National Push to Ban Lead Ammo and Fishing Tackle

[jeffreyd]

Here is the link send your thoughts to the listed people.

http://www.ussportsmen.org/Page.aspx?pid=2497&frcrld=1

[SkunkedAgain]

Hopefully the US Sportsmen Alliance doesn't mind that I sent them emails supporting a ban.

[vitalshot5]

me too, this day in age no need for lead, other alternatives available.

[pulleye16]

I still think lead is better then steal though. If those high end metals come down in price, maybe more people could afford not to use lead. I'll continue to hunt lead where ever I'm able to for a cleaner kill. And all that [PoorWordUsage] about lead poisoning from rifle hunters in deer...what a joke. LEAD SUPPORTER HERE!

[shortfatguy]

With the price of ammo as high as it is, if they do away with lead rifle bullets, only the rich will be able to hunt. Seems to be the way the higher ups in this country want everything to be. I can see keeping it out of our wetlands but there is no reason they should tell me I cant shoot a deer with it when I am the one who will be eating the meat.

[CRAZYEYES]

This is a crappy debate. It pits sportsmen aainst each other. We all know its coming eventually because as usual the government knows whats best for us.

[BLACKJACK]

With the price of ammo as high as it is, if they do away with lead rifle bullets, only the rich will be able to hunt. Seems to be the way the higher ups in this country want everything to be. I can see keeping it out of our wetlands but there is no reason they should tell me I cant shoot a deer with it when I am the one who will be eating the meat.

Is the cost of lead vs. non-lead shells really going to stop anyone from hunting??? If you go thru 5 boxes of shells pheasant and duck hunting you've had a very good year!! If you go thru 3 boxes of rifle shells you've had some good practice at the range and should have shot your 1-2 deer.

The extra money you spend on non-lead shells, which will keep a known poison out of the environment, is small compared to what most hunters pay for gas, gear, food, dogs, etc.

[jerkbait]

More feel good policies trying to overule common sense. Yes it made sense to keep lead shot out of the wetlands. But banning lead bullets for big game is just pure carp. Same with lead head jigs, there is now proof other than it sounds good and makes people feel good. Hog wash!!!!

[TruthWalleyes]

Quite surprised that lead hasn't gone by the way side yet myself especially since it cannot be used for waterfowl. I will be switching over to zinc weights pretty soon for my catfishing, but hope the alternative to fishing with lead is something that is equally priced and also similar in density. The zinc weights i will be using for catfishing are the same weight, but of course a bigger volume. Since they're blind as a bat, i'm not worried. But, having to go to bulkier jig heads would be tough, and having to spend twice the money for a jig head would not be nice either.

[CodyDawg]

I think calling lead a poison is a bit of a stretch. If directly consumed, it will eventually lead to lead poisoning, but it isnt like if you accidently swallow a pellet you are gonna go into convulsions and die.

[NaturesRespect]

well i think lead fishing tackle shuld be banned knowing how much lead weights and lures i have lost in the water i kind of have a remorse for losing lead lure in the water..... for hunting they have the barnes copper bullet wich seems to work very well and all my shots with lead slugs i have been aple to retrieve out of the game due to no pass thru but as for loads like shot i believe the lead shot shuld be banned but hey this is a pretty hard topic so what ev happens we will all just have to adjust to the new laws

[Code-Man]

I don't shot gun hunt but I have switched to a copper bullet. Sure costs a bit more but not that much. I think as companies get more out of the "old" ways of making things they will drop the prices of the products. But with saying that I also am concerned about a slippery slope. Think how much we have learned in the past 20-30 years with lead so what will they say or find out about the newer "safe" metals?

[pulleye16]

What, lead kills???? good, I like a bullet that finished the job! and yes- for people that say a little extra cost for non-lead won't break the bank for some people, well your dead wrong. Do you know someone that is unemployed and loves to hunt? then you'd know that EVERY dollar counts. That studie last year (or two?) was found to be totally unjustified and false.

[NETim]

Another look good, feel good movement based on junk science.

Why pursue this if it has no scientific basis?

Why are so many so eager to have .gov limit their choices?

A ban on lead will kill or severely hamper competitive shooting sports, such as trapshooting, skeet, sporting clays etc. Only the rich will be able to afford to pursue high volume shooting.

Of course, since the rich are all evil, at least in the eyes of the current admin (and their lackeys) maybe even the rich won't be able to afford large amounts of ammo.

[BLACKJACK]

Another look good, feel good movement based on junk science.

Why pursue this if it has no scientific basis?

So all the xrays of dead ducks and other birds that have ingested lead shot isn't scientific?? Who are you trying to B. S.??

The problem is mainly with birds, anything they eat goes into their gizzard to be ground up by the grit (small pebbles and rocks) that they eat. When a bird eats a lead pellet (or bullet) it ends up in their gizzard, where it gets ground up and the bird gets the full affect of the poisonous lead. Thats why it takes very few pellets to kill a bird. If a human or any other mammel eats a lead pellet, it will just pass thru them.

[harvey lee]

I have no problem with ending lead shot. It's only a matter of time and it will be coming.

I do not believe that the recent increase has anything to do with lead bullets at all. Many were afraid the price of ammo would go up in price or become short so they went and bought a pile up.

That I believe is what created the shortage.

