A newbies misadventures in buying lead scrap

I am a new member to the forum but have enjoyed reading it for a while. I am new to casting and reloading too but after years of watching friends reload I finally put an order in for a single stage Lee anniversary kit, a couple of dies and bullet molds, casting and reloading manuals dippers, thermometer, powder and primer. It is all on it's way. So after reading lots of forums and posts I first let my friends and family know I was going to start reloading and asked them to keep an eye out for brass and lead for me. Pretty quickly my wifes grand father had rounded up about 40# of lead flashing, lead pipe and a block of lead he said he used to use for pipe joints - all of it very soft so I assume nearly pure lead. Over the next couple of weeks I stopped and asked at 10 tire stores " Do you ever sell any of your old lead wheel wts". Seven told me thatt either a. We are under contract to sell it to the folks that scrap our batteries b. I save it and haul it home. C.No D. We have a guy that buys it to make bullets (THE NERVE!). E. We reuse them. F. They cost too much so we reuse them. G. We reuse all we can. Felt a bit like getting turned down by all the pretty gals for a dance. Persistance however paid off......kind of. One of the other three looked like selling the lead was a new concept but he was willing. He took the $20 offer for a heaping 2.5 gallon bucket which turned out to be #128 total with about 20% of that being non lead. Was about half coww and half stickies. Thanked and told him Id come by in a couple weeks and check him again. Seller number two was a place I was getting a tractor tube put in. He said he usually got $40 for a full 5 gallon bucket. What he though was a slightly less than half a bucket. After som neg. We agreed on $20. When I picked it up it seemed lighter than the fist bucket Id bought by quite a bit. When I got home I discovered that there was about a quarter bucket of mud under the lead. Once washed there was #48 ow ww with only #38 being lead ( this was a learning moment ). I will now and forever at the very least pick up the bucket before making an offer. Seller # 3 also looked like selling lead was a new concept as he said he usually made trotline wts with them. He too had a 2.5 gallon bucket that was a couple inches from the top.( picked it up and guessed it to be around #100 of something). I offered $ 15 and we settled on $20. This was today and Ive not yet sorted it but I did weigh it at #102. Had a big nail, lugnut, piece of plexi and a couple valve stems on top. Also tried three scrap yards. One didnt sell lead the other two sold it for.0.90 and 1.00 respectively. I bought #11 of clean roof vents ( 3 of them) just to try out the process. Lastly I called the same scrap yards back later and asked what they paid for lead. One gave 0.40/lb on ww/flashing. The other paid 0.24/lb on ww and 0.36/lb on flashing. So pretty soon Ill get my casting book in and read and will break out the coleman stove and see what kind of mess I can make. Hope somebody gets something out of this adventure/ mis adventure in lead buying. Thank you all for all of the posts youve written and allowed me to enjoy.

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. - Master Yoda

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. - Master Yoda

Well after a bit of worry that Id not be smart enough to get a pic posted. It turns out I was so smart I got it done twice

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. - Master Yoda

Interesting, but what where are the mistakes? Even the "mud bucket" was not a bad deal. Sounds like your are doing everything right.

"Had his shooting been as good as his running, he might have given a better account of himself."
James. C. Henderson

them sure are some purdy pics!!!

i showed a friend of mine a few buckets of WW and was all excited tellin him how pretty a site it was. he just didnt concur.
he actually replied "there is something wrong with you"

welcome to the addiction
and looks and sounds as you did quite well for yourself.
the stores always tell me no, so i have my fiance do it and she scores ALOT

@jmortimer- Thanks. I guess the mud bucket was the main "hee haw hee haw" moment. The multiple rejections in a row were also a big surprise, I guess cause twenty years ago I wasgladly given many buckets of lead qe uses for melting into old valve covers as molds then drilling and mounting them in a buddiea dirt track car.

@dudits- great Idea about using a front man....er woman!

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. - Master Yoda

@bullshop- Im gonna try to catch one of these northern bound ducks and "duck tape" it to his leg and get it coming via......wait for it......."air mail". Keep an eye out. BTW- lived in Girdwood for a while once upon a time. Miss the summer not the winters.

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. - Master Yoda

Boolit Buddy Join DateApr 2012Posts70

Keep it up, the more scrap wheel weights you buy the better chance you have of finding something cool. To date my best prize has been a pocket knife and a wrench in a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights.

Hey just sorted out todays bucket and got my first prize....some gnarly yet serviceable needle nose pliers! Total was #96 lead / @6# non-lead. 75% coww. Im about #300 into my #1000 goal.

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. - Master Yoda

That's a great start and story. A buddy of mine who sells insurance and has heard the word 'no' more times than our national debt (16.7trillion) says it never hurts to ask. Nobody has ever punched him for asking. So keep up the good work.

Hyphenated - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Verb...pertaining to the use and ownership of lever actions.
More specifically .30-30, .32-40, .35/30-30, .38-55, .40-82, .45-70 etc.

Yeah, you're right. Daddy used to always say " Don't cost nuthin' to ask." I work a part time one day a week in a city about an hour away today. Will likely do some stoppin and askin at some new places today.

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try. - Master Yoda

Forget the tire shops, go to your local scrap yard.

I want the piece of copper tube.

I figure if you are averaging 50 to 75 cents a pound, with your time and expense you are still doing better then buying. I will also say if your goal is a thousand pounds you may want to invest in a turkey frier burner.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Boolit Bub Join DateMar 2012LocationNorth CarolinaPosts35

I bought a double propane burner from BassPro and use that for my melts. Two cast iron dutch ovens going at the same time ~100# melts
you can burn through a lot of lead in a hurry.

And in the Summer we use it to can vegetables outside to keep the house from getting hot. <-- that's how you sell the wife on it

My Stable of Mentionables
MiHec 432-640 HP GC
MiHec 22 Nato brass four cavity solid
MiHec .502 600gr HP/FP cramer
MiHec 9mm 125 gr. HP
[PENDING INVOICE]MiHec 311410 - Brass Cramer HP
I need .44 mag brass......

Master PO, one of my Facebook buddies, asked me to pass this on:

"You're doing well, Grasshopper."

Forget the tire shops, go to your local scrap yard.I suppose that works if you live near a large metropolitan area. If not, you have to contend with surly, obnoxious people. I have no need to be verbally abused so I avoid scrap yards. Gives new meaning to "Junk Yard Dog".

Even at $1 Lb and adding in your smelting costs you are probably still under a nickle a bullet. Far cheaper than anything you can buy...............

I suppose that works if you live near a large metropolitan area. If not, you have to contend with surly, obnoxious people. I have no need to be verbally abused so I avoid scrap yards. Gives new meaning to "Junk Yard Dog".Amen! I live in a community that hovers around 100,000. There are a grand total of 2 junkyards. One will not sell any scrap including lead. The other will, but I get the distinct impression they feel I am, somehow, robbing their profits as I don't deal in multi-ton quantities.

You folks near real cities have it good. You have, at least, a lot of places that you can check.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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