# Get the Lead Out of Hunting - Article



## NightKnight (Dec 16, 2009)

What are your thoughts on this article?



> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/opinion/16prieto.html
> * Get the Lead Out of Hunting*
> * By ANTHONY PRIETO*
> 
> ...


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

Pure, unadulterated horse hockey! Anthony Prieto is campaigning to ban lead for all sporting use. Google "Anthony Prieto Hunting" to see what I am talking about.

His claim that copper bullets have better ballistics than lead is pure nonsense. While I am sure that the muzzle velocity of a copper bullet will be higher than for lead of the same dimensions, not many animals are shot at muzzle velocity. The bullet won't have to get far down range before the lead bullet performs better than copper.

His claims of microscopic bits of lead scattered throughout the meat are also false and have been thoroughly debunked in "Texas Fish and Game" magazine, among other sources. Sorry, paid subscription only, so no link.

Don't be fooled. Prieto is attempting to make hunting, and particularly other shooting sports, such as target shooting, more expensive. And "a few quarters" more for copper bullets is a very big deal to a target shooter.


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## HopefulHunter (Oct 15, 2011)

Bally ridiculous.

If lead poisoning was caused by eating meat with lead particles in then there would've been a lot more of a scare about it by now. People have been hunting with lead practically since gunpowder was invented (probably long before that.)


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## Toddy (Oct 2, 2011)

Yep, total Horse droppings. I'd have been dead long ago from lead poisoning if this were even remotely true. At one point in my life I spent just about 10 years where I would only eat the meat I shot or caught. I ate meat every day!


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

OK, I'm going to violate a personal rule and paste an article from a magazine. This is from the April 2009 Texas Fish and Game magazine. http://www.fishgame.com for those who would like to subscribe.

The article shows actual x-rays taken of a deer shoulder, and what few metal particles (lead or copper jacket, who knows?) are there are all in the wound channel.


> FOR THE PAST 20 OR SO YEARS that I have carried a rifle into the woods, I loaded it with lead core bullets, and I am sure you have as well. Hunters have used lead bullets for centuries to take everything from elk and deer to squirrels and dove. Remember the good old days when you could even use lead shot for waterfowl? Well, there is a movement out there that wants to make you remember hunting deer with lead bullets with the same fondness that you do ducks, because if it was up to some folks, you wouldn't be allowed to use lead bullets for anything-deer included.
> 
> To give a little history: In 2007, Dr. William Cornatzer took it upon himself to test venison donated to local food pantries for traces of metal, supposedly left by hunter's bullets. Now, when you hear that a doctor has taken the initiative to test something, your first thought is that he is concerned for the health of his patients, but in this case, that's simply not true. First, Dr. Cornatzer is a dermatologist, so I doubt he sees many patients complaining about tainted deer meat causing skin problems. Second, Dr. Cornatzer is a board member for The Peregrine Fund, a group dedicated to "protecting" birds of prey from items it deems harmful. While perhaps a noble cause, it does make one question the motivation behind the study. And before you start thinking these types of groups are harmless, just ask hunters in California what kind of impact such groups have had on their hunting.
> 
> ...


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## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

Slingshot bullets don't fragment and they're large enough that they won't be ingested.


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## slingshot_sniper (Feb 20, 2011)

I'm wondering how much lead is sprayed over lands during wars/conflicts,will the Armed forces be told not to use lead in the future and opt for the more expensive copper bullets?not a chance in ****, some can just about supply lead ammo.


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## HopefulHunter (Oct 15, 2011)

End war, use bullets for responsible hunting. Be healthier and happier.

Problem solved I think.


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## JohnRio (Oct 8, 2011)

I wonder if Mr Prieto holds shares in a company that makes copper bullets?


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## nukehayes (Oct 20, 2011)

I think it is hysterical to think that a few gutpiles with "potential lead fragments" in it causes more deaths of the California Condor than the fact that the darn things are just plain retarded birds in the first place and are almost extinct because of that. Darwinism works. Why do you think the Dodo bird is no longer around. Man didn't kill it. It was an inferior species that just didn't work out. Life goes on, it will be okay. The super hippy gun hating leaders of the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia need to stop trying to take away my rights as an American, grow up, and stop listening to all their hollywood gun BS that they cook up. They are just ignorant about guns, and need to realize that all the laws they make up to "protect the people from gun violence" only takes guns from law abiding citizens. The bad guys aren't gonna follow the rules anyway, that is why they are "Bad guys" Ugghhhh.... Sorry for the rant, I just can't stand stupid people. I can't wait to move out of this state. It's a shame too, it is really pretty here in SoCal.


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

I personally think that it's hysterical that the greenies are so uptight about saving birds, but they also support wind turbines to generate "green" energy. Look up raptor fatalities and wind power.

Shoot a predatory bird, you go to jail. Build a 400 foot tower with vanes moving so fast that the birds never see them coming, and you're an enviromentalist.

James


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## Pro-Shot (UK) Catapults (Apr 21, 2010)

The Guy talks total BULL Sxxt


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## KennyCannon (Aug 24, 2011)

Banning anything is garbage.

As long as I'm not negatively impacting someone else's life, let me do whatever I want to do.


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## AJW (Apr 24, 2011)

God save me from the Do-Gooders.


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## Melchior (Dec 27, 2009)

It all depends. First of all: Only 3% of the lead stems from hunting, the rest comes mainly from fertilizers, where it lands right on our fields as finely dispersed dust...so if anyone cares about lead, he should have a look at agriculture, not at hunting.

On the other hand, it is right that vultures, with their highly acidic stomach, can die from lead poisoning. The lead mainly comes from shot, not from rifle bullets - these mainly go through the animal and bury themselves. And the guts should be lead-free anywany, as the hunter aims for the heart! Also, there are places like Verdun or Paschendale where history shed millions of bullets, without visible effect on today's environment. But waterfowl hunting is a different story, as - unfortunately - there is a significant amount of grazed birds who later fall prey to the vultures.

So my opinion is that it makes sense to use lead-free shot, but keep lead in rifle bullets.


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