Is shooting lead .22 ammo potentially poisonous? For kids??

in my early days of shooting my primary range was an indoor range. Then I started shooting more outdoors and I handle a lot of cast lead due to my cowboy action shooting, shooting lots of .22 and also starting to cast round ball for my black powder shooting. Along the way at one of my regular physicals I asked for a blood lead test. After explaining what and how much the doc agreed. And as with such things no news is good news. Did the test and didn't hear more until the next visit. It was a non issue. I was barely above the regular amount for the general public and WAY under any level for concern.

All I've done is to avoid licking my fingers or picking my nose until my hands are washed.

Recently I started loading some black powder shot shells for the cowboy action. Some of the lead shot I've got is older and "white" due to the corrosion. That I did not use because when I tried pouring it out I immediately noticed a cloud of white dust from the corrosion. I cleaned it out and cleaned the area well and limited myself to the lead shot which is dark and shiny.

So a modicum of common sense and care to wash is all that is needed. This applies to handling any lead or even spent casings. As mentioned the residue from the primers is not good for us. And any handling of the spent casings will result in those things on their hands. And I do know how the kids love to play with the spent brass. It's a constant thing and I always tell the parents to clean or seal the brass they take home along with stressing that they do not allow the kids to take the brass to school with them to show the others.
 
There's a lot of panic about lead - most of which originates in California, where the government funded research to prove how toxic lead is. I used to regularly "burn" posts on lead acid batteries, my employer used to have us tested for lead - despite using an oxy-acetyline torch to turn lead into a liquid, in order to mould battery posts, my lead levels remained normal. Primers, as noted, are the issue due to lead salts, lead itself (metallic lead) is fairly benign.
 
When my brother and I were kids, we'd go hunting with our pellet guns almost every day. Pellets are loud when walking around and bouncing in their tin. So we would pour them in our mouth. Always had a wad of pellets in our cheeks. Sometimes I'd start chewing on a couple. I was about 9 yrs old. Did this till about 16 yrs old. My brother was diagnosed schizophrenic years ago. I always wonder if it was the lead.....
 
Yes, yes it is deadly, which is why I'm dead now.

No, no it is not deadly, unless you were to shoot tens of thousands of rounds in a sealed room. And even that would not be 'deadly.'
 
josh1976 said:
When my brother and I were kids, we'd go hunting with our pellet guns almost every day. Pellets are loud when walking around and bouncing in their tin. So we would pour them in our mouth. Always had a wad of pellets in our cheeks. Sometimes I'd start chewing on a couple. I was about 9 yrs old. Did this till about 16 yrs old. My brother was diagnosed schizophrenic years ago. I always wonder if it was the lead.....
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Now that was just foolish. You were supposed to put the pellets in an empty pants pocket where they would turn the cloth black and contaminate the heck out of you for days, until the pants were washed and until the next time. But anyway, lead does not cause schizophrenia or similar symptoms. Mercury might though.

I hope your brother is doing well.
 
josh1976 said:
When my brother and I were kids, we'd go hunting with our pellet guns almost every day. Pellets are loud when walking around and bouncing in their tin. So we would pour them in our mouth. Always had a wad of pellets in our cheeks. Sometimes I'd start chewing on a couple. I was about 9 yrs old. Did this till about 16 yrs old. My brother was diagnosed schizophrenic years ago. I always wonder if it was the lead.....
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It’s far more likely diet or genetics (leaning on diet) let him develop this. Than the lead. There are clearly visible signs about toxic(non fatal) lead exposure well before them. For example your gums turning black. I’m trained in lead abatement.
 
Overblown. For what you're doing, just wash your hands afterwards. You're outdoors.

nitro-express, give us a breakdown of how much you shoot/reload and under what conditions, that is giving you elevated lead levels, and what are they presently. Are you shooting cast bullets, making your own bullets, what.
 
I, too, carried lead projectiles for pellet guns and slingshots in my mouth.
My lead levels have always tested normal. Ingested metallic lead is not
the problem. As noted, lead salts and lead vapors are not good. Dave.
 
Can-down said:
If you load for them they shouldn't get much exposure on their hands, if they do they should be aware and try and wash their hands before eating or picking their noses....
Some nitrile loading gloves would keep the hands clean for sure and the wipes idea makes sense.

When we were kids lead was "the chewy metal" and we crimped on fishing weights with our teeth.... being conscious and aware and limiting exposure is not a bad idea.
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Yes, back in the day lead was not regarded as a threat and I have handled it with a carefree cavalier when younger.

guntech said:
My only concern would be an un-ventilated indoor range where there is a build up lead 'splatter' in the air from bullets hitting backstop. A good range sucks all that out with the fresh intake at the shooting end... or if your kid tended to chew on the lead...
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I know a member on here who ended up with high lead levels in his blood. Last I communicated he said the levels were decreasing since he had stopped indoor shooting during winter. He blamed it on the indoor range shooting of handguns during winter, but he had cut back on shooting/reloading in all conditions.

My understanding is that splatter is an issue, but the huge issue with that is when the range floor or traps at the berm are cleaned thus disturbing the lead dust which is breathed in. Apparently breathing lead dust is the worst way to ingest high doses. I have read that handling food after reloading is another potential source of high lead ingestion, but not as risky as breathing in lead dust.

