Anyone shoot in their house?

[cloudswimmer]

In the past I've shot 10m AP standing in my small entryway to the garage and diagonally across the floor of my two car garage into a Gehman 10m metal backed trap in the far corner, it's exact ally 10 meters or 32.5 feet. Well fast forward four years later to now and I'm getting back into AP, but I now have a non running huge jeep right smack dab in the middle of the firing line, and a bunch of boxes and other stuff piled high.

So I've been eyeing out my hallway. My whole house including the kitchen is short shag carpet not in the best of shape. I could stand in the far end of the kitchen, shoot down the hallway and put the Gehman trap in the upper hallway cabinet which would put it at the proper height, and stuff some old towels Behind it to catch the flyers. The distance would be exactally 10 meters, perfect! After shooting is done it's just a matter of closing the cabinet door and no one would ever know I was there. It's just me and my wife living here, and she works at night so it's just lonesome old me, no worries taking anyone's eye out :)

So I thought I had just devised the perfect home indoor range plan, however I just read this:

https://www.usashooting.org/library/You ... SASCMP.pdf

Now I'm a little apprehensive about the idea. So anyone shooting at home indoors? If so I'd like to hear your experiences, how you do it and where.

Chris

[shaky hands]

Look, you are old, meaning you are unlikely to have any brain or other development problems. Metallic lead's toxicity is fairly low. The main concern for shooters is inhaling lead styphnate vapors from exploding primers in powder guns. If you are worried, why don't you simply measure your blood lead level in a few months (or during your next physical). If it is elevated, you can always discontinue your home practice.

[cloudswimmer]

[quote="shaky hands"]Look, you are old, meaning you are unlikely to have any brain or other development problems. Metallic lead's toxicity is fairly low. The main concern for shooters is inhaling lead styphnate vapors from exploding primers in powder guns. If you are worried, why don't you simply measure your blood lead level in a few months (or during your next physical). If it is elevated, you can always discontinue your home.

Thanks

[Rover]

Page Thirteen tells you everything you need to know.

"WHAT CONCLUSIONS WERE REACHED AS A RESULT OF LEAD TESTS DESCRIBED IN THIS BOOKLET?  There is no scientific evidence that firing lead projectiles in target airguns with velocities of less than 600 fps. generates any detectable airborne lead.  There is no medical evidence that shooters who handle lead pellets in accordance with established hygiene procedures, will develop elevated lead levels that require medical intervention.  Anyone who handles lead pellets during air rifle or air pistol shooting can effectively minimize their lead exposure by washing their hands after firing and by not consuming food materials on the range.  Lead residues are deposited on the floors of air gun ranges in the area between the firing line and the target, but the proper management of downrange movement by range officials and shooters and the employment of proper range cleaning procedures effectively minimizes any health risks associated with these lead residues.  Pellet traps that do the best job of capturing and holding spent pellets and pellet fragments must be used. Only adult supervisors who take proper precautions should handle lead pellet residues that are collected in pellet traps after firing."

If there are any problems, you obviously need to clean up your act. You would probably be better off shooting into a box of rags, which could then be discarded en masse (no fragments or dust).

[Gwhite]

Here is a few data points on how terribly hazardous lead is NOT:

When I was on a collegiate pistol team in the early 1970's, the bullet traps were steel plates at a 45 degree angle, with a sand bed underneath. Over time, the lead would build up in the back, and you would start getting backspatter. The coach would then have us clean out the bullet traps. We had no protective equipment; no gloves, no respirators, no coveralls. We pulled the clumped up lead out with our bare hands, and there was pulverized lead dust everywhere. When we were done, we washed up & went back to shooting.

A week or so after one cleaning session, somebody got concerned, and decided we should be tested for lead. No one on the team had lead levels outside of the normal range.

I wouldn't do it that way now, and when my club has dealt with lead cleanup since then, we've used full protective gear. Additional lead tests have never shown anyone to have a serious problem. I think one guy had slightly elevated levels, but he was a active reloader & cast his own bullets.

The primary path for lead poisoning is through ingestion. If you wash up after dealing with lead, and don't eat anywhere near a contaminated area, you should be OK. The remaining hazard is that lead fumes & dust can get deposited in your nose & throat, which can work its way down into your digestive system. If you don't have good ventilation to keep airborn lead out of your face, a good dust mask will take care of 99% of what's left. If you want to be REALLY careful, use a respirator rated for welding fumes. Blowing your nose when you are done is also not a bad idea.

The only other caution is that all of the above applies to adults. If you have young children, you have to be more careful. That said, when I was 8 to 12 years old, my father did a lot of bullet casting, and I helped. I spent hours cutting up lead bricks with a hammer & cold chisel to fit in his casting pot. I'm sure I was exposed to significant lead fumes from the casting process. Although my wife may claim otherwise, I don't appear to have suffered any significant brain damage as a result. I know that the problem is more serious with very young children, and I may have been old enough that it was no longer a big deal.

