Lead bullets
- Thread starter johnnyreb65
- Start date
I use lead bullets all the time. I only wear a mask when I melt wheel weights. I seldom do wear one while casting. As for reloading & shooting them, I never wear a mask. I occasionally go to the Dr. for blood work & there is never a trace of lead found. Maybe I'm just lucky 
Exactly. The only reason to wear a respirator would be to protect against toxins that accompany whatever you're melting, not the lead itself. Lead vaporizes at a much higher temperature than your melting pot.
Wash hands after handling and don't eat it, like grouch said... and you'll be okay
Wash hands after handling and don't eat it, like grouch said... and you'll be okay
Knowledge and standards has improved over the decades. People who work with lead know better now. So if our sport requires us to work with lead, it makes sense that we take tips from professionals.
What I do as an amateur... I press 200-500 rounds in a session. My fingers used to get well-leaded. It all washes of, of course... But why take the chance? Now I wear disposable gloves and then wash with D-Lead soap. I have gone and will continue to go to a clinic a couple of times a year for a blood lead test and I file the results. Pretty simple and nearly free things you can do if you want peace of mind.
BTW, everyone has traces of lead in their blood. It is biologically useless/harmful but it comes with living in the modern world.
Besides handling bullets, remember the other paths of lead exposure... including:
What I do as an amateur... I press 200-500 rounds in a session. My fingers used to get well-leaded. It all washes of, of course...
But why take the chance? Now I wear disposable gloves and then wash with D-Lead soap. I have gone and will continue to go to a clinic a couple of times a year for a blood lead test and I file the results. Pretty simple and nearly free things you can do if you want peace of mind.BTW, everyone has traces of lead in their blood. It is biologically useless/harmful but it comes with living in the modern world.
Besides handling bullets, remember the other paths of lead exposure... including:
- sweeping up brass and stirring up the lead dust that falls to the ground... cough
- shooting indoors
Can you buy direct from DRG? Can't seem to find a website. Google just brings up Epps & Russells who carry them retail.
I agree with everything said above. Even on the "Cast Boolits" site, a site dedicated to bullet casting, there exists a group who don't understand the dangers of lead.
The danger comes from ingesting (eating) the material, not from lead "fumes". You need good ventilation when "smelting" your raw materials such as wheelweights, due to all the crap that is attached to them, e.g. oil, paint, etc. At the temperature that we smelt and cast at ~600-800 F, lead fumes do not exist.
Keep your hands out of your mouth while you cast and wash them afterwards.
The danger comes from ingesting (eating) the material, not from lead "fumes". You need good ventilation when "smelting" your raw materials such as wheelweights, due to all the crap that is attached to them, e.g. oil, paint, etc. At the temperature that we smelt and cast at ~600-800 F, lead fumes do not exist.
Keep your hands out of your mouth while you cast and wash them afterwards.
PM sent.
I always ware proper gloves and a lead fume respirator while smelting I normally do 200 lbs at a time so fumes and smoke arnt the best to be breathing in... when casting them on my machine I still wear gloves and respirator... When reloading them I only use gloves. Why take the chance...
P.s Princess Auto has a suitable respirator P100 I belive for lead fumes for $25 its half the price of one at Home Depot.
P.s Princess Auto has a suitable respirator P100 I belive for lead fumes for $25 its half the price of one at Home Depot.
I've been reloading since 1986, since then I've had 3 bad bouts of elevated blood lead levels. In each case the Base Medical Officer restricted(read that disallowed) my shooting for a 6 month period while the blood lead level returned to normal. If you are going to wear a mask while shooting on an indoor range go to a certified safety supply store and purchase a mask that is rated as effective in stopping lead airborne contaminent. Most lead on indoor ranges is made airborne by your feet as you walk down the indoor range. While I was in the service, part of retaining my RSO qualification for indoor ranges was that I had to get a blood test every 6 months.
Elevated blood lead levels are nothing to f*ck around with they can cause serious damage to your body. Loss of co-ordination, loss of memory, mood swings, etc. It can really screw relationships up badly. Since I retired I only shoot outdoors which helps minimize airborne lead contaminent. A PMed tech I used to shoot with also let me in on a secret, during the reloading process on a single stage press, you can handle a single round 5-6 times. Your skin absorbs a lot of lead this way. When reloading I now wear latex surgical gloves and since they are cheap, use them in bulk. This way the only time my hands actually touch lead is when I load and fire the firearm. I have shot both IPSC and Cowboy action and I am a high volume shooter!
