"it appears more slippery and does not embed feathers in the meat as much as lead shot alone does. However, cost is higher and according"
gg...what does slippery shot look like? Embedding feathers is a good thing??? The literature says platting or different materials , eg steel, produce better ballistic results, eg tighter patterns, than lead alone. Copper or nickel plated lead is still not accepted from a toxicity point of view although I have found no studies.... Cost does not seem to be a major issue considered in the context of the cost of hunting....
FYI....
"The literature on lead poisoning of North American wildlife is extensive (see “Links” and “Additional Literature” below).
* Lead poisoning has been documented in at least 25 species of water birds.
* According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) Wildlife Health Team, 26 Common Loons were submitted to the team between 2006 and 2008. Approximately one-third of those loons were judged to have died of lead poisoning from the remnants of lead fishing tackle recovered from their GI tracts. Research around the nation has found that poisoning from lead fishing tackle is responsible for up to half of adult loon deaths.
* In Wisconsin, lead poisoning is a significant mortality factor for the Trumpeter Swan, recently removed from Wisconsin’s Endangered species list. Of 143 Trumpeter Swan carcasses submitted to the WDNR for post-mortem examination between 1991 and 2007, 36 deaths (~25%) were attributed to lead poisoning.
* Of 583 Bald Eagle carcasses submitted to the WDNR between 2000 and 2007, 91 (~16%) of those deaths were attributed to lead poisoning.
* A WDNR study published in 2005 found that some American Woodcock in WI are accumulating unusually high levels of lead in their wing bones. The exact source of the lead is unknown at this time, but data suggest a local and dietary source.
* In 1992, at least 200-300 Canada Geese died as a result of acute lead poisoning from ingesting lead shot on a former trap and skeet shooting range near Lake Geneva in Walworth County, WI. The US Environmental Protection Agency reportedly spent ~ $1.88 M on a Superfund cleanup of the site, removing ~28,000 tons of lead-contaminated soils. The most recent large-scale lead poisoning event in WI occurred when ~200 Canada Geese were collected in 1999 and again in 2000 from a location in Outagamie Co.
* Nationally, lead poisoning of waterfowl and the Bald Eagle resulted in a 1991 federal ban on the use of lead shot in waterfowl and coot hunting. In 1997 alone, the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) estimated that the ban on lead shot saved 1.4 million ducks. In Canada, a study showed a decrease in lead levels in bone in waterfowl of 50-70% as a result of the ban on lead shot for waterfowl hunting in that country. These and other studies have demonstrated that switching to nontoxic shot, defined as any shot type that does not cause sickness and death when ingested by birds, can help protect bird populations and improve the environment.
* Nontoxic ammunition is becoming increasingly available. There are now several shot types approved as nontoxic. Affordable, suitable alternatives also exist for lead fishing tackle. (See links below for sources, especially the REGI website).
* In order to help protect birds from lead toxicity, certain lead fishing tackle has been banned in NH, ME, NY, VT, Great Britain, the Canadian national parks and national wildlife areas, and in three USFWS wildlife refuges.
* There is increasing concern about possible human and wildlife health effects related to the fragmentation of lead or partial-lead bullets in venison. The fragments are not easy to see, except by x-ray, and may be accidentally eaten without the consumer being aware of their presence. For wildlife, ingestion of these fragments by Bald Eagles, who scavenge unrecovered deer carcasses, is of special concern. For more information, see the WDNR web page on this topic: dnr.state.wi.us. |
