Non-Lead Ammo for Deer Hunting
Non-Lead Ammo for Deer Hunting
Length: 00:03:25 | Sanford S. Smith, Ph.D.
Wildlife conservation and hunter safety and ethics are two fundamentals of modern recreational hunting. And one of the basics of hunter ethics and safety is that hunters should always know their target and beyond. This video discusses the final destination of the lead ammunition used in deer hunting - the "beyond." It examines how lead bullets fragment into tiny pieces when shot, and where they end up after that. The consequences to wildlife - especially birds of prey - are serious, and a non-lead solution is presented.
- Hi, Sanford Smith here with Penn State Cooperative Extension.
This is a video for deer hunters and their family members.
Safe, legal, and ethical hunters know that science-based regulated hunting and wildlife conservation is the basis of all the hunting we enjoy today.
And we all must practice hunting with the highest levels of safety, ethical behavior, care for wildlife populations, and stewardship of the environment.
One of the fundamentals of hunter safety is that hunters should always know their target and what's beyond their target.
Now here's what I wanna focus on today.
The final destination of the lead ammunition used for deer hunting and beyond.
When lead-based ammo is shot from a high powered rifle it can fragment leaving many tiny pieces sometimes they're microscopic but other times they're much larger.
This lead can travel as far as 14 inches from the entry point and ends up in many different places in the deer's organs, in the carcass, in the gut pile, and even the meat.
When this lead is left in the woods such as in the gut pile or the carcass, it can be consumed by scavenging animals.
Now, this is a problem.
It's sometimes fatal to those animals.
This is especially true for birds of prey such as eagles and vultures and other birds.
And most people are really unaware of this, that vultures for example have a highly acidic stomach that can easily absorb lead into their systems.
Now, this has been well documented through research for many years and lead is a toxin to people and animals even in very small amounts.
It's an unintended consequence and most hunters are unaware where the lead from their ammo ends up and the potential collateral damage that it causes to wildlife.
So is there a solution?
Well, thankfully there is.
It's using non-lead ammunition.
non-lead ammo is now more widely available for high powered rifles in most popular calibers.
And it's also available for shotguns and muzzle loaders as well.
It's just as affordable as other premium ammunition creating accurate and effective results.
And best of all it eliminates the potential for lead exposure.
Most non-lead ammos are made from solid copper and they mushroom well on impact at normal hunting distances with hardly any fragments at all.
It even shoots similarly to lead in regards to sighting-in rifles.
Very similarly.
So lastly, I wanna emphasize that this is a short video and it's not intended to cover everything that's known about this situation but I do hope it will make you more aware of the problem and more importantly, make you wanna be part of another solution that's good for wildlife and good for hunting.
There's lots of credible research-based information out there that you can access.
And I encourage you to investigate this yourself from reputable sources that you trust.
Hunters have led the way for over a century in promoting scientific-based research and practice for the conservation of wildlife.
You have a chance to be a leader and a conservationist of wildlife and prevent lead exposure from entering the food chain.
Thank you very much for listening.
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