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The price of lead, bullets and ammo...

Vegassteve

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Apr 15, 2008
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My father worked for the St Joe Lead company in MO, a sister to Doe Run, his mine was shut down in 1978. He was a drafting engineer for them. His brother was a accountant for Doe Run for many years and retired from them. His other brother was a manager for Doe Run as well. We have a long family history with them. Our family settled in the area of MO from Germany in the 1850s. My great great grandfather who came over, provided horses and blankets for southern troops in MO.

These mines and smelters have been closing and opening for years. Here is a good article from 2010 when this closing was announced.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_54400025-2940-5b3f-b753-6e931e596cac.html

And this article. So you can see this has been off and on for years. They will find a way to continue. They always have.

http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/herc/
 
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HPmatt

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Aug 18, 2013
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Location
Dallas
Stephen F. Austin's dad - Moses Austin - moved from Wytheville VA to open up a lead mine in Missouri. Dad got grant for colonizing Tejas and Stephen ended up starting Texas. Want to say Moses went broke in a financial panic and closed down the mine. Up and down business for sure.
 

MAC702

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How much of our bullet lead is actually coming from the domestic source anyway?
 

davidmcbeth

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Jan 14, 2012
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earth's crust
Makes you wonder, what could be at home alternatives for lead.

So...
Light'em Up!

Plutonium ... excellent ....

Actually tin alloys seem best ...

EPA likes copper (but that's still poisonous to life - duh) so the environmental aspect is a red herring.
 

The Big Guy

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Oct 20, 2009
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Location
Waco, TX
The question is: exposure to which, lead or DU will kill you quicker? Answer: whichever one hits you first...

I just processed enough scrap and pure lead to last me a lifetime anyway. The problem is, with all the stuff lead is used in, it is another bad sign for our depleted economy.

TBG
 

Vegassteve

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Apr 15, 2008
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Las Vegas NV, ,
I buy my lead reloading bullets from a guy in Montana. Seems to be a lot of sellers in that state as well. I never knew of the state being a lead producer but maybe it is.
 

mpguy

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Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Messages
689
Location
Suffolk Virginia
The question is: exposure to which, lead or DU will kill you quicker? Answer: whichever one hits you first...

I just processed enough scrap and pure lead to last me a lifetime anyway. The problem is, with all the stuff lead is used in, it is another bad sign for our depleted economy.

TBG

How many pounds?

So...
Light'em Up!
 

EMNofSeattle

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Aug 7, 2012
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3,670
Location
S. Kitsap, Washington state
the lead smelting plant in question has been on the rocks for some time, starting before obama was president.

I don't think it will skyrocket ammo prices, lots of lead is smelted overseas, several smelters exist in Canada. a good portion of what we'd consider "budget ammo" is imports. while it's concerning to see more industry offshored, I doubt it was part of a plan to dry up ammo supplies. think of how many lead products would be made, out of the production of that one smelter, how much do you think was used to make all or even most of the domestic ammo production? I doubt it was that much.
 

BB62

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Aug 17, 2006
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4,069
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Is there any truth to the notion that people can actually make the title of their thread descriptive of the subject?
 

28kfps

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Aug 1, 2012
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Location
Pointy end and slightly to the left
The last remaining lead smelter, in Herculaneum MO, is closing down

The last remaining lead smelter, in Herculaneum MO, is closing down. This will undoubtedly affect the price of lead, since the lead that is mined in Viburnum MO will now be sent out of the US for smelting.
Missouri’s Lead Belt has been the primary source of lead for the US since 1700. A lead smelter has been in operation in Herculaneum since 1892. This is why Lake City, Federal, and other ammunition companies have been located in the region. The recent articles on shot towers don’t really apply to the ammunition industry that existed on the bluffs of the Mississippi river, since no tower was needed. The top of the ‘shot tower’ was simply an overhang by the river.
The EPA’s new clean air rules would require a $100 million dollar investment in new equipment. As such, the Doe Run Company has decided to close the site.

http://www.infowars.com/last-remaining-lead-smelter-in-the-usa-closing-after-120-years/
 
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Vegassteve

Regular Member
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Location
Las Vegas NV, ,
My father and his brothers spent many years working for doe run and St Joe lead co.. This smelter was on its way out a few years ago. They have been trying to hang on. It will not affect ammo production at all. As none was made from this plant. The mines in my home area have been shutting and closing for the last 40 years. Viburnum has closed and opened many times, as have other St Joe and Doe Run mines. In fact they are getting ready to open what was once called St Joe mine.

My statement is in no way a defense of the EPA and these rules which started under the last pres. And continued under this mess of a pres. Its just the facts. And ammo companies have come out this week to explain that it will have no effect on production.

Federal produces its ammunition at Federal's Anoka, Minnesota headquarters. (from Federals website)

Lake city plant is not located close to the mines at all in that region. The mines are close to St Luis and Lake City is up in the KC area.
 
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