Oregon Get the lead out: Finding common ground on lead bullets

[Joe Link]

Not many topics would bring together the Oregon Zoo, Badger Run Wildlife Rehab and the Oregon Hunters Association, but on Aug. 10, representatives discussed the impact of lead bullets in the Klamath Basin, particularly on the largest population of bald eagles in the continental United States.

The experience of being on both sides of the issue is not new to Leland Brown, Oregon Zoo non-lead hunting education coordinator, who since 2015 has given more than 150 presentations on how lead poisoning can impact an ecosystem far beyond the targeted animal.

"My background is not as an education person," said Brown, who is also a hunter. "I'm a biologist. I was shooting pigs and other invasive species and using lead for some of it until someone showed me the research that was out there. So I can never say to someone, 'How dare you do this?' Because I was in the exact same boat as anyone else. But once I learned about it, it's an opportunity for me to make sure that my hunting provides as much benefit to the rest of the system as it does for me."

Get the lead out: Finding common ground on lead bullets

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[Nocaster]

That's wonderful. So how about target shooting? Barnes TSX?

 

[awshoot]

That's wonderful. So how about target shooting? Barnes TSX?

I would expect it to happen eventually. Lead is extremely toxic and as it oxidizes it becomes more mobile. I'll admit that I think about that every time I go drop a few pounds at my local ranges. I would expect however, that if lead bullets were banned, the price of non-lead bullets would drop due to increased demand increasing supply.

I will say though, I almost choked picking up a box of 50 Barnes TSX for slightly more than I pay for 100 Hornadays -- but I'm planning to give them a go in my deer rifle this year despite the price.