Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

OLYMPIA, WA – -(AmmoLand.com)- In a continuing effort to monitor trumpeter swans that have succumbed to lead poisoning, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has re-established a hotline to report dead or ill swans in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties.

People can call (360) 466-4345, ext. 266, to report dead or sick swans. Callers should be prepared to leave a message including their name and phone number, and the location and condition of the swans. The hotline is available 24 hours a day through the end of March.

Some trumpeter swans in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties, and in southwestern British Columbia, die each winter from lead poisoning after ingesting lead shot in areas where they feed.

Lead shot has been banned for waterfowl hunting in Washington and British Columbia for more than a decade, but biologists believe swans are likely reaching shallow underwater areas in fields and roosts where spent lead shot is still present.

People who see sick or dead swans are advised not to handle or attempt to move the birds, said Jennifer Bohannon, WDFW wildlife biologist. WDFW and Puget Sound Energy employees, as well as volunteers from the Washington Waterfowl Association and the Trumpeter Swan Society, will pick up the birds, she said.

The collected swans also will be among the thousands of wild birds WDFW is testing for avian influenza.

Since 2001, WDFW and other agencies and organizations have been working to locate sources of toxic lead and remove it from the environment.

For the past three years, hazing crews have worked to scare swans away from Judson Lake, a source of lead poisoning on the U.S.-Canada border in Whatcom County. During that effort, the average number of lead-related swan mortalities significantly dropped to 67 a year, about 70 percent less than the previous five-year average, said Bohannon.

This year, biologists have placed bamboo poles and plastic fences in portions of the lake to keep birds from landing or swimming in areas with concentrations of lead shot. Swans that do access those areas will be hazed from the lake, said Bohannon.

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Hotline To Report Dead Or Ill Swans Available

California Rifle and Pistol Association

Phoenix, Az. --(AmmoLand.com)- As part of NRA’s continuing efforts to protect hunters from special interest groups seeking to eliminate the use of ammunition containing lead projectiles, attorneys for NRA filed paperwork in the United States District Court in Arizona on October 14, 2009 asking the Court to allow NRA to intervene and join in the lawsuit Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Bureau of Land Management et al (3:09-cv-08011-PCT-PGR).

The court could rule on NRA’s intervention request as early as the end of this month.

The lawsuit, filed January 27, 2009 by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), alleges that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (BLM, FWS) are illegally mismanaging federal lands in Arizona because those agencies failed to consider the potential impact on local wildlife resulting from authorizing activities like off-road vehicle use and allowing livestock grazing. CBD’s lawsuit also claims that California condors in Arizona are becoming ill or dying as a result of eating lead in scavenged game shot by hunters using lead shot or bullets, and that BLM and FWS are violating the Endangered Species Act by allowing hunters to use of lead shot and bullets while hunting.

National Rifle Association

NRA has been at the forefront of debunking the so-called “science” behind the theory that lead bullets are responsible for condor illness. NRA most recently worked with experts, researchers, and attorneys in California to defeat proposed state hunting regulations based on the unproven condor/lead bullets link. That success was based in large part on meticulous scientific reports prepared by experts working with NRA that exposed the deficiencies in the science, showing the theoretical link to be rooted in “psuedo-science,” as one California Fish and Game Commissioner described it.

Because of NRA’s previous experience and expertise with this issue in other states, and because there is no guarantee that either BLM or FWS will vigorously challenge the unproven assertions CBD is making about lead-based ammunition, NRA is seeking to intervene in CBD’s lawsuit to protect its members’ interests.

NRA is especially interested in defending against CBD’s lawsuit because California condors were introduced to Arizona based in large part on express promises by FWS, among others, that the reintroduction of condors would not be allowed to impact hunting.

A copy of the Motion to Intervene, CBD’s Opposition, and NRA’s Reply Brief is posted at http://www.calgunlaws.com/ .

About:
The California Rifle and Pistol Association “CRPA,” founded in 1875, is dedicated to defending the rights of law-abiding citizens to responsibly use firearms for self-defense and the defense of their loved ones, for sport, and for all other legal activities. CRPA is the official state association of the National Rifle Association. A California non-profit association, CRPA is independently directed by its own Board of Directors. CRPA’s 65,000 members include law enforcement officers, prosecutors, professionals, firearm experts, the general public, and loving parents. CRPA has always worked to reduce the criminal misuse of firearms and firearms accidents, while actively promoting and organizing the competitive shooting sports and Olympic training programs in California. We are proud to say that many CRPA competitors are among the best in the world.

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NRA Moves To Protect Hunters From Arizona Lawsuit Threatening Lead Ammunition Ban

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

LINCOLN, Neb. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Nebraska waterfowl hunters have another type of nontoxic shot available to them, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has approved, effective immediately, the use of tungsten-iron-polymer shot for hunting waterfowl and coots.

It is unlawful to use or possess shotgun shells loaded with or containing shot other than nontoxic shot while hunting, taking or attempting to take waterfowl in Nebraska.

Nontoxic shot is required for all shotgun hunting on federal waterfowl production areas and national wildlife refuges and, as posted, on some state wildlife management areas.

The following is a list of legal nontoxic shot:

• bismuth-tin
• steel
• iron-tungsten
• iron-tungsten-nickel
• tungsten-bronze
• tungsten-iron-copper-nickel
• tungsten-matrix
• tungsten-polymer
• tungsten-tin-iron
• tungsten-tin-bismuth
• tungsten-tin-iron-nickel,
• tungsten-iron-polymer

Research has shown that ingested spent lead, or toxic, shot caused significant numbers of migratory bird deaths. Lead shot was banned nationwide in 1991 for use in hunting waterfowl and coots.

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New Type of Nontoxic Shot Approved for Waterfowl Hunting

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn.—-(AmmoLand.com)-A letter signed by members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Second Amendment Task Force raising important questions about the National Park Service’s intent to ban the use of traditional ammunition in parks that allow hunting has been sent to Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The letter, which follows a similar message sent to Salazar by U.S. senators last week, was applauded by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.

