Do copper pellets eliminate lead exposure?

[send_help]

Hi,
I have been using JSB lead free .22 pellets with my PCP rifle, but they're quite expensive (at least $30 for 200). I came across copper plated pellets while looking for an alternative that would still prevent lead exposure. They're about half the price, but I'm not sure if they would eliminate contact with lead.

Do copper pellets (H&N claims their pellets eliminate contact with lead, but I want to get a second opinion) completely eliminate lead exposure? Please do not ask me why I do not want to use lead pellets/tell me that the risk of lead poisoning is exaggerated.

Thanks

 

[L.Leon]

The risk of “immediate lead poisoning” is real, it’s called getting shot. I’ve lead poisoned many a critter. Long term effects from handling thousands of pellets over the years? Don’t know or care, if you want to totally avoid lead, stop shooting… Or, just keep getting gouged on those $30 a tin pellets. That cost alone would kill my desire to shoot them.

 

[survivor45]

I’d guess yes. But It depends on the thickness of the copper plating.
Just buy a few different brands and try them out.

I just Re read your question and edited my reply.

Shoot them into “stuff “ around your yard where you can recover the shot pellets and see if there is any lead exposed after impact with targets.

 

[Septicdeath]

The copper on them is measured in microns. It will keep lead off your fingers that's about it.

 

[ba49]

You could try powder coating if you are worried about lead exposure. I have seen even pellets as small as 22cal. powder coated. I use it on some bigger cal. and they work fine and no barrel leading. Lots of info on these forums about them.

 

[Berserkeley Mike]

Thay will reduce but not eliminate contact, like Septicdeath and others said. You'll still have the mostly-lead projectiles... somewhere, in a trap, backstop, what's for dinner, spilled out of your pocket all over the yard, etc. You or others may contact that.
This past winter MidwayUSA had them on sale for under $20. a tin (Baracuda Greens, I recall), so there can be lucky finds.
The unleaded .177 pellets are cheaper, and it doesn't take many tins to justify a second gun just to plink or target shoot with

 

[Bmackinc]

Hi,
I have been using JSB lead free .22 pellets with my PCP rifle, but they're quite expensive (at least $30 for 200). I came across copper plated pellets while looking for an alternative that would still prevent lead exposure. They're about half the price, but I'm not sure if they would eliminate contact with lead.

Do copper pellets (H&N claims their pellets eliminate contact with lead, but I want to get a second opinion) completely eliminate lead exposure? Please do not ask me why I do not want to use lead pellets/tell me that the risk of lead poisoning is exaggerated.

Thanks

Hey fella one gentleman had it right,they’re just coated copper so it’ll stop the immediate exposure and ur barrel… I use hospital gloves,so it makes no difference to me maybe try that… well good luck n go grab a box of gloves,n 30$ a tin I wouldn’t b shooting

 

[Scotay42]

What happenned to just washing your hands? I guarantee you eat some poison in your "healthyfood" that will kill you long before any minor lead exposure.

 

[Firewalker]

Hi,
I have been using JSB lead free .22 pellets with my PCP rifle, but they're quite expensive (at least $30 for 200). I came across copper plated pellets while looking for an alternative that would still prevent lead exposure. They're about half the price, but I'm not sure if they would eliminate contact with lead.

Do copper pellets (H&N claims their pellets eliminate contact with lead, but I want to get a second opinion) completely eliminate lead exposure? Please do not ask me why I do not want to use lead pellets/tell me that the risk of lead poisoning is exaggerated.

Thanks

Sadly, this is not the hobby for a person with zero tolerance to pb.

Also, coated pellets/slugs will have a much higher friction and unless they washed them, lead will be present on the surface.

 

[jps2486]

Your fears of lead have been stoked by the fear mongering media. Here's a report made by a toxicologist about the subject that I've posted before. You can make your own decision here, but I'm not worried about handling lead pellets. I wash my hands after shooting. I grew up in a 300 year old farmhouse and never had the urge to gnaw on a windowsill when I was a kid.

Much of the information out there about lead poisoning is nothing more than alarmist science. I work in a toxicology lab and am always amazed at the bad rap that lead gets. Let's look at a few things:

"- The lead in lead paint is in the form of organic lead and lead salts, NOT METALLIC LEAD. Both organic lead and lead salts are easily absorbed if you eat something contaminated with it or put your fingers in your mouth after handling something contaminated with it.

