What if they ban lead?

[romeoh]

A serious topic. Could lead be baned because of it´s health risks?

Well, over here in germany it´s no longer allowed to use lead weights for mounting tires in garages.
Many authoritys use bullets without any lead - mine too. And hunters are no longer allowed to use lead-shot by the water for hunting ducks and so on. They must use steel-shot.

So I guess the day could come, although it may not happen to quick, that lead could be forbidden.

I made a blood test about 3 months ago to find out which concentration of lead I got in it.

The unit here is µg/l (microgramm per liter)
100 µg/l and below is said to be normal for an adult. The above-limit for people which have contact with lead is 400 µg/l.

My test-result was 165.
I cast my bullets for my muzzleloaders myself and I´m also reloading ammo for my cartride-guns (but I have to say that I prefer bullets with a thin copper-surface for reloading, so there´s not much lead-contact given)

The result of the test shows that I have to do with lead but also that I´m not to high contaminated.

I also know from friends which shoot a lot of PPC 1500 matches that there was a testing among the 1500-shooters. Not all of them but some did really have over 400.

After all I think everyone should be aware of the risks and try to minimize contamination. Just a few examples: wash hands after handling with lead before eating or drinking anything, using rubber-gloves when reloading ammo with lead-bullets, casting bullets outside and so on.
But I also see no reason for falling into hysteria or totally banning lead from shooting.

Many greetings from germany

romeoh

 

[Greenmtnboy]

Lead is not the problem first thought, and that is what is killing the anti=-gun movement from pushing these changes. Lead easily and quickly combines with iron, and calcium, two of the most common elements found in soils, to form oxides that completely coat the lead, and insulate it from contaminating anything, including water.

you are so right Paul. I shoot hundreds of rounds all winter. Than in the spring I go out with a bucket and clean up my range and reuse the lead. By winters end all the balls I find are coated.
:thumbsup:

 

[bpbrs]

Military shoots jacketed bullets. The majority of hunting ammo is jacketed. Some is TMJ =total metal jacket.
I can't see how Green ammo can make a firearm harder to clean and increase the jamming. Especially when the outside tollerances are the same as the lead core ammo.

Birdshot for hunting and target shooting is another story. Looks like the price of steel target shot will have to come down.
Some clubs are moving to 1oz loads only in 12 ga events in an effort to reduce lead output.
Most clubs in danger are shooting over or into water.
In-door ranges now require huge exhaust systems.

So what if they ban lead? Then lead will be banned.

 

[jeepwj992002]

The green ammo is frangible ammo. it leaves flecks of the bullet behind in not only the barrel but every other part of the weapon. The powder used in the ammo does not burn as cleanly as ball ammo or even the SS-109 penetrator ammo. We had to pile on the lube to just keep our weapons functioning. That was some crappy training ammo. :shake:

 

[Goldhunter]

+1 on that comment. Hate green ammo.

 

[jeepwj992002]

True that! Green is garbage!

 

[markinstettler]

I've always been a bit of an independent thinker, and this thread is making that clearer to me than ever.

First, DDT was an absolute disaster. If you restrict yourself to put out by right-wing think-tanks to dupe people who have already made up their minds you might be able to convince yourself of the untruth. But a cursory search for balanced facts on the subject will absolutely quash the tripe on Junk Science.

But back to lead. If it's proven to be *significantly* harmful to the environment (which we all happen to be in intimate contact with), so be it. If it did leach into the soil in a harmful way, I'd be the first to take up arms against it's use. But as Paul pointed out, that will never happen, because it doesn't.

If it does get banned it's only because of apathy on the part of people who knew better (everyone who read this thread), but didn't engage their government.

I actually looked into the issue of lead contamination before using a firearm to control the gopher population on my property. The stuff is nearly harmless. But I do make an extra effort to make every shot count and to retrieve any lead I can. I mean, why not.

 

[markinstettler]

I did some googling and found some interesting articles, but only one that's directly relevant here:
[url] http://www.ewg.org/reports/poisonouspastime[/url]
This one is from a couple of lobbying organizations (a big strike in my books) and directed at shooting ranges. One definitely has a hate-on for guns, the other's interests are largely orthogonal to the gun-control issue. I think they make a good point: Shooting ranges' use of lead is problematic and they should therefore be regulated.

Aside: Because of the above article, and several articles on lead poisoning, I've decided to outfit my personal shooting range with lead-capture in mind. Suggestions would be welcome (in another thread).

On the whole, I don't think that there is much of a case for banning the use of lead in hunting firearms, with the possible exception of shotguns. Some regulation of shooting ranges does seem to make sense, and be doable.

I would like to see some solid articles supporting Paul's assertion that lead forms an environmentally protective "sheath" of oxides. That would certainly give us some ammunition. :rotf:

 

[RedFeather]

This is making me wonder.........anybody try some of these short saboted or patched bullets in a conventional muzzle loader? I was wondering how a small caliber alloy wadcutter would perform? In the event that you could no longer use lead, would these things work? (I concede that they won't be as effective as a pure lead ball in terms of expansion.)