LEAD vs. "non-toxic" ammo: what's the deal?

[Superlite27]

In another thread about the cost of shooting, another poster was looking for "lead free" ammo in order not to harm the environment. Since the thread was about cost, I didn't want to hijack. My main problem was the "lead free" part.

He stated he wanted to use lead free ammo "for the obvious environmental reasons".

Am I the only dense one? If these environmental reasons are so obvious, why can't I obviously see them? Why do we mine lead FROM THE GROUND, yet putting it back is considered "polluting"? I've been casting lead for years. Shouldn't I have keeled over dead by now? I was unaware that lead was even digestible. I was under the assumption that lead was only bad if it entered your bloodstream. Is there a problem with children and small animals eaing it in other parts of the country? I figure since this lead is so attractive to ingest, I might see gulls and other scavengers peeling wheel weights off of parked cars. I might consider baiting some traps with sinkers if I knew how desirable this lead was to eat.

Anyone care to tell this poor uneducated soul what the "obvious environmental reasons" for lead free ammo is? I'm either not that well informed, or I'm choosing to learn the actual facts about the toxicity of lead instead of parroting what I've heard.

I mean, if someone can show me actual scientific proof that lead is killing the planet, I'm not too hard headed to change my mind. It's just that I would like some physical evidence that it is true instead of regurgitating the crap that the bark eaters are trying to feed me.

 

[Radagast]

Lead is a poisonous heavy metal. It can be ingested, or breathed in.
Firing lead or jacketed bullets with exposed lead bases results in vaporization of some lead, which becomes airborne.

Most primers contain lead and this too becomes airborne when the gun is fired.

People who shoot a lot on indoor ranges tend to have elevated lead levels, people who eat without washing when shooting on outdoor ranges also tend to have elevated lead levels.
There has been a discussion of this on the Australian IPSC forum recently and a number of my friends have had blood tests showing high or very high levels of lead in their blood as a result of poor range hygiene.

Airborne lead will also permeate your clothing, there is a real chance of bringing lead dust into your home, especially if you shoot in poorly ventilated environments. This is not good if you have small children.

Lead affects IQ and IIRC, brain and bone development in young children - basically it is a slow poison. I never had myself tested for blood levels, but after a number of years of shooting up to 500 rounds a week I found myself getting 'slow'. After cutting back to shooting once every couple of months for two years I feel my ability to think has improved.

Lead fired into range backstops is not really an environmental worry, lead is heavy and does not travel easily. It becomes a problem if the range is going to be redeveloped for some other purpose.

Some water birds ingest stones to grind food in their gizzard. If they ingest lead shot from the bottom of lakes instead this will cause slow lead poisoning.
Predator species that live on carrion, such as Condors, can also be poisoned by ingesting lead shot/bullets in game that has been killed but not recovered.
This is one of the reasons for the banning of lead shot for hunting ducks.

Sintered metal bullets with lead free primers are the 'healthiest' option for range shooting, followed by fully enclosed bullets (jacket covers the bottom of the bullet) with lead free primers.
Unfortunately lead free primers have a short shelf life, are more prone to miss fires and seem to give erratic burn rates.

Its 20 to one in the morning here in OZ, I have to crash, but if no one else posts more detailed info I'll try and dig up some links for you tomorrow.

 

[jcwit]

Started shooting lead bullets back in 1950-1951, I now get my blood levels checked every 6 months for other reasons. Lead levels run Very low in the sgl. digits. Am I worried now, not hardly. My driving to and from the ranges I frequent is probably much more dangerous.

Kids around lead-not a good thing.
Lead around adults using some common sense not so bad. With all the lead around us every day people should be dropping like flies.

Right now the U.S. is more concerned with the swine flu, 2 or 3 deaths in a population of 300,000,000. People need to get a life.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

There have been plenty of threads about lead and most of them don't start out as condescending as this one did.