Should I start casting again

[Hylander]

Sold everything awhile back
However the price of RB has gone up to $15.00 per hundred
My real concern is where to get pure soft lead, my old supplier ran out.

 

[Hanshi]

I cast everything I shoot and have been fortunate to acquire lots of soft lead. Sadly, in our last move several hundred pounds of it had to be sold and didn't come with us. I did manage to squirrel away around 100 pounds or so. Scrounging is the best way to find it.

 

[exMember]

local recycle place in town is where i get all my lead pipe from.

 

[RhinoDave]

Somehow I've managed to always scrounge up enough to keep me shooting. Surprisingly, I found quite a bit in garage sales. Years ago, I had an uncle that owned a garage and I acquired wheel weights all the time back when it was actually lead. Another source was a friends father who was a plumber in Detroit. many feet of old lead pipe came my way. After telling him about older lead window weights he scored about 5-600 lbs of them from a single house renovation. I belong to a muzzle loading gun club and somebody always manages to come up with lead. I probably have 300 lbs or so sitting and waiting to be cast. This is just a small portion of it after being cleaned and cast into usable size pucks. Nice little pile of slag in the background.

 

[Hylander]

Scrap yards around here are not allowed to sell lead (California thing).
Trying to source some now, want to get the lead before I start acquiring anything else.
I want to get at least 100 lb. before I start, I know I will go though a lot.

 

[Hylander]

Well, looks like I'm going to start again
Picked up a Pot, a few molds and #30 of pure lead.
Ordered two more molds and will hopefully be picking up #75 more of pure lead
next Tuesday.

 

[Squint]

Scrap yards around here are not allowed to sell lead (California thing).
Trying to source some now, want to get the lead before I start acquiring anything else.
I want to get at least 100 lb. before I start, I know I will go though a lot.

This is probably a dumb question, but for goodness sake how much do you shoot? I get approximately 39 round balls on of a pound of lead, so I Would say, the last 20 years, I went through 10 pounds or a little more. That would be almost 400 round balls. I do make maxi balls, but being the lead has to be very pure I don't make many. I've made round balls out of all classes of lead, including wheel weights and they all seem to work fairly well. Are you only looking for pure lead?
Squint

 

[Peashooterjoe]

I went tru 20 lbs last year with all my shooting.That was with revolvers and various rifles Also shoot modern stuff ,lots of the time..Buy mine at battery shop that reclaims lead..They sell in 65 lbs pigs..Peashoopterjoe

 

[Hylander]

This is probably a dumb question, but for goodness sake how much do you shoot? I get approximately 39 round balls on of a pound of lead, so I Would say, the last 20 years, I went through 10 pounds or a little more. That would be almost 400 round balls. I do make maxi balls, but being the lead has to be very pure I don't make many. I've made round balls out of all classes of lead, including wheel weights and they all seem to work fairly well. Are you only looking for pure lead?
Squint

Not a dumb question.
I will shoot about 100 RB a session sometimes in one rifle.
If I am shooting my Revolver, maybe 100 as well.
I shoot all year long, the range is 2 miles from my home and I try to shoot once a week.
I use to shoot three times a week.

 

[user 23626]

As stated I'm fairly new to BP but even as in my CF reloading I opine too much ammo always trumps not enough! Out

 

[Standing Bear]

Normal 15-20 rounds a week. A little more spring and summer and then the bigger matches 60-120 each match. Pistol, flint, offhand, musket, trade gun, hunter’s aggs. It adds up.

 

[Hanshi]

I don't shoot nearly as much as I used to. Used to shoot at least three times a week and fire 50 to 100 rounds each session. Later, after a move, it dropped to once a week and 30 to 40 rounds a session. Now it seems to be just a once in a while thing with a session still going about 30 to 40 rounds. So a very rough guess, probably very optimistic, would be well over 200 lbs of lead a year in Ga, less than half that in Va and maybe 25 lbs nowadays when I'm lucky. So from a pound of lead I get approximately the following rounds from a each pound.
[.32 = 152// .36 = 106// .40 = 77// .45 = 54// .50 = 40// .54 = 30// .62 = 21]

 

[Hylander]

Picked up #75 more of pure lead today.
Also received two new molds Yesterday, .495 and .454

 

[Hylander]

Just received my new LEE Pro 4-20 Pot
and Tuesday a friend is giving me some more Pure Lead.

 

[CVA Fanboy]

Just received my new LEE Pro 4-20 Pot
and Tuesday a friend is giving me some more Pure Lead.

Try Sams Lead out of Texas, Usually a little lower than others I have seen and he has soft lead as well as hard.

 

[white eagle]

Scrap yards around here are not allowed to sell lead (California thing).
Trying to source some now, want to get the lead before I start acquiring anything else.
I want to get at least 100 lb. before I start, I know I will go though a lot.

Check out RotoMetals-Hard to find Metals and Custom Alloys and other Cool Stuff

 

[TScottW99]

Just getting into it myself. Have gathered lead, pot and a couple of moulds for my 50 TC. Need to grab some molds for my 10mm, 44 and 480

 

[eekjellander]

This is probably a dumb question, but for goodness sake how much do you shoot? I get approximately 39 round balls on of a pound of lead, so I Would say, the last 20 years, I went through 10 pounds or a little more. That would be almost 400 round balls. I do make maxi balls, but being the lead has to be very pure I don't make many. I've made round balls out of all classes of lead, including wheel weights and they all seem to work fairly well. Are you only looking for pure lead?
Squint

I'm down to 60+ Lbs of pure and last year bought 180Lbs from my supplier and will be placing an order next week ,he takes care of folks he remembers!/Ed

 

[davek42]

I have a stock pile of about 400 lbs. truth is ill never use it all, and i still look for more.
Also look for pewter at yard sales for my cast pistol bullets, scored 9 lbs last weekend.

 

[Greg_E]

It is worth around $2.20 A pound or around $2.50 per pound shipped, you can get about 40 pounds in a medium flat rate box. Those of you who think they have too much may want to consider selling to those who don't have enough. Use the money to buy caps/flints and powder or a new to you gun.