The Firearms Forum banner

My indoor shooting range bans lead bullets

6K views 27 replies 15 participants last post by  soundguy 
#1 ·
All ammo must be jacketed bullets. They say this helps to keep the lead contamination down to low levels...

I think this is BS.

I think it is designed to force people to buy their ammo at high prices....
 
#3 ·
It may be they audited and there was to much lead in the air. I know the two ranges I go to need to meet standards for this. The one was very old and they had to redo the range to meet these standards.

Per what they told me at the range this is not for the shooters protection but the people that work at the range.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I have reloaded 5-6 thousand rounds with unjacketed lead bullets - UHG! This range is unlike any other I have seen. The range officers are behind a wall with windows, so shooting range employees are not subject to the lead contamination all day long.

They claim to allow 22LR rifles. I don't know of any commercial 22LR that has jacketed bullets but I assume there are some being sold today.

They claim they are NOT subject to federal regulations (really???) but they did say they have been tested by the EPA and they show low levels of lead.

It looks like a new design with a tilted rubber wall that catches the spent rounds.
 
#6 ·
call BS all you want. every time you fire a lead bullet, there is a small amout that ends up as "vapor" you then breathe this vapor and it gets desposited in your lungs. in a closed area thus also gets deposited on every surface in there. this is also the most easily absorbed lead through the skin. so ask your self..would you melt and cast lead bullets without proper ventalation? or procautions?. this is a serious risk for children. in a outdoor range the amout of vapor is qiuckly dispersed to a non threatning level. and is not held in a small closed in space.

as to jacketed .22's there are plenty made and I have used them for hunting for over 20 yrs.
 
#7 ·
I can see this. I believe most indoor ranges have to have filters to help control the lead and other particles in the air. You get it not only when firing, but I would assume some lead would come off on impact. I dont know all the ins and outs of an indoor range, but they are subject to some kind of oversight on this, even if it is their insurance company.

There are several .22 rounds that are plated, if I remember correctly. Remington, I believe makes one of them. They call them golden something, maybe. I know I have shot them and have pieces of the plating in the action of my marlin 60.
 
#8 ·
If you shoot at an indoor range with A LESS THAN OUTSTANDING VENTILATION SYSTEM.

Find another indoor range with one, OR SHOOT OUTDOORS.

Major lead levels are increased by INGESTION, NOT ABSORPTION.

You can shoot with an N-100 Mask or a proper RESPIRATOR for the contaminant,

if you have personal concerns.

Wash your hands in COLD WATER IMMEDIATELY AFTER SHOOTING, Wash clothes soon

after shooting and NOT WITH THE OTHER WASH.

The indoor range should have a rug to wipe your feet on as you EXIT THE FIRING RANGE.

Lead CONCERN/DANGER LEVELS have a reading number for ADULTS that is TWICE THAT OF CHILDREN.

GOOD SHOOTING.:)
 
#9 ·
I read that lead is NOT absorbed through the skin??? Is that true?

The range officer said non-jacketed bullets hit the wall and breakup which causes the lead contamination.

I was using plated lead bullets in reloaded ammo. It was inspected and was OK to shoot there.

The jacketed ammo they were selling was $39 per 50 rounds....Yikes! Primers have lead in them too... Yeh, the range had air ventilation.

Aren't ALL indoor shooting ranges regulated by the feds?
 
#10 ·
I read that lead is NOT absorbed through the skin??? Is that true?

The range officer said non-jacketed bullets hit the wall and breakup which causes the lead contamination.

I was using plated lead bullets in reloaded ammo. It was inspected and was OK to shoot there.

The jacketed ammo they were selling was $39 per 50 rounds....Yikes! Primers have lead in them too... Yeh, the range had air ventilation.

Aren't ALL indoor shooting ranges regulated by the feds?
 
#11 ·
I worked as a welder for 24+ yrs in a lead smelter. We were told that you cannot absorb lead through skin contact. My lead levels were over 100 on many occasions. In all I was sent to 14 different doctors, nephrologists, etc. All concurred that lead was not absorbed through the skin.

The kicker is I was reprimanded for reloading at home because it was causing my lead levels to become elevated.
 
#12 ·
while its said you cannot absorb lead through the skin, it has been shown that some lead is infact absorbed through the skin. but we were talking about lead VAPORS. which when sucked into the lungs is a form of INJESTED lead.

also Moonman, why is a mask or respirator recommended in areas where lead or lead vapors are likely to be? why recommend the washing of hands and clothes in the fashion you posted if skin absorbtion is not a factor. sometimes you just have to read between the lines........
 
