What did you reload today?

[Packrat76]

Loaded 100 rds of .44mag, 240gn plated with 10gns of unique. Nice load at 1000fps.

 

[arrowshooter]

Nothing like a few more .222 Rem to plan a sage rat hunt around.

 

[DAVID Hampton]

Cool. Less broken legs on cattle

 

[kisfish]

Prepped couple hundred 223 and 200 22-250

 

[Caveman Jim]

Deprimed and tumbled 400+ 40 S&W cases.
Sorted by head stamp, deprimed and tumbled 500+ .223/5.56 cases.

Tired Boss, dog tired...

 

[DAVID Hampton]

Cast and sized 100 124 gr 9mm slugs last night. Haven't cast any bullets in years. Was taking truck drivers physical 8 years ago, and they wanted to know how I got lead poisoning. I was casting a lot of bullets back then, indoors. Now I set the lead pot on a table in front of an open door and have a box fan behind me, blowing the smoke, and lead vapor outside. My lead levels are at the normal range now. It only took 8 years to come down to normal range. So if you are casting slugs use extra ventilation. Lead poisoning- one side effect is reduced mental capacity. Another is short term death.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Cast and sized 100 124 gr 9mm slugs last night. Haven't cast any bullets in years. Was taking truck drivers physical 8 years ago, and they wanted to know how I got lead poisoning. I was casting a lot of bullets back then, indoors. Now I set the lead pot on a table in front of an open door and have a box fan behind me, blowing the smoke, and lead vapor outside. My lead levels are at the normal range now. It only took 8 years to come down to normal range. So if you are casting slugs use extra ventilation. Lead poisoning- one side effect is reduced mental capacity. Another is short term death.

Tis why I stopped making all my lead fishing sinkers over 5 years ago. I still have tons of lead but I'm not gonna be doing it ever again, casting bullets either. Not worth getting more health problems than I already have.

 

[Kf338]

338-06 imp making brass

 

[Certaindeaf]

Cast and sized 100 124 gr 9mm slugs last night. Haven't cast any bullets in years. Was taking truck drivers physical 8 years ago, and they wanted to know how I got lead poisoning. I was casting a lot of bullets back then, indoors. Now I set the lead pot on a table in front of an open door and have a box fan behind me, blowing the smoke, and lead vapor outside. My lead levels are at the normal range now. It only took 8 years to come down to normal range. So if you are casting slugs use extra ventilation. Lead poisoning- one side effect is reduced mental capacity. Another is short term death.

To actually vaporize lead the temperature has to be crazy high.. it's NOT the smoke from fluxing etc. that poses a lead hazard.
You likely got a high dose from not washing your hands after and or eating, smoking while handling, not casting, lead.
And a good amount of lead is in all traditional primers and care should be take when handling fired primers and one should consider one's environment when/while shooting.

 

[DAVID Hampton]

All my spent primers go into scrap bucket. I collect them in a can when the casing is decapped. When the bucket is full it goes to the scrap yard as dirty brass. From the time the are remover fr the casing I don't touch them. My Md said there is lead particulate in the smoke.

 

[CLT65]

I've been casting and handling lead for 30 years now, though for the first 20 or so I wasn't very scientific about it. In recent years I've been paying close attention to lead exposure and any info I can find on health concerns and abatement.

I think that, in general, concerns over exposure to lead are overblown, but at the same time I also think that many/most reloaders and casters aren't concerned enough about it.

Typically, the most common routes of exposure are: 1. inhaled smoke from prolonged and repeated use of indoor ranges, and 2. ingested residue from handling lead and then smoking or eating without washing up first. Dust and lead oxides are also a big concern. Old bullets with that powdery white oxide on them? Watch out for that. Don't breath it, and wash your hands if you touch it.

I started getting concerned because I had my lead level tested, and though it wasn't necessarily high, it was higher than I was comfortable with and did indicate exposure. I wouldn't have worried except I have young children, and if I'm getting exposure that I shouldn't, then the concern is that whatever I'm doing wrong could potentially be causing them some exposure, and in my opinion, no exposure is safe for my kids.

So, I have installed a vented hood above my casting area, and have become much more careful with industrial hygiene. I bought a gallon of lead-cleaning hand soap, and wash religiously after handling lead. I wipe up the dust around the area after casting, and the primer dust under the press after depriming. I wash up well with the lead soap after shooting, and even after handling empty brass (especially large quantities of range pick-up). I wear nitrile gloves when washing and processing brass from the ss tumbler. And I don't shoot indoors.

Am I going overboard? Maybe, probably, I don't know. These precautions really aren't that hard. I don't wear a respirator when casting, but I do wear an N95 when "smelting" scrap lead. I pick up scrap lead off the berm at the range and many of them are covered with lead oxide. I usually only do that now when the ground is wet after a rain, and wear gloves. That lead oxide is bad stuff.

I'll have my blood lead level checked again at my next physical. I hope it's lower (though it wasn't really that high). I've had some health scares in my past and don't want to take chances.

 

[ageingstudent]

To actually vaporize lead the temperature has to be crazy high.. it's NOT the smoke from fluxing etc. that poses a lead hazard.
You likely got a high dose from not washing your hands after and or eating, smoking while handling, not casting, lead.
And a good amount of lead is in all traditional primers and care should be take when handling fired primers and one should consider one's environment when/while shooting.

I had mine checked last year and I was good. You saw that hood I built right? Nothing wrong with good ventilation.

Also average lead levels are geographically specific. If I remember right the baseline is 3.5 mg/L in the Portland area and they don't get concerned for the average male unless it's over 5.0 mg/L. If I remember right mine was under the average. But other areas of the country have different averages (environment--drinking water and etc., indoor shooting and spent primer and dirty brass handling...wash your hands or wear rubber gloves) so if you got tested there it might not raise an eyebrow but get tested in a different region it might raise a red flag.

Like @CLT65 said though, there's nothing wrong with taking some good common sense precautions. I use rubber gloves under my leather and stay out of the smoke and wash up well after casting or smelting. I use the rubber gloves for handling bare lead bullets also until they are powder coated. If you dry clean your brass stay out of the dust when you are emptying the tumbler and don't forget that that dust is stuck all over your clean brass. Again wash your hands well or just use the rubber gloves.

 

[LSWC]

Fiocchi primers come in packs of 150... So I prepped & loaded 150 357sig rounds.
Really enjoying these through a full size pistol.

 

[Sabertooth]

.223 for my 223 Wylde. Only 400 rounds. H335 powder under Hornady 55gr FMJ BT

 

[Sabertooth]

Reloading Cost Calculator

Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment, Bullet Reloading, Bullet Reloaders

www.dillonprecision.com

 

[Member 34319]

Finally got the progressive back in business!!!

 

[RVTECH]

Straightened up my bench a bit and tumbled & dried a couple hundred aluminum 9mm cases!

 

[Capn Jack]

I measured 25 gr. of FFG into 10 plastic tubes, in case I get a chance
to shoot my new pistol.

 

[erslll]

Straightened up my bench a bit and tumbled & dried a couple hundred aluminum 9mm cases!

Can I ask why? Not trying to be a smart apple but I've always read that reloading aluminum cases is a no go.

 

[RVTECH]

but I've always read that reloading aluminum cases is a no go.

One time with medium to light loads is fine for 'throw away' ammo.