I've been fooling with Sharps rifles and cast lead bullets since 2005, cast lead bullets in general [lever rifles/revolvers] since roughly 1990, I had always wondered if I was slowly poisoning myself or my Wife, took a blood lab test for lead last week, Doc called a few minutes ago, my lead level is negative!

Wonderful news to me, just finished casting 160 500 gr flat nosed grease groove bullets for my 1891 year model '86 45-70 lever gun, I also have several [8 or 9] 40 round Sharps rifle shell belts laying on a couch beside where Wife watches TV and at times naps there, along with a half dozen leather belt rigs loaded with Sharps, lever action, and SA revolver cast lead bullets in their loops.

Just throwing out an FYI, cast away men, I'm going to cast, size, lube, load, shoot, and hunt with these cast lead slinging rifles and revolvers as long as I can walk in the woods carrying them!

I’m of the general opinion that casting bullets isn’t an effective way to poison yourself. It’s possible that shooting yourself would be more effective, assuming of course a lead bullet is used.

Not just casting, but CONTINUALLY handling them, I have cast bullets loaded up in differing shell casings on this table I'm typing and reading the fire on, have them on a table by my chair in the den, the table by the bed, hell, even on the long counter in my bathroom next to the crapper, I like lead bullets man, am constantly fumbling with them between my fingers when not working.

And, when I call on any one of those to deliver the meat when hunting season rolls around, they do, be it a BPCR or revolver round loaded with black powder, or a simple round ball I cast myself, thoroughly enjoying a hobby enough that you're 100% familiar with all aspects of it is a win/win/win, whether shooting a deer at 10 feet or steel 700 yards away.

In December of 2018 while submitting a blood sample for a cardiac care checkup I had them take enough to run a total lead content. It also came back non detect, imagine my surprise after casting bullets for 43 years and handling lead items. Sometimes on bad weather weekends I'd cast for 8-10 hrs a day both days. As I understand it molten lead vapor at a temp far above what anyone casts at is harmful. Lead dust ingested by eating or drinking when you haven't cleaned up will get you into a lead problem healthwise. The lying liberal left promotes this whole toxicity business far beyond a normal level because they want to ban lead, another way to get rid of sport shooting and firearms ownership. Yeah I think it's just that simple period. MB

LOL, damn Bob, we were typing the same time, and agreed fully, all I had to really remember was a story my old Boss told me decades ago, his Son was some kind of state Chief Coroner, seems at one time they autopsied an old Mountain Man, Boss told me they got a pound or two of lead shot from that old mans guts, guessing he ingested it over a lifetime of hunting, then eating his kills, they were able to locate some kin of the old man, iirc he was near 90 years old when he died.

Ya, just think, if that old man would have cleaned all the lead shot out of his kills he may have lived to be 91!

Some more bullshlt that remains ""UNKNOWN"" to the state of california!""

Gunner ,he didn't get his lead content from eating it but from swallowing it. Them old mtn men would put a few balls in their mouth for reloading a horse back. They'd tilt the muzzle up drop in a load a powder and spit a ball right down the bore out of their mouth slap the butt again their leg, prime their pan and were ready to shoot on the run. I Imagine for ever jump over rough ground the horse made a few of them mouth balls ended up down their belly. It were a good thing those leftist bastards weren't around back then or the rest of us might not have a heritage to honor and follow.MB

Did the have the patch wrapped around their balls?
As a toxicoligist explained it to me, lead being a heavy metal will not show up in blood test. It concentrates in the tissues and joints. The only true test is to sample the tissues or have a hair analysis. The Canadian government recognized this during the ww. And started testing its pilots and making chelation Available to them. Just my 2 cents

Don't think they bothered with a patch while loading on the run..... no I doubt if any of them bothered with under ware either but I never checked.

Thanks for that info deerstalker, i'll have Doc set me up with a hair sample test too, I literally live with lead.

The only guy I ever heard of with lead problems shot a lot indoors at a local pistol range. I don't think there is enough smoke to do anything outdoors or in very well ventilated indoor facilities.

Seems like the Mayo Clinic feels a blood test is sufficient.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-poisoning/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354723

I keep hearing the fake news about how bad lead bullets are if you eat a fragment etc. Funny that there are no examples within the millions of hunters and family members who have eaten game taken with lead shot or bullets over the last two centuries.

Thanks 30338, same/same with the story my old Boss told of the near 90 year old mountain man with 2lbs lead shot in his guts at autopsy.