Anyone thought of stockpiling lead?

[5whiskey]

So I tried to figure if I should put this in reloading, casting, or even the legal section but I figured the general discussion forum would suffice. There has been the "scare" rumor going around about Doe Run Lead Smelter and how it was supposed to end the manufacture of lead bullets in America. Turns out, that was hype and shouldn't effect any of us for the near future.

HOWEVER, there are already states and municipalities that have lead bullet bans and I could absolutely see this being used as a tactic to limit the availability of ammo for sale and use. The most notable example, of course, is California's bill AB711 which bans using lead ammo for hunting. Also the military is switching to "green bullets," and many media outlets have latched onto this fact. Some of this might be over-hyped, but I think we all recognize that there is a very large group in America that would LOVE to see every gun taken away from the average citizen. They will take any means and action necessary. I don't think anyone will require evidence of this fact to believe it, but some of the evidence can be found here... http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=539625.

With this in mind, is anyone stockpiling lead to cast for projectiles later? I don't have the money to stockpile raw ammo. Shoot, I reload and I'm scraping the resources to stockpile components to make it through an extended ammo drought. I don't know that I'm dying to get into casting right now for a number of reasons, including time and work space confinements. However, I must admit that it makes sense to hold onto a few hundred pounds of scrap wheel weights and a mold just in case. While .06 a round is reasonable enough to keep me out of a new hobby for now (though if I shot more I may could justify it), I can stock up enough scrap lead to shoot for a long time for just a few hundred bucks. Has anyone else thought of this?

 

[mattL46]

Somewhat.

My brother works at a car dealership. Hes a service manager. They do a decent amount of tire work. Every 6-8 months he brings me a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights. Which reminds me I need to ask him about the next one!

 

[sigcurious]

I don't cast, but unless there are significant changes in a lot of other industries I couldn't see a need to stockpile lead, it will be available to those who want it. It's also very worthwhile to note, if there were true bans in place a stockpile would be pretty useless... That being said, lead is used in enough things to not really be an issue if some additional hurdles were placed to obtaining it. The chemistry behind recovering the lead from a dead car battery, for example, is simple enough for most people to understand and do safely.

 

[chris in va]

We have hoarders here in KY. Guy at a gun store caught wind of the wheelweight ban three years ago and currently has 3500# sitting in his garage.

 

[5whiskey]

We have hoarders here in KY. Guy at a gun store caught wind of the wheelweight ban three years ago and currently has 3500# sitting in his garage.

See that's a lot of wheel weights. I would just be happy to have 300-400#. That would last me a few years, anyway.

 

[g.willikers]

If things actually go that badly, having enough lead for personal loading requirement will probably be plenty.
Can't imagine ever needing tons of lead laying around, unless commercial bullet making becomes desirable.

 

[SocialAnarchist]

I hope you guys stockpiling lead have it stored in safe containers because lead contamination is a costly mess to clean up and will get state and federal agencies involved with astronomical costs and fines.

 

[HawkeyeNRAlifer]

I purchased a little over 1000 lbs of lead, mostly wheel weights, about twenty years ago. I still had more than half left this summer when I started to sell some of it off. I'm keep some, but I just don't shoot as much as I used to and what I have will last quite a while.

And i'm making a 1000% profit and everyone is happy.

 

[std7mag]

I work in a tire shop.
Boss lets me keep the lead weights. I take them in buckets and coffee cans to local gun shops that have guys that cast bullets.

I don't charge them anything, and every now and then get a box of bullets from them.

 

[thallub]

My son is a general contractor with lots of roofing jobs. i have a big pile of lead roof stacks.

 

[Jakobs Gunworks]

Is anybody out there, who's casting their own bullets from tire weights, adding copping jacketing to the rounds?

Or does one become rather limited in what ammo they can cast/reload for, to guns that will commonly accept Lead Round Nose ammo?

I know I'm picking up lost tire wieghts..

 

[HawkeyeNRAlifer]

Is anybody out there, who's casting their own bullets from tire weights, adding copping jacketing to the rounds?

Or does one become rather limited in what ammo they can cast/reload for, to guns that will commonly accept Lead Round Nose ammo?

I cast lrn, swc and wadcutters for 45acp, 357, 44 and 9mm. I shoot them as is with no problems. I do buy jacketed bullets but my pistol shooting is 90/10% in favor of lead bullets.

