Military Surplus Wheel Weights-Does Anyone Know About These?

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  • Last Post 18 April 2019
mashburn posted this 12 April 2019

Good Morning,

I bought a carton of wheel weights from a friend which are supposed to be military surplus. The boxes in which they are in are in sad shape and I can't read anything that was originally on them. By just doing some scratching on them , they seem to be harder than normal wheel weights. Does anyone out there know anything about these. Clue me in please.

Ken you asked me a few days ago if I knew a certain person from Oklahoma. That made me recall an unusual event. When I was in late high school and early college, I used to spend the summers working on my sisters farm in Northwestern Iowa. While I was there I had gotten acquainted with a good friend, Phil Herznach. Years later  in 1967 I  had gotten married and started back to college in Oklahoma. One day a guy mentioned to a friend of mine that he used to know a guy from Oklahoma ,it was my friend Phil and he had moved to the same college to go to aviation school. My friend said yea I know him and he lives about 5 blocks up the street. What a coincidence. I've lost track of him again. But I still don't know the guy you asked about.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 13 April 2019

... you might use the "" try it "" approach ... don't use your proven good pot or ladle for testing ...

maybe melt a sample in a clean pipe cap on a hot plate ... or kitchen stove .... pour a test bullet with a big old spoon ...  if it melts about right, and makes a few good bullets, it is probably ok.  if it seems good, melt some known good alloy into it and see how that mixes.

if it stays crystalline or lumpy, it might not be good.

oh, too hot is better than too cold.

hope this helps ... ken

 

 

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mashburn posted this 13 April 2019

Ken,

After I first posted the question I found some printing on the outside box that I could make out. It was just a warning that it contained lead and antimony,  it wasn't a ingredient listing. It is definitely harder that ordinary wheel weights. I took my pocket knife and cut into the edge of one of these and into a regular wheel weight. These were tougher to cut. I dropped one on a concrete floor and it thuds just like lead. My friend that I got them from runs a gun and pawn shop and uses them to make fishing sinkers for sale in his store. I melt all of my junk lead in a cast iron skillet on my Dad's old blacksmith forge. I'll cast some trial bullets like you suggested. The only thing I wonder about is if it's military surplus why isn't it painted olive drab, YUK.. One thing for sure, as big as these things are, each one will make a lot of bullets. I may have lucked out and found the ideal hard alloy to cast the .17 bullets.

Thanks a lot Ken,

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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David Reiss posted this 13 April 2019

I can shed some light. If they are military surplus and from the past 50 years, then the one thing I am sure of is, they originally cost 10 times the civilian equivalent, and are probably the same!!!!! 

David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
- Also deal in: Land, Banjos, Nails, Firearms, Manure, Fly Swatters, Used Cars, Whisky, Racing Forms, Rare Antiquities, Lead, Used Keyboard Keys, Good Dogs, Pith Helmets & Zulu Headdresses. .

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mashburn posted this 13 April 2019

David,

You are 100% correct as to what the army would have paid .I spent 7 years in Uncle Sam's Army myself. Like I said why weren't they OD? Maybe they couldn't afford the factory painted and had to have E1's to paint them with a 50.00 paint brush. Just think what a bargain I got, I saved so much money I better go buy another box.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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Ken T posted this 15 April 2019

I don't know about current military vehicles but when I was in the Army the only vehicles that would have used wheel weights were commercial type vehicles such as pickups and SUV's.Tactical vehicles did not use wheel weights as flats were repaired by the driver in the field.The wheel weights are probably standard commercially available wheel weights.They would not have been painted.

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mashburn posted this 16 April 2019

Ken,

when I was in the army, I don't think the word tactical had been in use. All I know is they were govt. surplus and they are very big weights.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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RicinYakima posted this 16 April 2019

None of our horseshoes were made out of lead, but the belt buckles had lead filling in the back. laughing But that has been awhile ago, I guess.

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Ken T posted this 18 April 2019

 When I was in the Cavalry the only horses we had were used by the color guard.Our belt buckles were solid brass until the wear of them was banned.The military vehicles were referred to as tactical vehilcles as opposed to commercial vehicles the entire time I was in the Army,61-82.

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