Scrap Lead For Casting?

Considering casting bullets for my 500 S&W. Is lead hard to come by and what are ideal sources?

 

I see some available on EvilBay. Used to be, you could go to a tire shop and get wheel weights. Now, it seems all of them already have someone that gets first dibs.

 

All tire weights are now made from either zinc or steel, as the EPA mandated several years ago that lead be discontinued in their use. The only lead tire weights now are ones that are coming off older wheels. Most of those are purchased by the battery companies.

Since all casting alloys are now coming from secondary smelters, such as Exide and several others, scrap lead is what you're getting, but it has been re-smelted for purity and mixed according to needs with tin and antimony. This applies to "new" alloys that are purchased from smelters.

There is still lead scrap available for casting, but it's seldom free anymore. You'll have to pay for it, or if you can get your range to allow you to mine the impact berms, you might be able to get some there. If you do get permission to mine the berms, be sure to leave them in better condition than you found them, or you'll never get to mine them again.

Some scrap yards will sell lead, and some won't. Some won't even allow it on their property, but others deal with it freely. It depends on who's running it. Prices also vary, as does the alloys.

I might suggest you go to: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forum.php and look around. There is plenty of information there, plus several people sell lead and lead alloys in the "Swappin & Sellin'" sub-forum.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

Cast Bullets

At the pressures that the 500 S&W operates at, a BHN of 15 or highter is needed. Plus a gas check type bullet. To buy alloy - https://rotometals.com/bullet-casting-alloys/ OR http://www.missouribullet.com/

 

The lack of cheap, available lead is what keeps me from taking up casting. Maybe I just don't know the right people...?

 

Talk with the local roofers. They get lots of scrap lead from stacks and flashing.

 

I can get 80lbs of decent lead in a couple hours at the public gun range in my area. That will last me for a while especially since I supplement it with purchased alloy and tin. With the 500 you should probably buy alloy when its on sale and supplement it with whatever scrap lead and alloys you can get.

 

Wheel Weights Bannded

http://www.tirereview.com/when-if-lead-is-banned/ - 2014 ... I cant find any 2016 info?

 

My other major hobby is making fishing lures for white, hybrid and striped bass. I use a lot of lead, around 100 lbs a month when I'm making lures.

I've been getting all my lead from a couple of metal scrap yards. They let me dig through what they have so I can glean all soft lead.

I've been paying $0.70-$0.80 a pound lately.

If I wanted to start casting I would then order tin and antimony from Rotometals to alloy it up.

Rotometals sells casting alloys also. Around $3 a lb with free shipping on orders of $100.

 

This is probably not what you want to hear but I have found that good deals on lead are really hard to come by, at least in my area. Sorry if this is kind of long

Here is the bad news:
Even unsorted wheel weights go for about .80 per pound and scrap yard lead is usually a tad over $1 (Once again, in my area). Then you have to deal with the tedium of sorting them and all of the lead dust and garbage that goes with that. Then you have to turn them into ingots (unless you like a ton of garbage in your pour pot).

If you buy a known alloy of lead from some place like rotometals.com it will run you $2-$4 per pound.

Here is the good news:

EVEN if you pay $2 per pound you will be saving at least 50% on your bullet cost and probably more. Even at that cost for lead, a 125 grain bullet will cost about 3 1/2 cents and a 240 grain will cost about 7 cents!

Lead is still to be had for around $1 (Making that 125 grain bullet .02 and the 240 grain about 3 1/2 cents) in my area but it doesn't come up very often. It seems like the best strategy for me has been to wait for it to be available at that price and buy in as much bulk as you can afford. Last summer I actually built special, heavy-weight shelves in my shed. The first time I saw lead of around 14bhn for close to $1, I bought 1000 pounds.

This has had some very nice and unintended consequences. Before I did this, it seemed like I had to tweek my loads for every new batch of lead I bought. With 1000 pounds of known alloy, I have cast many thousands of bullets and they are all consistent.

 

Nothing wrong with buying off ebay and supplementing with alloys from rotometals to get you the hardness you desire. Somewhere i had a quick and easy calculator that I could use to play with what each alloy would give you. The folks at castboolits will not lead you astray.

