2 ms·

Even though they were center fire, they were .177 lead pellets and I doubt they have that. I'll check it out, though. I actually have had blood tests and nothi

by bpchaps 10y ago

Even though they were center fire, they were .177 lead pellets and I doubt they have that. I'll check it out, though. I actually have had blood tests and nothing came from it. They're not very useful years after the fact.

paulmd 10y ago
The pellets have nothing to do with it - the lead styphnate is used as the primer charge (which then detonates the gunpower). That's why it tends to be aerosolized.
- bpchaps 10y ago
  Again, they were pellets. In an air rifle. ;)
  - paulmd 10y ago
    Then it's not a centerfire cartridge - there's no cartridge nor primer in an air rifle :) I thought centerfire + small pellets meant you were talking about birdshot though a shotgun, like competitive skeet or trap shooting. But I guess there aren't too many indoor ranges for that (although there is at least one - the MSZU complex in Germany). Or perhaps one of the .177 cartridges like .17 HM2. So we're probably talking about lead contamination on your hands, then. You can clean that off by washing your hands, and as long as you did so after shooting and particularly before you eat, I think you'd probably have been fine. But I'm not a doctor.
    - bpchaps 10y ago
      Well, there was rim fire and there was centerfire. The only reason I know that is because the rim fire rifles couldn't be dry fired. Specifically, I was shooting anschutz rifles (at a busy train station or else I'd google it :p.) The hand contamination was definitely a thing. We weren't ever advised on washing our hands properly, so that risk is pretty high especially considering we would often eat snacks after. It was pretty irresponsible of all parties, but I have a hard time blaming my 16 year old self and my peers. The coach should've known better, though. The other concern was that here was a trap 10m down the line which flew up dust - apparently it was too expensive to clean (go figure). We'd sweep the ground, too, which kicked up a surprising amount of fine dust. Can't say for sure how much of that was lead. I've thought about raising this as a legal issue, but if doctors can't take it seriously, I wouldn't even know where to begin on the legal front.

by bpchaps 10y ago

paulmd 10y ago

The pellets have nothing to do with it - the lead styphnate is used as the primer charge (which then detonates the gunpower). That's why it tends to be aerosolized.

bpchaps 10y ago
Again, they were pellets. In an air rifle. ;)
- paulmd 10y ago
  Then it's not a centerfire cartridge - there's no cartridge nor primer in an air rifle :) I thought centerfire + small pellets meant you were talking about birdshot though a shotgun, like competitive skeet or trap shooting. But I guess there aren't too many indoor ranges for that (although there is at least one - the MSZU complex in Germany). Or perhaps one of the .177 cartridges like .17 HM2. So we're probably talking about lead contamination on your hands, then. You can clean that off by washing your hands, and as long as you did so after shooting and particularly before you eat, I think you'd probably have been fine. But I'm not a doctor.
  - bpchaps 10y ago
    Well, there was rim fire and there was centerfire. The only reason I know that is because the rim fire rifles couldn't be dry fired. Specifically, I was shooting anschutz rifles (at a busy train station or else I'd google it :p.) The hand contamination was definitely a thing. We weren't ever advised on washing our hands properly, so that risk is pretty high especially considering we would often eat snacks after. It was pretty irresponsible of all parties, but I have a hard time blaming my 16 year old self and my peers. The coach should've known better, though. The other concern was that here was a trap 10m down the line which flew up dust - apparently it was too expensive to clean (go figure). We'd sweep the ground, too, which kicked up a surprising amount of fine dust. Can't say for sure how much of that was lead. I've thought about raising this as a legal issue, but if doctors can't take it seriously, I wouldn't even know where to begin on the legal front.