Are Minnesota firearms deer hunters switching from rifle cartridges with lead bullets to cartridges carrying bullets made entirely of copper?

Lead bullets fragment into pieces large and small, dissipating throughout a deer. Some pieces are so small they can't be detected when eaten in ground venison, or cuts of venison. No illnesses have been reported among people who have eaten venison containing lead bullet fragments. But a study by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources earlier this year indicated lead contamination of venison occurs significantly farther from the wound channel than had been believed -- in some cases 14 inches or more.

Studies in other states showed similar results. The Minnesota DNR made no recommendations about the relative safety of lead bullets. But they and other authorities noted that cartridges with all-copper bullets are available -- albeit at more than twice the price of some lead bullets.

A spot check among Twin Cities retailers indicated hunters aren't too worried about lead bullets -- or at least aren't purchasing copper bullets in significant numbers. A spokesman at Cabela's in Rogers said only a handful of hunters had raised the issue to him, and sales of the approximately $45 per box (of 20) loads with copper bullets were limited.

In Woodbury, a Gander Mountain salesman said he had heard of only minimal interest for non-toxic cartridges among customers. And a Sportsmen's Warehouse gun and ammunition salesman said, "There's been some demand."

Meanwhile, I fired a couple of boxes of .270 Federal Premium loads with Barnes Triple Shock bullets (130 grain) and a similar box of .243 loads (85 grain) through rifles previously zeroed with other premium ammunition carrying lead bullets.

Not unexpectedly, the Barnes bullets and cartridges zeroed differently -- a result that also could be expected from two different types of cartridges carrying lead bullets. The .243 zero didn't vary from lead to copper, meanwhile.

Upshot: Any time you switch cartridges, sight your gun in anew.

DENNIS ANDERSON