Well... looks like I'm out of reloading...

[GoodOlBoy]

Yet another Dr has given me the long face and verified that I can't handle lead anymore due to the increased risks of the cancer returning. Even asking about handling j-words for reloading gets me "the look". So, between all of that. My hands being shaky, and my eyes goin' from bad to worse.... Yeah, I'm pretty well out of reloading. I can still hunt, long as I minimize lead exposure. Mostly looks like it's me back to the old single shot 20 gauge from now on. I started with the old 20, guess it's fittin' that the rest of my time is mostly with her. Guess I'll have to start sortin' and sellin' most of it. I looked in the reloading room and shook my head. Just too overwhelming to start on right now. Got three five gallon buckets of lead on my front porch that I can't lift for the hernias, and can't dig through for the lead. Dunno what I'm going to do there.... Some of it I can't bear to let go, I'll just pack that stuff away in the hopes that someday I'll be able to mess with it again. But the rest. Yeah I think we'll convert the reloading room back to a guest room and office. Heck I think I've still got two unopened jugs of Lars lube in there too.... plus powder.... primers, and I dunno what all...

A little advice for those just starting out reloading. When folks tell you it all starts to breed, and stuff just crawls in through the ducts and you dunno where it will have all come from.... We ain't kiddin'... And it is worth it. Good Lord help you if George starts droppin' stuff in the piles too! Safe reloading is one of the best times I've had in my life this side of a fishin' pole, or bowlin' alley.

So, hopefully before the end of the month I'll try to start posting bits here and there for sale in S&S. Heck if I can get enough out of it maybe I'll be able to buy me a case of them fancy RST paper shotgun shells for spring squirrel season in May. Such a pile to go through...

You know I knew this was comin'... I wanted to fight it... but if it's down to a choice between livin' or dyin' from something I can help prevent... Yeah I'll take the livin'...

Anyway just thought I would share.

God Bless.

GoodOlBoy

[Conditor22]

Sorry to hear about your health.

There are a lot of CB members in Texas, maybe some of them would help you.

[nagantguy]

So upright and taking nourishment and pondering hunting with a single
20 till the last day; a 20 of found memory. Not being cold or rude but I’ve heard worse news.
It stinks ; and it hurts I’m sure, if I was closer I’d help ya sort your stuff.
Wish the best to you and yours, and you weren’t kidding the stuff multiplies and shows up on it’s own; just went through a 30’cal ammo can full of primed match lake
City 06 brass. No idea how or where it came from.

[JBinMN]

Sorry to hear about your health.

There are a lot of CB members in Texas, maybe some of them would help you.

Yes, I agree!

Sad to hear of your decision, but in the end, I reckon you will be alright once ya figure out just what it is ya want to do. I hope you find that you still get the enjoyment out of doing what ya "can" do.


M.D.s are sometimes "wrong", ya know.


You are gonna be the one making the final decision(s)... I hope you keep on keepin' on & can still do what YOU like to do, until you absolutely can't anymore...

Best wishes! Regardless of what ya decide to do.

[nicholst55]

My condolences, but the one thing that's certain in this life is that we'll never get out of it alive. Since you can't use your reloading gear any longer, do yourself and your family a favor, and send it down the road. That's my advice, anyway. When we moved my stuff from Maryland to Arizona, I realized how much **** I have accumulated over the years - mostly since I retired from active duty around 20 years earlier. I gave away a lot of stuff. I threw away a lot of stuff. Then we loaded it up and took it to Arizona. A few years later when we left Arizona to return to Korea, I sorted through it all again. I realized that my wife and kids will have to sort this lot out when I'm dead, so I resolved to decrease their workload significantly. I sold a good bit of stuff. I gave away a lot of stuff. I threw away a lot of stuff. Then I loaded the remainder into a U-Haul and drug it to Houston and left it in a friend's garage. That was before Hurricane Harvey. A gentleman on this forum volunteered to clean up my reloading gear after Harvey, so hopefully he was able to salvage some of it. I still haven't seen it, so I don't know. It was underwater for an unknown period of time, so I expect that much of it is a loss.

[smoked turkey]

GoodOlBoy I am so sorry to hear the fact that you need to stop doing something you love to do because of health reasons. I do understand that you have made a hard decision based on the educated advice from your doctor. I'll still pray that the Great Physician will intercede for you and give you your good health back. I would think that perhaps some of the solid copper bullets in a small caliber might just allow you some occasional target work. Punching paper is not all bad.