- Lead poisoning of waterfowl after eating the metallic lead. This is actually true and why I think so many folks are so scared of metallic lead. But there is a big difference between waterfowl and humans. Waterfowl have gizzards. The lead shot that the bird eats gets trapped in the gizard and very slowly erodes, is converted into bioavailable lead salts thanks to digestive acids, and is absorbed into the circulation. This can only occur because the lead shot gets stuck in the gizzard and is continuously ground releasing microscopic lead particles into the digestive tract.

Humans do not have a gizzard and thus a lead pellet and other metallic lead will pass thru quickly and no harm will come of it.

- But I know PB enthusiasts that have suffered lead poisoning from handling lead bullets. No you don't. The biggest problem that PB enthusiasts have with lead is from the propellant. When the propellant burns it gives off vapors of lead salts (again, not metallic lead). These lead salts are dangerous and why you should not routinely shoot a PB indoors, except in a very well ventilated range.

- What about lead dust? What if you inhale lead dust?

Have you ever seen lead dust? I bet you really haven't. It is still lead and no matter how fine a dust particle it is ground in to, it is still many, many, many, many, many times heavier than air and immediately falls to the floor. Now I'm sure that you could devise a way to inhale lead dust, but it would need to be intentionally done.

- What about that black stuff I get on my fingers after handling CPL and CPH pellets. That stuff is not lead (IIRC it is actually graphite) and even if it was lead your body has no easy way of absorbing metallic lead.

- Lead vapors, what about lead vapors? I heard they are extremely toxic. And if we are melting lead to cast our own pellets, or bullets, or fishing sinkers, then we will die.

No you won't, unless you have a really, really hot smelting furnace. Lead melts at 328 Celsius (622 F) but doesn't vaporize until around 1,700 Celsius (3,092 F). Now should you actually reach the vaporization temperature, you will have a problem.

I could go on, but will stop at this point."

 

[Mrshosted]

Your fears of lead have been stoked by the fear mongering media. Here's a report made by a toxicologist about the subject that I've posted before. You can make your own decision here, but I'm not worried about handling lead pellets. I wash my hands after shooting. I grew up in a 300 year old farmhouse and never had the urge to gnaw on a windowsill when I was a kid.

Much of the information out there about lead poisoning is nothing more than alarmist science. I work in a toxicology lab and am always amazed at the bad rap that lead gets. Let's look at a few things:

"- The lead in lead paint is in the form of organic lead and lead salts, NOT METALLIC LEAD. Both organic lead and lead salts are easily absorbed if you eat something contaminated with it or put your fingers in your mouth after handling something contaminated with it.

- Lead poisoning of waterfowl after eating the metallic lead. This is actually true and why I think so many folks are so scared of metallic lead. But there is a big difference between waterfowl and humans. Waterfowl have gizzards. The lead shot that the bird eats gets trapped in the gizard and very slowly erodes, is converted into bioavailable lead salts thanks to digestive acids, and is absorbed into the circulation. This can only occur because the lead shot gets stuck in the gizzard and is continuously ground releasing microscopic lead particles into the digestive tract.

Humans do not have a gizzard and thus a lead pellet and other metallic lead will pass thru quickly and no harm will come of it.

- But I know PB enthusiasts that have suffered lead poisoning from handling lead bullets. No you don't. The biggest problem that PB enthusiasts have with lead is from the propellant. When the propellant burns it gives off vapors of lead salts (again, not metallic lead). These lead salts are dangerous and why you should not routinely shoot a PB indoors, except in a very well ventilated range.

- What about lead dust? What if you inhale lead dust?

Have you ever seen lead dust? I bet you really haven't. It is still lead and no matter how fine a dust particle it is ground in to, it is still many, many, many, many, many times heavier than air and immediately falls to the floor. Now I'm sure that you could devise a way to inhale lead dust, but it would need to be intentionally done.

- What about that black stuff I get on my fingers after handling CPL and CPH pellets. That stuff is not lead (IIRC it is actually graphite) and even if it was lead your body has no easy way of absorbing metallic lead.

