[obol] Re: Lead in the Environment
- From: Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Oregon Birders OnLine <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2015 16:00:55 -0800
> The writer went on in great length about the expense of non-lead ammo
> and that the Federal Govt. prohibits non-lead bullets ....
I found this statement interesting because, just yesterday, I was
walking across one of the prairie restoration fields at E.E. Wilson
Wildlife Area and saw something shiny in the grass.
When I picked it up, I could see that it was a .45 caliber round-nosed
copper-jacketed lead bullet ("full metal jacket" in the civilian
munitions sense, not the same as in the military sense). This type of
round is in common use for target practice especially using pistols, in
part because it's relatively cheap (if you look at what people say on
shooting-sports websites).
By volume, I'd guess it's about 50% copper so I find it hard to believe
that 100% copper bullets would be prohibitively expensive, at least in
terms of materials cost.
*Any* type of bullet is illegal to use at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area
(only shotguns are allowed, and those have been required to be steel
shot for many years), because they carry for long distance.
So whoever fired this was breaking at least one rule, probably the most
important safety rule that's enforced for this location. Might be the
same guys I turned in for shooting at a snowman with a pistol near the
same spot a few winters back, or someone other mindless lunatics.
For birders, I guess the takeaway messages are that: (1) copper
(jacketed) bullets are already being used by target shooters in Oregon,
and (2) there appear to be some lunatics out there using them without
much attention to safety rules. So better wear your Kevlar jackets ....
Connected to the above only by location, I heard a VIRGINIA RAIL on one
of the marshes a bit north of there today, possibly a wintering bird.
Happy birding,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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