Are gloves allowed?

First topic message reminder :

Just got my blood levels test back.  Not good.  Definately going to need to take steps to continue shooting.  I shoot only at the club level.  In my CAS matches golves are prohibited.  Are there any restrictions about using gloves for BE?  I'm thinking about using the nitrile gloves.  I've started using them in practice.

One thing to consider is that houses built in the early 90s were built with copper water supply pipes..  some contractors still used lead bases solders to assemble these pipes and fittings.  Several states outlawed the use of lead based solders for water systems around then.

Some info here.  https://corrosion-doctors.org/Pollution/lead.htm

Sorry alot to sort through there. They had me fill out a paper with like 6 questions. One was, "do you or anyone in the house shoot." I said yes. That prompted them to take the test.

I will definitely look into some of her toys. She does have a toy tea set and a number of "painted" wooden toys. 

Good to know about the solder. I didn't think of that. Probably shouldn't admit this, but I never drink water, so I early have the water from my faucet, where ad my wife and daughter did regularly before the first test. 

Funny thing about range time. Between September and the 1st test, which I just verified was end of December, I shot 1 2700 and made it to the range for practice 2x. Between the 1st test and the 2nd test I was at the range probably 15 times because I was practicing for the PA state championship. So I was at the range more often during the period it went down.

In the end, I'm not sure what it could be from. The numbers are falling, so that's what is important as of now. I was definitely annoyed that the Dr jumped on the fact that it was because I was a shooter. No thought/question of what else it could be coming from.

Your body EATS all it touches. In art school  (Art Students League) the painting teacher would tell all the students to clean their hands at home. Then squish some garlic in between their fingers. 15 minutes later most reported tasting garlic.

I wear gloves. I don't give a sh+T about rules. My lead was/is high from art, racing in the 1960s through till there was no lead allowed, and shooting. I love to shoot and I see what lead poisoning can do (family members). Yes wash up, clean your clothes just like this Virus, and if you want, wear a mask or stuff some sort of block up your nose, a mini nose tampoon (forget the string).

You may get strange looks. IGNORE THEM. Your health is of utmost importance.

Re toys: old toys from China LEAD. I saw that a mile away. There was no way to get those colors w/out lead. Sure as sh*t, lead. Old tinsel, lead. The paint  and fuel industry is/was in the same league as tobacco. How many remember you DR smoking in the exam room?

I'd say have your wife's lead levels tested.  If hers are similar low like yours, I'd be looking at things other than your shooting as the lead source.

Lots of good advice has been mentioned above about other household exposures that may exist for your children.


I got tested in 2018 lead level of 14 which was a wakeup call for me.  I immediately started using a 3M 7500 7502 Series Professional Half Facepiece Respirator (Medium) for indoor range use, keeping my range clothes & shoes in the garage and washing them with D-Lead soap and I got it down to 6 within 6 months. Before that I did use the D Lead wipes at the range before eating and I always wore a respirator & coveralls during case cleaning operations with corn cob media. The respirator I used back then for case cleaning was a MSA unit I got at home depot and it was not comfortable enough to shoot with. I may not have paid attention to the filter type too, but as a result of the test I researched respirators and understood that the P100 filter is the right filter for lead particulate matter.

This new 3M respirator is very comfortable for me, I can shoot two hours straight with no discomfort or fogging of my glasses. I also switched to using nitrile gloves during reloading so one or more of these changes made a big difference. Year in and year out I shoot about 6-10 hours per week and not using one outdoors does not seem to be the cause of my initial elevated lead level. The range I shoot at is my club range which was built in 2016 and I assumed it had adequate ventilation because of the airflow I could feel moving downrange but something was amiss.  I change filters once a month and luckily I have a 6 month stock in reserve right now.

Good luck and be safe!

The lead in your blood from shooting mostly comes from inhaling. Unless you are handling a lot of lead and then not washing, you are likely inhaling lead "dust". If you are shooting at an indoor range, then this is even worse. This is easy to discern as you can remove variables and then test again.