Is shooting lead pellets safe for the enviornment?

[FIDI_G]

I live on a flood plane and as such the woods in my back yard has a ton of wild life. Is it dangerous to the environment if I'm constantly shooting lead pellets into the ground where all the animals are foraging? Over the years I have unloaded a bunch of tins. Whats the scoop?

 

[DesertSilver]

Certainly lead pellets contribute to global warming............

Get with the program Kraemer, it's climate change! You know, like it's been doing for billions of years . Remember, lead was the first metal that man started to use and could be found just laying on the ground.

 

[Max B.]

I heard that Dylan Mulvany ate lead pellets when he was younger.

 

[Septicdeath]

I'm more concerned about all the plastic water bottles and other plastic crap that gets used on a daily basis by 100's of millions of people, then discarded. They have found plastic contamination in everything. Including the human body. There are bigger problems with pollutants than the lead from a pellet gun.

A 2017 study found that 83% of tap water samples taken around the world contained plastic pollutants.[

 

[MileHighAirGunner]

As for animals, I've never heard of an animal that likes to eat lead…

Squirrels and other rodents will crew (eat/swallow?) on lead. Then other animals eat them

 

[beerthief]

Amazing! Really!

"yes the heat from pellets friction on the lands in the barrel and then releasing that heat into the atmosphere is terrible ! just terrible !"
NO !

 

[rayroz]

Here in Michigan the DNR said it is .
They also said the deer will pass covid to each other .

 

[Airgunmann]

They act like lead was something man made that's poisonous . It came out of the ground it can go back into the ground

 

[Trucker3573]

I heard that Dylan Mulvany ate lead pellets when he was younger.

I think it was bud light

 

[450BM]

Well if you’re worried about a few thousand pellets on your property, imagine what it’s like living near a trap or sporting clays club! 7 lbs of lead per shooter and I’ve been at lots of events with over 100 shooters!

 

[rcs9250]

Well if you’re worried about a few thousand pellets on your property, imagine what it’s like living near a trap or sporting clays club! 7 lbs of lead per shooter and I’ve been at lots of events with over 100 shooters!

Or Camp Perry in Port Clinton, Ohio. Lake Erie is the impact area for all kinds of small arms firing and .50 caliber, possibly larger too for the past, at least 40 years.

 

[Seth0764]

Lead does not dissolve in water unless the lead has been corroded from high acidity water like drinking water flowing through lead plumbing. In the natural environment this is highly unlikely

 

[FIDI_G]

Funny how people get so bent out of shape on this topic. But this document sounds pretty scary. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org...h/Human_Health_Risks_from_Lead_Ammunition.pdf
I'm surprised there aren't stricter regulations around this.

 

[cjtamu]

Lead comes from the ground, so it's 100% natural. That said, it's a good idea to recover and recycle it. (That's what I do.)

I've done thousands of environmental audits and it can cause big problems when found on a site. It's normal for a potential buyer to back out when it's found. Remediation is expensive.

I haven't looked at any data on wildlife affected by lead, but it can't be a positive thing. It really comes down to how much a particular critter ingests, absorbs and then fixes in bones and the central nervous system.

Fun fact - The soil on and adjacent to railroad tracks often contains a lot of lead because leaded grease was used to lube the axles and carriages.

J~

This. Not going to affect animals much unless there’s a place where they forage constantly and are ingesting lead over time. Acute ingestion won’t do anything. The lead actually oxidizes and doesn’t leach. But, if you ever sell the property you‘ll have a problem. Have remediated a dozen or so over the years. Simple process, but depending on the size of the area and the concentrations it will cost you. Simple enough for target shooting to build a pellet trap and not worry about it. The studies RE people ingesting meat shot with lead are more concerning for folks who eat a lot of wild game.

 

[qball]

Thanks to the environ-mentalists we have reduced acid rain tremendously, obviously it is still not eliminated. Sadly I can't find more update to date map but I'm hoping it's even less yellow and red. The map shows rain water acidity level across the country.

A map from 1996 for comparison:

Here is how acid level affects lead and lead oxide:

Lead/lead oxide/PO(pink line) is basically insoluble at PH of 6-9 or close to dark green area. But PO will become exponentially more water soluble at PH of 5 and lower or tan to red on the map. Obviously a few pellets here and there won't do much, a few pounds of small lead pieces(large contact area) over the years could be a problem. Everyone can order a kit to measure lead and other heavy metals in your drinking water, I recommend everyone test their water for just for a piece of mind especially if you are drinking ground water near any sort of industrial activities. We have the technology, what you do with it is up to you.

 

[rcs9250]

Funny how people get so bent out of shape on this topic. But this document sounds pretty scary. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org...h/Human_Health_Risks_from_Lead_Ammunition.pdf
I'm surprised there aren't stricter regulations around this.

