Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I remember...

When a box of bullets didn't break the bank. Now I get mail catalogs from the likes of Midway and Natchez which have Nosler/Barnes/Sirocco on sale for .50/bullet or more. Old friend Sierra still pushes stuff out the door at prices familiar in the last century.

20 round boxes of ammo for $39...on sale! Well, except for the likes of the .416 Rigby and that ilk, closer to $100 than $75., but only $2/piece of brass. Ho Li....

They have lost their minds? Guessin' the casting game will get a boost from this, maybe it already has. Thing that concerns me is that by the time I'm gone the components will make the fine guns look like a bargain.

Anyone for some Mauser brass? Only $10/piece, shipping included.

When I started reloading at 16 (1966) a box of bullets were around $3.50-$4.25 and a pound of powder was about the same. I have some old 243 Winchester ammo boxes marked $3.40. I felt really "ammo rich" one time when I was able to buy two boxes at one time.

The catch with casting your own is the escalating price of lead, and the difficulty of getting it.

Used to be that lead wheel weights were free, but now most are zinc or steel, and most tire shops won't sell to anyone but their 'authorized' re-cycler.

Add to that, there are NO U.S. lead mines operating any more, so any lead has to be imported or re-cycled from batteries, or something else.

So far, U.S. manufacturers say shortages aren't a problem, but I expect that to change before long.

Myron

Can you spell BULLET TRAP ?

GTC

Recall those days, but more recently, say in the last 15-20 years of the last century, powder ran around 12-15 bucks and bullets were 8-12 or so. What puzzles me today is how Sierra keeps their prices under control while everyone else drank the grape Kool-Aid. I'm guessing that Sierra is running full tilt in the production lines.

Lead is still available in my neighborhood. I went a little haywire about 3-4 years back and likely won't need any more. Neither will the kids...maybe the grand kids too???

Sierra isnt re-inventing the wheel every six months.

Count me in as well for not needing Pb ever again. As far as wheeweights go, in some instances I AM the recycler...

The government is doing what ever it can to drive out reloading.

I remember the day I decided to start reloading. I had just purchased 5 boxes of Remington 30-06 factory ammo and it cost me $40! I could reload a box of -06 for just over $2.

[b][/b]

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I thought it was the only remaining recycling smelter in the US (Missouri, IIRC) that was closed.

I have not heard of the mines being shut down. There is too much need for lead in our society.

Can you enlighten me on when the mines were shut down?

Ed

It isn't only Midway and others, look at the price of brass here on the Campfire if you want another shock.

You know the history of this behemoth, think the boys and I are covered for awhile but Hindenburgs do have away of depleting even mass quantities!

Bunker Hill? Zounds man, I missed that tale!

Yeah, the 'Bergs are rough on lead stashed. I do some of that and likely a bit more when the artillery arrives. For the moment it is mostly .25 & .30 cal and the odd .38-55 round. 800-1000# of lead goes a fair piece.

FWIW, Federal has a current promotion through the end of this month, $20 rebate on two boxes of all Vital Shok rifle ammunition (Trophy Bonded Tip, Sierra GameKing, etc.) via e-mail notice from Federal Premium. Every bit helps.

APDDSN0864,

"Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I thought it was the only remaining recycling smelter in the US (Missouri, IIRC) that was closed."

I should have said "smelter" instead of "mines".
However, Doe Run was not primarily a re-cycling smelter. Much of their production was from raw ore from the mines, and most of their production was sold to battery manufacturers.

Quotes from The New American:

"The Herculaneum smelter is currently the only smelter in the United States which can produce lead bullion from raw lead ore that is mined nearby in Missouri’s extensive lead deposits, giving the smelter its “primary” designation. The lead bullion produced in Herculaneum is then sold to lead product producers"

" Several “secondary” smelters, where lead is recycled from products such as lead acid batteries or spent ammunition components, still operate in the United States."

Since the shut down of Doe Run, any ore mined in the U.S. is shipped out-of-country to be smelted.

Any information of how many mines are still operating, or the effect of the smelter closing is a bit scarce, but it is sure to have some effect on the mines as well.

Myron

I am getting scrap lead for about a buck a pound. That is thirty 230grain lead bullets per pound. I did not factor in the costs of equipment or propane or electricity.

But if you are a pistol shooter you should stalk Digital Dan's posts as well as others in the casting section of the 'fire. There is a lot of interesting stuff about casting your own bullets and it is fun as well.

I've been scrounging lead on my rural jobs for years.Angus breeder I worked for had an old Farmall H with home brew bubba bracket welded on the front frame above the trike nose gear.This Bunker Hill counter weight came off when he dropped a rear wheel in a drainage ditch which isn't a pretty sight around any cattle operation! Said if I wanted it,"be my guest." Waited till it dried out as good as it was gonna get,attached a log chain and pulled that big stinker out.Tips the scale just shy of 630,000 grains...

Ooof!


Thanks. A toast to the Bunker Hill.

Have you priced shotgun slugs lately? Now that deer can't apparently die at the hands of rifled slugs, the prices of saboted slugs bear comment. I shoot Hornandy SST's through my rifled slug gun. These were the cheapest slugs I could find, and they're $12.00 FOR A BOX OF 5! Premium saboted slugs run over $20.00 for a box of 5. There's elephant loads that don't cost $5.00 a round.

I see my local shops now carry a Federal Blue Box saboted slug for around $7.00 per box. I might give these a try in stead of selling one of my kids to buy ammo to hunt with.