Well, here we are on the first day of the California Lead Ammunition Ban. I haven’t checked everywhere yet, but as far as I can tell no one’s guns have miraculously turned to pillars of salt (although without proper maintenance some may resemble pillars of rust), and the land hasn’t yet been overrun by hordes of killer hogs and deadly deer. I didn’t get pulled over by the DFG this morning and get forced to submit to cavity searches.
In fact, the day has arrived with little fallout, but not without its fanfare.
Meanwhile, the availability of non-lead options seems to still be a big question. According to my own Hog Blog poll (unscientific to say the least), it looks like 83% of the respondents would be able to find lead-free ammunition for their chosen firearm. Not too bad, although 44% of you found that the options are limited, and 25% of you would have to hand-load your own ammo to comply with this law.
What really concerns me is the 13% of respondents who said that there is no lead-free option available for their firearm. That’s 1.3 out of every 10 hunters who would not permitted to hunt legally if lead ammo were banned as it has been throughout the “condor zone” in California. That’s too many.
If you’re planning to hunt in the Condor Zone (or if you just want to start using non-lead ammo), and you’re having trouble finding ammo for your hunting guns, let us know here. Maybe I, or one of my readers, can help you find a viable option.
In the meantime, it’s now the law.
Cody
Any more restrictive laws on hunting or firearms and it will be easier just to move out of state where the hunting is better.