IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP

Loyalist Dave said:

Look close at the photo, and I think he's holding it in his hand and I think it's metal...

LD

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Whew! I thought you were gonna say Brazilian Ashe with solid brass fittings or something!

Wow. Sorry to hear about your friend!

My wonderment comes from the muzzle blast of hot gases and ejecta hitting this poor guy fairly squarely in the face to drive the ramrod through his head. Figured it would have burned his eyes terribly. Perhaps it did.

My brother swallowed a lead fishing sinker when he was a kid, it passed thru OK. He grew up to be 6'2" and 200 pounds, a nuclear engineer and father 2 of two bright successful kids so no harm done.

Whitworth said:

My brother swallowed a lead fishing sinker when he was a kid, it passed thru OK. He grew up to be 6'2" and 200 pounds, a nuclear engineer and father 2 of two bright successful kids so no harm done.

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Yeh but how tall and heavy would he have been had he NOT swallowed the weight? I guess we'll never know just how much damage it truly did! Lol

Carbon 6 said:

No, but it would give you lead poisoning.

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No it would not. The vast bulk of it would just pass right on through.

Skychief said:

How could this happen and not blind him?

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Maybe it did.

TNGhost said:

No it would not. The vast bulk of it would just pass right on through.

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Have you swallowed a lead ball ?

Granted a lot depends on the speed of your digestive system, but when lead comes into contact with hydrochloric acid (stomach acid) it begins to produce Lead(II) chloride (PbCl2).

Lead(II) chloride causes gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Ingestion of lead compounds can cause toxic effects in the blood-forming organs, kidneys and central nervous system.

Like I said early, just plain lucky

Carbon 6 said:

Have you swallowed a lead ball ?

Granted a lot depends on the speed of your digestive system, but when lead comes into contact with hydrochloric acid (stomach acid) it begins to produce Lead(II) chloride (PbCl2).

Lead(II) chloride causes gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Ingestion of lead compounds can cause toxic effects in the blood-forming organs, kidneys and central nervous system.

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Yep, no doubt it will kill worms! LOL! In 1610 the English botanist John Gerard wrote about American chili peppers stating 'They Killeth Dogs'.

Capnball said:

Yeh but how tall and heavy would he have been had he NOT swallowed the weight? I guess we'll never know just how much damage it truly did! Lol

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It was the hook that held him back.

Carbon 6 said:

Have you swallowed a lead ball ?

Granted a lot depends on the speed of your digestive system, but when lead comes into contact with hydrochloric acid (stomach acid) it begins to produce Lead(II) chloride (PbCl2).

Lead(II) chloride causes gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Ingestion of lead compounds can cause toxic effects in the blood-forming organs, kidneys and central nervous system.

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If that were the case, there would be a lot of dead bird hunters out there. Lead poisoning has been way overplayed by the media in this country(mustn't let the unauthorized "children" play with dangerous things...) It is a thing, but with proper precautions no. Swallowing a few pellets you missed whilst cleaning that pheasant, partridge or turkey, is not sufficient to do significant damage.

TNGhost said:

If that were the case, there would be a lot of dead bird hunters out there. Lead poisoning has been way overplayed by the media in this country(mustn't let the unauthorized "children" play with dangerous things...) It is a thing, but with proper precautions no. Swallowing a few pellets you missed whilst cleaning that pheasant, partridge or turkey, is not sufficient to do significant damage.

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So in other words, you haven't swallowed a ball.

Just because you get lead poisoning doesn't mean you will die from it immediately.
Lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children. Lead in the body is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. It is stored in the teeth and bones, where it accumulates over time.

no....but swallowing a SMALL amount of Holy Black (half a teaspoon) 2-3 days in a row will deworm canines & humans alike.
be prepared for a belly ache ....but it works !

Treestalker said:

Would swallowing a lead ball get rid of worms?

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Carbon 6 said:

So in other words, you haven't swallowed a ball.

Just because you get lead poisoning doesn't mean you will die from it immediately.
Lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children. Lead in the body is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. It is stored in the teeth and bones, where it accumulates over time.

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So how do you avoid the particles of lead derivatives in the primer and any lead particles emitted from the ejecta?

I just found this thread.

Lest we forget... Walter Cline, the man responsible for so much attention to the muzzle loader in the 20th century, and whose name was given to the range at Friendship, was killed while loading his black powder rifle in his den. He was shot in the chest.

Carbon 6 said:

So in other words, you haven't swallowed a ball.

Just because you get lead poisoning doesn't mean you will die from it immediately.
Lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children. Lead in the body is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. It is stored in the teeth and bones, where it accumulates over time.

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If you really believe this, and have been influenced by the media to the point where it really concerns you, drink more milk, as it has the effect of removing the lead from your system. If you want to get even more froggy about it, you can go to a doctor and they can give you medicine/shots that are even more effective at sweeping it from your system.

I have reloaded and cast bullets and balls for over forty years, sometimes in my careless youth with less than adequate ventilation. I have handled and loaded literally tens of thousands of lead bullets, balls and rounds of ammunition.

I have hunted upland and waterfowl (prior to the steel shot requirement for waterfowl) for those same forty years, and, as a result, I am quite certain I have ingested a few bits of lead regularly.

