Do You Have a Lifetime Supply?

[lightman]

A 500# stash since August is pretty impressive! I'm currently working on a type metal score. Its a friend of a friend kinda deal. Of course, I'll keep looking for more.

[RoGrrr]

triggerhappy243 said: a lifetime supply is a relative term.

AND:

nvbirdman said: I'm 71 years old.


And I'm saying it again: I'm 66.
My father died about 5 years ago when he was 94.
Mom's stiill alive. She's 97 now.
Do the math....

I just loaded 1000 9mm and another 1000 45ACP. Those 230 grain boolits really chew up the stash but I'm storing over a ton with plenty more coming in.

[BK7saum]

Well,

I just don't know. I shoot into my own berm and am able to reclaim most of what I shoot. I'm 40 and keep my eyes open for available wheelweights and occasionally purchase from individuals or scrap yard. If I get a chance to mine a berm, I will. I have a bunch of wheelweights and about 300 lb of cleaned range scrap to smelt.

I do believe that I'm good to go as long as I am able to reclaim what I shoot. If my two daughters decide they want to shoot, then I may go through my stash a little faster.

Who knows what the future holds. I'm collecting and storing while I can. Lead availability (cheap) is decreasing all the time. What I buy today will always be worth more tomorrow.

Brad

[muzzleblastm38]

no more,it got stolen .5 x 5gollon of ready to cast alloy

[BUFFALOW RED]

about 800 lbs of processed WW is all, depressing isnt it
but 5-6000 boolits already made up & sized
2-3000 not sized yet
couple 1000 in cal's i dont oun any more 45-70/405g, 45- 155g big lube etc..

[RogerDat]

no more,it got stolen .5 x 5gollon of ready to cast alloy

The whole stolen lead thing has come up a couple of times in threads. Total bummer. Not sure exactly what I have but over 1000# and it took a fair amount of time and money to build that stash up. Would be very discouraging to have it stolen.

[rintinglen]

The whole stolen lead thing has come up a couple of times in threads. Total bummer. Not sure exactly what I have but over 1000# and it took a fair amount of time and money to build that stash up. Would be very discouraging to have it stolen.

But anybody who can walk off with a thousand pounds of lead will have me saying "Sir."

[lightman]

Having your stash stolen would suck. I'm really thankful to have my loading room located in the house and to have a shop large enough to hold my stash.

[GhostHawk]

All depends on how fast I go downhill and how busy I stay casting.

I could get sick and die tommorow in which case, yes, I had enough.
Or I might last for another 20 years in which case no I have no where near enough.

With people selling cast boolits at 25 cents apiece, spending a morning casting for myself feels almost like printing money!

Life is good.

[Wizzap]

I got about 200 plus pounds of WW's cleaned and melted into round muffins. I stop at every small mom and pop tire store I see and try to score more. Getting really hard to find have tried mining the range berms but it seem like more work for less lead

[michiganmike]

The answer depends somewhat on one's circumstances. I am 66. I enjoy bullet casting. I have three firearms for which I reload:
* Ruger 77 Compact in 7mm-08
* Remington 870 12 gauge slug gun
* Ruger 40 S&W semi-auto pistol

How much longer will I want to cast and shoot? I don't know. Maybe another ten years, God willing.

I shoot my rifle more than my pistol. And tend to shoot fewer rounds with the rifle per session. I also cast for my Remington 870 slug gun. I have close to 75 pounds of lead in ingots for the slug gun. And wheel weights and Linotype - probably 100 pounds in ingots and 100 pounds in culled and ready to "smelt" wheel weights.

In additon I probably have 200 ready to load bullets each for rifle, pistol and shotgun.

I would really have to step up the frequency of my trips to the range to make a big dent in my supply.

MichiganMike

[limpy]

I've got about 800 lbs wheel wts and 400 lb soft lead. I'm almost 60 years old,I sure hope so!

[fredj338]

I've got about 800 lbs wheel wts and 400 lb soft lead. I'm almost 60 years old,I sure hope so!

1200#, about 45K bullets +/-. So it could be 4-5yrs or 10-20yrs, all depends on how much you shoot. I'm burning about 10K cast a year, so 1200# seems like not nearly enough.

[Rick O'Shay]

God willing I have about 30 more years of shooting. I have a ten year supply now. I'm going to keep scrounging.

[FISH4BUGS]

I was lucky to score a ton of raw wheel weights about 10 years or so ago. Not much in the way of zinc so my yield is probably higher (usually at 80% yield). I may even have more. I did some quick calculations and came up with 90,000 9mm, or 47,000 44 or 71,000 38/357, or 49,000 45 acp or 124,000 380.
Even though I shoot machine guns, I think I have plenty. The lead is actually in my will. I think I have enough.

[BrianL]

At 57 and just getting back into cast rifle shooting, it will be tight. Bullet retrieval and re-use plan will be a big plus.

[passgas55]

I have a good 500 pounds of lead and do plan on recovering some of the lead I shoot . I feel I need another 500 lbs.
Now the lead thief thing got me wondering if maybe I should keep about 100 lbs handy all the time and bury the rest.
How about using 5 gallon plastic buckets, drill a few holes in the bottom of the bucket, dig a hole that the bucket will fit in,
make a concrete paver big enough to cover the bucket. Dig hole deep enough to add some rocks in the hole and where the paver flush with the ground. Drop bucket in hole , fill with processed lead and cover with paver. Maybe coat the lead in a paraffin wax and new motor oil blend. Just an idea and I may start doing it soon. Just hope I don't forget where I buried the lead,
maybe I bury it next to my gold bars ....

[Jeff Maney]

During 2013 and early 2014 I smelted:
1,404 # COWW (!/4" letter stamped 'W')
134 # large Isotope cores (1/4" letter stamped 'I')
128 # SOWW (1/4" letter stamped 'SW')
All were poured into 1# Lyman & RCBS ingot molds.
I also purchased 100# foundry type. (left in raw form for making alloys later)
67 years old now, should have good supply for years.

Jeff

[mold maker]

I have a good 500 pounds of lead and do plan on recovering some of the lead I shoot . I feel I need another 500 lbs.
Now the lead thief thing got me wondering if maybe I should keep about 100 lbs handy all the time and bury the rest.
How about using 5 gallon plastic buckets, drill a few holes in the bottom of the bucket, dig a hole that the bucket will fit in,
make a concrete paver big enough to cover the bucket. Dig hole deep enough to add some rocks in the hole and where the paver flush with the ground. Drop bucket in hole , fill with processed lead and cover with paver. Maybe coat the lead in a paraffin wax and new motor oil blend. Just an idea and I may start doing it soon. Just hope I don't forget where I buried the lead,
maybe I bury it next to my gold bars ....

I'm curious about the holes in the bottom of the bucket. As the hole you dig gets water from the surface, won't any hole invite water to accumulate in the bucket until the surrounding ground drains? The pretreating with wax and oil would definitely be needed.

[khmer6]

Just picked up another 300# of coww and soww from a small tire shop. No where near lifetime supply yet. With the sources drying up and no more big smelters I forsee US lead only getting worse and we will be scrounging. Need to make sure I leave enough lead for my sons when I pass so they can shoot our old semi automatics instead of their laser or phison guns or whatever they'll have in the future