As soon as I read in the link that the CDC had input, all bets were off. Dr. Faucci is my ACCURATE source for all health related issues.
I’ve only shot 50 rounds of 9mm since the covid ammo rape program. I’ve switched to airguns pretty much exclusively. It works out pretty nice here in NE Ohio where I live.
I always figured if the govt banned firearms (and airguns), highly unlikely I might add, I always figured I would switch to archery for hunting, target shooting, archery fishing, competition. Until of course the Bureau of Archery Prevention declares carbon fiber arrow shafts more toxic than lead. Then it’s back to slingshot and silica stones. Oh wait, silicosis. Oh well, Murder She Wrote on cable.

 

[JimD]

I reviewed the paper linked by FIDI_G. Thanks for linking it. I only examined a few of the references in the paper but read the whole paper. I think it is a good example of the material being used to try and ban lead ammunition. I would agree with FIDI_G's assessment, it raises significant concerns. In my judgement, that is exactly what is is designed to do. The references embeded in the paper don't give me the same message as the paper ascribes to them in all cases. For instance one paper looked at blood lead levels of police officers and instructors before and after they shot at indoor and outdoor ranges. Their blood lead level went up, especially the instructors on the indoor range. They spent the most time at the range. But they also measured the airborne dust levels at the indoor range and it exceeded the OSHA limit. So my take on that paper is it demonstrates if you shoot at a range that doesn't appropriately managed the lead dust you may get elevated levels of lead in your blood. The paper suggests that the paper they reference demonstrates risk of lead to people who shoot guns. That is kind of true but distorted in my view. The last indoor range I visited has a continuous flow of water over the backstop to minimize any lead dust in the air. I doubt shooting there did much of anything to my lead level.

A more applicable paper they referenced looked at levels of lead in deer and sheep shot with a 308 and shotguns with slugs. They used bullets in the 308 that were simple lead filled jacket design and solid copper design. In the shotgun they used foster slugs which are just chunks of lead and sabots of pistol bullets that are lead filled jacket construction. No unsurprisingly the bullets without lead did not put lead in the meat. But more of interest to airgunners, the shotguns and muzzle loaders (forgot them) did not put nearly as much lead in the carcase as the center fire rifle - the 308. The lead was also more localized by the lower velocity shotguns and muzzle loaders with it almost totally within a couple inches of the holes the projectile made. I think that compares better to what we do with pellets, particularly non expanding ones. Any contamination could be avoided pretty effectively by avoiding the blood shot meat around the hole(s). The authors seemed more interested in pushing for solid copper bullets, however. They did not make the somewhat obvious observation based upon their data that the contamination was quite localized - until the meat was rinsed. Rinsing the mead with the blood shot meat still present seemed to spread the lead somewhat in the carcase. But the level of lead in the carcase was much lower for the lower velocity guns - which still were around 1500 fps so higher velocity than airguns.

Groups with lead concerns have successfully used similar data and observations to eliminate lead in automobile fuel and in house paint. It is also not used in plumbing solder now either. So to see them go after lead in ammunition shouldn't be surprising. Misusing or twisting data to support their conclusions - or the most draconian measures to be taken - is unfortunately also not surprising. They've apparently already convinced some states not to use donated game meat to help feed homeless people.

 

[CharlieF]

Shooting lead pellets is bad so I shoot depleted Uranium pellets. Helps give tree rats a glowing personality.

 

[rcs9250]

The solution is pretty obvious to plinkers. If you’re concerned about lead pellets or any other way you put lead into the ground or critters that might not be retrievable, just stop shooting. Very simple. Or plan B: Only shoot into a pellet trap and no more hunting. There’s always pickle ball, darts, ping pong, archery, tennis, skydiving, scuba diving, baseball, softball, golf …
Heck, we still apply oil to dirt roads in the summer in Ohio to keep dust down.

 

[stanginthe11s]

A more applicable paper they referenced looked at levels of lead in deer and sheep shot with a 308 and shotguns with slugs. They used bullets in the 308 that were simple lead filled jacket design and solid copper design

my first question is what grain did they use? most of my deer shot with a 308 had 168 gn of lead in them. also, lead is used in the making of copper.

on another note, which is more environmentally friendly lead or humans? lead in its inert form is harmless. it only becomes an issue when burned or turned to powder. as far as oxidizing stopping leaching, I don't think so but im not a chemist. oxidized lead is lead oxide, which I believe is water soluble. the presence of lead is naturally occurring without the help of humans, it takes quite a bit for it to be of real concern.

 

[Peashooter]

Well i am firmly pro lead, and i wish so bad i could also have lead jacketed in some copper and shoot that too.
I am also aware all numbers can and will be twisted by someone to suit their needs.

There are also much worse things out there, lead after all take some exposure or quantities before it get nasty, that is why i say if you can you should collect your lead, and for airgun shooters, well at least if you do not have a severe spinner addiction, then collecting the lead are not a big deal i feel.

As you might know Danes cant have squat when it come to firearms, but in the news yesterday a +70 YO German tourist here, got sick and was rushed to hospital, there they found he was in possession of a loaded pistol,,,,,,, German tourist in big trouble now.