SSL
Gold $$ Contributor
Today out of pure boredom, I just finished casting several hundred lead bullets for various calibers (mostly 260-grain .452", 250-grain .432" and 350 and 405-grain .458") and did a quick inventory of my lead stash. Haven't cast for awhile and hadn't paid much attention to the supply and was surprised to see I only have around 100 pounds left.
A little background here...from 1970 until 2000 I worked for a telephone company. The town I was based out of had a lot of aerial cable with lead sheathing. As various sections would go bad they would be replaced with the newer plastic insulation cable and mostly buried where possible. Out of curiosity I took some of the old scrap lead sheathing home and tried casting muzzle-loader balls. Miserable failure. Way too hard to work well. Later, I got into reloading lead bullets in handguns and had the bright idea of trying again. Wonders to behold - that lead cast nicely filled out bullets and, properly lubed, didn't even lead in hot .357 loads (a caliber I have often had leading issues with). I didn't know at the time, but the lead used in telephone cable sheathing averaged 97% lead, 2% tin and 1% antimony (sometimes 3% tin and only a trace of antimony, depending on the manufacturer) and bullets usually cast about 4 to 6 grains heavier than the "nominal" rating of the molds. Clean, melt and pour. Bullets are too hard to expect them to expand much, but leading is non-existent.
Fast forward a few years and the company decided to do a wholesale job of burying almost all the cable and removing all the lead. The scrap pile at the warehouse grew to about 30 feet by 40 feet and at least 10 feet high. At that point in time no one really wanted scrap lead so it just sat there. Every now and then I would load the back of my truck with the scrap lead (with the company's blessings) and take it home. No idea how much I hauled away over the next few years, but I haven't had to buy lead for casting since 1972. Finally, the price of lead rose to the point that we got a bid for the pile and took it. End of free supply, but I have cast thousands of "free" bullets ever since and have enough already cast and stored to probably last me the rest of my life. But like any self-respecting hand-loader, no such thing as too much of any component!
A little background here...from 1970 until 2000 I worked for a telephone company. The town I was based out of had a lot of aerial cable with lead sheathing. As various sections would go bad they would be replaced with the newer plastic insulation cable and mostly buried where possible. Out of curiosity I took some of the old scrap lead sheathing home and tried casting muzzle-loader balls. Miserable failure. Way too hard to work well. Later, I got into reloading lead bullets in handguns and had the bright idea of trying again. Wonders to behold - that lead cast nicely filled out bullets and, properly lubed, didn't even lead in hot .357 loads (a caliber I have often had leading issues with). I didn't know at the time, but the lead used in telephone cable sheathing averaged 97% lead, 2% tin and 1% antimony (sometimes 3% tin and only a trace of antimony, depending on the manufacturer) and bullets usually cast about 4 to 6 grains heavier than the "nominal" rating of the molds. Clean, melt and pour. Bullets are too hard to expect them to expand much, but leading is non-existent.
Fast forward a few years and the company decided to do a wholesale job of burying almost all the cable and removing all the lead. The scrap pile at the warehouse grew to about 30 feet by 40 feet and at least 10 feet high. At that point in time no one really wanted scrap lead so it just sat there. Every now and then I would load the back of my truck with the scrap lead (with the company's blessings) and take it home. No idea how much I hauled away over the next few years, but I haven't had to buy lead for casting since 1972. Finally, the price of lead rose to the point that we got a bid for the pile and took it. End of free supply, but I have cast thousands of "free" bullets ever since and have enough already cast and stored to probably last me the rest of my life. But like any self-respecting hand-loader, no such thing as too much of any component!
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