Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire "California should ban lead ammunition for all forms of hunting"

It just gets worse here every single day.

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/...al-california-should-ban-lead-ammunition

Editorial- San Jose Mercury News:

When it comes to hunters' ammunition, it's time for California to get the lead out.

Lead poisoning is the leading cause of death for the California condor. The National Academy of Sciences has said that unless lead ammo is banned, condors won't have a chance of surviving in the wild. The toxin is also bad for human health and the environment, which is why we already ban it in gasoline, paint and children's toys .

The Legislature should pass Assemblyman Anthony Rendon's AB 711 and make California the first state in the nation to ban lead for all types of hunting.

The Lynwood Democrat's bill isn't meant to discourage hunting. Many California hunters are strong environmentalists who support efforts to preserve wildlife. A significant portion of the hunting community backs the legislation, although the National Rifle Association, not surprisingly, is throwing its considerable weight against the law.

California already bans lead bullets in the area that condors congregate, stretching roughly from San Jose to Los Angeles. The Terminator, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, signed that legislation in 2007, hoping to keep the endangered condors from being poisoned. It hasn't worked nearly as well as hoped -- primarily, wildlife experts believe, because enough hunters are breaking the law to still create problems for condors. All it takes to poison them is for the scavengers to eat meat from a single deer that has been shot with a lead bullet.
The lead shatters, increasing the likelihood that fragments will be consumed.
Copper bullets today are nearly twice as expensive as lead, but if demand increases, costs should fall.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1991 began requiring hunters to use non-lead ammo on ducks and geese. That has succeeded in reducing lead exposure in waterfowl. The health risk to condors, other wildlife and California residents is too high to continue allowing lead ammunition to be used in the wild.

economics 101

That would give the lefties a DOUBLE victory.

Yes, right up until it is "discovered" that the rare waffle tipped toadstool is adversely affected by copper particles in the food chain.

After which only 99.9% pure gold projectiles quarried, cast, and loaded by bisexual pink eyed elves will be allowed for hunting purposes.

Remington copper solids (and other copper shotgun slugs) were banned in NJ for a season back in the late 80's or early 90's. I dont recall which season.

I only know this as I used them at the time and had to switch.

word was someone figured out that copper sulfate is used to kill plants and trees, so copper solids embedded in trees must be bad for the environment. PLus, they penetrate more so that made them more dangerous.

only lastes a year, but that'd be next.

Kalifornistan has been asking Arizona to ban lead ammo "For teh Kondoorz". Arizona told them to go pound sand.

Should the Condor ever die off, would Kalifornistan lift the ban? Oh, 4377 no.

Has lead poisoning been proven for condors???

Well...I am led to believe that should you smack one in the beak with a 12 gauge then it will most definitely expire.

Don't know, but it's not about condors, or safety, or children, or commonsense. It's about total disarmament of the US.

If a bill has any hint of "greeness" anti hunting, or anti gun to it, it's pretty much a slam dunk here in California.

Waiting for a coyote protection bill to surface very soon, mark my words on that one.

No but there was some troubling reports of infants ingesting lead fragments at Thanksgiving.

It's for the chirren.

This isn't about lead.

It's about increasing the costs of ammunition.

Anybody calling for the banning of lead in fishing tackle?

Phoney, trumped-up arguements be damned - screw 'em, and the horse that rode 'em (yes, I meant it that way).

No.

Yes, there are streams where the use of lead shot for sinkers or lead-weighted lures & flies is not allowed.

Doesn't lead come from the ground anyway?

You nailed that one.

California Should ban California and be done with it

I am pretty sure if California sliped into the ocean it would not be missed. But i believe many states would do their best to stop the refuges from coming to their states. For fear the sickness called STUPID is very contagious.

Take care, Willie

We have turkey vultures here in the south. Folks call em "buzzards". Our deer hunting seasons are long, measured in months not weeks and our bag limits are more generous than most folks have freezer space. I don't know anyone who does not use lead bullets. Many, MANY, deer are killed during the season and I am sure many gut piles are left in the woods. Some deer are not recovered by hunters. We have buzzards everywhere, and I have only found one dead one in my life.

Seems to me if California logic were true, we should be seeing a vast decrease in our buzzard population and it ain't happening. I suspect that their seasons are much shorter than ours and hunter participation is much lower.

The general A zone rifle season in California allows two bucks to be harvested and the rifle season is over a month long.

Oh, that's disgusting! You're telling me that in California they make their babies eat condors for Thanksgiving dinner. Sounds French to me!