 

[armoredman]

I hope you guys stockpiling lead have it stored in safe containers because lead contamination is a costly mess to clean up and will get state and federal agencies involved with astronomical costs and fines.

Leade, by itself sitting in my garage cannot harm one iota of the environment. Impossible. Even when in liquid form, the only person it could harm is me, if I'm clumsy enough to dump the pot on myself. This is why I wear a lot of safety gear, too.
But just stored, can't do a thing as long as it isn't introduced directly into the ground water.

Jakobs, sounds like you mean swaging. Bullet cores can be swaged into jackets, either pre made, or made yourself, but the equipment setup is VERY pricey, and the cost of pre made jackets makes me just stick with hard cast. One thing you can do with cast is put a gas check on it, sort of a copper bullet diaper that keeps the base solid when fired with a higher speed load.
Swaged and jacketed bullets require, IIRC, dead soft lead, and wheel weight, which is random alloy garbage lead, is not dead soft. Perfect for plinking bullets, use a lot of it myself, but not the same. SeaFab Metals in Casa Grande AZ sells bullet swaging lead wire specifically for swagers.

I'm not "stocking up", per se, but I do like to keep a couple of pounds floating around for when I get the urge to cast...might be doing that this afternoon.

 

[Hal]

Leade, by itself sitting in my garage cannot harm one iota of the environment. Impossible. Even when in liquid form, the only person it could harm is me, if I'm clumsy enough to dump the pot on myself. This is why I wear a lot of safety gear, too.
But just stored, can't do a thing as long as it isn't introduced directly into the ground water.

Right or wrong that's only your opinion and/or view of the matter.

The EPA feels differently on the subject.
W/them, logic and reason don't apply - all that matters is how can they profit by bending the rules.

Lead is a "hot topic" right now - trust me. I'm a contractor and I deal with lead and lead abatement on a daily basis.

If you don't cross all your "T"'s and dot all your "I"'s exactly how the EPA wants you to, you're screwed.

Believe me - I agree w/you that lead just sitting there isn't a threat.
Problem is, the EPA doesn't come to you and me and take our word for things. They make up whatever they feel will fill their coffers with fines and penalties.

 

[Strafer Gott]

I have a splendid opportunity, but I know what a headache dealing with those fine folks at the EPA is. It's simply a non-starter. It's all about the fines, no kidding.

 

[dmanisgnarly]

Wheel weights are the best option for obtaining materials. As long as you don't try to cast from car batteries you should be fine on a lead choice.

 

[JTMcC]

Well of course, don't all bullet casters hoard lead like a crazy cat lady??

It started with Grandpa, during WWII when civilian ammo was like hens teeth (they considered his job defense specific and wouldn't let him enlist), continued with my (late) Dad, get ALL the lead you can WHEREVER you can.
We cast, so no zombie aspirations here, but we do have a large amount of lead on hand.
Right now we're shooting commercial bullets for the most part and saving the lead for the off chance we HAVE to cast our own due to diminished options. But it's good to have a sizable stash cause it might come in handy, my take only.

J

 

[skizzums]

i thought about it around 1500 pounds ago, its just as addictive as any of my other firearm related hobbies
i see it as much as an investment as gold or silver, t just takes more product to create an ample investment, but if you hunt and ask nicely, i get my lead for 10c up to 40c a pound, after i melt it down to ingots i could easily sell it for up to 1$, thats over a 100% profit right there, what other investment does that
i get all i can, some goes to bullet casting, but most will just sit in the basement waiting for the future where lead will be all but banned, where i will be glad to help out my fellow bullet casters.......for a cost of course

i also find it a handy tool for bartering for brass and other reloading stuff

 

[kraigwy]

I get all the lead I want from our indoor range. They are constantly on my butt to get it out of there but I can only store so much.

 

[TimSr]

I don't think there will ever be a shortage of lead if you need it and want to cast it. I wouldn't bank on automotive wheel weights made of cast lead being around forever though. Though its not a desireable source, all those new green dream cars aill be hauling around a bunch of lead soaked in sulfuric acid.

The EPA says that exhaling will detroy the planet, but yet they are granted dictatorial legislative power. Making lead bullets won't be hard, but will eventually be illegal if they have their way.