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Lead Bullet Casting

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Old 06-03-2013 | 08:49 AM
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Default Lead Bullet Casting

Thinking about casting my own bullets. What is the best source for lead?
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Old 06-03-2013 | 09:26 AM
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Giant Nontypical
 
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I don't know if it's the best but I get mine from my dentist...When they x-ray your teeth, the plastic thing you hold between your cheek and teeth has a thin sheet of lead in there...I melt that down for my round balls...
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Old 06-03-2013 | 10:08 AM
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check your local city street departments and see if they have any lead pipe laying around. Also if you know some roofer, they often strip lead sheets (not so often anymore) out of roof valleys and that was normally pure. I once scored a 5 gallon pail of it at the local metal recycling plant. Some person got out of the commercial fishing occupation and sold his net weights.. Plumbers also might have old lead laying around or some they can sell you.
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Old 06-03-2013 | 10:28 AM
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I get all of mine from a roofer friend. Those old lead roof jacks are pure soft lead.
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Old 06-03-2013 | 10:42 AM
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It looks to me that unless you can score some free or really cheap lead, you can just about buy the bullets for what it costs to cast them.

Last edited by yakfisher; 06-03-2013 at 10:47 AM.
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Old 06-03-2013 | 10:50 AM
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What about the lead that comes out of batteries?
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Old 06-03-2013 | 12:09 PM
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Originally Posted by yakfisher
What about the lead that comes out of batteries?
It's a nasty dangerous business trying to reclaim battery lead. Don't mess with it.

Check out the roofers in the phone book and call a few in your area. You can probably score some roof jacks free or cheap.
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Old 06-03-2013 | 12:09 PM
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Originally Posted by yakfisher
What about the lead that comes out of batteries?
It's a lot of work to get the lead, and you have the problem of safely disposing the acid.
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Old 06-03-2013 | 12:23 PM
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Originally Posted by yakfisher
It looks to me that unless you can score some free or really cheap lead, you can just about buy the bullets for what it costs to cast them.
Not sure how bullets work out, but round balls are about 50% cheaper even if you buy pure lead.
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Old 06-03-2013 | 01:59 PM
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Originally Posted by yakfisher
It looks to me that unless you can score some free or really cheap lead, you can just about buy the bullets for what it costs to cast them.
What fun is that???
Many of us traditional muzzleloaders like to do as much as we can ourselves...That's how you learn!!
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