- Lead vapors, what about lead vapors? I heard they are extremely toxic. And if we are melting lead to cast our own pellets, or bullets, or fishing sinkers, then we will die.

No you won't, unless you have a really, really hot smelting furnace. Lead melts at 328 Celsius (622 F) but doesn't vaporize until around 1,700 Celsius (3,092 F). Now should you actually reach the vaporization temperature, you will have a problem.

I could go on, but will stop at this point."

Nicely said! Thank you

 

[jetpopt]

I don’t know about the specific pellets you named, but I shot two tins (400 pellets) of Crosman copper domed .177 pellets. They did look “clean” (no dust in the tins). However, they weren’t thickly clad and once shot and hitting something, the lead was definitely exposed. I pick up/collect my spent pellets to dispose of them because I don’t want them adding contamination to the soil. I always wash hands after a shooting sesson.

Recently I decided to buy nitrile gloves. Could not get them in Small size, so I’ll look for Small in latex gloves instead. Using One Size Fits All nitriles didn’t go well, because the bagginess around my fingers made handling pellets awkward. I do think this is the way to minimize contact with lead.

 

[jarmstrong]

Carbon 60 aka C60 is claimed to remove heavy metals from your body,,, do your own study with different search engines, I am NOT a medical expert
I worry more about fluoride and mercury poisoning from the dental and medical community than the lead from the air gun pellet shooters.
Way more lead comes from shot guns and powder burners here in the USA.
Anxiety is something I have dealt with, as I have 2 family members who suffer from it. I do NOT push their limits of tolerance

send_help,,, use what you feel safe with using,,, excellent forum name that you chose. I do wish you well being
the copper coating will greatly lower your exposure to lead contact, but what about the pellets? are you shooting into a trap or just letting the go to be not seen or touched again? that is what you could be concerned about. Do you handle them after being shot?
or like jetpopt pointed to,,, use personal protection, mask and gloves, ,,,safety glasses for ricochet lead

 

[jetpopt]

The mask idea, though it makes me cringe (shades of COVID), isn’t a bad idea. An ordinary woodworking mask would probably do the trick, or maybe it would need to be HEPA, but you’re not filtering out microscopic viruses.

I don’t intend to wear one while shooting, but it would be a good idea for afterward, when I pull pellets out of pellet traps. Especially the one that contains magazines, because the paper gets shredded and mixed with lead dust. Breathing any kind of dust is unpleasant and not good.

 

[Firewalker]

Your fears of lead have been stoked by the fear mongering media. Here's a report made by a toxicologist about the subject that I've posted before. You can make your own decision here, but I'm not worried about handling lead pellets. I wash my hands after shooting. I grew up in a 300 year old farmhouse and never had the urge to gnaw on a windowsill when I was a kid.

Much of the information out there about lead poisoning is nothing more than alarmist science. I work in a toxicology lab and am always amazed at the bad rap that lead gets. Let's look at a few things:... ...I could go on, but will stop at this point."

Great write-up!

Isn't it amazing all the false information that is spread?

(My remaining rant has been deleted by me)

 

[lbc_PSI]

- Lead poisoning of waterfowl after eating the metallic lead. This is actually true and why I think so many folks are so scared of metallic lead. But there is a big difference between waterfowl and humans. Waterfowl have gizzards. The lead shot that the bird eats gets trapped in the gizard and very slowly erodes, is converted into bioavailable lead salts thanks to digestive acids, and is absorbed into the circulation. This can only occur because the lead shot gets stuck in the gizzard and is continuously ground releasing microscopic lead particles into the digestive tract.

Humans do not have a gizzard and thus a lead pellet and other metallic lead will pass thru quickly and no harm will come of it.

Additional thoughts on the gizzard thing..

Lead shot for waterfowl has been banned in the USA nationwide since 1991. Other states had bans starting in the late 1980's..nearly 35 years ago. Is it possible that lead shot are still ingested by waterfowl? IDK, but it seems really unlikely that the shot has not sunk into the mud and out of reach of waterfowl.

Birds that utilize a gizzard to grind seeds and grains void their gizzards on a regular basis. The rocks they swallow get round and they barf them up to make room for new ones. I suspect if shot were in their gizzards, it would be ejected along with the rocks.