A bipartisan working group dedicated to defending the Second Amendment rights of American citizens, the task force wrote that “the rationale for such a ban is not based on sound scientific analysis and it would greatly restrict the ability of sportsmen to engage in hunting and fishing activities in the national parks that permit those activities.”

The National Park Service continues to pursue a ban on traditional ammunition that it announced earlier in the year would apply to park personnel involved with culling sick and wounded animals, and indicated it would consider widening the ban to all hunters. The firearms industry, sportsmen’s groups and multiple conservation organizations criticized the ban in a press release, calling it “arbitrary, over-reactive and not based on science.”

Last week in a letter to Salazar, 13 United States senators detailed their concerns about the impact a ban on traditional ammunition would have on hunters, the economy and wildlife populations.

“This action by the House Second Amendment Task Force, in conjunction with the senators’ letter, focuses attention on the National Park Service taking unilateral actions concerning traditional ammunition and is welcomed by conservation and sportsmen’s groups and the firearms industry,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. “This process needs to be as transparent as possible, and Congress’ involvement will help to ensure that this is the case.”

The NSSF has stated in communications to the park service that any decision made about federal lands with regard to ammunition products be based on thorough scientific study of wildlife population impacts. Currently, no scientific evidence indicates that wildlife populations are being negatively impacted by hunters utilizing traditional ammunition that contains lead components.

The task force’s letter adds, “we are unaware of conclusive evidence that ingestion of lead fishing tackle or ammunition threatens fish and wildlife species at the population level.”

The House Second Amendment Task Force’s letter, signed by co-chairmen Paul C. Broun, M.D (R-Ga.) and Dan Boren (D-Okla.) and nine other U.S. representatives, encouraged Salazar to

“work closely with groups that represent hunters and anglers to develop a transparent scientific process to examine the impact of lead hunting and fishing products.”

About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

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House Members Join Senators in Support of Traditional Ammunition in National Parks

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn –-(AmmoLand.com)- A letter signed by numerous United States senators to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar raising important questions about actions by the National Park Service (NPS) to ban the use of traditional ammunition in parks that allow hunting has drawn praise from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.

In the letter to Secretary Salazar, 13 senators detailed their concerns about the impact a ban on traditional ammunition would have on hunters, the economy and wildlife populations.

“At this time, the motives behind NPS actions addressing lead issues are very unclear. Especially in these difficult economic times, this action will discourage people from hunting and fishing and decrease revenue into the Pittman-Robertson fund that funds state conservation efforts,” read the letter.

The NPS continues to pursue a ban on traditional ammunition that it announced earlier in the year would apply to park personnel involved with culling sick and wounded animals, and indicated it would consider widening the ban to all hunters. The firearms industry, sportsmen’s groups and multiple conservation organizations criticized the ban in a press release, calling it “arbitrary, over-reactive and not based on science.”

“The move by members of the United States Senate to step in and raise concerns about the NPS making any unilateral actions concerning traditional ammunition is welcomed by conservation and sportsmen’s groups throughout the country and the entire firearms industry,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. “This process needs to be as transparent as possible and Congress’ involvement will help to ensure that this is the case.”

The NSSF has clearly stated in communications to the NPS that any decision made about federal lands with regard to ammunition products be based on thorough scientific study of wildlife population impacts. Currently, no scientific evidence indicates that wildlife populations are being negatively impacted by hunters utilizing traditional ammunition.

The NSSF has clearly stated in communications to the NPS that any decision made about federal lands with regard to ammunition products be based on thorough scientific study of wildlife population impacts. Currently, no scientific evidence indicates that wildlife populations are being negatively impacted by hunters utilizing traditional ammunition.

In concluding their letter to Secretary Salazar, the senators were very clear as to what they wanted to see:

“We request that NPS cease all actions to prohibit the use of lead products on NPS lands by private citizens and NPS personnel.”

Signatories on the letter include:

• Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
• Sen. James E. Risch(R-ID)
• Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY)
• Sen. Roger F. Wicker (R-MS)
• Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
• Sen. Michael B. Enzi (R-WY)
• Sen. Robert F. Bennett(R-UT)
• Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
• Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
• Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE)
• Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
• Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

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Senators Fight to Preserve Use of Traditional Ammunition in National Parks

California Outdoor Heritage Alliance

California --(AmmoLand.com)- At their August 6th meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission voted 4-1 not to expand the ban on the use of lead ammunition to the taking of small and migratory upland game in the range of the California condor.

The California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA) joined the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), California Rifle and Pistol Association and the NRA in testifying against the proposed expansion at the hearing, noting that the best available science simply does not warrant such a move.

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) also recommended against an expansion of the lead ban. The Commission’s negative vote on the expansion proposal maintains the ability of hunters to use traditional lead ammunition for small and upland game in the range of the condor.

Currently, non-toxic loads are required for the hunting of big game within the range of the condor pursuant to the passage of AB 821 in 2007 and the promulgation of detailed Commission regulations which followed the passage of the measure. DFG was required to offer the expansion of the ban to small and upland game as an “alternative” within the 2009 season regulatory package, and the Commission had to consider the alternative, pursuant to the recent settlement of a long-standing lawsuit filed by several environmental organizations.

For the past several months, COHA has been closely monitoring the DFG analysis of this possible regulation change and working with DFG and our partners to ensure that the final regulation adopted by the Commission was based purely on science, and not the emotions surrounding the general lead bullet debate.

In their testimony, COHA noted that – in contrast to big game – the carcasses of small and upland game are removed from the field in their entirety, leaving no gut piles or other body parts for condors to feed upon.

Further, COHA noted that, according to DFG records, there is no single documented incident of a condor feeding on small or upland game. Finally, COHA pointed out that Commission adoption of a ban on lead ammunition for the hunting of small and upland game was not required in the state legislation (AB 821) that mandated the use of non-toxic loads for big game, nor was it required by the recent lawsuit settlement.

