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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!
