Are you poisoned? The lead blood levels poll...

[xsquidgator]

Ditto on that...

Mausers will do that- I have a K98 that blows back into your face at light loads, "light" being something like 70% of the max load. I forgot why I was trying light light loads like that once but I did and saw it happen. The blowback stopped at about 80-85% of the published max load when pressures got high enough to expand the case and seal properly.

Isn't a big part of what makes a Mauser, a Mauser action, the chamber pressure relief flow path through the bolt and out the bottom (and thence everywhere including your face)?

[zampilot]

OK, I'm at a "< 5" baseline from a test two weeks ago.......we shall see in a year after casting.

[357maximum]

I am far from "white glove" when I handle lead...my last test was a 3....

[Gunfreak25]

Isn't it sickening how much the government has become a part of our daily lives? There was once a time when the goverment worked for it's people, now we are being enslaved by our own government. My grandparents (my favorite people in the world) relish the memories of the good old days. I could write forever and ever and ever about "the good old days" that my grandparents speak so fondly of. But alot of you guys here already know what i'm talking about if you've been around the block a few times. There once was a time when:

You could walk the streets at night without fear of being mugged or raped
You could leave the doors on your house unlocked a night
There were no teen pregnancies, mass shootings and drug counselors in schools

But most importantly there was a time when the goverment was made for the people, by the people. Now our goverment is a monster, eating us alive, and it's getting worse every day.
Someday they are going to tell us when we can and can't breath.

I want to smash my TV every time I see a green commercial or hear about some smog issue in a big city. What we can be doing about it or what we should or shouldn't do about it.

I'm 17 and have never had a blood test. Nor do I plan to ever have one. If my lead levels are high, it's nobody's business but my own. Should an EPA inventigator visit my house, i'll show him a nice shiny lead ingot and shove it where the sun don't shine. Call me paranoid, but I hate the society we live in today, I will never give into it. People are so afraid of their goverment.. I think it's the goverment who should be afraid of their people.

I think now I'm going to go watch a good 60's show on TV and pretend I'm living in that era or something. The 60's were my grandparents favorite years. They made it sound like a really enjoyable time to be alive, I wish I could have been there with them. I know I know. Even years ago the world still had it's problems. I imagine having to dig a bomb shelter in your backyard was very scary back then. But it was certainly a better time to be alive compared to today. I know, I should be enjoying the world I live in today at a young 17 years old, that way when i'm 90 I can look back and say "those were the good old days". I guess we are always living in the "good old days", but never realize it until 30 years has passed by.

[PatMarlin]

I think the key here GF is to live like your grandparents did back then in today's world. All throughout our history there have been times like this.

Don't buy into doom and gloom, and get depressed. It's how we look at the current situation that gets us through and excited about life.

Going to Cambodia and Viet Nam in 1997 changed my life. When you witness first hand how badly people wish to survive, and see them survive and be happy with next to nothing it is humbling.

There are people dying of diseases and starving in our world right now, and are being persecuted and killed for various reasons who have NOTHING. We have everything here in the USA... right now and life is good.

Tune out the media hype and some of Grandpa's rant.

Make the best of it.

[Heavy lead]

Isn't it sickening how much the government has become a part of our daily lives? There was once a time when the goverment worked for it's people, now we are being enslaved by our own government. My grandparents (my favorite people in the world) relish the memories of the good old days. I could write forever and ever and ever about "the good old days" that my grandparents speak so fondly of. But alot of you guys here already know what i'm talking about if you've been around the block a few times. There once was a time when:

You could walk the streets at night without fear of being mugged or raped
You could leave the doors on your house unlocked a night
There were no teen pregnancies, mass shootings and drug counselors in schools

But most importantly there was a time when the goverment was made for the people, by the people. Now our goverment is a monster, eating us alive, and it's getting worse every day.
Someday they are going to tell us when we can and can't breath.

I want to smash my TV every time I see a green commercial or hear about some smog issue in a big city. What we can be doing about it or what we should or shouldn't do about it.



I'm 17 and have never had a blood test. Nor do I plan to ever have one. If my lead levels are high, it's nobody's business but my own. Should an EPA inventigator visit my house, i'll show him a nice shiny lead ingot and shove it where the sun don't shine. Call me paranoid, but I hate the society we live in today, I will never give into it. People are so afraid of their goverment.. I think it's the goverment who should be afraid of their people.


I think now I'm going to go watch a good 60's show on TV and pretend I'm living in that era or something. The 60's were my grandparents favorite years. They made it sound like a really enjoyable time to be alive, I wish I could have been there with them. I know I know. Even years ago the world still had it's problems. I imagine having to dig a bomb shelter in your backyard was very scary back then. But it was certainly a better time to be alive compared to today. I know, I should be enjoying the world I live in today at a young 17 years old, that way when i'm 90 I can look back and say "those were the good old days". I guess we are always living in the "good old days", but never realize it until 30 years has passed by.

