Non-toxic shot regs could make ammo difficult to find
Prior to 2016 there were some proposed bans of lead projectiles for ammunition on all federal land and the use of lead tackle for fishing on federal lands. They weren’t enacted and a change in political philosophy for a few years ended the proposals.
To be fair, all hunting for waterfowl and upland game birds on a fair amount of federal lands currently requires non-lead ammunition. And furthermore “non-toxic shot” has been required for any waterfowl hunting in the USA since the 1970’s. There are several options to choose from for non-toxic shot.
There are options for non-lead rifle ammunition and non-lead fishing tackle. Some anglers prefer tungsten jigs over lead. They do perform well. They also cost considerably more. Some hunters prefer copper bullets for hunting. They have the same ballistics as traditional lead ammo, they don’t harm the barrels of the rifles like steel shot does to certain older shotguns, and like tungsten fishing tackle they cost a whole lot more.
If you haven’t been watching ammo availability and prices, a number of calibers of rifle ammunition became available in lead and some non-toxic bullets last August and sold out last August. A very popular caliber, the .270, became impossible to find until around February of this year. I know. I looked far and wide. When it did show up, it was $60 a box or $5 per round. Several months later I found some lead .270 for about $18 a box in Madison of all places. Two years ago the lead ammo was about $9 and the copper was about $22. On June 8 of this year the USFWS released a proposal that would ban the use of all lead ammunition and tackle on National Wildlife Refuges. Also included in this proposal would be the framework for extending the ban for lead ammunition for hunting and tackle for fishing to all federal lands. As to when and if this proposal gets approved and implemented isn’t clear. It won’t affect Wisconsin hunters hunting at home very much at all. It will affect Wisconsin anglers, especially those that fish on the Mississippi. We have little control over what gets proposed and implemented in DC.
I don’t want to delve deep into the specifics of why non-toxic ammo keeps getting pushed for, just some background. By now, no Wisconsin hunter can deny that even if a particular species of animal doesn’t concern you much, there are those that it probably does. Eagles have died from scavenging on deer entrails of deer shot during a firearm season. Plenty of loons have died eating a lead jig it found on the bottom of a lake lost by some fisherman. Yet far more eagles die from windmills then lead bullet fragments.
Some of these “concerns” were brought up in a social media thread from one of our non-biased local TV stations during the last gun deer season. Think back to no .270 available from September to February. I heard a father pleading with a retailer that he doesn’t have bullets for his and his children’s rifles to hunt deer the week before the gun season and couldn’t find any anywhere. Yet highly knowledgeable individuals kept posting about their displeasure with hunters over the use of lead ammo. Facts weren’t part of their educated snippets. Proof of dead eagles in Wisconsin weren’t either. Neither was there any moderation from the non-biased TV stations’ social media admin. Hunters just kept getting bashed.
If the rules were to change on what type of ammunition you can hunt with on the federal land you drew your elk tag for, you would’t want to not be able to hunt because you couldn’t find nontoxic ammo for your rifle. Or end up paying someone a lot more than $60 a box just to be able to go. You also don’t want to be unable to practice with your rifle before a hunt of a lifetime, as one Dall sheep hunter I know struggled with last summer.
Is there a possibility that this never is implemented? Sure, there is that possibility. The sky isn’t falling, but this is something that we all need to pay attention to if for no other reason than to make sure you have ammo that you can legally hunt with for where you are hunting. No one in Washington will care if you can’t find non-toxic ammo and need it.
It’s been a strange two years and it isn’t letting up.
THROUGH A
DECOY’S
E
YE
CHUCK K OLAR LOCAL OUTDOORSMAN
