Lead and Guns

Increasingly the problem on lead and guns has been in the news.

Lead ammunition has been identified as a source of wildlife hazards as when predators eat game animals, and more recently human consumption of game animals donated to food banks has been identified as a source of lead poisoning in humans. The stories continue

• November 1, 2025 Op-Ed:Waterbury Roundabout Do you want lead with that? "The problem doesn’t stop at the dinner table. Lead left in the field – gut piles, expended shot, or unretrieved game – poisons wildlife. Scavengers that feed on contaminated carcasses ingest those same microscopic fragments. Birds are especially vulnerable because even the large chunks are a danger to them. Their gizzards grind food with swallowed pebbles and grit – and lead fragments, and lead-shot. As the lead is ground into dust and smaller, it enters the bloodstream and can reach fatal concentrations. Jays, ravens, crows, loons (lead fishing tackle), and bald eagles are all victims." 

• October 28, 2025.WXPR.Tiny bullet fragments can expose hunters to lead. "Hunters using lead ammunition during the upcoming firearm deer season need to keep in mind the risk of lead exposure. Wisconsin’s Natural Resources Board recently heard a presentation on the concern of lead in venison, due to the use of lead ammunition. 'There is a concern about it fragmenting and spreading in the deer. And so really what we give is more guidance on, one, if you want to prevent that, use lead-free ammunition. But if you use lead ammunition, then there are steps you can take to specifically address and reduce your risk to exposure of lead in venison,' said Brian Weaver of the Department of Health Services.

• October 29, 2025. Ohio Newsroom. These Ohio hunters are bagging bucks to feed their neighbors. Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry takes deer carcass donations from hunters and covers the $100 or so it costs for butchers to turn deer into ground venison. That meat then goes straight to food pantries, free of cost. 'It gives hunters – who often have bag limits beyond what they could use themselves for their freezer – an option to get another deer or two and donate it to help other people,' said FHFH executive director Josh Wilson, referencing the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ individual limits on deer harvests." 

• Maine Public Maine hunters encouraged to ditch lead ammo. "Decades after the U.S. got rid of toxic lead in gasoline, paint and water pipes, lead core bullets are still the most common form of ammo on the market. But the debris a bullet leaves behind when it's shot can taint wild game meat and poison wildlife such as bald eagles. Wildlife officials and volunteers in Maine and across the country are ramping up efforts to convince hunters to switch to nontoxic bullets, and curb one of the last frontiers of lead contamination in the environment."

• May 9, 2025. KAKE NEWS INVESTIGATES: Threat of lead contamination reaching Cheney Lake. "Dale Shockley says he's afraid the shooting range he used to run could be putting your drinking water in danger. He says he left his job as range master just to sound the alarm over what might be happening. 'I don't know, because there's no documentation. I don't know what to tell the EPA,' Shockley said during an Earth Day presentation at WSU's Rhatigan Center last month." 

• May 9, 2025. Recoil. R53.83: Been Shooting for a Few Years? Get Tested For Heavy Metals "I first met Tom in 2011 at the MGM Ironman 3-gun match, a legendary, high round count blast fest in the Idaho desert. We bullsh*tted between stages, hit it off, and the bromance continues to this day. At the time, he’d just returned from a deployment, and was 230 pounds of tattoos and hate, the archetypal Special Forces senior NCO who’d been blown up twice and shot once, recovering and returning to duty each time. Evidently, the only thing that could kill Tom … was Tom."

• November 28, 2024. North Coast Journal. Another 'Wake-up Call' "Editor: Great news about our North Coast California condor A9 again flying free following weeks of intensive medical treatment at the Sequoia Park Zoo due to a potentially lethal case of lead poisoning, though scary news about eight other condors with elevated lead levels during a recent exam ("Another Close Condor Call," Nov. 21). We can only hope this will be a wake-up call for North Coast hunters to stop using lead ammunition."

• Jul 15, 2024. Desert Review. CDPH advises about the dangers of lead exposure. "The California Department of Public Health in coordination with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch released an informational on how to protect oneself and family from lead exposure. The release is broken down into three sections which begins with information about lead exposure and firearms. As hunting, outdoor target shooting, and indoor range shooting are common frequented in the valley, the importance of lead exposure safety is imperative. Using firearms has the potential of exposing people to dangerous levels of lead poisoning the release stated. For those that do spend time at a shooting range, with firearms, or handling ammunition, them or their family may be at risk of lead poisoning. As per CDPH Occupational Lead poisoning Prevention Program, persons using ammunition with lead primers or lead bullets are exposed to lead from the gun smoke that is released when the gun is fired."