#13 · (Edited)
And if you breathe Los Angeles air you will die. Yes in indoor ranges there is lead in the air. Yes primers have lead in them. But for normal folks shooting once a week, it would prolly take two lifetimes to accumulate enough "poisonous lead vapors" to even register in blood tests. I believe gvw3's post make the most sense. FWIW, I lived in L.A., worked on heavy construction equipment in a shop downtown, shot my .44 Magnums in an older indoor range weekly, with my home cast lead bullets, for several years and my blood/lead levels were normal for the entire time I was in L.A. (I was tested annually by my employer, mostly a CYA tactic against "popular concern"). Yep, if I stood over my lead pot and did deep breathing excercises, inhaled all the smoke and dust when shooting, there may be some indications of "over exposure" to lead.

I just don't believe the environ-nuts/politician's scare tactics when talking about lead. But to each his own...

"The sky is falling, the sky is falling..."
 
#14 ·
Wash your hands and clothes (contact with and them your mouth) INGESTION.

Smokers with an open cigarette pack in their shirt (contaminates rest on top of

the opened pack of cigarettes, you light up and PUFF, Ingestion.

Masks/Respirators (PEOPLE SWEEP UP) stirring up contaminants.

Political Correctness with LEAD is a lot LIKE MERCURY.

We used to PLAY WITH MERCURY AND CLEAN COINS IN CHEMISTRY CLASS WITH IT.

Now they would about go crazy, HAZ-MAT AND SWAT UNITS called out.

Common Sense which many seem to lack these days and simple safety precautions will keep you safe.

Too many liberal drug users in government, suffer the real brain damage.
 
#15 ·
Yeh, we used to play with mercury in grade school.... Now it is recognized as a dangerous substance...

I think I will use this shooting range very seldom. I reload and most of my ammo is cast lead projectiles. They cost about 70% as much as platted bullets.
 
#16 · (Edited)
The indoor ranges that I have gone to in California even as far back as 25 years ago had a huge ventilation system that sucked all the lead in the air through filters that got cleaned once a week or more often. The flow was away from the shooting line and out behind the targets. They too did not allow cast or swaged uncovered bullets. Jacketed or plated bullets were always fine with them. If for any reason they had to turn off the ventilation system in the range area, which was inside a room with a glassed wall for the range people to view the shooting, that range area was ordered closed and the shooter had to leave the room. There were even double doors to further isolate the range officers from the shooting line.

Massive ventilation systems and no open lead bullets rules have been in existence for more that the 25 years I have been shooting regularly. It is done for your safety as well as the people who work the range. If they get sick then no more range! We must follow those rules. Believe me, you'll miss it if it goes away as I found out when I moved some 15+ years ago to an area with no indoor range for 50 miles!

LDBennett
 
#17 ·
I've been shooting for 57 years. I never have seen a range that would not permit lead cast bullets. Yeh, California may be different. I'm very glad I do not live there.... California just banned the sale of lead bullets...

I wish California would break off the continent and sink into the Pacific ocean.
 
#18 ·
RAJBCPA
California has not banned the sale of lead bullets. No such thing.
California has passed a law signed by the governor the prohibits lead from being used for hunting, which will be implemented no later than 2019.
Hunting with lead was already banned in 4 of the units near to condor habitat.
I have never encountered a range that did not allow lead ammo, and I have been to every, or almost every range in this state.
I have only once encountered one range that banned lead ammo. It was in Reno, Nevada.
dc
 
#20 ·
I shoot 6 days a week, 95% lead projectiles.
The lead poisoning had gotten so bad, they had to carry me out on an EPA-rated gurney. You can see it in the video, and also the lesions from the exposure. The range [family] has demanded I wear an approved suit or I am no longer welcome to shoot there. To make it comfortable, the fit took a while, and it was a bit on the pricey side, but now everyone seems to be happy.....well, almost. They still ask me where my wife is, they think I killed her, but I keep telling them she was alive the last time I saw her. We don't have the funds to clean the range each day, and I shoot a lot of ammo.....and you can see me crawling through some of the spent rounds that occasionally build up when we get short on janitorial volunteers.
I am doing fine now, still shoot 6 days/week, with lead, and you can see how happy the range marshalls are, looking through the glass, with the new restrictions in place.
I have also gotten used to the suit and my accuracy is returning. Enjoy the vid.

 
#25 ·
Lead melts at a bit over 620 degrees F, vaporizes at 1750 degrees F. Vaporizing is the change from liquid to gas, remaining the same composition. Fumes are smoke from combustion. Lead vapors, and lead oxide are considered toxic...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top