Hamish
Member
With a newborn in the house, my wife insisted I stop reloading to prevent our son from being exposed to lead dust. I managed a compromise.
We tested various surfaces around the house for lead, and only hit one positive on a carpet that was near my corn cob tumbler. I threw away the carpet. No signs of lead anywhere else in the house - "for now" as she puts it. I've made a number of changes to my reloading setup - but is there anything I'm missing? I know lead can mess a child up quite a bit, and his health (and my wife's happiness) is more important than my reloading. I have enough ammo to shoot if I have to put it off for a few years.
I reload pistol and rifle - no shotgun shot to worry about. I do not cast my own bullets, so nothing to worry about there. I only load FMJ bullets now, but the pistol bullets have an exposed base.
I ditched the media in my corn cob tumbler, cleaned it and stored it. I'll save it for tumbling lube off of rifle cases. I purchased a Thumler's Tumbler Model B to wet tumble my brass in stainless steel media. The thing works like a charm, even if you can only tumble small batches at a time. I pour the dirty water down the toilet.
Primers, when decaped, go straight into a 2-liter soda bottle via a hose, which is capped when I'm finished for the day. The shop vac has a HEPA filter on it to keep things clean. Dirty brass is stored in plastic jars until I decap and tumble it. All reloading activity takes place in a shed/workshop attached to the back of the house. My son doesn't come out there now, but in a few years when he is older he will.
When I get back from the range, outer layers of clothes go straight into the washing machine, and I take a shower to get the dust (if any) out of my hair. I keep a pair of range shoes in the car that never come inside.
Is there anything I'm missing? I know I can't be 100% safe unless I stop going to the range - and that's a last resort. I'm waiting for the results of a blood test for my lead level as well. Your input is appreciated.
We tested various surfaces around the house for lead, and only hit one positive on a carpet that was near my corn cob tumbler. I threw away the carpet. No signs of lead anywhere else in the house - "for now" as she puts it. I've made a number of changes to my reloading setup - but is there anything I'm missing? I know lead can mess a child up quite a bit, and his health (and my wife's happiness) is more important than my reloading. I have enough ammo to shoot if I have to put it off for a few years.
I reload pistol and rifle - no shotgun shot to worry about. I do not cast my own bullets, so nothing to worry about there. I only load FMJ bullets now, but the pistol bullets have an exposed base.
I ditched the media in my corn cob tumbler, cleaned it and stored it. I'll save it for tumbling lube off of rifle cases. I purchased a Thumler's Tumbler Model B to wet tumble my brass in stainless steel media. The thing works like a charm, even if you can only tumble small batches at a time. I pour the dirty water down the toilet.
Primers, when decaped, go straight into a 2-liter soda bottle via a hose, which is capped when I'm finished for the day. The shop vac has a HEPA filter on it to keep things clean. Dirty brass is stored in plastic jars until I decap and tumble it. All reloading activity takes place in a shed/workshop attached to the back of the house. My son doesn't come out there now, but in a few years when he is older he will.
When I get back from the range, outer layers of clothes go straight into the washing machine, and I take a shower to get the dust (if any) out of my hair. I keep a pair of range shoes in the car that never come inside.
Is there anything I'm missing? I know I can't be 100% safe unless I stop going to the range - and that's a last resort. I'm waiting for the results of a blood test for my lead level as well. Your input is appreciated.
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