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I have tons of Longshot and a bit of 800X. My usual target load is a 115 gr HDY HAP over 8.5 of Longshot. I'll also try my .40 S&W match loads (135 gr Nosler JHP over 9.5 of Lonhshot, which just makes Major PF).

The paper complaining if ignition delay claimed at 4ms is the military limit, and that they measured many NT primers that were far longer. They used a sound meter to record the delay between firing pin strike and the pressure spike on a pressure transducer, but i can only record "perceptible delay or not".

Edited for double post.

Both of my chronos calculate SDs, though I generally use a stats program on my phone by typing in the readouts. I agree that ignition delay should be apparent in velocity variation, but some studies have shown a consistent 50-75ms delay that only really varies with temperature. ARXIV did a neat paper on it, and another is available from McDonnel Douglas via dtic.mil. Not sure how those compositions relate to what Im getting from Fiocchi.

I'll definitely watch velocities. The other issue is ignition delay, and it's hard to measure that. Finally, sure reports call them sensitive to temperature and humidity variation.

The meta-analysis that I reviewed compared instructors using jacketed and cast bullets and found a small difference, but the n was only 2. For pistol, I load Hornady HAP, so no exposed lead at the base. I do pan to use FMJ for my carbine, so that vaporization may be an issue.

The thing that scared me was all of the outdoor shooters with levels over 10. I always assumed that shooting only outdoors relived the risk, but this data made me question that conclusion. To be fair, the studies are all over the place, but there are a lot of folks whose levels were too high.

I read a review article recently summarizing blood lead levels for various shooters and found that most of those tested were higher than I care to be. Shooting more, getting into USPSA and hopefully 3 gun, I want to be sure that I'm not doing anything foolish. I plan to get a lead level checked, and I'll likely follow that on a regular basis.

The biggest issue, and the most difficult to address, is lead styphnate in primers. The issue is that gun smoke has finely aerosolized lead from the primer which is very efficiently absorbed by the lung. I have started wet tumbling and discarding the wash water, but that does little to help with the lead that i breathe while shooting. I have thought of wearing a mask, and will likely start, but it got me thinking.

With jacketed bullets, the lead that concerns us is all from the primer. I decided to buy 7500 Fiocchi non-toxic primers to try out. They'll all go into practice ammo, so if they are finicky then it's not life and death. I'd like to do the same with the 7.62x40 build that I am starting, but I cannot find small rifle primers.

The long term issue is demand. Lead bullets have physical properties that are very difficult to mimic with metals of similar cost. The health effects of led projectiles virtually disappear with jacketed bullets, and possibly even plated or powder coated bullets. Primers meanwhile need only be reliable, durable and consistent. The challenge is chemistry, with several reasonable alternatives showing promise. I think that we as shooters can change how the industry thinks about lead free primers by adding our voices to the calls for them. Economic demand is a far better incentive than regulation, and being proactive in this way remove the need for more laws which will inevitably be poorly constructed.

Finally, I'm sure that some will object that shooting outside is enough. The review article breaks shooters down by indoor and outdoor ranges, and there were plenty of shooters who claimed to shoot exclusively outdoors who had very elevated levels. Washing your hands isn't effective against aerosolized lead, which is 10x more effective at entering the bloodstream and which is necessarily emitted near your face while shooting.