 

[delooper]

It should be noted, copper is comparably toxic to lead. The main difference is that lead poisoning accumulates, but with copper it does not. i.e. sudden exposure to a lot of copper is about as bad as sudden exposure to the same amount of lead. But occasional exposure to small amounts of lead is much more dangerous than occasional exposure to small amounts of copper.

I think the main reason for this difference is we have some small metabolic processes that deal with copper, but we have nothing in our metabolism that can process lead.

 

[Solo1]

Your fears of lead have been stoked by the fear mongering media. Here's a report made by a toxicologist about the subject that I've posted before. You can make your own decision here, but I'm not worried about handling lead pellets. I wash my hands after shooting. I grew up in a 300 year old farmhouse and never had the urge to gnaw on a windowsill when I was a kid.

Much of the information out there about lead poisoning is nothing more than alarmist science. I work in a toxicology lab and am always amazed at the bad rap that lead gets. Let's look at a few things:

"- The lead in lead paint is in the form of organic lead and lead salts, NOT METALLIC LEAD. Both organic lead and lead salts are easily absorbed if you eat something contaminated with it or put your fingers in your mouth after handling something contaminated with it.

- Lead poisoning of waterfowl after eating the metallic lead. This is actually true and why I think so many folks are so scared of metallic lead. But there is a big difference between waterfowl and humans. Waterfowl have gizzards. The lead shot that the bird eats gets trapped in the gizard and very slowly erodes, is converted into bioavailable lead salts thanks to digestive acids, and is absorbed into the circulation. This can only occur because the lead shot gets stuck in the gizzard and is continuously ground releasing microscopic lead particles into the digestive tract.

Humans do not have a gizzard and thus a lead pellet and other metallic lead will pass thru quickly and no harm will come of it.

- But I know PB enthusiasts that have suffered lead poisoning from handling lead bullets. No you don't. The biggest problem that PB enthusiasts have with lead is from the propellant. When the propellant burns it gives off vapors of lead salts (again, not metallic lead). These lead salts are dangerous and why you should not routinely shoot a PB indoors, except in a very well ventilated range.

- What about lead dust? What if you inhale lead dust?

Have you ever seen lead dust? I bet you really haven't. It is still lead and no matter how fine a dust particle it is ground in to, it is still many, many, many, many, many times heavier than air and immediately falls to the floor. Now I'm sure that you could devise a way to inhale lead dust, but it would need to be intentionally done.

- What about that black stuff I get on my fingers after handling CPL and CPH pellets. That stuff is not lead (IIRC it is actually graphite) and even if it was lead your body has no easy way of absorbing metallic lead.

- Lead vapors, what about lead vapors? I heard they are extremely toxic. And if we are melting lead to cast our own pellets, or bullets, or fishing sinkers, then we will die.

No you won't, unless you have a really, really hot smelting furnace. Lead melts at 328 Celsius (622 F) but doesn't vaporize until around 1,700 Celsius (3,092 F). Now should you actually reach the vaporization temperature, you will have a problem.

I could go on, but will stop at this point."

Very well said just be careful speaking so honestly and reasonably because those that believe all the bs their fed will dislike you

 

[Chukar60]

I would just give up air gunning, fishing, reloading and stained glass as hobbies if I was that worried about lead.
Seriously, how can you even contemplate shooting an air gun if you are that concerned.

 

[delooper]

I would just give up air gunning, fishing, reloading and stained glass as hobbies if I was that worried about lead.
Seriously, how can you even contemplate shooting an air gun if you are that concerned.

I haven't got the impression there's much beyond anecdotes driving the people against using lead for hunting. Yes lead in principle can accumulate up the food chain. . . but how bad a problem is it, really? At least here, all our predators are doing fine. On the mainland, grizzly bears are struggling, but that's not a lead poisoning issue, it's loss of habitat.

While the solid copper projectiles aren't all that interesting to me, these next-generation polymer bullets look really interesting. It's still pretty early in the game, but here's a sampling of the kinds of things that are just around the bend. I imagine there will be quite a bit more diversity in the next few years.

These new projectiles aren't motivated by a desire to get away from lead, but simply to have projectiles with different ballistics. Mostly of the "lighter, faster, no pass-through" variety. Because of that I imagine they're just of interest to the powderburning world.