When the original lead ban legislation, AB 2123, was first being considered in the California State Legislature in 2006, COHA’s initial opposition convinced the bill’s author, Assembly Member Pedro Nava, to exclude small and upland game from the bill. A short time later, COHA played a key role in killing AB 2123 in committee.

About:
The California Outdoor Heritage Alliance is a 501(c) 4 non-profit political advocacy organization dedicated solely to the promotion of wildlife and the protection of our hunting heritage. COHA professional staff is active at the California State Legislature, Congress, State Fish and Game Commission, State and Federal resource agencies and all other political arenas where decisions are made which may impact wildlife management, habitat conservation, wildlife program funding, hunting access and opportunity, and your ability to purchase and possess sporting arms and munitions. COHA currently represents the political interests of nearly every major wildlife conservation organization active in California – including California Waterfowl, National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, California Deer Association, California Houndsmen for Conservation, Mule Deer Foundation, California Bowmen Hunters, Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, numerous hunting clubs and other outdoor interests. COHA was created in early 2006 by the California Waterfowl Association.

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Ca Commission Denies Proposal to Expand Lead Ban

Remington Arms Company

Madison, NC – -(AmmoLand.com)- Remington is proud to announce, as of July 12, 2009, Premier® Copper Solid™ Rifle, Premier® Copper Solid™ Sabot Slugs and Premier Disintegrator® Varmint lines of ammunition have been approved by the California Department of Fish and Game for use in the hunting zones within the range of the California condor, pursuant to its July 2008 law prohibiting ammunition containing lead in those areas.

Remington Premier ammunition sets the “gold” standard in the industry for accuracy, performance and devastating on-game performance. From design inception by the engineers at our world-class ammunition factory to stringent manufacturing processes using the highest quality components, Remington Premier Gold Box ammunition and our high-performance Premier Sabot Slugs deliver just what you would expect from premium ammunition.

Remington Premier Copper Solid Centerfire Rifle Ammunition

Premier Copper Solid rifle ammunition features a precision-engineered, polymer-tipped copper bullet designed to provide a combination of extreme accuracy with devastating penetration and outstanding weight retention – perfect for all big game species. The copper matrix construction ensures nearly 100% weight retention, while the polymer-tip and boat tail base provide high ballistic coefficient and flat trajectory. This unique, lead-free bullet design gives hunters excellent on-game performance with consistent expansion, deep penetration and pinpoint accuracy. Available in today’s most popular calibers and grain weights.

Remington Premier Copper Solid Sabot Slugs

Premier Copper Solid Sabot Slugs feature angled petal cuts in the nose of the bullet to initiate expansion on impact.  This unique nose design and solid copper construction combine excellent expansion and penetration characteristics with average weight retention near 100%.  Accuracy is exceptional, producing groups of 2 ½ inches or less from Remington’s fully-rifled slug barrels. The result is the best-selling slug in our comprehensive lineup. Available in 12-gauge (2 ¾ or 3-inch) and 20-gauge (2 ¾-inch).

Remington Premier Disintegrator Varmint Ammunition

Premier Disintegrator Varmint ammunition is designed to deliver precision accuracy with devastating on-game performance. Loaded with our new frangible bullet design, Premier Disintegrator delivers explosive expansion unlike any conventional jacketed bullet. On the outside, Disintegrator looks like a typical jacketed hollow point bullet; however, the specially-designed iron/tin bullet core is designed to disintegrate upon impact, fragmenting into tiny pieces. This new bullet offers the radical on-game performance that today’s varmint hunters seek, combined with a reduced risk of ricochet. Available in the popular 22-250 Remington and 223 Remington calibers.

For additional information on these Premier offerings and to view our extensive line of Centerfire, rimfire and shotshell ammunition, visit www.remington.com.

About Remington Arms Company, Inc.
Remington Arms Company, Inc., headquartered in Madison, N.C., designs, produces and sells sporting goods products for the hunting and shooting sports markets, as well as solutions to the military, government and law enforcement markets. Founded in 1816 in upstate New York, the Company is one of the nation’s oldest continuously operating manufacturers. Remington is the only U.S. manufacturer of both firearms and ammunition products and one of the largest domestic producers of shotguns and rifles. The Company distributes its products throughout the U.S. and in over 55 foreign countries. More information about the Company can be found at www.remington.com.

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Remington Non-Lead Ammunition Receives California Certification

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn.--(AmmoLand.com)- In response to an announcement today regarding a National Parks Service program encouraging hunters to voluntarily switch to alternative ammunition, the National Shooting Sports Foundation rejected NPS’s categorization of traditional ammunition as a health threat. NSSF is offering to work with the National Park Service to develop measures to educate hunters about steps they can take to prevent scavengers from ingesting lead fragments of spent traditional ammunition. The park service is proposing to ban, at a minimum, the use of lead bullets, shot and sinkers in the park system by NPS personnel.

While no scientific evidence supports restricting the use of traditional ammunition containing lead components, the firearms industry believes that establishing voluntary measures is a more reasoned step than banning traditional ammunition, a drastic policy decision unsupported by science. NPS has raised concerns that lead bullet fragments found in game meat could cause lead poisoning in humans, a charge not borne out in scientific studies, including a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

“While we’re not opposed to voluntary measures, we maintain there is no need for them,” said Steve Sanetti, president of NSSF, the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry. “The firearms industry supports science-based decisions about wildlife management. Under current regulations, there is no scientific evidence showing that the health of wildlife populations and humans is at risk from the use of traditional ammunition.”

In a press release, Grand Teton National Park and National Elk Refuge officials encouraged hunters to voluntarily switch to alternative ammunition during the 2009 elk and bison seasons. The voluntary measures are being advocated even though the manager of the elk refuge has told NSSF there have been no population impacts on ravens and eagles connected with the use of traditional ammunition.

NSSF says that educational messages can help inform hunters about options related to voluntary measures, such as how to choose alternative ammunition and how burying game entrails can reduce the chance of scavenger birds ingesting fragments from spent bullets in game carcasses. “Hunters were the first conservationists and are second to none in their support of and concern for wildlife,” said Sanetti. “Surveys have shown that hunters are agreeable to taking voluntary measures, and our educational efforts in California to promote the burying of entrails was successful. We would like to work with NPS on this.”