Elevated blood lead levels are nothing to f*ck around with they can cause serious damage to your body. Loss of co-ordination, loss of memory, mood swings, etc. It can really screw relationships up badly. Since I retired I only shoot outdoors which helps minimize airborne lead contaminent. A PMed tech I used to shoot with also let me in on a secret, during the reloading process on a single stage press, you can handle a single round 5-6 times. Your skin absorbs a lot of lead this way. When reloading I now wear latex surgical gloves and since they are cheap, use them in bulk. This way the only time my hands actually touch lead is when I load and fire the firearm. I have shot both IPSC and Cowboy action and I am a high volume shooter!
Buffalo Creek Law Dog
Regular
I used to use rubber surgical gloves when reloading. Now I use a product called "gloves in a bottle". It goes on like a hand lotion, let it dry and it protects your hands from dirt, grease, solvents, detergents, acids etc for up to four hours.
I found it in the paint section at a lumber store.
I found it in the paint section at a lumber store.
On the other hand how would you like to be lying in your hospital bed at age 90 dying of nothing??? Don't eat it. Make sure when you go shooting at an indoor range there is proper ventalation and you won't have any problems.
Take Care
Bob
ps I shoot cast in all my pistols and rifles. Great fun.
Take Care
Bob
ps I shoot cast in all my pistols and rifles. Great fun.
P.s Princess Auto has a suitable respirator P100 I belive for lead fumes for $25 its half the price of one at Home Depot.
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I'm cheap also but you have to keep in mind that you may be getting a false sense of security wearing these masks. I am the safety guy at work and can tell you that you have to be fit tested and check the fit every time you wear the mask. If you are not clean shaven the mask may not be effective.
I would suggest going to a safety supplier and some will fit test and get you info on proper cartridges etc. You won't get them for $25, just do what our guys do and steal a fit tested one from work. My employer encourages people to use their safety equipment at home.
Oh no I've become the preachy safety guy.
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I'm cheap also but you have to keep in mind that you may be getting a false sense of security wearing these masks. I am the safety guy at work and can tell you that you have to be fit tested and check the fit every time you wear the mask. If you are not clean shaven the mask may not be effective.
I would suggest going to a safety supplier and some will fit test and get you info on proper cartridges etc. You won't get them for $25, just do what our guys do and steal a fit tested one from work. My employer encourages people to use their safety equipment at home.
Oh no I've become the preachy safety guy.
I've been reloading since 1970, casting since about 1974,worked in the world's largest lead mine for a couple of years in the early 70's, and handled and shot god knows how many rounds with lead bullets over much of the latter part of that time. Never tested for abnormal blood levels during any of that time.
However, I also make a point of never putting my hands anywhere near my mouth while casting or handling bullets - a good practice taught in the mine. And I have spent a limited amount of time on indoor ranges, where airborne lead particles are present from both lead in primers and bullets hitting backstops.
My guess is you either never kept your hands away from your mouth or you spent a lot of your time working/shooting on an indoor range. Elevated lead levels until recently was a very, very common problem with staff and shooters who spent a lot of time on indoor ranges. Many of those ranges have been closed and new ones built, or the old ones heavily modified to provide ventilation that dramatically eliminates the amount of airborne lead on the range.
Won't do a lot of good unless properly fitted. Moreover, I'd pay more attention to the quality of the ventilation and cleanliness of that range. If the contamination is so high I have to wear a mask in hopes of avoiding elevated Pb blood levels... I think I'll pass.
Buddy was well outside his scope of practice if he started lecturing you about absorption of elemental lead through the skin. Elemental lead is not absorbed through the skin. To quote from OHSA:
Lead can be absorbed into your body by inhalation (breathing) and ingestion (eating). Lead (except for certain organic lead compounds not covered by the standard, such as tetraethyl lead) is not absorbed through your skin. When lead is scattered in the air as a dust, fume or mist it can be inhaled and absorbed through you lungs and upper respiratory tract. Inhalation of airborne lead is generally the most important source of occupational lead absorption.
However, if wearing vinyl or latex gloves stops people from sticking their hands in their mouth, eating sandwiches while reloading, etc, then that is probably indirectly effective in preventing them from getting leaded.
