Lead Shortage?

[pmwest]

I was in my local gun shop this week and was part of a discussion about the price of ammunition. The conversation began because some guy was buying 9mm ammo and complained about the price. The guy that runs the shop explained that the buyer should probably stock up because his most recent wholesale purchase was at an across the board 6% increase because of a lead shortage. These guys know that I have an allergy to brass, almost never touch the stuff, and let me know that lead balls and shot were increasing even more. They had been selling 25 lbs of shot for $15 and it had been bumped to $19. Hadn’t heard about this before this week, what’s causing the shortage?

 

The guy at the salvage yard and the guy at the gun shop told me that China was buying up steel brass and lead and various metals becuase of a boost in industry.Wether its true or not remains to be seen.I pay 25 cents a pound for scrap lead.

 

[HistoryBuff]

China buys nearly the entire supply of processed scrap metal in this country every year. Domestic steel companies, etc can't but any.

HistoryBuff

 

[marmot]

My price for pure scrap lead jumped from 25 to 40 cents per pound in the last three months... same story, "It's all going to China". I stocked up before it goes higher. The guy at the tire shop, where wheel weights used to be free, now wants $25 for a bucket of them. Gee, and I thought POWDER was supposed to be the expensive part of shooting!

M

 

[MSW]

when he was alive, my dad swore by wheelweights for cast pistol bullets. i never could make wheelweight work, so i stuck to linotype (finding a source can be a challenge).

i'd avoid putting anything other than pure soft lead through a muzzleloader, though.

MSW

 

[marwat06]

Must be a lead shortage, ordered four boxes of balls and powder flask, FedEx delivered a big box with just the flask. On the label it had the package weight as 11 lbs. Called the store and they show fours boxes leaving the warehouse. They're resending me the order, hopefully it will make it this time.

 

[sequoia]

I get my lead from a roofing company that is just going to be thrown out anyway. It's a little messy with tar and paint but it cleans up just fine.

 

[mowolf]

I too get my lead from a roofer, plus from a nephew who has a coupe of tons of the old communication lead wrapping. The roof flashing is messy with old tar, takes a couple of melts and a lot of fluxing and skimming to get er clean, but it is free :v .

I melted down about 64 pounds and poured it into muffin tins to make "muffins". Have since cast about 571 .490 rb and still have a bunch of muffins left. Need to get some sinker molds to make some fishing sinkers :winking:

WAYA

 

[jtmattison]

I use telephone cable sheath also.
I get it free.
I have over 600 pounds of it in may garage all clean and made into ingots.
No lead shortage for me.

HD