Just getting started, finding WW not so easy...

[davcar45]

So I have been shooting for 25 years and have been reloading nearly that long. I have been buying bullets from a local caster recently for $50/1000 .45 200gr H&G 68. (a few years ago $38/1000) Well, the guy I know is getting way up in age, like 75 probably and he has more bullet orders than he can produce. He told me he didn't know when he would have my 3000 bullet order I placed 9/9/09 and that he was 300,000 behind.......

So, knowing he is going to meet his maker at some point and his wait time is 6 months or more on a few thousand bullets, I decided to investigate casting my own. This is something I have never wanted to mess with before but I think it is some good knowledge to have and I have more time than money so I have time to locate lead and cast etc....

I do not have any casting equipment yet. I do have a turkey fryer and and I know I can buy a cast iron pot at harbor freight for $20. So I thought before I go buying electric melting pots and molds and sizer/lubbers and all the other stuff required to cast I would try my hand and gathering up some wheel weight.

Well, it is kind of discouraging. I spent the day today driving to 15-18 tire shops and I think I got some weights from 4 maybe. I did end up with 200 pounds of WW. So it's not like the day was a total loss.

What I found out is some of the places already have a guy picking up WW that they have been dealing with for 20 years. Ok I get that and moved on. The big tire chains like Tire Discounters ain't nobody getting weights from them. I heard everything from it's illegal to give away or sell scrap lead to the company doesn't let us sell it or give it away company policy, the EPA is cracking down we can't sell it.... to corporate picks it up and recycles it and gets credit. The luck I had was in small places individually owned and operated.

So it was somewhat discouraging to go to so many places with so little return. But maybe that is everyone's experience. But on the bright side, I was able to get 200lbs. Figure 140 lbs usable hopefully.

I think I will just start carrying around a 5 gal bucket and when I see a little place out of the way, stop in and ask. Is that a good approach? I have to tell you I never knew so many wanted lead. Sometimes guys in the shop would say oh we make sinkers, one was using it as weight in a race car. Another used it in decoys.... like duck decoys or something??? Who knows.

So I have been reading on the forum for a few days trying to learn. So if you see me asking a dumb question.....well it's cause when it comes to casting, right now I am dumb. :mrgreen: Sorry for the book.

[Daddyfixit]

Same here, You did good to get 200lbs, I'm lucky to get 2#! With the Calif lead ban the west coast is drying up FAST!

[lwknight]

3000 200 grain boolits would take 85 pounds out of your haul. It goes fast..

[hoosierlogger]

You didnt do bad. Other places to try are roofing companys (lead flashing) demolition crews or plumbers (old lead drain pipes) Hospitals (isotope containers) . Junk yards (for wheel weights and battery connectors). Under no circumstances should you try to recover lead from batteries. Keep on looking and you will be surprised where lead is at just waiting for your picking.

By the way welcome to the forum.

[hoosierlogger]

Oh I almost forgot. Next time you are at the dentist, ask him or her to save the lead doo-hickeys they use for X rays. A couple of people on here have done it in the past and gotten a bit of lead out of them.

[canyon-ghost]

You did good, 200# is a five gallon bucket packed. And don't forget about the guy who sells you the most wheelweight, shouldn't you buy your tires from him? Carrying an extra bucket or two is good strategy, you'll always have to split a bucket into two containers to move it (unless you want to lift that much).

[fredj338]

Welcome to home casting. Getting useable alloy is very location dependant. In Kalif. it's just getting tougher all the time. All the sources listed are good. Boat repair shops or docks are also a good palce to look. I found dive wts at a grage sale for like $10 for 50# worth.

[runfiverun]

200 is a pretty good haul.
with prices like you posted for the old guy, it ain't no wonder he is swamped.

he is about half what you get storebought for.

[davcar45]

200 is a pretty good haul.
with prices like you posted for the old guy, it ain't no wonder he is swamped.

he is about half what you get storebought for.

Yeah no kidding. I have been buying bullets from him for a long time.(10+ years) Way before Obama and when primers, powder and bullets were plentiful and the only people who reloaded were guys who did it so they could shoot more(that's why I do it) when people would ask me where I was getting my cast bullets I would tell them and give them Frank's phone number. Now I just avoid the subject. Where do you buy cast bullets.....uuuummmmm, well I've had these for years... I hate to not share information but I know for a fact that there are at least 3-4 guys who I sent to him that are ordering bullets 10 and 20 thousand at a time and they started this about 6 months before the last election. They are basically in panic buying mode and are just hoarding up bullets. I know one of those guys probably has 40-50 thousand 200 gr SWC .45 and still talking about he doesn't have enough and orders more.

Anyway....thanks for the suggestions about some other lead sources.

I would feel funny walking into a hospital and asking them about their isotope shipping containers? That seems odd to me. Do you guys really do that?

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Go to the Nuclear Medicine Dept.

Sam :D

[462]

davcar45

You're off to a good start.

The mom and pop stores are the ones who will work with you, whether it be cash, soda, pizza, etc. Forget Costco, Goodyear, Firestone, etc., as they have contracts with wholesalers or distributors. The dental X-ray foil is about as close to pure lead as you'll find. They have to get rid of it somehow.

Tell them you are casting boolits, you'd be surprised at the number of shooters you'll run into. I give a few hundered boolits to two stores in exchange for all their weights.

If someone is into fishing, you may want to consider buying a fishing weight mould and do a wheel weight-for-fishing weight swap.

Regardless of your approach, the agreement has to be a win for both parties.

[doghawg]

You could try buddying up with your local caster and ask if he needs some help.

[davcar45]

You could try buddying up with your local caster and ask if he needs some help.

Yep, I'm gonna do that.

[davcar45]

Scored another 145 pounds of WW today. 1 5 gallon bucket full to the top. :-) 350lbs in two days. Not to shabby I guess.

[hoosierlogger]

heck no keep it up you are doing great.

[Greg in Malad]

davcar,
If you live in farm country, don't forget about tractor tire counter weights. I picked up a set once that weighed about 500 lbs. The John Deere dealer was happy to get rid of them. And tire shops that service construction equipment are a good bet, most people don't stop there.

[leadman]

there are people that sell WW ingots on this site for around $1 a pound. Save alot of driving around and melting it down. Just a thought.

[snowwolfe]

Just keep on checking. I just found a couple hundred pounds of WW alloy for $40 shipped per box. Each box had 60 pounds in it and that included shipping. Just takes time.