The use of traditional ammunition does not pose a health risk to human beings, a fact underscored by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study on North Dakota hunters who consumed game. The study showed there was no reason for concern over eating game taken with traditional ammunition. There has never been a documented case of lead poisoning among humans who have eaten game harvested with traditional ammunition.

Earlier in the year, the park service announced a ban on traditional ammunition that applied to park personnel involved with culling sick and wounded animals and indicated it would consider widening the ban to all hunters. The firearms industry and conservation groups criticized the ban in a press release, calling it “arbitrary, over-reactive and not based on science.”

“In some areas today, wildlife management is being driven by fear of litigation, not by science,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel.

For example, in California the Fish and Game Commission was forced to consider expanding a ban on traditional ammunition in areas protected for the California condor in response to a lawsuit settlement. Today, however, the commission followed the recommendation of the Fish & Game Department and recommended not to expand a ban on traditional ammunition in those areas. The department had previously cited lack of conclusive evidence to support an expansion of the ban.

Said Keane, “Any decision made about federal lands with regard to ammunition products should be based on thorough scientific study of population impacts. Currently, there is no scientific evidence that indicates wildlife populations are being negatively impacted. We are calling on Congress to step in and provide the necessary oversight to prevent any unilateral actions by NPS on this issue. To date, the NPS decision-making process has not been transparent and based on sound, thorough science.”

Keane also expressed concern over the cost to hunters forced or coerced into purchasing alternative ammunition products. “Non-traditional ammunition is expensive and about doubles the cost of a box of bullets,” he stated. “In these difficult economic times, imposing voluntary or mandated restrictions on the use of traditional ammunition will serve to keep people from hunting and have a negative impact on the Pittman-Robertson Conservation Fund.”

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of every box of ammunition and each firearm goes to the Pittman-Robertson Fund, which is the keystone for state wildlife conservation projects.

About:
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org

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Firearms Industry Rejects NPS Classification of Ammunition as a Health Threat

Extreme Shock Ammunitions Green 223 55 CT-2

Extreme Shock Ammunition

CLINTWOOD, VA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Extreme Shock Ammunition, known for producing the world’s most advanced ammunition, has added the .223 55 grain CT-2 (Copper Training/Tactical) to its innovative line of lead free, environmentally friendly, or “green,” ammo. This round was engineered for tactical and training purposes.

The 223 55 CT-2 is specifically engineered to offer all the same desirable characteristics of Extreme Shock’s compressed Tungsten core ammunition. The CT-2 is the economical solution to a Firing Range’s lead nightmare. This round will allow ranges to operate on expensive target steel without fear of steel damage or injury from ricochet. The CT-2 projectile consists of a patented compressed copper powder blend of the highest quality. Each round is encased in a copper jacket and topped with a green ballistic tip to aid in fragmentation and identification. Loaded to safe SAAMI pressure specifications, the CT-2 is safer for use in firearms than other brands of frangible or training ammunition.

The 55 grain CT-2 is available in a 20 round box with an MSRP of $20.18 as well as a 6 round blister pack with an MSRP of $6.05.

To learn more about the full range of products offered from Extreme Shock Ammunition, please visit www.extremeshockusa.net, call Extreme Shock USA at (276) 926-6772.

About:
Extreme Shock™ is the safest, most technologically advanced small arms ammunition produced in the world. Extreme Shock™ offers superior performance with enhanced safety features that greatly exceed that of lead core ammunition.

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Extreme Shock Ammunitions Green 223 55 CT-2

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn. – -(AmmoLand.com)- A report issued yesterday by the California Fish & Game Commission on blood lead levels in California condors is inconclusive and supports the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s contention that there is no scientific basis for the state’s ban on hunters using traditional ammunition in condor regions.

“The problem all along with linking the use of traditional ammunition and the health of the California condor has been lack of conclusive scientific evidence that justifies banning ammunition containing lead components,” said Steve Sanetti, president and CEO of NSSF, trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry. “This report only serves to support industry’s position that the ban is unwarranted.”

“The report’s data certainly does not justify the commission’s intent to increase the scope of the ban to include upland and small game in the condor region,” added Sanetti. “Expanding the ban will only create another barrier to hunting, reducing funds derived from license fees and tags that support wildlife conservation in the Golden State.”

The firearms and ammunition industry vigorously opposed the effort to ban use of traditional ammunition in condor regions, citing lack of conclusive evidence to support claims that some condors had higher elevated blood lead levels from ingesting ammunition fragments while scavenging entrails from hunter-harvested big game. Nevertheless, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the ban into law, which went into effect July 1, 2008.

Then last month the F&G Commission announced its intention to consider expanding the ban to cover small and upland game hunting, a move the F&G Department did not support since condors do not feed on small game and hunters retrieve upland birds from the field. The fact that no scientific evidence exists for condors feeding on small game supports the department’s position.

The report, which the commission approved by unanimous vote, covers the first sampling of blood lead levels in free-flying California condors since the ban went into effect. In its summary, the F&G Department and F&G Commission caution that the data was not “systematically collected” and “thus, the information should not be considered conclusive of any ’cause and effect’ relationship between the prohibition of lead projectiles in condor range and blood lead levels detected in condor.”

The department and commission note that the “sources of lead in sampled condors are unknown, relationship of sampled condors to hunting activity are unknown, and . . . the condor feeding habits for this period . . . are unknown.”

Said Sanetti, “Given all of these caveats, no one should rush to give credence to this report as evidence supporting the state’s ban on traditional ammunition.”

NSSF questions the report’s use of standards for humans as the basis for measuring blood lead levels in condors. The standard “background” blood lead level of 10 micrograms per deciliter (ug/dL) for condors is the same threshold for concern established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a human child.

“To our knowledge, there is no baseline blood lead level established for condors, or any other species of animal, and it strikes us as arbitrary to use a human threshold for a bird species,” said Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for NSSF.

