Dont they they get super soft and loose their firmness after thawing?

my wife has been canning for years and saying the same thing about hard to find lids. she said she will just wait until next year when everyone who stockpiled realizes its too much work for them and sells them for cheap

I know this is considered a no-no, but I have re-used lids before with moderate success. I probably get 85% to seal instead of 98%. The ones that fail go into the fridge instead of the pantry and get used first.

I use a steamer canner for tomatoes, 20+ years now.
I bought some pint jars to can some meat in my small pressure cooker

I used to can venison every year but quit for some reason