"But I didn't inhale..."

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EvilGenius

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Hey guys.

I took my gf to the local range to have her shoot my AR (any AR for that matter) for the first time. She is left eye dominant so she shoots rifles & shotguns left handed and this brought up an issue.

After a few rounds into a mag the smoke and residue starts to build up in and around the ejection port (duh). About this time there's so much coming out that it was starting to bother her a bit. I'd noticed it too shooting, but since I'm right handed most stays away from my face.

Could this be a long term health issue? I'd read in the past that a large amount of the "lead dust/residue" nowadays is from the primers. Any credence to that?
 
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Yes. You can get lead poisoning long term. My son shoots left and I always have him wash his face and hands after shooting. Actually anyone should wash up after shooting. How many rounds and how long I don't know. But lead is cumulative. Meaning it stays in your body a long time allowing it to build up. I'm not trying to scare you but it's a good question and something you should be aware of. Mostly competitive shooters and those using indoor ranges are at highest risk. But someone like me that probably averages shooting once a week over the last 20+ years can add up. I have to go in for a physical with blood work and I'm going to ask to be checked for lead to be on the safe side. Good shooting.
 
It's quite possible. I'm a lefty. A few years ago when i was doing a lot of shooting and bullet casting, i went in for a checkup and there were elevated levels of lead in my blood. i figured 2+2=4, and scaled back on shooting my righty-semis like the 10/22 and AR, and the lead level in my blood dropped too.
 
Part of the problem might be that the gun is over gassed. I'm not promising anything but an adjustable gas block turned down to the minimum for reliable cycling might help.
 
Evil, I may have a solution: If this fine lady is marriage material, this friday (14 Feb) instead of just a bunch of cheap flowers, why don't you give her very own left-handed AR? You may have a perfect opportunity here. It worked for me nearly thirty years ago in a similar way, so it may work for you also.
 
Taliv, the OP's issue seems to be gas from the ejection port, not charging handle slot.

However, i'm tired of choking to death when I run a can on my AR so have been considering doing the same thing (or spending $100 on a gas buster which seems awfully overpriced for what it is). What material did you use to make your seal? Also, what did you do to get it to stick to the charging handle but not receiver? I've though about using grease or metallic tape.
 
I had high lead a while back so I use this for sorting WWs and tumbling media. I also still wear this if I am shooting indoors. It looks ridiculous but, after reading about some studies done about how unbelievably high the lead level is in the air at an indoor range, I was sold.

http://www.pksafety.com/asledu.html
 
A brass catcher might help to some degree.
Click to expand...

I'm right-handed and use a rigid brass catcher for a couple of my ARs. The rigid brass catcher exacerbates the gas-to-the-eyes problem.
 
Thanks for the info guys!

I know indoor ranges have their issues, but we really like the one we go to. It's brand new a few good friends work there and it's run very well. So we're going to have to see if we can find a way to remedy this or reduce it a reasonable amount. Could be as simple as talking them into turning the air up a bit in the rifle area.
 
splithoof said:
Evil, I may have a solution: If this fine lady is marriage material, this friday (14 Feb) instead of just a bunch of cheap flowers, why don't you give her very own left-handed AR? You may have a perfect opportunity here. It worked for me nearly thirty years ago in a similar way, so it may work for you also.
Click to expand...
Funny you meantion that.

She's a reserve LEO that is going to be going back into full time hopefully this year. Her academy and previous dept only dealt with shotguns so she never got a chance to shoot or train on an AR or any modern "sporting" type of rifle. So dealing with having the ejection port right by her face is a new thing. However she's a mean machine with a pistol and shotgun.

I've bought her a few guns and tons of ammo and accessories over the years instead of flowers, etc. and it works!

I'd considered getting her her own AR and may at some point. I've also considered making mine more ambi friendly. But since she's a LEO and will likely have to train on and use one later I decided it'd be more beneficial to force her to run a right handed only rifle from a left handers perspective, that way she can pick up any AR and understand what to do without having remember or learn something new in a possible high stress situation.
 
