The Consequences of Lead Ammo

BigUglyMan

BigUglyMan

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Very interesting episode of The Meateater Podcast where the guest Jim Heffelfinger talks extensively about the effect of lead ammunition and how lead is actually absorbed. Especially interesting is the difference between when lead bullet fragments or shot are ingested by raptors versus when they are ingested by mammals. Not as cut and dried as some people would have you think.
 
Not sure what episode it is, but the podcast is here: https: //www.themeateater.com/listen/meateater

Also you might want to read this article : www.themeateater.com/hunt/big-game/a-meateaters-case-for-getting-the-lead-out

"Steve does shoot lead ammunition on some hunts, but he has used non-toxic options successfully on everything from ducks to pigs and he’s constantly considering going lead-free. While I now hunt almost exclusively with non-toxic ammunition, it’s important to note that here at MeatEater we’re not condemning the use of lead or weighing in on regulations that could be considered restrictive by some hunters. Unless mandated by law, the use of non-toxic ammunition is a personal choice worth exploring further, especially from the perspectives of bullet performance and food safety. "
 
The science of lead toxicity is pretty well known, and non toxic bullets work as well or better than lead. They are more expensive, which is an important consideration in some circumstances. The risk to humans is very small, but I'd switch completely to non toxic bullets if it was practical right now. However I have substantial inventory on hand of "regular" lead bullets. So it will be a while!
 
When it comes to lead projectiles, I believe that bullet construction, velocity, marksmanship & shot placement, butchering technique, proper disposal of waste are all considerations that affect whether lead contamination will be a problem or not.

Education is the solution, not blanket bans on lead.
 
I don't know why ingesting lead is such a concern. I carve off and throw away any venison that has bullet trauma. Can't eat lead that isn't getting into my food sources.
 
Interesting topic. My own anecdotal experience...I have been eating game birds shot with lead shot since I was a kid. (I am 52 now). I have been handling lead in shot shell reloading for over 25 years. I shot at indoor ranges at work for over 30 years (and in the early years, we had to sweep up after with no PPE). I was exposed to 6 years of rifle fire with supressors (lots of gas in the face and air around you). Because of workplace concerns, I was tested for lead (blood) and was well within the normal range for any other person. I was not tested in the bone, which I am told is another way of testing.

Frankly, I was surprised I didn't register. Neither did any of my co-workers that I am aware of either.

All that said, if you were a bird grinding up lead pellets in your crop...there could be an issue.
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
I don't know why ingesting lead is such a concern. I carve off and throw away any venison that has bullet trauma. Can't eat lead that isn't getting into my food sources.
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The problem here is impacts on raptors, not humans. This is not about the lead YOU occasionally may ingest. I think there's more to it than just lead from projectiles, these raptors eat all sorts of stuff with questionable food sources. But at the end of the day, they eat what's left, the gut pile and rest of the carcass that holds most of the lead fragments.

As silly as it may sound, I also think there's an argument about raptors in the prairies not only ingesting the lead from big game but also small game such as gophers. Millions of gophers are shot with lead projectiles throughout the west. These are normally picked up by crows, vultures and raptors.
 
Neurotoxic said:
. Unless mandated by law, the use of non-toxic ammunition is a personal choice worth exploring further, especially from the perspectives of bullet performance and food safety. "
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So what would have better bullet performance than lead??
I think that is a bs argument.
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
I don't know why ingesting lead is such a concern. I carve off and throw away any venison that has bullet trauma. Can't eat lead that isn't getting into my food sources.
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penetration of lead in small parts are going deeper than you think. a study was made by the french national blood tracking association in france and it was interesting to see that any lead bullets leave fragments that even not staying into the body of roe red deer and wild boar. the study was made to avoid dogs to be wounded by schrapnels seems that even some full copper bullets had some issue at short distance.

just my 2 cents.
 
medvedqc said:
penetration of lead in small parts are going deeper than you think. a study was made by the french national blood tracking association in france and it was interesting to see that any lead bullets leave fragments that even not staying into the body of roe red deer and wild boar. the study was made to avoid dogs to be wounded by schrapnels seems that even some full copper bullets had some issue at short distance.

just my 2 cents.
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I saw a documentary not long ago just about that, it was fascinating!!
And I was gonna say that lead in game is still present even if you take all fragments away and cut off all blood shot areas! Especially if you kill something and you can’t recover it immediately, it will of course be worst if the bullet hit bones and fragments heavily! That is why I like to use bullets that tend to stay together or monolithic bullets! I had great success with Barns TSX or TTSX but for some reasons the Hornady version not so good ou of my 30-06 on moose! For my 9.3x62 I only have lead(bonded) bullets and lots of them so I will use those!!
 
I will try to find the study, but it X-ray'd harvested deer shot with traditional lead bullets. The X-ray showed small lead/jacket fragments ended up more distributed than would have been expected. Anyway- not arguing one better than the other, but writing is on the wall I think.
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
I don't know why ingesting lead is such a concern. I carve off and throw away any venison that has bullet trauma. Can't eat lead that isn't getting into my food sources.
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Can't eat lead that isn't getting into my food sources because because I missed, so it isn't my food.:(
 
medvedqc said:
penetration of lead in small parts are going deeper than you think. a study was made by the french national blood tracking association in france and it was interesting to see that any lead bullets leave fragments that even not staying into the body of roe red deer and wild boar. the study was made to avoid dogs to be wounded by schrapnels seems that even some full copper bullets had some issue at short distance.

just my 2 cents.
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sorry ... your two cents made no f-ing sense at all ... what the hell were you trying to say ?
 
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