally). 100% COWW that look like they’ve spent 40 years in a barn shop.

204# sorted: 160 COWW, 13 SOWW.

800 lbs to go....