Recently I made the decision to eliminate lead from my hunting strategies. I was part of the crowd that bellered and whined when lead was outlawed for waterfowl hunting, but learned that the nontoxic shot actually patterns better and with small adjustments (like giving up the "Hail Mary" long shots that never worked anyway) I was just as successful.
The new non-lead bullets reviewed in NRA magazines and other outdoor hook-n-bullet publications are proving to be incredibly effective. To get the bullet weights, the bullet has to be longer and improves accuracy thru better ballistic coefficiency. 95% weight retention and excellent mushrooming makes for excellent lethality. Just what all uf us want, bullets that do the job.
Sure, more expensive. I feel that pinch more than many of you because I am making about 35% of what I used to these days, but a box of bullets is a very small part of the whole price of a hunting trip.
What tipped the scales for me was what I have seen in bird of prey rehab facilities. Trust me, the sight of a lead poisoned bald eagle shaking uncontrollably, unable to hold up it's head, unable to swallow or defecate properly is heartbreaking. In the average year rehab facilities will take in hundreds of bald and golden eagles with lead toxicity. For every one FOUND, conservative estimates say 25 or more may have died and were not reported or seen. When a nonlead bullet stops moving it stops killing. Lead rounds continue killing long after they stop moving.
This is not propaganda being spread by the anti-hunting crowd, even though they are jumping on the bandwagon. I am posting a link to a guy that obviously lives to hunt and lives off what he hunts, I want to encourage all of you to take a look at it with open minds. Fortunately our primitive archery isn't contributing to the lead problem, but many of us also hunt with guns and I wanted to share this concern with you. We primitive archers are some of the most ethical hunters out there, I think this is something we are all interested in understanding. Besides, you gotta see the shots he makes on these California piggies!
http://vimeo.com/26985422Thanks,
John Halverson