Data in the report was derived from blood lead levels sampled during calendar year 2008 and was provided to the F&G Department by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Samples were taken from 72 free-flying condors in California in 2008. During the January to June period, 59 percent of condors sampled had blood lead levels considered above background levels (greater than 10 ug/dL), and 45 percent of condors had levels above background during July to December of 2008.

The data, said the F&G Department and Commission, is considered inadequate for “any in-depth or meaningful comparative analyses regarding the possible consequences of the ‘2008 lead ammo ban’ in condor range. However, the department and commission conclude that the data provides a basis for future comparison. Beginning in fall 2009, a more comprehensive data collection plan is expected to be in place.

The commission’s intent to expand the ban is in response to a lawsuit settlement between the state and plaintiffs the Natural Resources Defense Council and Center for Biological Diversity that stipulates the commission will consider amending regulations requiring alternative ammunition for taking small and upland game within the condor range.

For more information about traditional ammunition and how it relates to the California condor, see http://www.nssf.org/media/FactSheets/Lead_Ammunition.cfm.

About:
NSSF, founded in 1961, is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition and recreational shooting sports industry. It promotes the safe ownership and responsible use of products its members make and sell. For more information, visit www.nssf.org

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Firearms Industry Maintains Ban on Traditional Ammunition Is Wrong

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn.—-(AmmoLand.com)- The National Shooting Sports Foundation strongly encourages the National Park Service to reconsider its policy banning the use of traditional ammunition made with lead components on park lands and points out that neither humans, wildlife populations nor the environment are harmed by the use of such ammunition.

“The National Park Service’s decision is arbitrary, over-reactive and not based on science,” said Steve Sanetti, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry. “Studies show that traditional ammunition does not pose a health risk to humans, or wildlife populations as a whole.”

The park service appears to have made its decision without requesting input from wildlife management and conservation groups, or ammunition manufacturers. “There is no evidence of traditional ammunition harming humans or wildlife populations that would warrant this kind of drastic policy change,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel.

Hunting is allowed in some national parks in order to reduce herd populations or remove wounded or sick animals, and NSSF maintains that traditional ammunition is best suited for these tasks. Traditional ammunition costs less, and hunters are more familiar with its performance. Hunters also are agreeable to taking voluntary measures, such as burying entrails after field dressing game, to prevent scavengers from ingesting lead fragments.

Maintaining healthy wildlife populations has always been a priority for hunters, who have contributed approximately $5.6 billion to protect wildlife and habit over the past 70 years through excise taxes paid on firearms and ammunition.

The park service’s news release does not cite scientific evidence that wildlife populations are being negatively impacted by the use of traditional ammunition, and there is no indication that park visitors’ health was affected in any way by hunters and wildlife managers using traditional ammunition.

Ammunition containing lead components has been the choice of hunters for well over 100 years, during which time wildlife populations in America have surged. While lead ingestion appears to occur in a small number of individual animals, overall populations are unaffected. Also, there has never been a documented case of lead poisoning among humans who have eaten game taken with traditional ammunition, and a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study on North Dakota hunters who consumed game confirmed that there was no reason for concern over eating game taken with traditional ammunition.

Unfortunately, the park service’s decision to ban traditional ammunition adds to the misinformation being circulated by anti-hunting groups to promote fear among wildlife managers and hunters about traditional ammunition. The park service’s news release makes erroneous comparisons between organic lead found in gasoline and the metallic lead used in ammunition. Banning lead in gasoline and paint was related to public health concerns because of the widespread nature of these substances and ingestion of paint chips by young children. These issues are not associated with lead in ammunition.

NSSF and its member companies who possess significant knowledge about lead and its use in ammunition hope to be part of any regulatory process to encourage the park service to reconsider this hastily concluded policy before it goes into effect by the end of 2010.

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Firearms Industry Calls National Park Service Ban on Traditional Ammunition Over-Reactive

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn. — Following calls from anti-hunting groups to expand California’s ban on traditional ammunition statewide, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) — the trade association for the firearms, ammunition and hunting industry — urged hunters to contact the Fish and Game Commission, the Department of Fish and Game, the governor and their state legislators to demand science-based wildlife management and not allow anti-hunting interest groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity to destroy the American heritage of hunting — a critical wildlife management tool.

Proponents of a statewide ban on traditional ammunition argue it is necessary in order to safeguard animals and the health of hunters. However, many of the species that proponents of the ban claim to be “at risk” have flourishing populations; this demonstrates successful wildlife management practices that are based on managing species populations, not individual animals. Furthermore, a recent CDC study failed to show any evidence that consuming game harvested with traditional ammunition posed any human health risk to hunters.

“Banning traditional ammunition is poor public policy that is not supported by sound science and is being driven by an anti-hunting agenda,” said NSSF President Stephen L. Sanetti. “Advocates of this ban have a fundamental misunderstanding of the basic science underlying wildlife management. Their lack of understanding on the subject and disdain for America’s hunting heritage will hurt the entire state as significant tax revenue derived from hunters is lost.”

A 2006 study by the Responsive Management Company to determine the awareness level and opinions of California hunters concerning a potential ban on lead ammunition concluded that such a ban would negatively impact hunter numbers in California and the state’s economy.

According to survey results, 75 percent of hunters in the state use traditional ammunition for such reasons as finding non-lead ammunition too costly, not as effective or not as available as lead ammunition. Only 16 percent of hunters support the ban on traditional ammunition compared to an overwhelming two-thirds of hunters, and 77 percent of big-game hunters, who oppose the ban.

Hunters in the study were very clear when asked what their reaction to a lead ammunition ban would be: They would hunt less, cease hunting altogether or hunt outside California, a move that would certainly hurt state money derived from federal excise taxes. These are taxes that hunters pay when purchasing hunting and shooting equipment and are later returned to California for conservation and education programs, including species protection, habitat improvement and hunter access and safety. Last year California received more than $7.4 million from these taxes, monies that will disappear as hunters leave the state.

