Don't you hate your hands getting dirty loading target ammunition in magazines?

I know I do and, with having to wear hard contact lenses (the ones you clean and reuse for as long as their prescription fits your vision), it's doubly annoying when I get home and my lenses feel as though they're about to scratch my eyes out. So, today I was headed out to the Rivanna Rifle & Pistol Club and stopped at a CVS or Walgreens (can't remember which, I just saw it and remembered I need some cough drops so I stopped). As I'm walking down one of the aisles I see a box of the surgical type gloves and figured they'd be worth the $10 expense to see if they kept the dirt off of my hands.
They weren't perfect, but wearing them didn't affect how the firearms felt and my hands were almost clean after going through 4 boxes of Winchester White Box as I sighted in the scope on the toy featured in my avatar.

****Here I feel I should point out that it didn't REQUIRE all 4 boxes to get the scope sighted, I just considered it to be prudent to just make certain I was happy with it, and then make certain again, and again, etc****

My apologies if I'm the last person here to figure out how to keep my hands clean but, on the off chance I'm not, I thought I'd share this idea anyway.

****Disclaimer: Yes I know there's the idea of training as if in a real world situation and you don't put surgical gloves on to defend your family from an intruder in the middle of the night, but I was looking for a practical idea for when at a range; you don't put on eye and ear protection in the middle of the night either****

I just use a magazine loader and wear light gloves with a fingertip cut off for the range. I suppose rubber gloves would be OK.

I don't care if I get dirty shooting or dealing with guns. I love it when my hands get dirty when I clean 'em.

xmanhockey7 said:

I don't care if I get dirty shooting or dealing with guns. I love it when my hands get dirty when I clean 'em.

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+1, who doesn't love the smell of gunpowder and spent brass?

thebigsd said:

+1, who doesn't love the smell of gunpowder and spent brass?

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The Brady Bunch

xmanhockey7 said:

The Brady Bunch

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I LOL'ed.

I usually go out to eat after shooting and always feel like I still have lead on my hands.
I've never considered gloves; I would not wear the latex or rubber ones though. My hands would be soaked in sweat.

Hmmm, I'll have to find a good pair of gloves, not a bad idea.

sharkey said:

I usually go out to eat after shooting and always feel like I still have lead on my hands.
I've never considered gloves; I would not wear the latex or rubber ones though. My hands would be soaked in sweat.

Hmmm, I'll have to find a good pair of gloves, not a bad idea.

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The box I have says they are vinyl, medical quality. I paid $10 for a box of 50. They're really thin and to be honest I really didn't notice they were there, no sweating at all. Not sure how AZ weather would affect that feeling, it was about 55F in Charlottesville VA when I was trying them out.

I'm not a 'dirtophobe' but I'd usually be shooting after working all day, at the moment usually at Dominion in Richmond and having to use ammo bought at their place. By the time I get home my contact lenses are feeling as though they want to scratch my eyes out, very uncomfortable and at approx $200 per lens for the ones I wear they are not disposable. I have to clean them when I remove them, so I want my hands to be clean first. The kind of dirt that gets on my hands using range ammo is not the kind of dirt I want to risk even the slightest trace remaining on the hands that are cleaning something I'm going to put in my eyes.

****However, if those who love the smell need another fix, send me your street address and I'll mail the used gloves to you ... :lol:****

sharkey said:

I usually go out to eat after shooting and always feel like I still have lead on my hands.
I've never considered gloves; I would not wear the latex or rubber ones though. My hands would be soaked in sweat.

Hmmm, I'll have to find a good pair of gloves, not a bad idea.

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Get vinyl gloves, not rubber (Vinyl gloves are much easier to put on and take off.). Also, just pack a container of Lysol wipes. Load with gloves on your strong or right hand, use a loader (left or non-dom hand stays clean)

Wipe face and hands with Lysol wipes (after you clean your firearm while HOT, at the range, with a boresnake and forget about cleaning at home, btw) and you're good to go.

If you're shooting under 50 rounds I think contamination is minimal. In the old days we'd handle lead pellets for our air guns all day and never wash up. I'm here to tell you I almost never forget where I live or my phone number, heh.