I carried a gun professionally for 23 years and qualified with hundreds of rounds (and was within feet of many others firing a like quantity around me) every three months for that 23 years(as well as participating in a lot a lot of competitive and recreational shooting), and spent time instructing others, much of that on indoor ranges, and in those days many had sketchy ventilation.

I have had my blood tested for lead periodically and never had a problem. So unless you are eating lead paint chips with your salsa, snorting lead oxide powder for weekend kicks, or downing a handful of birdshot with your breakfast each morning as a vitamin supplement, I doubt you have any worries.

The only demographic that really is of concern here are children in developmental stages, that is where it can have the most deleterious effect, but even then that is way overblown by the fear mongering media.

TNGhost said:

If you really believe this, and have been influenced by the media to the point where it really concerns you, drink more milk, as it has the effect of removing the lead from your system. If you want to get even more froggy about it, you can go to a doctor and they can give you medicine/shots that are even more effective at sweeping it from your system.

I have reloaded and cast bullets and balls for over forty years, sometimes in my careless youth with less than adequate ventilation. I have handled and loaded literally tens of thousands of lead bullets, balls and rounds of ammunition.

I have hunted upland and waterfowl (prior to the steel shot requirement for waterfowl) for those same forty years, and, as a result, I am quite certain I have ingested a few bits of lead regularly.

I carried a gun professionally for 23 years and qualified with hundreds of rounds (and was within feet of many others firing a like quantity around me) every three months for that 23 years(as well as participating in a lot a lot of competitive and recreational shooting), and spent time instructing others, much of that on indoor ranges, and in those days many had sketchy ventilation.

I have had my blood tested for lead periodically and never had a problem. So unless you are eating lead paint chips with your salsa, snorting lead oxide powder for weekend kicks, or downing a handful of birdshot with your breakfast each morning as a vitamin supplement, I doubt you have any worries.

The only demographic that really is of concern here are children in developmental stages, that is where it can have the most deleterious effect, but even then that is way overblown by the fear mongering media.

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I'll defer to your expert medical knowledge, Herr Doktor.

TNGhost said:

I carried a gun professionally for 23 years and qualified with hundreds of rounds (and was within feet of many others firing a like quantity around me) every three months for that 23 years(as well as participating in a lot a lot of competitive and recreational shooting), and spent time instructing others, much of that on indoor ranges, and in those days many had sketchy ventilation.

I have had my blood tested for lead periodically and never had a problem

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Yeah I've carried a firearm for more than 30 years, and have to qualify twice a year, plus add in recreational shooting. I cast my own bullets, and have reloaded thousands of lead practice rounds, for IPSC and CAS shooting, not to mention black powder. We started out shooting lead alloy and then went to jacketed bullets, BUT..., the indoor ranges all had armor at the far end and at points in the ceiling, to keep the bullets on the range, downrange, which would spatter the bullet interiors from within the copper jackets.

So what they found was that the vast majority of officers had no lead problems. Even heavy shooters like myself. At my age I get an annual physical which includes a battery of blood test. Oh there are things wrong...I'm overweight..."Gee thanks Doc. Took 8 years of medical training to allow you to diagnose me, when I can see it each morning in the mirror?" But I digress.....

The half-dozen or so folks that did have a problem were the folks that worked five days a week at the indoor ranges. Seems that when they swept up at the end of each day, the tiny lead dust particles were getting onto their clothes and hands. It quickly oxidized and so they were sweeping up tiny bits of lead oxide as well as freshly spattered lead. These folks had elevated lead in their systems. Procedures for cleaning the ranges changed. The folks at the ranges were treated.

They went back and found some of the guys that were retired range officers and had them tested too. Some of these guys had to have treatment. When they converted the basement of the station where I first worked, into evidence storage, they had brought in a company to mitigate the asbestos removal (station built in the 1950's). They then found a large area covered in a few inches of white dust....lead oxide left over from when they consolidated firearms training at the new academy, and simply walled off the old basement range at the station....circa 1980 when it was walled off. Found it in the mid 1990's OSHA and EPA came to take a look at that.

So while it's nothing to dismiss, it does take more than the a sport shooter's exposure to lead to cause problems. OH and I always cast outdoors, but I'm told that the fumes coming off a lead melting pot in a moderately ventilated basement can be a source of exposure too...
LD

Loyalist Dave said:

Procedures for cleaning the ranges changed. The folks at the ranges were treated.

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They will need to be monitored and possibly treated again, and again. Lead competes for calcium uptake and is stored in the bones, where it can be released back into the bloodstream, often years later.

Loyalist Dave said:

Yeah I've carried a firearm for more than 30 years, and have to qualify twice a year, plus add in recreational shooting.

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Only twice a year? Where's the fun in that?

Loyalist Dave said:

At my age I get an annual physical which includes a battery of blood test. Oh there are things wrong...I'm overweight..."Gee thanks Doc. Took 8 years of medical training to allow you to diagnose me, when I can see it each morning in the mirror?" But I digress.....

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Sounds familiar, my Doc says the same thing, "eat less exercise more...