[Shooter]

I have shot everything from air gun to 40mm AAA guns since 1955 and I have not had any problems that I know of. And, I don't usually wash my hands either. Most of what you hear about "dangers" is hooey anyway. Just shoot and don't worry about it. Don in Oregon

[cloudswimmer]

Thanks guys for your reply guys. I've been an active reloader for 20 years and never had a problem with lead, my reloading room is actually in the house too in a spare bedroom. It was just the fragments on the floor in front of the firing line part of the article that had my wife a little concerned about the hallway carpet, but another member PM'd me and said its never been a problem with occasional vacuuming. I printed it out out, handed it to my wife, and now I've got the go ahead. Now I just need to order my Morini 162 EI from Scott .... Come on Monday! :)


Chris

[kle]

Sure, I shoot 10m AP in my home - I have over 10 meters (more like twelve or thirteen) measuring from my living room, through my dining area, and into the kitchen. The 'dust' generated by shooting is bits of the target, not the lead pellets - the pellets will deform, and maybe break up into smaller pieces, but they don't vaporize and they don't remain airborne, so I'm pretty confident that I'm OK. Periodically cleaning out the traps (I use two traps, side by side, to replicate local match conditions where we post two targets at a time and shoot five shots on each target) with a vacuum cleaner takes care of the bits and pieces of target and finer lead bits; the larger lead chunks can be dumped out.

Now I just need to order my Morini 162 EI from Scott

I thought you said in the other thread(s) that you were going to get a Pardini K12. Had a change of heart, eh?

[cloudswimmer]

Now I just need to order my Morini 162 EI from Scott

I thought you said in the other thread(s) that you were going to get a Pardini K12. Had a change of heart, eh?

Yeah last night Pardini Italy sent me a photo of the new K12's, they did some cosmetic changes to the pistol I don't like i.e. the cylinder is now a blindingly bright neon white, and the bolt is now black with the word 'Absorber' written on it, and the made in Italy logo is a funky font. Being a collector first and shooter second I just can't handle the looks. I figured either the Morini or Pardini will always out shoot me so I may as well get the one that's prettier to me, plus it's an older classic design that's been around a long time which adds to the collectibility for me. Thanks for the pic, looks like you have a nice house there, and Im liking your flooring and your Pardini, nice little shooting setup you got there!

[Mike M.]

When I bought my townhouse, having a clear 10m shot was a requirement. And I've a nice setup - shoot from the breakfast nook, through the dining and living room, into a trap in a bookcase.

The cat hates it, though.

[seamaster]

Do you feel stupid when you patch up your flier? Got to have at least one.

[cloudswimmer]

Do you feel stupid when you patch up your flier? Got to have at least one.

Lol........Yeah I've got one of those clean through my big garage door, luckily .177 is small enough the wife hasn't noticed ........ Yet ;)

[slofyr]

Do you feel stupid when you patch up your flier? Got to have at least one.

There is good reason to have white walls, the spackle is nearly invisible. <g> If you have flier challenges, hang a piece of thin carpet behind your pellet trap. It doesn't take much to stop a pellet. The cheap stuff is only a couple of $ per square foot.

[Rover]

You can always get free carpet samples. We give them away free at my range.

Of course, that will not keep you from feeling like an asshole.

[kle]

Do you feel stupid when you patch up your flier? Got to have at least one.

Knock on wood, but I haven't missed my pellet traps yet in the six years I've been living here. Maybe I oughtta put up something, though...or at the very least, make a proper stand for my traps and get rid of the stack of cardboard shoeboxes they're sitting on now...

[Rover]

Of course, this is not a concern if you shoot a K58.

[kle]

Of course, this is not a concern if you shoot a K58.

Oh I'm glad you said this, because I was thinking of replacing my stack of shoeboxes with a mound of Jell-O(tm), but if that isn't a concern with my K58, I'll just stick with the shoeboxes for now. Thanks for the tip! ;)

[smmhusm]

Can you send pic of new K12? Here's the "old":

[Misny]

I have a 10 meter range in my basement. I reload and clean brass with a tumbler. I shoot at an indoor range. Once when I was doing the most shooting indoors and reloading I asked my doctor for a lead level test. My levels were well under any concerns. I do wash my hands after shooting with D-Lead soap and don't smoke or eat at the range. If you take reasonable precautions you should be fine. There may be more concern for children who put their hands in their mouths often and don't clean up after shooting, but for the average teen or adult...no worries.

[kle]

Yeah last night Pardini Italy sent me a photo of the new K12's, they did some cosmetic changes to the pistol I don't like i.e. the cylinder is now a blindingly bright neon white, and the bolt is now black with the word 'Absorber' written on it, and the made in Italy logo is a funky font. Being a collector first and shooter second I just can't handle the looks. I figured either the Morini or Pardini will always out shoot me so I may as well get the one that's prettier to me, plus it's an older classic design that's been around a long time which adds to the collectibility for me. Thanks for the pic, looks like you have a nice house there, and Im liking your flooring and your Pardini, nice little shooting setup you got there!

I suppose all of the "top tier" PCP guns can all punch out the inner-10-ring just fine (and yes, Rover, so will any SSP made in the last century, too), so at this point other reasons, including aesthetics, as well as features and geometry such as [adjustable] grip angle, trigger adjustments, et cetera, definitely come into play.

My house is a townhouse, which is why the rooms/floors are laid out as they are. I finally got rid of the carpeting in the living room and dining room and replaced it with hardwood flooring last year - looks way better, feels better, less need to vacuum (just run a duster like a Swiffer or something and I'm done). To make the flooring bit more germane to shooting airpistol in my house: I noticed a lot more slapback echo after each shot when I went to hardwood flooring, even when using hearing protection (my Morini with its compensator seems much louder than my IZH-46M and my Pardini K58, which have no compensators), which I found to be a little distracting. Putting a big area rug in the living room where I shoot from helped cut that down a bit.