Bringing alloy into Canada from US

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coll

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Making my first foray into casting, and looks like I can obtain some decently priced alloy from a vendor stateside, but will have to pick up myself. I know lead wheelweights are a big no go as far as bringing them across the border back into Canada, but can't find any info regarding lead bars. Anyone have any experience or insight as far as importing lead bar as an individual?
 
coll said:
Making my first foray into casting, and looks like I can obtain some decently priced alloy from a vendor stateside, but will have to pick up myself. I know lead wheelweights are a big no go as far as bringing them across the border back into Canada, but can't find any info regarding lead bars. Anyone have any experience or insight as far as importing lead bar as an individual?
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Contact Josh the gunsmith in Creston, BC. He has a $hit-ton of lead ingots for sale.

Very inexpensive as well. Tell him John sent you.

250-254-0489

https://www.#######.ca/reloading/lead-casting-tools/cranbrook/lead-ingots

Type in gun-post in the ####### spot, minus the hyphen.....:)
 
gregc said:
...ouch, why are lead wheel weights banned from being brought back into canada? thanks
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If that is the case, it’s probably an environmental or cancer in California thing. And if that’s the case I’d expect the same regulations apply to all lead products. Calling cbsa won’t do much for you. I had to drive across a bunch of times with bolts and custom concrete anchors. Usually just one box or two in the back seat. The exporter always had to file the export paperwork ahead of time and prepare the manifest for me to go through the commercial lane at the border. If it’s really small quantities and only for personal use you probably won’t need that but then you need to decide if you’re going to declare it. If you do you need receipts to pay duty. There is always a risk that anything could be seized at the border or you could get some d1ck head that will waste your entire day. Just having things in writing isn’t good enough you need to have it filled out on their standard forms and receipts for everything
 
Ungrateful said:
If that is the case, it’s probably an environmental or cancer in California thing. And if that’s the case I’d expect the same regulations apply to all lead products. Calling cbsa won’t do much for you. I had to drive across a bunch of times with bolts and custom concrete anchors. Usually just one box or two in the back seat. The exporter always had to file the export paperwork ahead of time and prepare the manifest for me to go through the commercial lane at the border. If it’s really small quantities and only for personal use you probably won’t need that but then you need to decide if you’re going to declare it. If you do you need receipts to pay duty. There is always a risk that anything could be seized at the border or you could get some d1ck head that will waste your entire day. Just having things in writing isn’t good enough you need to have it filled out on their standard forms and receipts for everything
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Yeah, this is what i'm worried about. I'll be having them mailed to my U.S. postbox, so if they refuse entry for the material at the border, it's not like I can turn around and return them, i'd basically be out the total cost. I guess i'll have to dig a little deeper and see if I can find anything concrete I can print out, like you mentioned, calling them doesn't help much because you end up dealing with a completely different individual on re-entry.
 
Thunderhog said:
Contact Josh the gunsmith in Creston, BC. He has a $hit-ton of lead ingots for sale.

Very inexpensive as well. Tell him John sent you.

250-254-0489

https://www.#######.ca/reloading/lead-casting-tools/cranbrook/lead-ingots

Type in gun-post in the ####### spot, minus the hyphen.....:)
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That is a great price, i'll reach out, but being on the west coast I think any shipping cost to here will make it prohibitive. The U.S. vendor ships free, which is why I have to drive over and pick up from my mailbox there. Wish I lived in BC!
 
coll said:
Yeah, this is what i'm worried about. I'll be having them mailed to my U.S. postbox, so if they refuse entry for the material at the border, it's not like I can turn around and return them, i'd basically be out the total cost. I guess i'll have to dig a little deeper and see if I can find anything concrete I can print out, like you mentioned, calling them doesn't help much because you end up dealing with a completely different individual on re-entry.
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To import commercial goods into Canada you need the seller to be listed as the exporter. It is better if they are the ones who file the paper work with cbsa online 24 hours ahead of time then you have a copy of the manifest with you and they double check it in their system when you get there. I’d expect if the seller were willing to do that for you they’d just ship it to your house in Canada

If it is not commercial and you are the consumer, you need to declare it at the border and show receipts to pay duty. If you do it that way you won’t know if they’re going to let it through until it’s too late. In this case, they won’t turn you around if there is an issue. They’ll just seize it and it is forfeit
 
coll said:
That is a great price, i'll reach out, but being on the west coast I think any shipping cost to here will make it prohibitive. The U.S. vendor ships free, which is why I have to drive over and pick up from my mailbox there. Wish I lived in BC!
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You can get old wheel weights at any auto wrecker or tire shop. They usually have some 5 gallon buckets that they throw them into and send them for scrap when the buckets are full. They just get scrap value for them so anything above that is a bonus to them. Make absolutely sure they are completely dry. A few drops of water getting into the melting pot can be life changing
 
A few years back I used to buy my alloy from Rotometals. 100 or 200 lbs at a time. The border people thought nothing of it. I made no secret that I was using it to cast bullets for my black powder target rifles. I stopped doing that and switched to a Canadian company during Trump's trade war.

Chris.
 
coll said:
Regulation enacted in 2023 I believe. Wheel weights with anything greater then 0.1% lead content can no longer be manufactured in, or imported to Canada.
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You would be importing scrap lead. Not wheel weights. They get corroded and bent, and don't get used a second time.
 
gunlaker said:
A few years back I used to buy my alloy from Rotometals. 100 or 200 lbs at a time. The border people thought nothing of it. I made no secret that I was using it to cast bullets for my black powder target rifles. I stopped doing that and switched to a Canadian company during Trump's trade war.

Chris.
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Called what?
 
Our local tire shop GAVE me a few hundred pounds of wheel weights, and the local hospital threw away several hundred pounds of lead when they shut down their old x-ray machine. No, it’s not radioactive. I gave the tire guys a 26 of rye and they were overjoyed.
If you were closer I’d be happy to give you a pile of either as I’ll never shoot through that much, even using my fifty and forty five caliber guns.
 
Any time I try to get free lead some scrap dealer or whatever has already made a deal long ago. If I need to pay close to scrap lead price then I may as well not bother.
 
Cocked&Locked said:
You would be importing scrap lead. Not wheel weights. They get corroded and bent, and don't get used a second time.
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I love your signature line!.....:)

Wouldn't it be great if all Canadian gunowners would understand the reality of it?

Yet there are still Canadians, even Gunnutz firearms owners that vote Liberal.

I guess stupid is as stupid does. And one cannot fix stupid!.......:(
 
I should add that Purity Alloy works for me because I live reasonably close by and don't have to ship it. When I used Rotometals and had them ship to Blaine WA, they used flat rate USPS postal boxes and could fit 50lbs in each. The weight of the boxes was a big surprise to the guys receiving them. One day they asked me what was in them because they were as heavy as lead :p
 
Ungrateful said:
You can get old wheel weights at any auto wrecker or tire shop. They usually have some 5 gallon buckets that they throw them into and send them for scrap when the buckets are full. They just get scrap value for them so anything above that is a bonus to them. Make absolutely sure they are completely dry. A few drops of water getting into the melting pot can be life changing
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This paragraph feels like it comes straight out of the 1980s. Up here in 2025, it is still possible to get some lead from tire shops, but it is no longer a simple and inexpensive exercise.

As to the original question, I see no basis for CBSA to decline import of alloy lead bars. I also see no reason why they would decline import of scrap lead in the form of old wheel weights. The new regulations are aimed only at new wheel weights, destined for installation on vehicles.
 
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