 

Best place I know of for finding lead these days is the berm of ranges. After a good rain and time for the dirt to dry is a good time to go.

 

Go to RotoMetals and get known Lyman #2

Also suggest these two bullet designs:
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=50-370B-D.png
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=50-440G-D.png

and these gaschecks:
http://www.sagesoutdoors.com/500-s-w-caliber-gator-gas-checks/

as you can see, it's not cheap getting into that particular aspect of the cast bullet game.
But it can get a little cheaper starting out with this:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/26...um-501-diameter-440-grain-flat-nose-gas-check

postscript:
You need a 0.502" lubrisizer die.
Everyday 50/50 ALOX/Beeswax is fine.

 

Don't tell people my secret
The one range I belong to is on a fairly steep grade. After a rain I walk the drainage ditches. Lots of lead to be found. This is the only scrounging I do anymore.

I've taken to buying lead in half ton to ton lots from a foundry. No dealing w/ cleaning it up. Just drop it in the pot and cast. It's also the exact alloy I want. The last half ton lot of 96/2/2 that I ordered was $1.32 a pound shipped to my job which had a commercial loading dock. Rotometals prices are to high but that's the deal when you buy in small lots.

 

If you get berm lead you also get to find "interesting" specimens too.

Like nose to nose bullet impacts.



Or even 9mm hit from the side by a .223.



They make for good "bench talk" with your friends.

 

Depending on your state, you should be able to score a bucket full of wheelweights light in zinc and steel for $20 or less if you tell a good story and hit a half dozen mom&pop tire stores. I don't both checking NY places, but if I'm in CT or MA, I do well.

The clip-on wheel weights can make a pretty good alloy for use at moderate or better velocities. Stick-on weights and range lead are going to be on the soft end and will need to be alloyed. I use 50/50 soft lead and clip-on weights for most everything.

The castboolits website is another good place to find usable lead for ~50cents/lb.

 

Before the OP starts alloying anything, does he have a Hardness Tester ?
Without one, he's flying blind -- especially with batch-to-batch casting and use in the like of a 500.

Another reminder when kitchen mixing, hardness varies w/ age unless you're going straight lead/tin, or known Lyman #2
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?251414-lead-aging-and-hardness

 

He could always just go by billet weight. I can drop anywhere from 211 grains to 240 grains from the same 230 grain mold. The alloys "right" when they drop at 230 grains but straight wheel weights drop at 232 grains and work fine as well.

I would bet that most folks that cast don't own a hardness tester.

 

Moulds regulated vs bullet weight.

Bullet moulds are regulated using a companys chosen alloy. LYMAN #2 . Lee 10 lead to 1 tin.

http://www.redding-reloading.com/online-catalog/88-bullet-moulds-charts

 

I have never done it but I understand it is a pain and has more risk that other potential sources. You have to get rid of the sulfuric acid. Then the plates inside are full of (I think) lead sulfate which will end up being dross that floats to the top.

I have also read that the sulfuric acid residue is extremely toxic when vaporized by heat... Probably not worth it.

 

You do not need a hardness tester. I cast for rifles and don't have one. People like to make things more complicated than they need to be. There are lead alloy calculators that will give you an idea of how hard your lead is. This is all that's really needed.

 

While I agree that you don't need one, it sure makes life easier. Most of my lead has come from places like ebay where, even though they give an estimated BHN, you don't know the mix or the actual BHN.

They are not giving them away though. I understand why people don't bother with the cost but, to me, it is far faster and easier than trying to guesstimate when using an unknown alloy.

 

jmorris- how about this one? a bullet inside a bullet.

OP- for what its worth I cast and powder coat the lee 440gr bullet for my 500 mag. I use straight clip on wheel weights. Somewhere around 11bhn and the bullets engage the rifling, are accurate and hold up just fine at magnum velocities.

 

make the bullets harder, using cheap scrap

https://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/faqs/bullet-casting.php

Alloy must contain 2% antimony to work. This works when i tried it, but sizing without lube cant be done. Lube must be removed before putting in oven. I never used a hardness tester. Thumb nail works fine.