Some years ago I seem to recall reading about tests conducted on exhaust gases exiting the muzzle and around the forcing cone of centrefire revolvers using cast lead bullets without plating or gas check on rear end. As memory serves it was found there was lead in the exhaust gases which I suppose could be breathed in or deposited along with powder residue on the outside around front of cylinder and frame where the gas exits around forcing cone.

Big Bad said:
Yes, yes it is deadly, which is why I'm dead now.

No, no it is not deadly, unless you were to shoot tens of thousands of rounds in a sealed room. And even that would not be 'deadly.'
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Correct. Not deadly like that but rather causes symptoms that can worsen over time and lead to health issues.

Supposedly it is supposed to cause problems with children's development, particularly intellectual development. But then I have to ask how biased the research that is based on was.

It's like the hyper fear of lead paint these days. I can tell you that I spent a summer scraping ancient paint which there is no doubt contained lead from the trim around the eaves of the house. So there I was on a ladder working from below so I could see what I was doing with a scraper and breathing in the dust and paint flakes since they came out when I blew my nose. Never thought about wearing a dust mask back then and it would have been darn uncomfortable on a hot humid July day in the blazing sun. I was in my teens at the time and my father did the painting after I scraped.
 
CanAm said:
Yes, primers are the issue as it is a lead salt. Salts are how heavy metals get into the body easily.
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this is why eating lead is bad. lead reacts with stomach acids to become toxic. Breathed in lead vapour is not as bad. So I was told when I had a blood lead level test. (my levels were low despite regular shooting hundreds of rounds a week)
 
Sniper_485 said:
Just wash your hands after handling the ammo/shooting. The amount of lead exposure is very low unless you're doing really dumb things lick licking the steel after its shoot or licking the grey off your fingers after loading.
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THIS! For kids, it is far more important for them to wear ear and eye protection.
 
josh1976 said:
When my brother and I were kids, we'd go hunting with our pellet guns almost every day. Pellets are loud when walking around and bouncing in their tin. So we would pour them in our mouth. Always had a wad of pellets in our cheeks. Sometimes I'd start chewing on a couple. I was about 9 yrs old. Did this till about 16 yrs old. My brother was diagnosed schizophrenic years ago. I always wonder if it was the lead.....
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Myself and a couple others were talking about this last weekend. We all did the same thing as kids and knew others who did as well. None of us have ever had health issues related to lead.
 
CanAm said:
again, it is the primers to worry about, not the bullets
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This is valid, but incomplete.

To the OP, yes there is a concern with lead, just as there is a concern with firearms generally. As you teach the kids about firearms safety, also teach them about the importance of good industrial hygiene. The risks of lead poisoning are serious, but they are easily mitigated. You do not need to avoid shooting, or buy lead free ammo.

The first defense is knowing where lead comes from, and how it enters the body.

Solid lead is relatively harmless. Lead dust is toxic.

Priming compounds contain lead which is in the air after the shot is fired.

Lead bullets will often loose some lead as they travel down the barrel, putting a small amount of lead dust in the air.

The amount of lead dust at the muzzle is relatively small for most firearms, however if the breathable zone of the shooter is not well ventilated, this dust can quickly exceed safe levels.

The next big source of lead dust is dust created by the bullet smashing into something solid down range, either steel targets, or solid back stops. Even a bullet going into sand can strike something hard like a rock or another bullet and smash.

Some basic rules for lead, especially important for children.

Don't shoot on ranges with inadequate ventilation.

Don't eat or drink on the range, or in any of the spaces adjacent to the range that are likely completely contaminated with lead dust.

Don't led kids play with or excessively handle lead ammo. Normal handling in order to shoot it is fine.

Wash your hands thoroughly after the range.

Change your clothes after the range, and put them straight in the wash, especially if lying down or sitting on range surfaces that are likely completely contaminated with lead.

Don't let kids dig through bullet traps to find souvenirs.

Don't involve kids in picking up brass or general range clean up on indoor ranges, as this stirs up a tremendous amount of dust. Even adults should wear PPE while doing this.

Lastly, most importantly, don't suck the fun out of shooting with a lengthy lecture on bio chemistry. Lead by example, wash your hands, and keep it fun.
 
caperaway said:
Myself and a couple others were talking about this last weekend. We all did the same thing as kids and knew others who did as well. None of us have ever had health issues related to lead.
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Did you know that coal miners who smoke cigarettes live longer than coal miners who don't? Something about the tar prevents the coal dust from infiltrating past the lungs. Mind you we are talking about a life expectancy difference of your late forties vs your early fifties at best.

The body is beautifully complex, and some people can have dramatically different abilities to process lead, and others can have dramatically different abilities to tolerate lead toxicity before serious symptoms present. Anecdotal examples aside, the body of research proving that lead dust is toxic is pretty solid.
 
There is a foam soap at our indoor range used for removing lead after shooting.
I heard there are also wipes. It would be great to have both for trips to the outdoor range.
Especially so for when someone wants a snack.
 
philhut said:
Just don't put em in your mouth or swallow.
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Back in my youth and the pellet gun days, we used our mouths as a pouch for the pellets, maybe have three of four stored there. Might have even swallowed one in the heat of the hunt. And 50 years later, I'm still here.
 
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