Lead is dead
– at least for many California hunters. That’s because after
July 1, using lead bullets to hunt in San Benito County will be
illegal.
Lead is dead – at least for many California hunters. That’s because after July 1, using lead bullets to hunt in San Benito County will be illegal.
The ban on use of lead bullets in the California condor range represents the state’s latest effort to save the endangered species and was part of a bill singed into law last October by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Several environmental agencies such as the American Bird Conservancy and the Center for Biological Diversity had long contended that condors were being poisoned by lead as it passed through carcasses of animals shot by hunters and into the birds when they scavenged.
Many hunters and ranchers, however, disagree. They have said copper bullets – lead’s alternative – are inferior and often do not kill the animal, instead merely leaving them wounded and often left to die several hours or days after getting shot.
Regardless, next month, any hunter found using a bullet with more than 1 percent lead in the range could be fined up to $1,000 and spend up to a year in jail.
Copper bullets are available in most center-fire ammunition used for hunting large game such as deer, elk, wild boar and antelope. Smaller rimfire lead ammunition also will be illegal, but there are few copper alternatives for these small rounds – a worrisome situation for ranchers and farmers who use small guns to kill rodents.
Richard Boomer of Hollister is a lifelong hunter and operates a hunting guide service, taking locals and visitors all around the state in search of the best game animals. Boomer said shooting an animal with a copper bullet is likely to leave it wounded and suffering, and until bullet manufacturers develop better technology, the ban will do more harm than good.
“A copper bullet will go right through an animal,” Boomer said. “A lead bullet mushrooms and kills the animal quickly. Copper bullets don’t mushroom, and often the animals will run off and are very hard to find. It’s a very inhumane way of dying.”
Boomer said his family was poor growing up, and so venison and wild boar meat were staples that kept them fed. He said it’s important for children to learn to hunt and get an appreciation for the outdoors – and for the food they eat.
“Hunters are not just a bunch of guys drinking beer and shooting road signs,” he said. “If not for hunters, a lot of animals would be extinct when game populations got too high and certain species started dying.”
Harry Morse, spokesman for the California Fish and Game Department, said copper bullets are only slightly inferior to lead – and even then, only to the most selective hunter. He said the transition from lead to copper bullets would have been easier on hunters if it had been done gradually, but since the state decided the issue was urgent, it would be up to the hunting community to adjust quickly.
“I’ve personally used copper bullets and I believe the ballistic performance of copper is on par with the ballistic performance of lead,” Morse said. “There are always going to be the people who want the highest performance, but they’ve been developing these bullets since the ’80s and they are pretty good.”
Boomer said although he disagrees with the ban, he – like other hunters – will comply with the law and keep hunting.
“I’m certainly not going to break the law,” he said. “But in the end, this is just one more little step for the gun grabbers to get our guns.”
