Lead Ban ChroniclesThanks to Holly for forwarding this, since I’ve just returned from out of town…

The Monterey Herald just ran an article which quotes the results of a local hunting survey.  Here’s the (pretty eye-catching) lead.

 A recent survey of Monterey County big game and varmint hunters showed only one in seven is satisfied with the nonlead bullets required for hunting in the state-designated condor range.

And close to 30 percent of hunters who took the field during the past year said they ignored the law.

The article does go on to quote DFG chief of law enforcement, Nancy Foley, who points out that the DFG field reports showed about a 99 percent compliance rate during the first year since the ban was implemented (I commented on that myself a few weeks ago). 

I added my own comment to the article on the Herald’s web page.  It’s pretty long, so I don’t know if they’ll leave it or not… so for posterity (and for those of you who don’t like to click links), here’s what I had to say:

Interesting story, and it’s not a complete surprise… although a survey of 76 individuals in a localized area is hardly representative of the hunting community.

I really wish more hunters would get the real facts before they spout off about the issue, particularly those who complain, as one did in the survey, that other carrion eaters aren’t dying from lead… they are, but they are not endangered, and hence, not studied or monitored as closely as the condor.

Accuracy is another issue. It’s true that every rifle is unique, and performs differently with different ammo (lead or otherwise). It is very likely that some hunters’ rifles will not perform well with non-lead ammo, which is one of the reasons that I think the ban is a bad call. Poor accuracy results in wounded and crippled animals, which is a terrible experience for any hunter (not to mention the animal).

Effectiveness is another hot issue. Personally, I’ve witnessed nearly 100 percent quick kills with non-lead, but I do see where less-than-ideal hits would result in a lost animal. The complaint is that copper bullets do not expand sufficiently to create a large wound channel, and they pass completely through the animal without delivering sufficient energy or internal damage (which is the reason that big game hunting with military, full-metal jacket ammo is illegal in this state). It’s an issue that bears objective research by DFG, because if it’s true that the non-lead ammo is truly resulting in less humane kills and more lost and wounded animals, the ban should be repealed immediately.

Finally, the myth of availability… non-lead ammo is NOT “widely” available for “all” rifles. It is available for the most common centerfire hunting rifles, but not for many less common calibers.

It is not available for most rimfire calibers either, with the exception of .22 magnum. Winchester has reported development of a .22 long-rifle (one of the most common small game rounds in the country), but that round is still not available for general purchase. For hunters shooting vermin (rats, ground squirrels, etc.) rimfire is the only practical and affordable option… so many of them probably ARE ignoring the law, because there is no alternative except to buy new guns or stop hunting.

There are other ways to achieve a lead-safe environment, short of an all-out lead ammo ban. There are many bullets, for example that leave nominal lead traces or particles in game. It’s also been shown that shotgun slugs and muzzleloader bullets don’t generally fragment, and can be recovered intact from a game animal… leaving nothing behind to threaten carrion eaters.

It’s probably too late to take this approach in CA, unfortunately, but I hope hunters and hunter advocates in other states can learn from the mistakes made in CA.

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