How common was lead shot back in the day?

[Va.Manuf.06]

I might add that Googling "Shot Tower State Park " will bring up a number of links for the Commonwealth of Virginia under state parks, worth the trip but, like all state parks currently, tours are cancelled however the parking lot is open and you can do a walk about. It is beautiful country.

 

[MountainSmoke]

Some interesting replies. That's why I came here. Appreciate all the useful information. I had this notion that shooting supplies like lead and powder were somewhat hard to come by and I'm sure in some circumstances they were but it seems like they were pretty well stocked most of the time. I agree that small game and fowl would have been important simply for the variety added to the diet. No different than today.

 

[Muley Gil]

The shot tower at Jackson Ferry is about 8 miles or so from Max Meadows, Virginia. The lead mines are only a few miles from the tower. At one time, the mines were operated by Moses Austin, father of Stephen F Austin, who later moved to Texas. Stephen was born in Virginia in Austinville, the village named after his father.

 

[tenngun]

Some interesting replies. That's why I came here. Appreciate all the useful information. I had this notion that shooting supplies like lead and powder were somewhat hard to come by and I'm sure in some circumstances they were but it seems like they were pretty well stocked most of the time. I agree that small game and fowl would have been important simply for the variety added to the diet. No different than today.

One of my eye openers was seeing the wreck of the steamship Arabia. Reading ledgers is one thing, so many bales of x barrels of y, it becomes just numbers. Seeing it laid out in the museum was astonishing.
A room bigger then my living room filled with barrels of boots and shoes. A tool room as big as the tools on display at a hardware store chain.and a room full of bolts of cloth. Another equal filled with tin ware.
Then it hits you. Arabia was a day behind another such steam boat, and a day behind her was another.
A quick look at a map of forts private and army along the old North west shows us it was hard to find a place from Ohio to Minnesota where you weren’t within two weeks of a fort.
Just a bit north of me was a large Osage town. Where are no rebuilds there, just a mile long trail that loops through the village showing where grain store were and home and the town ‘forum’. From one high spot a map shows where to look to see where four private forts/stores existed, Charbonogh’s place, American fur, and two smaller establishments. All about one days walk or so from the town two days from each other.

 

[TFoley]

This is the shot tower in Mrs tac's hometown of Chester, UK.

BTW, I'm still trying to figure out how all of a sudden I can post images...nothing has changed, has it?