I carry a box of "wet wipes" in my range bag for cleaning up. I have found that they are especially appreciated by my female friends who I take to the range, to wipe off the inevitable GRS grime, gun oil, and bullet smutz that you get on your hands.

I don't know what what ammo you are using but the bulk pack (250 rd) of 9mm that I buy from Walmart are never dirty. I get dirtier repainting the steel targets at the matches and touching the bench at the range than when I load my mags.

Badger Johnson said:

Get vinyl gloves, not rubber (Vinyl gloves are much easier to put on and take off.). Also, just pack a container of Lysol wipes. Load with gloves on your strong or right hand, use a loader (left or non-dom hand stays clean)

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Vinyl gloves are what I mentioned in my last post, worked well for me. I wore them on both hands and I load and shoot with both hands, alternating every couple of magazines or so, I want to be sure I'm used to using my weaker hand now rather than find out, if the SHTF, that I can't do it.

Badger Johnson said:

Wipe face and hands with Lysol wipes (after you clean your firearm while HOT, at the range, with a boresnake and forget about cleaning at home, btw) and you're good to go.

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I agree on the clean it before you pack it up to go home. I'm married, my wife would go ballistic if I came home and started cleaning firearms in the house

Badger Johnson said:

If you're shooting under 50 rounds I think contamination is minimal. In the old days we'd handle lead pellets for our air guns all day and never wash up. I'm here to tell you I almost never forget where I live or my phone number, heh.

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In my view, if shooting under 50 rounds, it's hardly worth leaving the house to go shooting. I went through 400+ rounds on Friday just zeroing and checking the aim of my carbine. Sitting here almost 36 hours later I'm getting worried that it may have lost it's aim in the time since it was last fired so I really should take it back out again and test fire another 400 or so rounds, just to check it you understand

yale said:

I don't know what what ammo you are using but the bulk pack (250 rd) of 9mm that I buy from Walmart are never dirty. I get dirtier repainting the steel targets at the matches and touching the bench at the range than when I load my mags.

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It's most often whatever the local range in Richmond have in the box marked Federal they force you to buy (at inflated cost) to use their range. I'm not suggesting they throw reloads in those boxes, but my hands have never been anything but black when I leave there

It's most often whatever the local range in Richmond have in the box marked Federal they force you to buy (at inflated cost) to use their range. I'm not suggesting they throw reloads in those boxes, but my hands have never been anything but black when I leave there

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You aren't allowed to shoot your own ammo?
I suppose you aren't allowed to pick up your empty cases either?

jeeper1 said:

You aren't allowed to shoot your own ammo?
I suppose you aren't allowed to pick up your empty cases either?

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Yeah, really? Cause if I can't bring my own ammo I'm not going to that range.

It's been a case of lack of nearby choice. However, the largest indoor range on the east coast is supposed to open here in less than 2 months and their rules are different. The old one has already dropped its membership fees by 50% if you pay by the end of this year, don't know if they always do that or whether it's a knee jerk reaction to the new one coming along.

sharkey said:

I usually go out to eat after shooting and always feel like I still have lead on my hands.
I've never considered gloves; I would not wear the latex or rubber ones though. My hands would be soaked in sweat.

Hmmm, I'll have to find a good pair of gloves, not a bad idea.

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Just an FYI,
Its not lead that makes your hands dirty loading mags, it's the factory case lube residue.

say hello to your new friend: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Butl...cts&Ntt=lula&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

I would think that if getting your hands dirty is an "issue" you have OCD and need some pills.

Super Trucker said:

I would think that if getting your hands dirty is an "issue" you have OCD and need some pills.

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There's a difference between "everything is dirty, I can't touch it" (a la Monk)
and "this stuff is unhealthy & I want it off my hands ASAP".

I'm in the latter category.
The outdoor range I prefer to go to doesn't have "facilities" except on weekends, so I do all my cleaning there on a warm pistol then wash the first thing when I walk into the restaurant, since we usually go to lunch afterwards.

I still don't like that my steering wheel cover, clothes, keys get residue but there's not much I can do about it other than wash them.
Might start carrying those antibacterial wipes for the first pass on my hands @ the range.
It isn't a problem at the indoor range I like.