While right handed I am left eye dominant and subsequently shoot left handed. I have never had a problem with smoke or fumes as a result of shooting long guns left handed.

Many years ago a range I was shooting at (indoor) had many shooters coming up with high lead levels in their blood. The cause was poor ventilation. On a good well maintained indoor range there should be a constant flow of fresh air coming in. A good range heats the fresh air during the winter months. My current indoor range has good ventilation so smoke never accumulates as the air is always moving.

Last resort would be a surgical mask like a painting mask but it should never come to that at a good, well maintained range.

Just My Take
Ron
 
If I may veer a bit on the OP's topic:

So do highroad'ers think lead levels be an issue if one shoots mostly outdoor shotgun sports?

I would think that the fresh air, reletively low round count, and design of a shotgun and washing up afterwards would minimize this...

I'm not an avid shotgunner, but have been contemplating joining a trap league.
 
As others have suggested, lead free ammo is available and would be an excellent idea. It is more expensive that regular ammo and has a limited shelf life, but for practice only it works fine.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/AMM-286
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fiocchi-Ammunition-Lead-Free/705991.uts
http://www.luckygunner.com/223-rem-45-gr-frangible-lead-free-fiocchi-50-rounds
etc.

If I may veer a bit on the OP's topic:

So do highroad'ers think lead levels be an issue if one shoots mostly outdoor shotgun sports?

I would think that the fresh air, reletively low round count, and design of a shotgun and washing up afterwards would minimize this...

I'm not an avid shotgunner, but have been contemplating joining a trap league.
Click to expand...
I think outdoors shooting would certainly result in far less lead exposure than indoor ranges, especially poorly ventilated ones. As long as you wash your hands after shooting/cleaning the gun, especially before eating or smoking, I think your exposure would be practically nil.
 
For those of you who didn't bother to read the NIOSH paper, they suspect that trans-dermal (ie. thru the skin) and/or ingestion is responsible for elevated blood lead levels more-so than inhaled lead, as the indoor range in the case study had just installed a very sophisticated ventilation system.

So yes, wash your hands with soap after handing any lead. And be especially careful when you eat and drink around firearms. A little bit isn't going to hurt anyone, but in the NIOSH paper, these were instructors who were on the range 8 hours a day+ and it was their occupation, not say a hobby/choice like reloading.
 
From what I understand, the lead comes from the primer compound, not the bullets
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Yes, regular noncorrosive ammo uses a mixture of lead styphnate, and I think lead azide, as the priming compound. Lead-free ammo not only uses non-lead bullets, but also a lead-free primer (diazodinitrophenol). Unfortunately lead styphnate has a shelf life of decades whereas the substitutes only last 5 years or so, hence lead-free is FAR less reliable if not fresh. Hence it is suitable only for practice ammo, but in that role it is useful in the indoor-range role.

Good thread here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/379208_Lead_Free_Primers.html
 
Perhaps a piston driven upper would help reduce her lead and gas exposure when shooting left shoulder? There are piston uppers that are completely compatable with standard lowers (Adams Arms/Huldra for example). The gasses are vented up at the front sight instead of in your face at the bolt carrier and charging handle channel.
 
I'm left handed and addressed this (and other left-hand challenging aspects of shooting) by getting left-hand versions of nearly all of the long guns I own:
A .22lr AR with a LH CMMG Revo upper
A .223 Tikka bolt rifle in LH
A .308 Tikka Sporter bolt rifle in LH
A .223 Stag 3GL - left hand AR (just sold)
A .223 Tavor .223 - left hand (just bought)
Truth is, I hate having to use the 'wrong hand' to operate the bolt, hate having the shells fly across my face shooting a semi, and am always worried about some errant flash (never thought about the smoke) due to a bolt/ammo failure being in my line of sight.
So, get her a LH gun if she's going to remain your GF and will go to the range often.
B
 
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