Lead Ammo Again

The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is pushing the use of non-lead ammo. 

In April, it released an update to their study.  A summary is published on their web site under the heading: “Choose Non-Lead Ammunition.”

The following is taken directly from the DEC web site.

“…due to the social, political, economic, and ecological complexity of this issue, the New York State "Lead Ammunition Working Group" was formed in December 2020. The charge to the Working Group…was to conduct a comprehensive examination of the risks posed by lead hunting ammunition to wildlife and people and recommend actions to minimize those risks.”

The summary is almost entirely devoted to the dangers of lead ammo or the advantages of non-lead ammo.  It includes “helpful tips that deer hunters would never have thought of, such as:

Practice marksmanship and outdoors skills to get cleaner, closer and precise shots.

Avoid shots at running deer as this decreases accuracy.

Wow!  Thanks DEC!

Buried in this indictment of lead ammo is one sentence:

“To date, there are no reported human illnesses related to the consumption of wild game shot with lead ammunition.”

One question left unanswered is how much money was spent to produce this study.  Since Cornell University was involved, my guess is “a lot.”

 

The “War on Lead Ammo” has been previously highlighted by SCOPE with its coverage of NY Senate bill S8461, which would add very expensive modifications to many (if not most) Skeet Shooting Ranges, in the name of lead ammo contamination prevention.  Thankfully, that bill has gone nowhere, yet.  But like the “Terminator”, it will be back.