Shooting clays over water

OneBarfly

OneBarfly

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I have a fishing trip "up north" in the summer and my buddy was considering bringing his clay thrower. OK - Don't flame me for asking the question, but what thoughts have you about shooting clays over water? Are they 100% biodegradable? What about lead shot. Here in Ontario, it's verboten to hunt migratory birds with lead shot, but does that have any influence on where you go target shooting? Provided it is legal to discharge, any thoughts about this practice?
 
OneBarfly said:
I have a fishing trip "up north" in the summer and my buddy was considering bringing his clay thrower. OK - Don't flame me for asking the question, but what thoughts have you about shooting clays over water? Are they 100% biodegradable? What about lead shot. Here in Ontario, it's verboten to hunt migratory birds with lead shot, but does that have any influence on where you go target shooting? Provided it is legal to discharge, any thoughts about this practice?
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It's a very good question actually. The lead shot restrictions only apply to hunting migratory birds. There are no restrictions on shooting clay targets over water in Ontario and I know of at least one range, approved by the Ontario CFO, where shooting is done over water.

Clays are not 100 per cent biodegradable. Even if they were the plastic wads used in most shotshells are not. Whether you feel right about doing it is up to you but there are no legal restrictions.
 
May be an ethical issue more than legal; as already stated that's a lot of lead to be shooting into water. If you're like me and shoot a case of 250 shots every session perhaps it's not a good idea, but a box of 25 may not have much of an impact on the local ecosystem, cetainly no more than all of the lead sinkers lost during the fishing seasons. Personally I wouldn't do it.
 
Claybuster said:
There are no restrictions on shooting clay targets over water in Ontario and I know of at least one range, approved by the Ontario CFO, where shooting is done over water.
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Wow, I'm surprized to hear that. I guess the CFO isn't taking that into consideration when approving a range (yet).

Shooting into water is probably going to kill more gun ranges than any other factor. This past fall I shot at 100 yr old club in the USA that is going to be shut down this spring because they shoot into water. If the environmentalists can do that in the USA, they can do it anywhere.....

To the question at hand... If you shoot onto dry land, you can pick up the targets you missed and shoot at them again.

Brad.
 
I believe the DArtmouth Trap And Skeet club shoots over water, that would be litterally tons of lead. I have no issues with it, especially in deep water.
I have a buddy who uses his duck blind in the winter and summer to hunt crows when the tide is low.

At our sporting clays course we shoot over water, but it is really more of a big puddle, not much living in it or around it other than a few frogs and insects.

I understood that clays were biodegradable, but I am no expert.
 
I was told by an American that I met somewhere (Albany OR full auto shoot actually) that it is illegal to shoot ACROSS water in the US. He knew of a friend that got ticketed for firing a rifle across a stream to the target on the other side.

It is natural to feel the "grass is greener on the other side", but really, they have a LOT of goofy, heavy handed laws down there too.

As to the original question, I would also not dump lead into a shallow pond, due to ducks feeding on the bottom.
 
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