Concerns remain over lead bullets

A little more than a year ago, Department of Natural Resources officials were shooting dead sheep with high-caliber lead bullets, studying to see whether the bullets fragmented upon impact, and how widely any fragments might be found from wound channels. Sheep bear similarities to white-tailed deer, thus their choice as targets.

The study followed weeks, months and, in California, years of concerns that lead bullets pose hazards not only to people who eat venison, but to large aerial predators such as California condors and bald eagles. The birds often consume bullet fragments when they feast on wounded and unrecovered deer carcasses shot by hunters.

In California, lead bullets are prohibited in areas where condors fly.

The Minnesota DNR's study was important because it showed that lead fragments, many too small to be easily seen, travel much farther -- up to 18 inches -- from wound channels than had been believed.

Long known as a toxin, lead has been banned from gasoline and many other substances. And waterfowl hunters can't use it to shoot ducks and geese.

Still, the possibility that human health is threatened by lead bullet fragments has been met with great skepticism by hunters. Lead has been used in bullets for centuries, they say, and no one has been hurt.

The issue is highly charged and, as with all gun-related controversies, laced with many political considerations. The ammunition industry, for example, can't easily shift to producing bullets made of something other than lead. And other than copper, there aren't a lot of "somethings" to choose from to make bullets. Simply put, bullets are made from lead because it is ideal to make bullets.

But if lead bullets were the source of so much hand-wringing a year ago, whither the hubbub this fall?

"I think the concern is still there [about lead bullets], but [state officials] are more comfortable [this year] with the amount of information that came out last year," DNR wildlife programs manager Steve Merchant said. "I think the feeling here is that we've gotten that information out and hunters can make their own choices."

Maybe so. But the choice Minnesota's Department of Agriculture has made this fall is to X-ray all donations made by hunters to the state's venison donation program. Any meat found to have lead in it will be tossed out, said Nicole Neeser, the agency's program manager for dairy and meat inspection.

The screening is necessary, Neeser said, because lead in meat is potentially harmful, particularly to pregnant women and kids younger than age 6.

Last year, 18,000 pounds of venison were distributed through the program. As many as 35 meat processors statewide will process venison this fall destined for food shelves.

Lead bullets (or slugs), or even copper-jacketed lead bullets aren't a Minnesota deer hunter's only alternative. Solid copper bullets are generally available at retailers in most calibers that hunters use for deer and other big game.

Copper isn't toxic, and it doesn't fragment upon impact.

Utah-based Barnes Bullets is a major innovator and manufacturer of copper bullets, which can be found in premium Federal and certain other name-brand ammunition. Increasing numbers of hunters began purchasing these cartridges last year as the lead-bullet scare widened. But Randy Brooks of Barnes Bullets didn't develop copper bullets for their benign toxicity. He believed copper bullets offer better killing power without fouling rifle bores, thus contributing to greater accuracy and overall improved performance.

The problem, as yet unresolved, is that copper is more expensive than lead. Therefore copper bullets are more expensive than lead bullets. Whether they're worth it might depend on how much venison you eat and whether you have a pregnant woman or kids in your family.

You might also consider this: Canadian scientists who have tested Arctic natives whose diets consist largely of bullet-killed game found high levels of lead in their blood, with attendant physical and mental health problems.

Dennis Anderson • danderson@startribune.com