blake
Life Member
This article is rather lenghty, but I must read if you consume venison IMO. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif
From the Omaha World Herald:
Lead vs. Copper: Research targets lead bullets' impact
BISMARCK, N.D. - Chris Parish has fired lead bullets from deer rifles into water jugs, wet telephone books and ballistics gel.
He's pulled the trigger on copper bullets.
Parish, an Arizonan and big-game hunter who feeds his daughters venison from his hunting trips, said he was shocked at what researchers found after picking through the targets. Lead rifle bullets fragmented on impact more than expected, sending hundreds of tiny pieces of lead several inches from the bullet's entry point and path.
The implication was clear: There are dangers associated with game animals shot with lead-based ammunition that are consumed by people, scavengers and predators.
"This blew me away," Parish said. "How much lead are we eating?"
Parish said the answer turns out to depend on the type of bullet shot, whether the hunter processes his own deer and if the hunter had a good, clean kill shot.
Tests indicate that copper bullets fragment less than lead-based bullets, Parish said. The 150-grain lead-based, soft-point bullet retained 92 grains, or 64 percent of its mass. A 165-grain copper bullet retained 164.3 grains, or 99.6 percent of its mass.
The lead vs. copper tests were conducted after the Peregrine Fund studied lead ammunition to determine why California condors were ailing and dying from lead poisoning, the leading cause of death in reintroduced condors. The Peregrine Fund breeds captive condors in Idaho and produces chicks released near the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Parish directs the condor restoration project in Arizona.
Research showed that scavenging condors ingested fragments of lead dispersed through carcasses and gut piles left by hunters in the birds' foraging areas.
The Peregrine Fund turned to Arizona hunters for help. Hunters were asked to voluntarily use copper bullets or not leave gut piles in the field. The Arizona Game and Fish Department offered two free boxes of copper rifle ammunition to each hunter in the condor area.
More than 80 percent of Arizona hunters made the switch last year. That's up from 60 percent in 2006.
No condors died of lead poisoning last year. Four died of lead poisoning in 2006.
"Hunters responded like the conservationists we are," Parish said. "We showed that hunters, if presented a problem in a reasonable manner and asked for support, will give it to you."
California took a more direct approach to reduce lead in condor country. A new state law banned lead bullets July 1.
Parish said he knows hunters who say their lead-based bullets don't fragment and retain 96 percent of their mass. That made him wonder how many lead fragments there could be after a bullet hits a deer or elk. That's when the ballistics tests started.
"Even in bullets that retained 96 percent of their mass, they yielded 50 to 100 fragments," Parish said. "If that's left in the gut pile or you make a poor shot, or don't clean your meat properly, you may be eating it."
The issue gained urgency last spring when North Dakota health officials pulled hunter-donated venison from food pantries after the discovery of lead fragments in about 60 percent of the meat tested.
State officials in Iowa and Minnesota - where evidence of lead was found in 22 percent of 1,239 samples taken last fall from commercial processors and hunters who butcher and trim their own deer - took similar precautions. The meat had been donated by hunters to help feed the needy.
Kit Hams, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission big game manager, said there is no simple answer. Hunters and processors need to be careful how they handle game shot with lead.
"Shot up meat I don't eat," Hams said.
The issue may be discussed next week at a meeting of Midwest deer and turkey biologists in Crawford, Neb.
No amount of lead is considered safe in people.
Nontoxic ammunition has been required for all waterfowl hunting in the United States since 1991. Regulations vary, however, for using lead shot for hunting pheasants and other game.
Researchers say incidental lead-poisoning deaths of many birds and mammals are unnecessarily high. Victims include bald eagles, golden eagles, mourning doves, upland game birds and coyotes.
The price of non-lead ammunition may hinder efforts to encourage hunters to make the switch. Copper bullets cost about $3 to $10 a box more than lead-based ammunition.
Parish said copper bullets are just as effective for him when he shoots big game from his preferred range of less than 200 yards. Abandoning lead bullets for big-game hunting won't reduce the quality of the hunting experience, he said.
"I'll stand flat-footed with anybody shooting a lead-based bullet and match velocity and penetration," Parish said. "The fact that copper doesn't bust into pieces gives
it better killing power."
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