Posted on 08/07/2009 9:23:05 AM PDT by george76
Grand Teton National Park and the National Elk Refuge are encouraging hunters to voluntarily use non-lead ammunition during the upcoming elk and bison seasons.
The park and refuge issued a joint release Thursday saying lead is an environmental toxin that can poison animals that eat carcasses shot with lead bullets.
Officials say studies have found that lead levels increase in ravens and eagles
(Excerpt) Read more at localnews8.com ...
Hunters, is there a problem w/ steel shot?
Huh? You mean the hunters shoot the Elk and Bison and then just leave the dead carcasses laying there?
Nerf bullets?
How about if they used biodegradeable paintballs?
A hunter might fire one lead bullet all season.
This is bull$hit.
You have to read this stuff realizing the leftists who contributed to it have never held a gun in their lives. They don’t know S from Shinola on these matters.

Awesome bullets. No lead.
That is used for birds and water fowl.
Scientists ask cavemen to not use flint spear points
when hunting Mammoth as the points can flake off or crack
and when ingested by velociraptors may cause stomach upset
or death.
Bwahahahahahahha
OK no problem, depleted uranium it is!
If they only fire one bullet all season, why not a copper bullet?
I hunt. I use copper. Copper shells are only a little more expensive and they are less likely to jam.
Officials say studies have found that lead levels increase in ravens and eagles
What?!?!?!
I would use fewer lead bullets if they would let me use Micro-nukes. However, those aren’t available... yet :>)
I have held a gun (and own one), but I’m no hunter, so I was just wondering. Is there some advantage to lead?
Agreed - total BS.
I’ve hunted Grand Teton and spent time in the park with rangers from the feed-grounds outside Jackson Hole. There’s no concern other than what comes from the enviro-nutcases.
I’ve yet to see anything come from the biologists at the wildlife division that would indicate a problem.
As far as alternatives - I load for elk with Barnes 3X solid copper anyway.
***Hunters, is there a problem w/ steel shot?***
Steel going through a steel barrel is not good. Lead, encased in a copper jacket is better and will not damage the rifling as steel will.
Have you ever used copper on an elk / moose? A pure copper bullet does not have the penetration that a heavier bullet will have. Now a copper clad or copper head on a tungsten body gives the best of both worlds.
I believe it might be an attempt by anti gun/hunting types to put an end to black powder seasonal shooting. Purchase and posession of black powder pistols, rifles and shotguns is not nearly as tightly controlled as modern firearms and they don’t work very well with hard lead or substitute ammo.
For a long time there were no expanding hunting bullets that didn't use soft lead to do the expanding with. Nosler and Barnes both offer all copper bullets that have Petals that open up to allow for the expansion now. They are still more expensive than the typical lead bullets.
For bison and elk, yes... for ducks, not as much.
Ah okay, now that makes sense.
Copper bullet on a mule deer.
Someone who is more knowledgeable than I may come along and refute some of this, but here are my thoughts on it.
Lead is easily utilized in the private home to make your own ammunition. It’s ability to be melted at relatively low temperatures make it much more user friendly than substitutes.
Beyond that, I believe lead’s malleable qualities make it a much nicer type of shot. It’s relatively soft when compared to steal shot, and it will be kinder to your weapon’s barrel and utilize the rifling more effectively.
Lead is a natural product. It’s comes from the very nature these anti-lead freaks probably consider to be godlike, if not an actual god.
Birds that eat food that may contain lead shot, pass that lead straight through their system in short order. They would probably have to eat lead shot constantly to have any real dangerous effect from the lead that passes through their system.
If lead gets into your blood stream, it’s problematic. I am not sure if you swallowed the lead portion of a bullet, and let it pass through your system, that it would cause any harm whatsoever. My thought is that your system is not going to digest the lead in any appreciable manner, that could cause you concern. That is a layman’s opinion mind you, but I doubt there would be any ill effects.
I doubt seriously that there would be much ill effects if birds or animals did ingest some lead shot on occasion.
This is a leftist’s internal irrational nightmare IMO. I would hope conservatives would realize that, and question the premises seriously.
I remeber you. What a day. I was cleaning my guns, having a cup of coffee when all of a sudden...
Well that is just terrible. Good idea.
Agreed...the request is silly and makes those who are asking appear to be unfamiliar w/ hunting.
Well, the folks studying the eagles say they are showing more lead in their bodies. I don’t know if it’s enough to harm them, but I hope we would find out. We ought to respect eagles, if this is becoming a hazard to them. One way the lead could be getting into the eagles is from shots that miss, or shots that only wound so the intended catch gets away and dies later.
Okay, Depleted Uranium is okay........................
GMTA!..................
Lead free and probably better than a lead core bullet to boot.
http://www.youtube.com/user/barnesbullets
Check-out the varmit grenade shots - vaporized groundhogs.
Say it isn’t so! I am absolutely mortified that someone would desiminate this kind of information to take advantage of my innocent desire to help reduce lead poioning in the little forest creatures. I feel soooo violated.
Yeo, that was quite a day...
I'm switched to obsidian years ago.
Oh no, not the cop killer obsidian?
I hope they are the laser etched ones for easier identification.
All this talk about lead in eagles, why I’ve been eating
eagles for years and it hasn’t affected me me me me me.
lead is an environmental toxin
Question, Name something that ISN’T enviromentally Toxic?
After rereading my post it looks like I am talking more like a cave man or my blood lead level has increased. Do you have a good recipe for eagle you could share.
I don’t want to see harm to eagles either. As you intimated, I don’t know if this supposed increase in lead levels is significant either. I should nose around and see what I can come up with.
Call me crazy, but I don’t see there being so many hunters out there, that eagles can’t find food unless it’s some animal that was wounded by a shot that didn’t end the creature’s life. So yes, they may come across animals that have been shot on occasion, but I can’t imagine that being the significant source of their food.
How many times would a hunter hit a large animal? Once is the probably answer. A bird feeding off that carcass would probably only have access to one round, if it remained in the animal. If we’re talking about a shotgun blast to a bird, there could be multiple lead shot, but how often would a bird get wounded that bad, and not die on the spot where the hunter could gather it and take it home to eat.
Some birds may show increased lead levels. In some instances that level may be significant. I’m not sure if it is or it is not. I’ll try to find out.
I do take these reports with a grain of salt, because the people who tend to work in these fields seem to be almost mentally ill when it comes to reason as it relates to animals and nature in general.
With that inserted in the bullet, you have a round that will go thru most any body armor.
Okay by me not to use lead; spent uranium bullets pack more punch.
Is there some advantage to lead?
You probably should get your blood lead level checked,
you might have Deadibities.
Jane Fonda’s Favorite Eagle Recipe.
One medium Eagle, may be bald depending on age.
Two quarts kerosene.
One American flag.
Wrap eagle in flag
douse with kerosene.
Flambe for one hour.
serve with crow appetisers.
Serves 8 hungry union enforcers.
Yes.
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