I think that both environmental regulations and market forces will move shooters towards less use of lead ammunition, but it will be uneven state-by-state.
- market forces are already making non-toxic ammunition competatively priced with lead ammunition;
- the continuing documented and widespread accounts of birds (some rare) being poisoned by lead-contaminated game carcasses convince more people to hunt with less lead;
- target ranges will continue to be an accepted outlet for lead ammunition, as will most private lands, so ammo manufacturers are willing to diversify their product line with new and old projectiles, rather than just fight transition away from lead;
And there are other market and dietary factors that influence this trend in other countries. Realize that Britain is about to outlaw all game hunting with lead. Why? Because much (and in some cases the majority... i.e. pheasant) of the harvest is sold into the human consumption market. Processors and consumers want birds shot with steel because it is easy to detect and remove from carcasses during processing, whereas lead is much more difficult to detect and considered a dangerous contaminant when left in the food chain.