Significant losses to businesses, many of them independent retail stores and bed and breakfasts associated with hunting in California, are also to be expected.

Data derived from John Dunham and Associates shows that hunting plays a pivotal role in California’s economy. Hunting supports more than 21,000 jobs statewide — jobs that pay California residents more than $818 million annually — and benefits the state economy to the tune of more than $2.8 billion a year.

“It is imperative that sportsmen and hunters contact the governor and their state representatives to help ensure that this ill-considered ban is not expanded throughout the state,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. “A statewide ban would only serve to hurt hunters, conservation efforts and the economy, while doing nothing to impact animal populations as lead is already safely and easily managed.”

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Threat to Hunting in California Stands to Further Cripple Golden State Economy

Brenneke Ammunition

Germany – The German firm Brenneke®, long known for their superb shotgun slugs, is now introducing their revolutionary Quik-Shok® Copper Centerfire rifle bullets to U.S. hunters in loaded cartridges.

The Brenneke Quik-Shok Copper bullet is a completely lead-free design, providing a combination of excellent penetration with “controlled fragmentation” that results in a more powerful terminal effect than conventional rifle bullets can produce-regardless of bullet material.

While a conventional rifle bullet expands slowly and progressively during penetration, creating a single wound channel, the Quik-Shok Copper expands very quickly upon contact, then separates into four segments that continue to penetrate deeply. The result is a highly dynamic terminal action that creates expansion far larger than the bullet’s initial caliber, four wound channels versus just one, increased hemorrhage and more primary shock and blood loss than ordinary bullets can generate.

The principles of the Brenneke Quik-Shok Copper have been successfully researched and field-tested for well over 20 years. Traditional lead-based bullet designs are not adequate to create a lead-free projectile with exceptional accuracy, good velocity and fast, humane effectiveness on big game. The Brenneke Quik-Shok Copper’s distinctive design addresses these concerns, the result be ing a projectile with effectiveness that meets or exceeds that of any lead-based construction.

The Brenneke Quik-Shok Copper will initially be offered in 155 grain weights for the .30-06 and the .308. Additional calibers are planned. The .30-06 loading produces 2,953 fps velocity and 3,001 ft. lbs. of energy at the muzzle, while the .308 generates 2,789 fps and 2,675 ft.lbs. at the muzzle.

While best known in the U.S. for their slugs, Brenneke has manufactured rifle bullets since 1898, and tens of millions of Brenneke bullets have been sold around the world. The firm pioneered many elements of bullet construction taken for granted today, including one of the first boat-tail designs in 1910 (the Brenneke TIG®, or “torpedo tail”), and a sharp cutting edge “wadcutter” bullet in 1930. Both of these designs continue to be manufactured today. The new Quik-Shok Copper is the latest in a long line of projectile innovation that dates back over 100 years.

See the new Quik-Shok Copper at Brenneke’s booth no. 6842 at the SHOT Show 2009.

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Brenneke Announces Quik-Shok Copper Lead-Free Centerfire Rifle Ammunition

Fiocchi Ammunition

Fiocchi - -(AmmoLand.com)- High-Performance Load Features .40 Caliber SinterFireâ„ ¢ bullets Fiocchi Ammunition, the cutting-edge innovator in the munitions business, has developed a new .40 caliber handgun round featuring SinterFireâ„ ¢ frangible, lead-free bullets. This new, non-toxic round is intended for the training market, with specific applications for use at indoor shooting ranges, closed-quarter steel plate shooting, as well as for use by police departments in tactical training scenarios.

The experts at Fiocchi chose the copper/tin composite SinterFire bullet for this line as it yields the proven benefits of functional reliability (due to the bullet’s molded-in taper crimp), uniform dimensions, perfect weight, superior accuracy and repeatable performance. These bullets, which contain no jacketing or plating, literally crumble to dust upon impact with hard surfaces. Containing a proprietary lubricant, Fiocchi’s new .40caliber SinterFire frangible, non-toxic cartridge provides the additional benefits of increased velocities at reduced pressures, reduced bore wear and minimized bore fouling.

Fiocchi’s innovative .40 caliber SinterFire non-toxic round is also the fastest in the manufacturer’s entire .40 caliber product line. Comprehensive ballistic testing has revealed that when fired from a 5-inch test barrel, Fiocchi’s hot, new round produces a sizzling 1,265 fps muzzle velocity due to its lightweight 125-grain bullet. With more than 130-year reputation resting on each round, Fiocchi strives to achieve ammunition perfection with every round it produces.

For more information on Fiocchi’s new .40 caliber SinterFire non-toxic Frangible ammunition or Fiocchi’s full line of rifle, pistol, rimfire, shot shell and unique rounds contact: Fiocchi Ammunition, 1662 Nevada Way, Boulder City, Nevada, 89005 †¢ 702-293-6174 †¢ or visit www.fiocchiusa.com.

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Fiocchi Adds New .40 Caliber Lead Free Ammunition

Winchester Ammunition

Winchester Ammunition – -(OutdoorWire.com)- Increased customer demand and regional lead-free regulation combined with the growth of varmint hunting have resulted in the need for a new lead-free bullet, the .223 Rem from Winchester® Ammunition. The new .223 Rem is a part of the Winchester SUPER-X® line. This product uses a patented tin core technology to achieve a totally lead-free bullet.

“Shooters and hunters require lead-free ammunition in various regions of the U.S., and it is our goal to make sure they have a legal, high-performance product,” said Glen Weeks, Centerfire Product Manager for Winchester Ammunition. “Our goal with this new .223 Rem product, as well as all of our lead-free offerings, is to make sure that shooters have a wide range of Winchester lead-free products available.”

Winchester offers a diverse line of lead-free ammunition in shotshell, Centerfire handgun, Centerfire rifle and .22 caliber, including the recently expanded E-Tip selection, new .22 LR and .22 Win. Magnum offerings.

