Non-Lead Ammunition: The Norwegian Exception

" ... the simple fact is that it is vital we meet our responsibility to kill wild game in the most humane and effective way."
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Shooting Wire:  (July 07 2014)

 PHOENIX - If you want to use non-lead ammunition for your hunt this year, now is the time to start shopping. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is expecting a repeat of last year's non-lead ammunition shortage this hunting season. Those intending to hunt big game in California or in condor areas in Arizona (Game Management Units 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B), are strongly encouraged to buy their non-lead ammunition supplies as soon as possible.

We haven't talked about this before, and I think it deserves some discussion.

This is obviously an issue for hunters, because both game animals and 'varmints' are, after being shot by hunters, subject to predation (when their injuries are not fatal) and scavenging (for carcasses) by other animals.

Yes, lead poisoning is a real danger.  Just like strychnine poisoning, the element moves up the food chain and often raptors are at the top of their own food chain.

As much as most hunters don't like the "No Lead-Based Ammunition" laws enacted by several states, we probably have to accept that this the wave of the future.   When you shoot a game animal,  using lead projectiles (this consequence is most common in shotgun pellets) and it is not a clean kill, the animal usually enters the food chain of scavengers.

(Note:  Benjamin Franklin was opposed to the acceptance of the American Bald Eagle as the National Emblem, or "Great Seal", because eagles are "creatures of low moral habits".  He preferred the Rattlesnake, probably as a reference to the "Don't Tread On Me", or "Gadsen" flag.)

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?

Read on!


This law is probably not usually, or even often, an attempt by the various states to make life difficult for the average hunter.  In fact, when weighed against the downside of using (for example) steel pellets in shotguns, as opposed to using lead pellets, the lead pellets are generally more likely to result in a kill than steel pellets.

This is because lead is more dense than steel, and thus retains more of the momentum; resulting in deeper penetration of the body mass .. and therefore a greater chance of a one-shot kill to the game.

But when the shot is poor, the game animal may survive the moment ... only to fall prey to subsequent predation because its ability to evade its natural predators has been undermined.

Lead shot has often been touted as "more humane, and in fact a recent article suggests that, at least in Norway (May 12, 2014), this may become the more 'accepted' consideration:

Ireland - -(Ammoland.com)- In the last month there has been a proposal put forward by the main party in Norway to repeal the ban on lead in shot, outside of wetlands and clay shooting grounds.
The ban, which has been in place since 2005, has been more than a sore spot to the hundreds of thousands of hunters in Norway, so it is good to hear that common sense and fact-led arguments have prevailed over the hasty and ill-motivated ban.
Read more: http://www.ammoland.com/2014/05/norway-to-repeal-ban-on-lead-shot/#ixzz37DymMSqc 

Hence, this quote, from the above-cited article:

" ... the simple fact is that it is vital we meet our responsibility to kill wild game in the most humane and effective way."

HERE IS THE BOTTOM LINE ....

... and we're talking generally about waterfowl and Upland Game ... those game categories which are most likely to be hunted by shotgunners.

If you hunt birds using lead shot, and you wound rather than kill, you are more likely to poison scavengers with your lead shot.

If you hunt birds using steel shot, and you wound rather than kill, you are less likely to poison scavengers with your steel shot.  But you are MUCH more likely to wound than kill, and thus you are being less humane toward your targeted prey.

Which animal genre is more important?

Ultimately, in the minds of many "disinterested" parties, the best would be to not shoot birds at all .. that way no birds would have to die to satisfy evil hunter urges to kill innocent creatures.

You're the hunter, and it's a legal sport.  Of course, it has been somewhat 'restricted' in recent years by rules which arbitrate what kind of ammunition you can use when hunting.

What do YOU think?