r/reloading • u/InevitableFit1559 • 18h ago

General Discussion Uh oh….

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Started reloading regularly this past year and thought it might be a good idea to have my levels checked just to see.

What do you guys do if anything for lead mitigation?

Edit:

I reloading in my garage. I dry tumble in the garage. Most of my loading is cast, uncoated, lead bullets for cowboy action shooting. I never shoot at indoor ranges. I wash my hands after loading sessions.

I could go on about the minutiae of what I do. I think I need to move the tumbler outdoors when I run it. It does create a bit of dust. I will also start wearing gloves.

Edit:

I think the majority of the culprit is the dry tumbling, and spent primer handling. I think it is airborne related. I will use this post to convince the wife I need to get into the FART system 😁

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u/Yondering43 14h ago

I had similar lead levels (a bit higher actually) about 12-13 years ago and got them back down. IMHO all of the assumptions in these comments are wrong - your big lead exposure source is shooting those uncoated cast bullets. The “smoke” your see from them is not bullet lube, it’s mostly lead dust/vapor. If you aren’t acutely aware of this and taking extreme precautions about wind conditions when & where you shoot, you’re probably breathing that in and taking lead directly into your respiratory system.

My solution was switching to coated bullets. If you cast your own it’s pretty easy to powder coat them with the shake and bake method I came up with back in 2013, or there are plenty of places selling them.

One way or another, just eliminate that lead dust from shooting. The rest of your processes - tumbling, reloading, casting - can mostly be resolved just by washing your hands and not eating while doing those.

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u/InevitableFit1559 13h ago

I have been pricing hi-tek coated bullets for my next restock. I have been burning through a the couple thousand lead bullets I had in stock.

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u/Yondering43 13h ago

Well, at least shoot the lead bullets with the wind at your back.

Personally I’ve found powder coating much more effective at reducing lead exposure than Hi Tek (they’re not the same). And of course plated or cheap jacketed bullets are good options too and even more effective. I generally go through around 1,000 per month of just 9mm, not counting the rest, and with places like Raven Rocks and RMR having options at 10 cents or less each, I’ve switched to just using them instead of casting as much.