The new SUPER-X .223 Rem lead-free features:
- Muzzle velocity: 3,050 feet per second
- Bullet weight: 55 grains
- Rounds per box: 20
- Symbol: X223RT
- Availability: Spring 2009

For more information about Winchester Ammunition and its complete line of products, visit www.winchester.com

Winchester Ammunition is proud to be a leader in conservation:
NILO Farms®, established by John M. Olin in 1952, is Winchester’s prestigious hunting preserve providing guests with quality hunting on more than 640 acres of natural habitat. As one of the finest hunting and shooting facilities in the country, NILO Farms® represents the best in game management and safety. Many of the land management practices developed at NILO Farms® have proven to be an example for other waterfowl and upland game bird preserves to follow. For more information about NILO Farms, visit www.nilofarms.com.

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Winchester To Offer Lead-Free Bullet .223 Rem

Winchester Ammunition

Winchester – -(OutdoorWire.com)- As a result of increasing customer demand for lead-free products across the United States, Winchester® Ammunition will offer three lightning-fast, lead-free rimfire bullets, chambered for both .22 Win. Mag and .22 Long Rifle (LR) cartridges, beginning in 2009.

The Winchester SUPER-X® lead-free bullets are well-suited for practice and ideal for small game, varmint and pest control. They are designed for maximum expansion and they are extremely accurate. These products use a patented technology to achieve a totally lead-free bullet.

“Winchester Ammunition engineers our products for hunters and target shooters to assure they have quality, high-performance ammunition that also complies with local regulations in their hunting and shooting areas,” said Greg Kosteck, Director of Marketing for Winchester Ammunition.

These three rounds join Winchester’s wide selection of traditional lead projective rimfire products designed for precision target shooting, silhouettes, plinking, small-game, varmint hunting and pest control.

The new SUPER-X .22 Win. Mag features:
- Muzzle velocity of 2,200 feet per second
- Bullet weight: 28 grain JHP
- Rounds per box: 50 rd. plastic pack
- Symbol: X22MHLF
- Muzzle velocity of 1650 FPS
- Bullet weight: 30 grain THP (tin hollow-point) & TRN (tin round nose)
- Rounds per box: 50 rd plastic pack
- Symbol: X22LRHLF & X22LRLF

For more information about Winchester Ammunition and its complete line of products, visit www.winchester.com.

Winchester is Proud to be a Leader in the Shooting Sports
Winchester Ammunition pledged $500,000 to permanently endow the NRA’s Marksmanship Qualification Program, thus becoming the exclusive sponsor of the officially renamed Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program.

The Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program is a self-paced shooting development program. Open to adults and youngsters alike, the program measures an individual’s shooting proficiency against established par scores in 13 courses of fire across three disciplines: pistol, rifle and shotgun.

By supporting the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program, Winchester is providing everyone the chance to explore the benefits that hunting and shooting sports have to offer.

To learn more about the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program, please call 703-267-1505 or visit www.nrahq.org/youth.

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Lead Free Bullets Enter Winchester .22 Rimfire Line In 2009

NRAhuntersrights.org

FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA - -(OutdoorWire.com)- For generations, hunters have been shooting deer with lead bullets and eating the venison with no ill effects. In fact, there is not one documented case of a citizen ever becoming ill because of eating venison taken with a rifle bullet.

Moreover, a recent CDC study, in which more than 700 North Dakota residents were tested for lead levels, found not one single individual with unacceptably high amounts of lead in the blood. That study was requested by the North Dakota Department of Health in response to allegations made earlier this year that venison intended for food banks contained excessive levels of lead.

Now, Minnesota is set to test up to 25,000 pounds of venison intended for food banks in the state, having the meat X-rayed before it is distributed. The decision came when random testing revealed that 5.3 percent of sampled deer meat contained “lead fragments.”

Such overreaction is expensive. Testing the meat will lighten the state’s coffers to the tune of 30 cents a pound.

But the unnecessary expense is not the only problem. The testing will delay the delivery of badly needed food to hungry families. It’s being collected from all over the state and moved to the Twin Cities for testing. State officials are even considering eliminating its game donation program altogether.

All of this in light of some concrete facts:
- Humans have been consuming game shot with traditional lead ammunition for more than a century with no documented health problems.

- All individuals tested in the CDC study who consumed game harvested with lead ammunition had blood lead levels below an unsafe level.

- Lead ammunition alternatives are expensive and more difficult to obtain.

- Most other state wildlife agencies have publicly called for hunters to continue donating meat to Hunters for the Hungry programs.

When states like Minnesota show nervousness over venison’s imaginary health concerns, anti-hunting groups use it to object to the use of lead ammunition. The Humane Society of the United States, for example, recently called for a ban on all lead ammunition.

Such unfounded fears hurt hunters, hungry people facing uncertain economic times, and, ultimately, game populations, for game sharing programs play a key role in helping states reach their wildlife management objectives.

Calls to ban lead ammunition, clearly lacking in scientific evidence, will ultimately do more harm than good. Minnesota’s testing program is needlessly flaming that fire.

For more information on this developing story, visit www.NRAhuntersrights.org .

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Minnesota Venison Donation Testing Expensive and Unfounded

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NSSF Alert - -(AmmoLand.com)- During the past week the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) — the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry — has received inquires concerning state legislation that would require the serialization of ammunition on a mass production basis.

Bullet serialization — the process by which each individual round of ammunition is identified and marked with a laser engraved serial number — is not feasible from a practical standpoint and any legislation mandating such action could rightfully be considered a de facto ban on ammunition.

While legislation has been introduced in more than 20 states, NSSF has successfully defeated all of these bills. NSSF will continue to closely monitor state or federal legislation to require bullet serialization and will continue to issue Legislative Alerts to industry members and Second Amendment advocates in those states when bills are introduced or scheduled for a hearing or vote.

Demonstrating the effectiveness of the NSSF Legislative Alert system, several bullet serialization bill sponsors withdrew their bills immediately following public outcry stemming from the NSSF alerts — in the case of Kentucky, this was within 48 hours of the bill’s introduction.

