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Indoor season has started here in Michigan (although I will continue to shoot outdoors in my pasture until it's too cold for the bolt/slide to cycle -- for a bullseye shooter, there is just no substitute for 50-yard shooting outside, in the wind).

A number of the folks I shoot with indoors are wearing filters now to keep from breathing in lead vapors. We do have a filtering system set up on our 50-foot indoor range, but I have noticed that I seem to have a nose full of fulminate by the time I finish shooting my Monday-night 900, so I'm thinking of getting a half-mask respiratory filter as well.

Mainly I want this to cut down on the gunpowder fumes I'm breathing in, so I don't leave the range with a headache. But I would like the filter to be effective for lead as well, and figure it should be a particulate filter of a design that is effective for oils also, since it stands to reason that hot barrels wil vaporize a certain amount of solvent and gun oil. And I would just as soon use a disposable design that I can pitch after a few nights' use, rather than messing with a heavier mask and changing filters.

My research seems to suggest that a NIOSH-certified P100 mask such as the Moldex-Metric Model 2360P100 would do the job (NIOSH defines P100 protection as "Particulate filter [99.97% filter efficiency level]effective against all particulate aerosols" [emphasis mine]). The maker of this particular mask recommends it for both airborne oil and airborne lead.

I was wondering what others who have looked into this have decided upon. Does any one particular mask stand out above all others? And is there a reason to go with a cartridge-type mask if disposables are rated the same by an independent agency such as NIOSH?

Thanks,
Tom

I'm no expert on respirators but what you're describing sounds like its rated to do the job. There's definitely something wrong with your indoor air handling system if folks are wearing respirators to shoot. Sounds like someone needs to contact the NRA and have one of their range experts do a volumetric air survey on that range. The airflow reduction problem could be as simple as clogged filters or dirty ducts. Sacrificing safety means potential health difficulties later on in life. Inhaling lead isn't the only concern, your eyelid mucous membranes can also allow lead dust to dissolve and enter into the pulmonary/circulatory system too. This may be a place to avoid for unhealthy shooting.

R,
Bullseye

Please don't take my post as a criticism of my club's range. It is not. I have shot at a number of indoor ranges, including 50-yard, state-of-the-art ranges that accept high-caliber rifles and have filtration systems that cycle the room volume so rapidly there's almost a breeze. And I come away with a mild headache from every single one.

I believe that I (and the folks wearing respirators) just exhibit more sensitivity to even a little gunpowder residue in the air. I, for one, normally shoot outdoors, and even though I write for a living, I try to work outdoors, too. I spend much more time on my deck than I do in my office, and I look for any reason to go south during the winter so I won't have to spend the day under a roof.

Response from bullseye shooters around the country has shown me that respirators are becoming very common on ranges these days, as are lead-removing handwipes and the practice of using "range shoes" (a pair of shoes that you wear at the range but don't wear into the house) to keep from tracking precipitated lead particulates into your living space.

The nod in disposable masks seems to be for the 3M Model 8233, by trhe way. And shooters are reporting getting 3 or 4 months useful life out of a single disoposable mask that costs less than five bucks.

Besides, when you're wearing a half-mask, it's much harder for folks to see your grimace when you land one in the 7-ring!

Tom
www.tommorrisey.com

The nod in disposable masks seems to be for the 3M Model 8233, by trhe way. And shooters are reporting getting 3 or 4 months useful life out of a single disoposable mask that costs less than five bucks.

Besides, when you're wearing a half-mask, it's much harder for folks to see your grimace when you land one in the 7-ring! Tom
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Hor hor hor!!!
I hear ya, Tom. Loud and clear!!!
(^o^)