Gunfreak,
Don't give up or give in buddy. I was just like you, about the same age (maybe a little younger but close) in 1980. The world sucked Grandpa and Grandma grew up in the depression and reminised about what great memories they had, even though they were dirt poor and didn't always know where their next meal was coming from. They used to comment about how easy we had it (and I grew up on a farm where I worked my tail off day and night) and about how messed up the world seemed. We had 20% inflation and 15% to 22% interest rates, imagine that, the housing bubble had burst and no one was building anything, the auto industry was in shambles, imports were taking a lot of jobs and business away from our automakers. Local GM plants were either shutting down, or threatening to shut down. Gas and diesel fuel was high, I was just starting to drive, and we didn't have much left over for beer! Then a man came along named Mr. Reagan who made us believe in ourselves, in freedom and in the goodness of the Constitiution, he changed me and my attitude. Times are tough right now, and things are bassackwards, but this is where a great attitude can not only get you through, but make you prosper. I can tell you are far older of the mind than your age, we that believe in freedom and capitalism and everything else that is good in life will prosper. Why? because we are winners, that's why. Don't let life get you down, or beat you down either. Your life can be good and will be good if you will it.


You are correct on this above too, you will look back at the year 2008 someday as "the good old days". When I was your age some of the things I dreaded most (like 2 a day football practice when it was 90 degrees and 100% humididy, and baling hay in between) I look back on as being the most missed and now look at those memories with fondness.

With all this I have said, I hope I haven't offended you. It sounds like you are angry, very much so, anger itself is ok if you let it go, what is not healthy is not having a positive outlook on life. Life is like anything else, it is what you make of it, we are still are plenty free enough to get in life what you want out of it. You believe in yourself and don't let people get you down, and live good, and my friend you will always be able to look yourself in the mirror with pride.

Stop watching what irritates you, don't waste precious time on this earth worried about the morons that don't see the world the correct way. Remember most of these eco-liberal-freaks simply could not find a job and activism has become there career, actually it's probably cheaper than welfare, so chill on this dude and don't waste your time.

You having a blood test does not have anything to do with Government intervention. The government is a PITA, I agree, (I work from Jan 1 to June 1 to pay my taxes) but this is about your health and you taking charge of it and being proactive not reactive like the government is. You don't need to fear anything for even though a democrat said it, it was good advise: "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself", only thing I will add to that would be God.


Pat Marlin is a very smart man, his advise should be taken.

[PatMarlin]

Maybe sometimes... Thanks for the compliment.

The other thing I try to do is stay away from doomy gloomy people, and not let anyone tell me I can't do something, or that it can't possible be done. That's when I say "Watch Me".

They will suck your energy dry like a vampire sure as hell.

The reason I'm taking the time to post this GF is at 17, you can grab life by the balls. Wish someone had told me the same at your age.

[Heavy lead]

100% in agreement Pat.

[waksupi]

I learned a long time ago. If someone tells you something is impossible, just add three days to the delivery time, and do it!

[BigBlack]

My last physical (November 08) I asked my doctor. Told him I was hand loading and casting. He told me not to wory unless I was actually eating the stuff. My blood work was normal all the way down. I do wash up good before eating after working the lead, but I wash up good before eating anytime.

[TAWILDCATT]

I think I posted here already.why in heavens name does this keep coming up?
its been going on since the 70s when they blamed lead paint,now we have paint thats junk and does not stand up.I am 84 and had tests in the 70s.I blame lead ed gasoline as we used to wash parts in it.my club had a state biochemist check
the loading room.even the melting pot did not give of lead fumes.

[Spector]

I used to power wire brush a lot of red lead paint in the Navy. I started collecting lead and casting ingots and round balls in 1980. I started reclaiming lead shot on our trap range last winter. First doing it only when the ground was wet and using water to clean the shot and return the water to the flat ground where the shot had come from. I collected 250 lbs. Last summer I began collecting shot when it was dry and collected another 200 lbs. I can recall the dust occasionally having a sweet taste to it. Through the years I have smelted a little over 1000 lbs of plumbers lead, water pipe and cable sheathing into ingots and another 800 pounds of wheel weights. I have cast in the garage with the door open on rainy days, but limit my casting to out of doors now and run a fan at my back. Oh yeah and in a real dumb moment back in the 80's I smelted a battery. And I always used to clamp split shot on my fishing line with my teeth. I still forget sometimes when I'm in a hurry, but I spit a lot now when I realize what I've done. ha ha I'm 61 now.

I had my lead level checked in 1998 since I was retiring and intended to do more casting. They have lost my medical records from then, but I recall the doctor telling me a number that I did not undertand. I asked for a layman's explanation. She said that children have less tollerance for lead than adults and that even if I was a child my lead level reading would be fine.

I had it tested again 6 weeks ago and it was 8. My new nurse practitioner told me the normal scale is 0-19.

I never knew that lead levels could fluctuate so much until I read this thread. I thought once you had the lead in you it pretty much stayed there. I think I'll have my lead level checked every few years now and wear a respirator if I decide to reclaim any more lead shot in the summer months..........Mike

[JohnH]

Gunfreak25 said, "You could walk the streets at night without fear of being mugged or raped......"