To learn more about bullet serialization, please visit the NSSF Media Resources page.

To track bullet serialization legislation, and other legislation in your state, please visit the NSSF Legislative Action Center page.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, has sent you this message. Legislative action alerts and updates are made possible through the generous support NSSF receives from its members. Join NSSF in always shooting for more. Visit www.membershipmeansbusiness.org .

NSSF’s Mission Statement “Our purpose is to provide trusted leadership in addressing industry challenges and in delivering programs and services to meet the identified needs of our members.”

Click here to visit the NSSF Web site and see how we accomplish this mission.

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Update on Bullet Serialization a De Facto Ban On Ammunition

United States Sportsmen’s Alliance

Columbus, Ohio --(TheOutdoorWire.com)- The United States Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) emphatically opposes the anti-hunters’ recent call for a nationwide ban on lead ammunition. Such a statement is an extreme policy proposal that is not supported by the facts.

On November 10, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) issued its call for the lead ammunition ban after the release of a report from the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) that had been conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It reported on the possible dangers of consuming wild game harvested by lead ammunition.

The report found that while the levels of lead in the blood of those tested who were frequent consumers of wild game taken with traditional, lead ammunition appeared to be somewhat higher than those not consuming wild game; none had levels approaching those that would be of concern to the CDC. In fact, in its own press releases, NDDoH indicated food pantries could continue accepting venison, provided the meat was appropriately processed.

USSA Senior Vice President Rick Story states, “HSUS should stop hyperventilating and actually read the report since it makes clear that the average level of lead in the people tested is actually lower than the level of the average American. That fact completely undermines its call for banning traditional ammo.

Story continued, “It should come as no surprise that America’s leading opponent of hunting, fishing and trapping has mischaracterized the findings of the CDC report. It will resort to any means necessary to deny the rights of sportsmen.”

While portraying its call for a lead ban as not being “anti-hunting,” HSUS’ track record makes clear that its true goal is to outlaw all hunting, trapping and even fishing. One way of accomplishing this is to push sportsmen towards higher cost products that will limit how much ammunition they purchase and the number of times they are able to participate in their sport.

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organizations that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.

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U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Opposes Extremist Call to Ban Lead Ammunition

Whitetails Unlimited

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin – In a departure from our usual press releases, this is a completely personal view, and not information or a position from my employer, Whitetails Unlimited. Both personally, as a hunter who enjoys consuming the deer I kill, and in my position as editor of Whitetails Unlimited Magazine, I have been very interested in the lead in venison story. I have read everything about it I can get my hands on, and have formed my own independent opinion based on what I’ve found.
My friends and relatives know that I pay close attention to things like this, and have been calling me asking about what they should do this hunting season. Frankly, there isn’t one clear answer, and because of that I’m not comfortable in telling them what they should do. So I’ve been telling them what I’m going to do, and why; and that they should draw their own conclusions. I’m sharing those conclusions here, but remember that I’m not telling anyone what they should do, just what I’m going to do this hunting season. I’ll start with the what, and then the why.

The first conclusion I’ve made is that even if I change nothing this year, everything will still be fine. (No one anywhere has reported any symptoms of lead poisoning from eating venison, and lead levels in the blood of hunters are not elevated.)

Second, based on the very conservative level of risk that I’m willing to accept, I am going to change a few things this year:
- I’m going to spend more time at the range, to make sure that my first bullet will hit exactly where I want it to, to ensure a one-shot kill. (I work hard to know my range and skill level, and I pass on any shots that have a low chance of success.)
- I will discard more meat around the wound channel. Proper bullet placement and using one bullet will reduce how much meat needs to be discarded. (Tiny bits of lead have been found a foot away from the bullet path in some test carcasses.)
- I will not rely on washing the carcass to eliminate the lead. (Tests have indicated that washing just moves the lead around, rather than actually washing it away.)
- I will not feed venison to any friend or relative of mine under the age of six, or a woman who is pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or nursing. I have no hesitation in eating it myself, or serving it to anyone else I care about. (Young children, babies and fetuses are at the most risk from lead, and it just seems prudent to try to eliminate all the risk you can. This may be overcautious, but there is nothing lost by being over careful in this situation.)
- I’m going to keep reading everything I can about the topic, and if something changes I will re-evaluate my position. (Ignoring an actual problem is just as brainless as overreacting to a nonexistent problem. I face risk every time I get in my car, and yet I still drive, but I do so in a manner that reduces my risk as much as possible. Hunting, and eating what I shoot, is no different.)
What I’ve decided to do this hunting season is based on the level of risk that I am willing to accept. A couple of people I know want to be more safe than me, and have asked how to reduce the risk closer to zero. Here is what I’ve told them:
- Take up bowhunting.
- Use a muzzleloader or shotgun. (Tests using muzzleloaders and shotgun slugs report much less lead fragmentation. I believe that this is because slugs and muzzleloaders travel much slower than rifle bullets, and fragment less on impact.)
- Switch to a bullet that does not contain lead. Or use a bonded bullet, and combine that bullet type with a caliber that moves more slowly, reducing the likelihood of fragmentation.
Hunting is a wonderful experience, and consuming what I take is part of that experience. There is no need to put myself, or those I care for, at risk. But by being informed and taking some simple, prudent precautions, I can reduce that risk to a level with which I am completely comfortable.
Again, these are my personal conclusions, based on my research, and this is simply what I am going to do this year. It is incumbent on all hunters to make every aspect of their hunting experience safe for themselves and those around them. Do your research, have fun hunting, and enjoy your venison!

Jeff Davis, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

About:
Founded in 1982, Whitetails Unlimited is a national nonprofit conservation organization. Our mission is to raise funds in support of education, habitat enhancement and acquisition, and the preservation of the hunting tradition for the benefit of the white-tailed deer and other wildlife. When it comes to the whitetail and its environment, WTU’s degree of professionalism and dedication has earned us the reputation of being the nation’s premier whitetail organization.

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Lead in Venison: a Personal View: What one informed hunter is telling his friends and relatives.