Lead exposure at the shooting range: the simple habits that keep it off you

Lead exposure at the shooting range is the part of range hygiene nobody mentions at the counter. It isn't a reason to stay home. It's a reason to wash your hands before you eat, and to keep range dust off the car seat and the family couch. A few small habits cover most of it.

This page sticks to what the CDC, NIOSH and a state health department publish, and it isn't medical advice. If you're worried about lead and your health, or your family's, talk to a doctor.

Where lead at a range comes from

NIOSH is direct: "The primary sources of lead exposure at indoor firing ranges are lead bullets and cartridge primers." A North Carolina public-health fact sheet adds that "Most ammunition contains lead" and that it is found in the primer as well as the bullet (NC DHHS, Preventing Lead Exposure at Indoor Shooting Ranges).

That means lead can end up in more places than the air around the firing line:

• Your hands, face and hair, from the air and from everything you touch at the bench.
• Brass on the floor. The NC fact sheet lists handling spent cartridges and cleaning firearms as ways to be exposed, alongside shooting itself.
• Targets and stands. Champion's own target warnings say: "Targets and target stands will accumulate lead residue when shot. Always wash your hands with soap and water after handling targets, target stands, and before eating or drinking" ( Champion steel target warnings).
• Your clothes and shoes, which carry dust off the range with you.

Why it's worth a few habits

Recreational shooting shows up in CDC data. A 2014 CDC report on indoor firing ranges counted, for 2002 to 2012, 2,673 people with elevated blood lead levels not linked to their jobs whose levels were "likely attributable to target shooting" (CDC MMWR, April 25, 2014).

The other reason is the people at home. The NC fact sheet warns that "Lead dust that settles on the hair, skin, clothing or shoes can accidentally be brought home and expose children and other family members." It adds that "Children younger than six years old are very susceptible to the harmful effects of lead and are at high risk for exposure given their normal hand-to-mouth behavior," and that "During pregnancy, lead easily crosses the placenta and can affect the fetus."

That's what people mean by take-home lead, and it's why most of the habits below are about what leaves the range with you. If you have young kids or someone pregnant at home and you're concerned, that's a conversation for your doctor. If you're planning to bring kids along, our guide to taking kids to the shooting range covers hygiene for them too.

On the firing line

The first habit is keeping lead away from your mouth. NIOSH recommends that "Eating, drinking, and smoking should be prohibited in the firing range," and plenty of ranges already make it a rule. Florida's state ranges, for example: "Food, beverages and smoking are not allowed on the firing line. You should wash your hands and face after shooting" ( FWC range safety rules).

• Leave snacks and drinks in the car or the lobby, and wash up before you have them.
• Try not to touch your face, and don't reach for a phone you'll later hold to your cheek, until your hands are clean.
• If you shoot kneeling or lying down, NIOSH suggests a barrier: shooters "should place a sheet of paper or other disposable material on the ground beneath them to minimize accumulation of leaded dust on their outer garments."
• Picking up brass counts as handling lead. Wash afterward, even if you only gathered a handful.

Washing up: soap, water and wipes

NIOSH's hand-washing guidance is specific about when and what:

"All personnel should wash their hands, forearms, and faces before eating, drinking, smoking, or having any hand contact with the face or with other people. Hands should be washed with soap and water or cleaned with lead decontamination wipes after shooting, handling spent cartridge cases, or cleaning weapons."

Note the three body parts: hands, forearms and face. And note the honest caveat that follows in the same alert: "NIOSH research shows that washing hands with soap and water is not completely effective in removing lead (and other toxic metals) from the surface of the skin." That's why lead-removal wipes and soaps exist.

A practical routine for a beginner: wipe your hands, forearms and face at the bench before you touch your bag, your keys or your phone. Then wash with soap and water at the first sink, and certainly before you eat. At an outdoor range with no running water, the wipes do the first half until you get home.

Clothes, shoes and your car

Lead dust rides home on fabric and soles. NIOSH's recommendations for ranges:

• "Shooters and workers should shower, whenever possible, and change clothes at firing range facilities after shooting or performing maintenance or cleaning activities at the range."
• "Non-employees who take contaminated clothing home should bag the clothes before leaving the range. Contaminated clothing should be washed separately from the family's clothing."
• "Leave shoes worn on the firing range at the range or bag them before leaving the range to prevent lead from being tracked into cars and onto home floors and carpets."

NRA Women gives the same laundry advice: "It is also a good idea to wash your range clothes separately from your other clothing" (NRA Women, gun range attire). CDC's report adds keeping clean clothes in "a separate bin from contaminated clothing."

So how do you clean clothes after the gun range? In practice: wear a dedicated range outfit, keep a spare pair of shoes and a plastic bag in the car, change or bag everything before you drive home, and wash the range clothes in a separate load. Our guide to what to wear to a shooting range helps you pick clothes that work for this.

Indoor ranges and ventilation

NIOSH's alert is specifically about indoor ranges, where the air is enclosed. The measures CDC's report describes are mostly things a range operator does: "using lead-free bullets, improving ventilation systems, using wet mopping or high-efficiency particulate air vacuuming to remove dust and debris."

As a customer, you can't inspect a range's air handling, but you can notice whether it looks well kept and ask about its ventilation. Outdoors, the hand, clothing and cleaning habits still apply, because lead residue lands on targets, stands and brass wherever you shoot. Our comparison of indoor vs outdoor shooting ranges covers the other differences a beginner notices, from noise to target rules.

Cleaning your gun at home

Lead doesn't stay at the range if the fouling comes home in your gun. Ruger's manual for its LCP MAX pistol warns that "Discharging firearms in poorly ventilated areas, cleaning firearms, or handling ammunition may result in exposure to lead," and gives two plain instructions: "Have adequate ventilation at all times. Wash hands thoroughly after exposure" ( Ruger LCP MAX manual).

• Clean in a ventilated spot, away from where food is made or eaten and away from where kids play.
• Use a mat or pad you keep for cleaning, not the kitchen table.
• Wash your hands, forearms and face when you're done.

The safety steps come first, though: unload, verify the gun is clear, and keep ammunition out of the cleaning area. Our step-by-step on how to clean a pistol walks through it.

What to pack for lead hygiene

A small hygiene kit covers every habit on this page:

• Skin wipes made for lead, for the bench and for ranges without a sink. Check that the maker says they're for skin: ESCA Tech, for example, sells D-Wipe Towels for "hands, arms, face and body" and separate surface wipes for benches and car interiors.
• A lead-removal hand soap for the sink at home or at the range. ESCA Tech says its D-Lead Abrasive Hand Soap "Cleans up heavy metals and lead" along with grease and oil, which also suits washing up after a cleaning session.
• A plastic bag and a spare pair of shoes in the car, for the NIOSH change-and-bag routine.

One honest note on claims. Hoppe's says its Lead-B-Gone wipes are "proven to remove 98.8 percent of contaminants on their own, and 99.9 percent with a water rinse," compared with 72 percent for soap and water. Those are Hoppe's figures, not an independent rating, and none of these products is a medical treatment. Wipes and soap are hygiene tools. For where they sit in the rest of your kit, see what to put in a range bag.

When to talk to a doctor

We can tell you what the public-health sources recommend for hygiene. We can't tell you anything about your own health. If you shoot often, especially indoors, or you're worried about lead for yourself, a pregnant family member or young children at home, talk to your doctor. They're the right person to ask about symptoms, risk and whether a blood lead test makes sense for you.

None of this should put you off the range. Wash up, keep food off the line, leave the dust at the door, and enjoy the day. For the rest of the unwritten rules, see our guide to shooting range etiquette.