Is it okay to shoot lead pellets at home?

[JSBmatch]

I'm not clear on how these rules for air pistols are made by the various countries such as Australia and the US States.

In the UK an air pistol must not exceed 6ft pounds of muzzle energy. If it does, it then falls under the UK fire arms catigory and you have to apply for an FAC licence. Air rifles have a top limit of 12ft pounds of muzzle energy, and any thing above that will require an FAC.

Most of the target air rifles we see today are about 7ft pounds of muzzle energy and the target pistols around 4/5ft pounds.

The 7ft pound figure is in part due to the German law where air rifles cannot exceed this figure, and because their home market was so large, they adopted this figure for all match shooting and export match weapons were the same. It just so happened that these power figures for air pistol and rifle were well suited to the 10-m distance.

JSB

[FredB]

I'm not clear on how these rules for air pistols are made by the various countries such as Australia and the US States.

The rules are made by legislators with no knowledge of firearms or airguns, attempting to appeal to a large constituency equally lacking in knowledge of firearms or airguns, by severely restricting the harmless activities of a small group of people who have no political influence.

[biggles1024]

I'm not clear on how these rules for air pistols are made by the various countries such as Australia and the US States.

The rules are made by legislators with no knowledge of firearms or airguns, attempting to appeal to a large constituency equally lacking in knowledge of firearms or airguns, by severely restricting the harmless activities of a small group of people who have no political influence.

Got it one, FredB.

And look how successful such draconian legislation has been in the UK in preventing this latest tragedy.

[peterz]

Anybody want to bet on whether the 2012 Olympic shooting events will have to be moved to Continental Europe or maybe Ireland because all guns will be banned in the UK by then?

[Bill32]

BILL32. Are you saying it's OK to drive while being 4 times over the drink limit as long as you don't get caught......If you do get caught , expect heavy fines.. Meanwhile try to get the law changed . Don't ask me how but support those who are trying. Thruxton.

No, I would say anyone who drinks and drives is a bloody idiot. Four times over the limit. is 0.20 in Aus or .32 in the US. Frankly I woul be unconcious before I hit those limits. In Aus it's basicaly two drinks and then one each hour after. Particularly when you have a high likelyhood of being pulled over for a random breath test. There is no probable cause requirements in Aus.

Chances are you are going to plow into an innocent family out for a drive, and kill a bunch of innocent people.

You are comparing that with shooting AP in your house. Why would the two be comparable?

If one can accept that an air rifle and air pistol are capable of the same amount of damage in reckless hands, there is no violation in my mind between dry firing an air pistol and shooting it in a safe manner in the privacy of your home.

[JSBmatch]

The original question was about shooting an air pistol at home and worries about lead contamination. As long as you can contain the pellet in a strong pellet catcher/target holder and as one post said stuff it with old rags, you should keep lead contamination to a minimum.

As for laws in whatever country you live in about home ranges. Why worry, your shooting is out of sight and in your own property. So are the cops going to break in and catch you in the act. I don't think so. Just get on with it and stop worrying.

JSB

[zuckerman]

Peterz posted this:
>Anybody want to bet on whether the 2012 Olympic shooting events will >have to be moved to Continental Europe or maybe Ireland because all >guns will be banned in the UK by then?

ifn you wanna make a real bet on this go to:
http://www.longbets.org/

otherwise, this subject has been hijacked. please limit your responses to the subject.

on the the subject on lead pellet shooting in the basement of your house. my opinion is that as long as you wash your hands after handling the pellets, you stand more of a chance for radon gas exposure than you do lead absorption. You can, if you are really worried, ask your doctor for a blood test for lead, and another after a year of shooting, and compare... let the forum know if you do this, would be a real data point, albeit only one.

[paulo]

I am at an acceptable level, but knowing how much comes from the environment, breading fumes when pumping gas to the car, pellets, indoor range solid and air born particulates, primers versus bullet loading, etc... is a challenge.

What does the test result mean?
The higher the test result, the more lead is in the blood. However, the amount of lead in the blood does not necessarily reflect the total amount of lead in the body. This is because lead travels from the lungs and intestinal tract to the blood and organs, and then is gradually removed from the blood and organs and stored in tissues such as bones and teeth. The danger that a particular lead level represents depends on the age and health of the person, the amount of lead they are exposed to, and the amount of time that they are exposed to elevated lead levels.

Exposure to lead is not healthy for anyone, but children are more vulnerable to its effects. The national health goal is to have every child's blood lead level below 10 micrograms per deciliter by the year 2010. Any test results above this level trigger management and monitoring. Recent studies suggest that there may not be any safe lead level for children, that even below 10 micrograms per deciliter, some children will have cognitive impairment. If further studies support this, then the recommended lead levels may be lowered again in the future.

For non-pregnant adults, a level below 25 micrograms per deciliter is generally considered to be acceptable. If a worker has levels above 45 micrograms per deciliter, he must be removed from lead exposure until his blood lead level drops below 40 micrograms per deciliter. Removal may also be recommended if he is symptomatic at any level below 70 micrograms per deciliter.

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ABLES/a ... ption.html

[Richard H]

Wow Paulo not sure why you asked the question when it seems that you have the answers.

Personally as long as proper hygiene is practiced I feel both air pistol and air rifle are low risk activities. I think there greater things to worry about.

[paulo]

Two people in my club came up with 29 and 34 values, and the indoor range was closed until further notice. It prompted me to study and ask the question then, so I decided to get tested and I have my result now, but there is a lot to be aware I wasn't before when I asked the question, I hope the ones that didn't have the information now can read about it.
Personal hygiene is not the sole solution either but it helps.