[TylerS]

The supposed findings a few years ago that halted venison donations (and resulted in the disposal of thousands of pounds of venison from food shelves) was based off a "study" by a crackpot out West (cough...cough...California) who's method was so tainted, it could not be reproduced. After hours of independent study by individual and state programs, it was revealed that the amount of lead in venison donations was so small it was nearly undetectable. That also was after hundreds of volunteer hunters who regularly consume lead-shot game came forward to give blood samples. My uncle was one, and his results showed an even lower than average lead presence than normal everyday people. He's nearly 70 years old and has eaten lead-shot game since he can remember.

They've already gotten rid of lead for waterfowl...leave it at that.

[bobbymalone]

science is generally performed by people with advanced degrees and we all know that they are filthy liberals. Also anything even related to California is the work of filthy liberals and can not be trusted. Any science that is against your own personal belief or may result in a change or an increase in price for a consumer good is automatically junk science.

evolution

climate change

lead shot poisoning

ddt

stem cells

i am sure there are others that i am forgetting.

[TylerS]

science is generally performed by people with advanced degrees and we all know that they are filthy liberals. Also anything even related to California is the work of filthy liberals and can not be trusted. Any science that is against your own personal belief or may result in a change or an increase in price for a consumer good is automatically junk science.

evolution

climate change

lead shot poisoning

ddt

stem cells

i am sure there are others that i am forgetting.

Scientific studies also generally are done through funding from specific organizations. In order to continue to get funding, they must produce results the organization wants to see. Funny that different studies on the same thing can produce vastly different conclusions...

It's not that we don't trust it...it's that we don't just automatically accept it as some blind truth.

[bobbymalone]

It's not that we don't trust it...it's that we don't just automatically accept it as some blind truth.

You will if it is convenient for you, like you did with this uncle's blood study.

anytime somebody starts talking about accepting blind truth, it tells me that that person is unfamiliar with science and the scientific process.

I think you probably need to see how grant funding works and how science happens from the inside before you start talking about how biased it is and how much influence grant funding agencies have on peer reviewed published results.

[pulleye16]

I have worked and worked around many studies for my career. A true double blind study by independant or through a university research center tend to be the most accurate studies. When a goup does a private study, you can get results to show just about anything. Ask the right people the right question and I can have a study showing that smoking is healthy or the ford focus is the best all around car. Yes-lead in waterfoul is bad, its a law that has been change and excepted. large caliber bullets has never been proven harmful on individuals or the envirnment. And I don't believe pellets left on land has proven any harm to animals as well. Until a double blind study has been performed...KEEP LEAD!

[Getanet]

I just don't get the big deal here. They're not taking away your guns or ammo. They're simply saying that the current metal is not good for the environment. They aren't mandating the new material be gold or something.

Jeez, I think a few people here are still playing with Mercury. How dare they tell you that's not a good idea...

[bobbymalone]

I have worked and worked around many studies for my career. A true double blind study by independant or through a university research center tend to be the most accurate studies. When a goup does a private study, you can get results to show just about anything. Ask the right people the right question and I can have a study showing that smoking is healthy or the ford focus is the best all around car. Yes-lead in waterfoul is bad, its a law that has been change and excepted. large caliber bullets has never been proven harmful on individuals or the envirnment. And I don't believe pellets left on land has proven any harm to animals as well. Until a double blind study has been performed...KEEP LEAD!

this i agree with, although double blinded studies are not even possible in some cases.

plenty of university done studies have found lead bits in ground venison, but obviously there are not a whole lot of deer meat eaters dropping dead from lead poisoning.

spraying a toxic heavy metal around can't be a good thing. if a comparable cost, density, and effective substitute comes around why not go for it?

[jeffreyd]

While we are looking at lead and how it affects humans, the one thing that many people are not looking at is the issue it is causing with wildlife. Knowing that the ban is in place in Northern AZ where the condor are living, we have a lead ban now for any hunting. Reason being that 1 small piece of lead can kill the bird.

While I am on the fence, I do appreciate what the request is being presented for. Granted chewing on a flake of lead may not affect people, do you want other animals to be affect because we dont want to change how we hunt? The option to use synthetic bullets is there, that is what is allowed in N AZ for deer hunting. So not sure how well this will be received but can take what ever is dished out.

[pulleye16]

While we are looking at lead and how it affects humans, the one thing that many people are not looking at is the issue it is causing with wildlife. Knowing that the ban is in place in Northern AZ where the condor are living, we have a lead ban now for any hunting. Reason being that 1 small piece of lead can kill the bird.

While I am on the fence, I do appreciate what the request is being presented for. Granted chewing on a flake of lead may not affect people, do you want other animals to be affect because we dont want to change how we hunt? The option to use synthetic bullets is there, that is what is allowed in N AZ for deer hunting. So not sure how well this will be received but can take what ever is dished out.

Valid points...I may be coming off to pro lead. If they can get me something that is as affordable as lead with the same knock down quality and can prove that lead is harming other wildlife (besides waterfowl) then I'd be for the change. But I've had poor luck shooting steel at pheasants which I paid more for per shell, only to see the bird limp (fly) away. I've also seen plenty of injured ducks / geese (maybe in part of poor shooting) but IT is a true that steel does not have the same knowck down power of lead and there is no way I can afford to shoot those "special" metal bullets.