Target shooting near garden?

[mooman]

Hi all, first post. Recently moved out to the country and am planting a 1/4 acre of bottom land along the stream that borders my property. When tilling, I left a lane in the middle of the field open so that I could use it as a shooting range (perfect because I'm firing into a hillside and there is no development on the 8 acres behind my parcel). Talking with some friends the subject came up about lead toxicity.

Question: Is the lead in that hillside a concern? It is aproximately 10 feet upslope from nearest bed. I am going to build some bullet traps out of old pallets, but to date I've fired about 500 round into the hill. I don't want to go through the trouble of digging out the lead if I don't have to since I have about a million other things that need to be done there. Any advice? Anybody know how far lead migrates in soil?

Thanks in advance

 

[silkiechicken]

Good question. I'm sure it does get into the soil, but to what extent and how toxic it really is, might be more of the question. Personally I think lead is a bit over rated in small quantities, but I also wouldn't want to fill the soil with high levels of lead. I say the sooner you get your traps up the better, but maybe to dig a small trench so water doesn't run from the hill straight into your beds. Blame ROHS compliance rules for my feelings on lead.

 

[2 Beauts]

Can you take some soil samples and have them tested by the health department?