As I slowly get into shooting myself, I've spent some time looking at
the lead issue on that front.  Bullet casters (those who cast their own)
seem to have rather high concentrations of lead in their blood.  Don't
know if it comes from licking the molds afterwards or what, but it was
listed in several spots.  [I do my searching the "new" fashioned
way--Google--so I haven't kept track of references.]  It does not help
that most primers have some form of lead in them also; it seems really
fine lead dust (from the primer, from traces left on the bore if not
using jacketed rounds, and fragments from hitting the backstop, probably
a couple other places) is really easily absorbed (inhaled).  And of
course, it can land on skin or clothing or hair, and be injested at a
later date.  Or passed to other family members (washing machine, etc).

I read on one site this feller using basically a tumbler to clean brass.
That seems to me like a great way to airate any lead dust remaining on
the brass!  Hope he doesn't do it in his basement.

Anyhow, back to what I wondered about earlier: seems that decomposition
of lead bullets in the ground is one of those "depends" situations:
rounds that sink into deep water don't bother anything, shallow waters
can get ingested by critters (true on land too), but *some* soil types
can lead to more rapid decomposition.

Too bad that, after a couple thousand years of exposure, that we simply
haven't evolved to better tolerate the stuff...

Shawn Upton, KB1CKT
Test Engineer
Allegro MicroSystems, Inc
[log in to unmask]
603.626.2429/fax: 603.641.5336

-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dwight Mattix
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 1:07 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] Leadfree has gone too far.

Graham,
Call me if you ever go on the rocks with that sailboat.  I'll be there
with bells on; and an axe, chainsaw and battery powered circular saw in
hand to salvage that lead keel.
I've got a trailer and a 7.3L turbo diesel that'll pull several tons 
of salvage Pb.   Wha-hoo-ahh!

Some of us have a different type of lead poisoning. It's more of a
disease of the mind.  It involves scrounging wheel weights from tire
shops, smelting into muffin tin size ingots for later casting of
boolitts and shot.  Those with this disease can never have enough scrap
lead on hand  (my PRECIOUSSS).

The gold bugs and SHTF types are actively converting cash to gold. 
Forget that. Too much competition in that market.  I'm happily laying in
stocks of brass and lead.  :-)  I reckon those commodities along with
alcohol, tobacco and seed corn will be the currency of a TEOTWAKI
economy.  If the end doesn't come in our lifetime we've still got guns,
alcohol and an open flame under the smelter! What else does a high tech
redneck need for a rooting tooting good time?

Blue Ribbon, pork rinds, scrap Pb? Sounds like a dream road trip.  LOL.

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