[BrassMagnet]

Dead Doctors Don't Lie!
That used to be the title of a paid radio advertising show, but it was true.
Additionally, Live Doctors fear malpractice lawsuits. Liberals decide what is normal and many fear they will be ruined if they don't toe the party line.

Do what you want to do. Enjoy life.

[Andy]

Could you just wear nitrile gloves during all stages of reloading and wipe off the loaded cases when you're done? That would certainly cut the lead issue 100% out of the equation, especially if using jacketed bullets. I do this out of convenience if I'm watching the baby and have to be able to stop and pick him up without wanting to get lead etc on him I can just take off the gloves quick instead of having to wash up.

Or perhaps the other issues you mentioned make it a done deal beyond the lead concern on it's own. Either way I wish you the best and hope you can retain as much as possible of firearms/hunting/reloading in your life.

[GhostHawk]

Ouch!

The one thing you can count on in life is change. It happens all along the whole route.

Roll with it best you can.

[sureYnot]

Sorry to hear all that. There may be options so you can keep playing. http://www.huntingwithnonlead.org/bullet_types.html
Take care.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[Peregrine]

I'd get a second opinion on that, the effects of lead exposure are cumulative and have a long latency. Question is how much you'd really increase the amount of lead in your body compared to what you already have in there, and how much of an additional difference in relative cancer risk it would make. I'd say basically none.
I say keep loading, all we really have in this life is the people we love and the things we enjoy doing.

[MaryB]

J-words should be fine. Start with new brass to eliminate led hanging in it. Unless you have had elevated lead levels I think you ran into an anti gun doc!

[BigAlofPa.]

I hope things improve. My last lead check was 17 and change. I stopped snacking when loading and use exam gloves and a dust mask when working with tumbling. And added a hepa air purifier to the room.

[abunaitoo]

Anti-gun doctor?????
I can't see why reloading with condom bullets would be a problem.

[WarEagleEd]

I would think that perhaps some of the solid copper bullets in a small caliber might just allow you some occasional target work. Punching paper is not all bad.

This was my thought. Perhaps your doctor is not aware that there are bullets that contain no lead whatsoever. It's worth asking your physician about it.

Ed

[RogerDat]

Bummed to hear of your health issues. One often just has to roll with what is and not worry about what isn't to be.

Lead level of 17 isn't super high but it isn't good either. As I recall it is just short of where OSHA would require monthly blood test if the lead exposure was work related.

Primer dust when cleaning brass is a big source of lead, a little splash of mineral spirits in the dry media run for 5 minutes before adding brass all but eliminated dust. A small piece of dryer sheet in the media can also help. Indoor ranges without adequate ventilation can expose you to a lot of intake. Nitrile gloves each and every time handling lead or brass or anything reloading related helpes. When I have on leather gloves for casting or smelting there is a pair of nitrile gloves on inside those leather gloves just in case I take the leather gloves off for a bit to pick up something. I buy the bulk boxes of the gloves at harbor freight. It worked I went down by around 5 over the year between annual physicals with these changes, still reloading. I also change clothes to some really old jeans and shirt when doing really grungy work with lead like sorting WW's I then change clothes as soon as I'm done. I'm sub 5 now and the specialist said he wasn't worried at the peak which was just over 10 as I recall, his lack of concern was based on the source was known and the level was very moderate, and going down not up as I applied changes to my routine.

There are a lot of casters and reloaders in Texas and you may well find one or more that will volunteer to give you a hand to help keep you in ammo or take some of your supplies off your hands at fair prices.. Good hunting, good health and fair weather to you sir.

[mozeppa]

brass magnet said something that triggered a thought....

there are more really old bums, wino's and the like with a bushy full head of hair then there
are really old doctors with hair.

think about that one!

[Skunk1]

Sorry to hear about your situation. Be patient, things can change. Don’t do something out of haste that you will regret later. The buckets won’t go anywhere soon and may multiply.

[Petrol & Powder]

Sounds like an anti-gun doctor to me.

If the doctor didn't know you reloaded or had anything to do with firearms, I wonder what the diagnoses would be?

I've seen a lot of personal bias seep into the medical field.

[Smoke4320]

Something is rotten in Denmark. I would hold on to all the reloading equipment and load jacketed bullets.
Sell off the lead and be happy the rest of my days. The amount of lead you would ever be exposed to shooting jacketed bullets is negligible at best.
Sounds like an anti gun DR.
But that is a decision you have to make