Maybe. Large cities or small, people are still capable of acting like animals. Some small towns were relatively crime free and at the same time terrible things happened in some very rural settings. "Natural Born Killers" was in part based on a young teen couple who murdered at least 4 people in the rural plains in the 1950's. My Great Uncle raped my sisters at the ages of 3-5 during the mid 1950's, we don't know how many other children he raped..... Good 'Ol Days????? Not to some.


Gunfreak25 said, "You could leave the doors on your house unlocked a night....."

I live in a very rural and secluded area and do this far more often than not, and it's almost 2009

Gunfreak25 said, "There were no teen pregnancies, mass shootings........"

I guess they didn't tell you about homes for unwed mothers or the Marine killing people on a Texas University campus


Gunfreak25 said, "I think now I'm going to go watch a good 60's show on TV and pretend I'm living in that era or something. The 60's were my grandparents favorite years. They made it sound like a really enjoyable time to be alive, I wish I could have been there with them. I know I know. Even years ago the world still had it's problems. I imagine having to dig a bomb shelter in your backyard was very scary back then........"

So was getting under your desk for nuclear strike drills, the assassinations of John Kennedy, Martin King and Bobby Kennedy. So was Detroit and Watts going up in flames and Mayor Daly calling out his police troops on the demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The bombings and murdes of the Civil Rights Era and so was Tricky Dick.

But many good things happened in those years as well. The discovery of DNA which may well hold the promise of the elimination of many inherited diseases. The eradication of small pox. The Cuban Missle Crisis. (We figured out how to not blow ourselves up for at least the following 40 years) And prolly most important, the introduction of the Ruger Blackhawk. (Yeah I know that was mid 1950's, still danged important though)

We tend to forget the bad and remember the good. It is the nature of how we are put together.

I'm not what might be called a religious kind of fella. I do believe that there is a struggle of right and wrong, good and evil, in our personal lives inteh world at large. Yes there are evil people in the world. As well, there are some very good people in the world. Sometimes they win and sometimes they don't. (Good or evil) But as has been said by another, "The only thing nessicary for evil men to win is for good men to do nothing" Stop sniveling, choose a side and get to work. Be the change you want to see in the world.

As to lead poisoning, I think it's chances of happening are vastly over estimated, and that the lead elimination program we are seeing is an act of the do gooders (as opposed to doing good) finding something they can force on others so that they can feel good about themselves. There is an inherent evil in that which must be fought and resisted in every possible way.

[zampilot]

else, like an elevated PSA, as I did in early January. In a way, casting saved my life. There aint no 'scuses really, just do it!

[sniper]

I had a lead level check after reading the first post: my level was 1.

[Tokarev]

I cast outside. This allows me to get even with the neigbours by adding some tire rubber to the pot sometimes when wind blows in the right direction. My neigbours are *******s

J. K.

[supv26]

I have never been tested for lead but there are several at work that are required to have a blood test once a year. They work the indoor shooting range and by our rules, no one is alowed past the shooting line without having on FULL HAZMAT gear. I have been getting lead from the trap but that is outside the range in a hall way near the elevator. I just open a little trap door and turn on the clean out device. It is a little dusty but I try not to breath any of it. Also, I have only done this a few times so I should be alright.

The other night, one of the guys from work was out and I was showing him some of my casting gear. The way he described it, I was going to be dead in short time for casting boolits if I didn't wear a full respirator! I do all my smelting outside but I do cast my boolits inside but I open the doors and have fans going to pull the air out. Plus I only use a 4 pound melter so I do not have much going at a time. Last night when I was fluxing I could see the smoke being drawn towards the window pretty hard so I think I should be ok. I think that if we cast boolits and smelted 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, then we should be concerned.

[Psycho0124]

I've been casting .45 ACP, .44 mag and 45-70s with my old man since the age of 8. Now, at 26, I have two boys of my own and fully intend on keeping with the tradition when they are old enough. A little bit of precaution (do it outside and stay upwind, don't eat stuff, don't chew your fingernails) goes a long way to avoiding contamination. Even smoking while he casts, my dad has never shown any symptom at all of lead poisoning even after 40 years and what must be a quarter-million rounds (200 rounds every weekend for 25 years).

I'd bet your in far more danger just driving around in your car than you ever would be casting or shooting. Plus casting is such a damn fun hobby, I would cast even if it was exceptionally hazardous.

[BigBlack]

I asked my doctor during my physical exam last year and he told me unless I was eating it I would be okay. He told me to be sure and wash up before eating or drinking, but I do that anyway.

Oh my lead level was normal

[ciPeterF]

I think everyone is unique.. we're (doc and I) are still trying to find what's keeping mine high.. (went up in the summer shooting outdoors).. right now the suspect is handling the lead while loading so we're in white glove mode.. (Being a thin skinned office guy might be letting me absorb thru the baby bottom fingers.. versus guys who do something other than pound a keyboard all day..